<p>i just visited UCSB on Saturday and today (Sunday) I visited Irvine</p>
<p>weird as it seems, i like UC IRvine's campus better. the buildings are more high-tech and all. SB's buidllings look older and ghetto. natural life SB looks better of course. but thats just my opinion.</p>
<p>ive been still debating which school to go to. my major concern is an academic problem. My major will be either engineering or economics. I have HEARD that irvine is known for humanities and bio while sb is known for science and economics. but then some people tell me that SB sucks majorly and nobody will hire you after college because of its poor reputation. </p>
<p>so can i have any opinions/suggestions on this academic topic?</p>
<p>i kinda understand how u feel. out of uci, ucla, williams, and w&l, uci is the only campus i really liked. well uci is known for its bio and computer science, but the other majors might not be as good as at another school like sb</p>
<p>SB and Irvine reputations are very similar. I wouldn't worry about that either way. I'd go to the school that you get the best feel at. Good luck!</p>
<p>i personally like irvine better. yet my majors (engineering and economics) doesnt seem to be as good in irvine compared to santa barbara. Santa barbara also has a 5 year bs and ms program that irvine does not. thats why i dont know if i should sacrafice academics or like personal comfort.</p>
<p>for what you are looking for academically UCSB is better. </p>
<p>but if you are really concentrating on engineering maybe you should consider a school about an hour north of UCSB called Cal Poly. For engineering it is the better school.</p>
<p>well i got into Cal Poly SLO, however, i have eliminated it as its too difficult in that school. plus if i were to switch majors it would suck because you start your major freshman year which means if i switch i would take useless courese in the past. also the average gpa in Cal Poly is lower since its so hard which makes it a bit harder to go into graduate school.</p>
<p>actually the questino i should be asking is how is the engineering/economics reputation of UC Irvine and UC Santa barbara. As no matter how much better UCSB is compared to Irvine, if the employer dislikes UCSB because its a party school or whatever, i cant get a job. so reputation wise in those fields which is more respected?</p>
<p>ryuen- I disn't mean to scare you. Engineering is difficult at any school. I was just pointing out that CP has an especially low average gpa. If you like the school, by all means go there. You'll get a great education, have a great time, and have great job prospects.</p>
<p>Cal Poly vs. UCSB in engineering? For undergrad education maybe you can compare the training. For research, they are in completely different leagues. Cal Poly doesn't even have a Ph.D program. As for the party school thing, believe me, engineers at UCSB are not party animals.
As for the original question, UCI is a fine school but for the true college experience it is somewhat lacking unfortunately. UCI is mostly populated with commuters. In my opinion, this takes away from the college atmosphere. UCSB is more of a tight-knit community by design. Whichever fits your style is where you should go to school.</p>
<p>I went to Irvine. My sister went to SB. Talking about the difference between a concentration at UCSB and UCI is like splitting hairs. If you are planning on going into the workforce straight after your bachelors, I very sersiously doubt they hold one in a much better light than another.</p>
<p>It seems like everyone who gives opinions on this site are so caught up in how much better one school is over another... like school A is ranked #13 in such and such and school B is ranked #15. That is no difference, its the same thing. People outside the academic world don't differentiate between #13 and #15. Good luck on your decision, and the next 4 years.</p>
<p>UCI is up and coming, and will be growing rapidly....expecting to add several thousand kids over the next few years, which means new faculty, new buildings, new housing, and increasing national stature. </p>
<p>I'm only guessing, but I expect it to move up near SD in the rankings over the next decade or so.</p>