Hi everyone,
I’m a CC Transfer student accepted to UCSC, UCI, and waitlisted at UCD, all for Computer Science.
I am very torn on picking UC Santa Cruz or Irvine. My major gripe is that Santa Cruz “feels” more of my locational fit (but really, how much can I know without living there), and Irvine feels more of the better CS education and higher ranked university. They are roughly the same financial wise (little aid).
UCSC:
Pros: Silicon Valley, Surfing/skateboarding, higher CS grad pay?,
easier to get around/less traffic/free bus, beautiful campus
Cons: Less prestigious/much easier to get into, possibly not as
great education
UCI:
Pros: Lower acceptance rate (35% vs. 57%!),
Very known for CS/own school of CS,
Mid-tier UC/higher overall rank and growing
Cons: Traffic/driving, more suburban/boring feel,
farther from silicon valley
My mind was initially on Santa Cruz, but i have this feeling like I am passing up a better and much more selective opportunity at UCI CS. UCI’s acceptance rate is now very equivalent to UCSD’s. I am only going to be at a UC for 2 years and care strongly about which I’ll learn the most at, but also want to be happy. UCD is a possible option if I get off waitlist. I feel like its the middle ground. Mid-tier UC but better atmosphere than UCI?
I know there are many topics on this, and I have read almost all. Some people say undergrad learning will be the same, others often say UCI CS > UCSC CS hands down. But it’s such a big decision to me I really want as much input as possible. Will I get the same education at all three of these schools and where I went doesn’t matter? Should I be picking the best possible environmental fit or the highest education fit? Any personal experience with these schools and the respective CS major is greatly appreciated.
Try mapping out your schedule at each school for the next six quarters to see if you can graduate after six quarters. This will depend on how well your CC covers the lower division course work for the CS major at each school. In particular, UCI has lots of lower division courses that are not covered at many CCs (check at http://www.assist.org ), so if that describes your situation, you may be spending lots of schedule space taking “catch up” courses, making delayed graduation more likely.
@ucbalumnus That’s a very good point to consider.
Curriculum-wise the difference is:
UCSC: traditional, Calculus 3 and Physics II
UCI: four more CS topics (+more variety and flexibility in topics)
(UCI will need ~8 more units and slightly fuller semesters)
That includes any difference in “catch up” courses you need because they were not available at your CC (which is?)?
CC is Ohlone College. Yes, that difference in classes between the schools is considering “catch up” courses and all classes needed for a degree. There are a few catch ups from both. Upon transfer:
Santa Cruz will focus a bit more in depth on 12 CS topics (5 units) + Calc and Physics
Irvine will focus on a wider range of CS topics: 19 CS topics (4 units)
^ 6 more units needed
The CS education won’t be any different at the two schools. And don’t worry about prestige. No hiring manager is going to make a big distinction between the two schools, unless they were an alum of one of them.
ucbalumnus - I’ve checked the overall curricula and like before its 60 creds CS + 1 Phys + 1 calc at UCSC, vs. 76 creds CS at UCI. Thats the difference.
@simba9 Thank you! Reassuring. I know it may not sound like it too much, but i really am weighing towards the place for the best learning > prestige when it comes to academics of the school.
I’m just curious as to which school you chose? 
@mescudi at UC Irvine right now! Took summer classes, good professors for the most part, and able to live on campus without a huge price like UCSC. It was a good choice.
@eshkidd It’s been a couple of years now. My son is now looking at UCI vs UCSC vs UCSD (maybe UCSB and UCB and USC). How was your overall experience at UCI, and how do feel about your career options coming out of UCI CS? How is on-campus recruiting? Do you feel your UCI degree is getting you the interview opportunities you want? Thanks!