<p>i applied to and got into ucla, uc berkely, ucsd, usc, ucsb, and cal poly san luis obispo. so far ive visited ucla, usc, cal poly, and ucsd. i went on really extensive tours at all the campuses, but im still not sure where i want to enroll. however, i have kind of narrowed it down to ucla, usc, and ucsd but im still open to other options. alright let me first start off by explaining my interests and personality. ive lived and grown up in southern california for my entire life. in high school ive taken all of the ap/honors courses that are offered and have maintained a cumulative GPA of 4.578. although i do very good in school i am not your typical honors/ap student. you wont really see me at lunch hanging out with most of my honors classmates. i usually hang out with what you would call the "college prep" kids. its not that i dont get along with my honors classmates, its just that my personality and interests "jell" alot better with more outgoing people. for instance, i like to lift weights, skateboard, and get "crazy" every once in awhile. however, at the same time i am academically driven. i like to do well in school. so my dilemma is...what school do you guys think will best suit me? are ucla courses really all that overwhelming in comparison to what i have done in high school? are usc classes not quite as overwhelming as say ucsd or ucla? at what campus do you think i will best fit in and at the same time get a good education? oh yea and one last thing, it would probably help if you knew my major too..huh? well im kind of undecided. but im looking into math/science along the lines of possibly pre-med or engineering. but these ideas are by no means written in stone. so there ya go...hope someone can help me.</p>
<p>well
ide say the better school overall is UCLA
and the more challenging school is UCLA</p>
<p>so if u want those 2 things go ucla.</p>
<p>also, the surrounding area is nicer.
i dont know tons more outside of that.</p>
<p>and
u should at least check out Berkeley.</p>
<p>and if u love skating, then definitely check out berkeley.</p>
<p>San Francisco is a drive away, and they got some crazy hills</p>
<p>You'll find that in college you'll find many cool, chill people. After kids leave their parents homes and go to college chances are they are going to have a good time. I think UCLA is MUCH nicer overall, and if you save money by being in-state you might as well enjoy the better school. They are both fun places so you can't lose, but I would give UCLA the edge.</p>
<p>I'd definitely say UCLA is a better school overall and it definitely has a better national reputation. USC's a good school for sure, but it's still below UCLA in my opinion.</p>
<p>I would go to USC. I'm a big football fan, so yeah I'm going to be biased.</p>
<p>I've heard the overall "college experience" is better at USC</p>
<p>TheDynamic,</p>
<p>From your screen name and description you gave yourself, I think you are a USC person. USC definitely fits your personality.</p>
<p>But what I want to address here is the notion of "overwhelming" class. I am not sure if this "overwhelming" is a bad or good thing. You come to college to learn knowledge, grow as a person, and build a foundation for your career. "overwhelming" is not exactly a right way to do it. Some may equal "challenging" to "overwhelming", or vice vera. That is not correct. I agree students should be challenged intellectually, but don't have to be overwhelmed in a "cut-throat" environment. Whenever UC students boast their "cut-throat" competition, I am buffled. Does "cut-throat" make you a better person? I don't think so. Do you learn better or more in a "cutthroat" class? Not necessarily. I had a theory that so many USC grads succeeded because they learned coorperation in college, they are good at team work, and they have great communication skills. In a "cutthroat" environment, you may not learn these very well. Morever, the materials and content of classes at USC and UCLA are more than likely to be on the same level, especially for undergraduate programs. In a word, they are equally challenging. Adding in the teaching quality, class size, peer students quality, USC can be quite good a deal if your major concern is not money.</p>