Hello Everyone,
I’m a 33 year old transfer student from Los Angeles, I’m married, and I have a 2 year old girl. I have been accepted into UCSB & UCSC - and I believe I will be accepted into UCLA. My major is English and I will be applying to grad school after two years when I complete my BA. I intend to teach college English when I’m done.
I’m trying to decide where to complete my BA, seeing as how I will be dragging my family along for the ride wherever I go. The campus family housing at all three schools seem comparable to each other, except for the waiting list at UCLA - but I already live in L.A. so it’s a moot point. I’ve visited all three campuses and Santa Cruz is definitely my first choice based on family resorces, atmosphere, and location.
That being said, I’m having a hard time sticking with the Santa Cruz decision because UCLA and Santa Barbara have much higher ranked English programs. How much does school prestige matter when applying for a teaching position? It doesn’t matter much to me at all, but I wonder if it should. After all, aren’t all three schools world class? The program at Santa Cruz seems much smaller and that also appeals to me, but should that be a deciding factor?
As you can tell, I’m leaning hard to Santa Cruz - even if UCLA offers me a spot. But I would love a different perspective on this, perhaps someone can shed a light on an avenue I have not yet considered.
On a side note, I’ve also applied to UC Davis and expect an offer there as well. But I’ve kind of written them off of the consideration list - not sure why.