UCLA vs. UCSD

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
1

<p>Hey guys, I am having the hardest time choosing between UCLA and UCSD. I've tried listing pros and cons of each school, but I'm still stuck.</p>

<p>UCSD pros- Regents scholar, so I get the extra 2000/year, research opportunities as a freshman, priority registration, cheaper (since I'd be a commuter), strong bio program (i'm thinking of going pre-med)</p>

<p>UCSD cons: I'd live at home, kind of worried on how to meet people, campus seemed really big (didn't hate it, but didn't love it)</p>

<p>UCLA pros: living away from home and in LA, more of an opportunity to become independent, beautiful campus</p>

<p>UCLA cons: costs over 10k more than UCSD, wouldn't get the perks of a regents scholar... not sure about any other cons since I feel like I don't know enough information</p>

<p>I feel like I'm leaning more towards UCSD right now just because I know more, so I have a few questions about UCLA!</p>

<p>1) How are the undergraduate research opportunities? Is it easy to get into research your first year? Research is a huge factor for me in the college decision, and being a regents scholar at UCSD, I feel like it'd be easier to find research there than at UCLA, esp. since UCLA has a lot of competitive pre-med majors also....</p>

<p>2) How strong are UCLA's science programs? My visit to Bruin day made it seem like UCLA was a huge school in social sciences/humanities, so I'm not sure how their physical/life sciences compare to UCSD.</p>

<p>3) I've been reading a few posts on here and apparently the people at UCLA can be a bit materialistic/shallow? I go to a pretty rich high school and have been around these types of people for a while now.. I'm kind of hoping that I'd be with a more down to earth and welcoming crowd in college.. how true is this rumor about UCLA?</p>

<p>4) UCSD and UCLA are pretty much the same level of competitiveness, right? Are people at UCLA more willing to cooperate and help each other out or are they looking out more for themselves?</p>

<p>5) How easy is it to graduate in four years?</p>

<p>Basically, I'm trying to assess both UCLA and UCSD in terms of how successful I'd be at each school, how happy I'd be, and how many opportunities I would be offered...</p>

<p>ANYWAYS, Do you guys think going to UCLA is worth the extra money, or should I just go to UCSD and be a commuter?? Help! Any personal insight from a UCSD or UCLA student/alum would be great!</p>

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<p>1) Tons of research opportunities, you just have to search for them so that’ll push you to be more active and aware of whats going on at LA.
2) UCLA science program is indeed strong, literally on par with SD except at the moment SD is slightly better in the sciences such as bio. So currently SD sciences > LA sciences.
3) I’m pretty sure any giant college whether it be SD or LA there would be shallow/materialistic students. There’s tons of students, tons of diversity thus you’ll find many “down to earth” students, just search :slight_smile:
4) This varies. As said before, giant schools have tons of different types of kids so you’ll find people varying from over competitive nerds to lazy potheads. UCLA by far is not considered cutthroat and thus many people are quite cooperative if you are the same (I have friends that go to SD and LA and they all say there are tons of amazing people who are generally nice. Then again my friends are social butterflies.)
5) Its as easy for either schools.</p>

<p>Conclusion: Both schools will offer you numerous amount of opportunities whether it be for research or any other extracurricular activities. UCLA is a great choice due to its awesome location and national prestige but UCSD is also awesome as well due to their amazing bio program and literally constant weather. If your seeking independence then come to LA, its great (I remember my friend choosing LA just for independence, she hated living at home and wanted to be “free” and going to UCLA gave her that). If money is indeed a major factor, go to SD the regents is good for that. Priority enrollment isn’t that great of a plus as if you plan right you’ll get your classes either way for either schools. You should have come to Bruin day yesterday, visiting to see the campus probably would’ve finalized your decision. If you do regret going to either one of them you can always try to transfer; I’ve had many friends transfer over to UCLA, but seemingly not SD I guess it was more of a prestige thing…</p>

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<p>Good points. I actually did go to Bruin Day, and this is why I’m so conflicted now! My tour guide was a global studies major and the presentation I went to for undergraduate research opportunities was given by a psychology professor, so I didn’t get much input on how life/physical sciences were at UCLA…I love the environment but I don’t want to feel like I’m passing up great academic opportunities by choosing it over UCSD.</p>

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<p>You’re not passing up anything if you were to go to UCLA. As said before there are tons of research opportunities sprawling in LA, just ask a professor (more info [UGRESEARCH</a> > Home](<a href=“Undergraduate Research Center—Sciences | University of California, Los Angeles”>Undergraduate Research Center—Sciences | University of California, Los Angeles)). Both schools and their levels of sciences are literally the same, both schools will give you equal opportunities to excel in whatever you choose. You need to look at other factors in choosing which is best fit for you as both schools will provide you with every opportunity possible whether it be social or academic. Factors such as cost, location, independence, etc should be the main factors for you as both are equally reputable school that excel in the sciences. (I say that but nationally UCLA prestige is way greater than UCSD)</p>

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<p>Do you go/ are you going to UCLA? What were your reasons for choosing it? I get it has prestige and all but prestige isn’t one of the factors I’m considering anyways</p>

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<p>I was admitted for Fall 2013 and I plan to attend. I had no real definite reason to choose LA, it just fit right for me. I actually was accepted to all UCs and also USC and one Cornell, but ultimately I chose UCLA due to the fact I felt it was the best choice as I believe it will provide me with the most opportunities to excel academically (also it being in LA was a +). I’ve had numerous friends that attend and graduated from both schools and they told me of their experiences, which was literally the same for either school. I never actually viewed SD as an option which is why I may be biased towards it, as all my friends that attended SD were basically LA rejects. They all literally told me they would go to LA in a heartbeat which is why most of them actually transferred to LA from SD but never the other way around. *By the way, I’m also planning on pre-med route.</p>

7

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If you go to UCLA you can easily graduate in 4 years. Back in the 90’s college was much less expensive and people were in no rush to have it end; I think the average student was at UCLA for 5 years. These days they have pretty strict minimum progress requirements these days because the campus is so popular and they are trying to accomodate all the echo boom kids. Here is what they say in the UCLA General Catalog

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