UCSB vs. UCD vs. Waitlist UCI

Applying to College
1

<p>I have been to all three universities, and have done extensive research for each, yet the more I do, the more I'm pleased with each school, and so it's making this decision more and more difficult.</p>

<p>I'm going in as Undecided/Undeclared (most likely the reason I was wait-listed to Irvine.)
Pros for UCSB:
I love the campus.
The beach is my happy place.
The social scene is terrific.
My brother lives there.</p>

<p>Cons for UCSB:
It's incredibly expensive.
The party scene may be too out of control.
It may be more difficult to get into my first choice grad school than it would at UCD.</p>

<p>Pros for UCD:
I've heard it's good for Undeclared majors.
It's right next to Sacramento.
It's very highly ranked.
There are parties, you just have to find them.
The social scene won't get in the way of academics.
70% of their graduating undergrads make it to their first choice grad school.</p>

<p>Cons for UCD:
The town itself is boring.
I don't have a car to easily get out of town.
Not as aesthetically pleasing as SB.</p>

<p>So, I have to enroll in one of them. Now here comes the other part of the question.
If accepted to UCI, should I enroll??
Accepting UCI would mean accepting around May 15th, which means-
I would get bottom of the barrel dorms for my first year.
I would get bottom of the barrel classes for my first year.
And there's nothing saying that it's a better school, anyway.</p>

<p>Please and thank you for your input! =D</p>

2

<p>I’d say, forget UCI. I mean, even if you get off the waitlist and get in, you’re have the bottom of the barrel for pretty much everything. Why go there when you already have a great opportunity at either UCSB or UCD. </p>

<p>I can understand when you say UCD is a boring town. If you don’t have a car to get out of UCD, then you’re pretty much stuck there. It’s definitely boring, but I’d choose UCD if I were you. First all, you’re going there for an education, right? If you know UCSB is a party school and it’s going to make it harder for you to get into your first grad school choice, then don’t go there. You might regret it in the future. UCD has a nice campus, it’s also ranked higher. I’d be really happy to go to UCD =)</p>

3

<p>I got into Irvine…
rejected by Davis and SB though! :slight_smile:
Nice job!</p>

4

<p>Sounds like you got the pros and cons about right, and you sound career-oriented, so UCD is the better choice. I know a couple of people who go there, it wasn’t their first choice, but they genuinely love it there now.</p>

5

<p>The Cons for Irvine are about the same as for Davis: boring town, need car to get around. Also, I would guess that Irvine has more commuters than Davis, so it clears out more on weekends.</p>

<p>Grad school placement rate is a statistical dead-heat; both schools are mid-tier UC’s and have equal prestige. Any numerical differential may be due to differences in the student bodies and interests between SB (party-hearty?) and D.</p>