UCSB (BioPsychology) vs UCLA (Neuroscience)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Santa Barbara
1

<p>Hey guys!</p>

<p>So I SIR'd to UCLA on May 1st and just recently my appeal was approved to UCSB (I was on their waitlist).</p>

<p>UCLA
Pros: Perks/Fun things at Los Angeles , Prestige (I don't know what this entails but whatever), Research University
Cons: Traffic, Concrete Jungle (the city makes me a bit sad), Grade Deflation, No Priority Registration, Anxiety</p>

<p>UCSB
Pros: Research, Less of a Curve, Potential Honors (Priority Registration), Takes More of my APs
Cons: Less Prestige, More Isolated </p>

<p>I feel very anxious and scared that I won't do well at UCLA. The competition for grades and research just seems overwhelming to me and I just felt lost in the crowd. I'm scared I'll do really bad and get shitty grades. I'm more Grad School bound than Med School.</p>

<p>At UCSB, I feel really relaxed and I LOVE the ocean and the weather. I heard it's a bit easier to get research and grades will be a bit better to maintain.</p>

<p>I feel more comfortable at UCSB, but I feel so much pressure to go for UCLA... thoughts?
I want no regrets :(</p>

2

<p>Also, I’m scared that I’ll get rescinded from UCLA and I’ll be JC bound. They say I’m not allowed to have more than one C my senior year and I had a C last semester in Calc and I’ll probably get a C semester. I have straight Bs and a C… so…
yeah, no bueno :(</p>

3

<p>I think that the decision is based on yourself and how you personally feel. Are grades in calc due to senioritis or is it because you just don’t understand the concepts? Because if it is senioritis than I think its okay because UCLA accepted you for a reason and I think that you can succeed there if you try. Try not to doubt yourself because your hard work is what got you into UCLA for a reason.</p>

4

<p>I think you get rescinded only if you have lower than a 3.0 weighted for each semester </p>

5

<p>Honestly, it sounds like you are looking for reasons to go to UCSB, which kinda speaks for itself… </p>

<p>There is no guarantee of ‘no regrets’, you just have to internalize that once you make a decision, that is that. You might have regrets either way you go. UCLA is better known, but I know others who have gone to UCSB instead of UCLA and would do the same thing again. I also know others who didn’t. I think it depends on what you want.</p>

<p>I transferred from UCSB to UCLA a long time ago, but that was because I was in a sorority where you had to live in the house, and when I decided to go to law school and needed straight As, I didn’t think that was a good situation. It is hard to turn down your best friends saying ‘For the House!!’ every night, particularly when what they are suggesting is much more enticing than studying. That I was in a triple, after a freshman year with a roomate, and had two more years of that to expect at a time I was ready for at least a room of my own, also played into it…</p>

<p>I didn’t affiliate with my sorority when I went to UCLA. The grades seemed easier, actually, but my focus was on class. It is focus that is the issue, not the difficulty in my personal experience, however, it is dated.</p>

<p>I will say I still think of UCSB as my ‘real’ college days. It was wonderful, frankly. And my niece went to UCSB pre med and never wanted to leave, transfer or otherwise (and with her grades it should not have been an issue.) She even tried to get back there for her residency but while she got her first choice of practice area, surgery, she will be back east at a hospital affiliated with an Ivy. </p>

<p>Good luck with whatever you choose!</p>

<p>But if you DON’T choose UCSB, let them know as soon as you are sure. There are a lot of people waiting for slots…</p>