<p>i was pretty sure that i was going to pick ucsd over ucsb but now i'm totally confused. i'm a political science major with hopes of law school. i know ucsd is academically better but socially dead and i really want to have the whole college experience which i will surely have at ucsb. any suggestions?</p>
<p>Is UCSD academically better than SB at political science? I thought SD was only known for bio stuff and a bit of engineering.</p>
<p>Law school, more than many other grad schools, is driven by grades and test scores. You can do equally well here at both schools. Some day, hard as it is to believe today, you're going to be in your 30's and thinking back over your life so far. How do you want to remember your college years?</p>
<p>I am in the same situation! Really hard decision to make...</p>
<p>tho it's true that it depends on majors, when falling into a situation like this, it's really hard to make decision...</p>
<p>among ucsd/ucsb/uci/ucd, it's easy to take out ucd(perhaps uci as well) and forget it, but with ucsb/ucsd, it's just so hard for many students i know last year and this year... my suggestion is -- simply throw a coin to make your decision, take either one...</p>
<p>ive also been accepted to both schools and have made the decision of attending sb over sd</p>
<p>i just dont see myself being happy there after hearing all the bad things about it.</p>
<p>and besides the social life
i hear that sb's GEs are much easier than SD's</p>
<p>thanks for all the responses. im really not sure about the poli sci department at ucsb but ive done some research on the department at ucsd and its a very good one. im just scared i wont have a great social experience at ucsd but then again i might be better off academically at ucsd. ahhhhh this is so hard.</p>
<p>
[quote]
then again i might be better off academically at ucsd
[/quote]
Why do you think that? Seriously.</p>
<p>Do you think the classes are smaller? That the profs are better, and that it will make a difference in the undergrad experience? That the academic advising system is better? That the classes cover more material, or present it better? The profs are more interested in the undergrads? That your fellow students come from a better pool and will be brighter, more apt to speak up in class, more engaging to study with? In my scorebook, I'd mark them pretty much equal on all counts. What is it you think the kids at UCSB miss out on compared to UCSD? </p>
<p>As a grad student, where you get your PhD from is a crucial matter. As an undergrad you're not seen as having Arend Lijphart, Matt McCubbins, or one of the other UCSD big hitters as your mentor. Those are the PhD students who can say that. As an undergrad, in fact, most of your classes won't even be poli-sci. They'll be the general-ed & distribution classes, probably with a bunch of upper-division history, philosophy, etc. thrown in. Undergrad education, IMHO, is pretty similar among the UCs. Heck,they even use the same course numbers!</p>
<p>But its your choice, and these decisions cause a lot of angst. If you're convinced that the academics are really superior at UCSD, then you should go there.</p>
<p>If you're worried about social experience, choose UCSB over UCSD, which is what I'm doing. UCSD is very, very, rigorous, and many people go to San Diego State or Mexico to have any kind of social life. It's definitely not a very fun college, so you should go to both open houses before making a decision.</p>
<p>From Princeton Review: "the stereotypical UCSD student 'is a science nerd with the big backpack and glasses, who's just not into the social scene.' He or she is the type of kid 'you'd find at the campus shuttle stop at nine o'clock on a Saturday night, reading his textbook with a flashlight.' Such students 'don't have enough fun,' we're told, and 'are very focused on grades.' "</p>
<p>" 'You'll read articles saying that UCSD students are generally unhappy and don't get out and do as much stuff as folks at other campuses, and there's a deal of truth to that,' students tell us"</p>
<p>"on the weekends, the campus dies."</p>
<p>The PoliSci department at UCSD is really excellent. There's a wide variety of courses and six separate areas of concentration. Looking at the course offerings, UCSD has more variety than UCSB One difference between the two programs is that UCSD does NOT require PoliSci majors to take Econ or History while UCSB does. The major at UCSD requires at least 12 upper-division courses so you'll take plenty of courses.</p>
<p>UCSD excels in Poli Sci...</p>
<p>UCSD is known for Bio, Poli Sci, and Econ...</p>
<p>You cant go wrong with UCSD...The problem with UCSB is that its not as highly ranked...</p>
<p>I think both UCD and UCI beat UCSB in rankings</p>
<p>Dont listen to Smartkidd he's a joke. You'll get a great education at both UCSB and UCSD, but in my opinion UCSB has a lot more perks.</p>
<p>And the rankings are tied between UCI, UCD, and UCSB. </p>
<p>Dumbkidd</p>