UCSD Bioengineering v. UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UC Davis

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - San Diego
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<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I am a senior in high school who recently heard from the UCs. I was fortunate enough to have been accepted into UCSD, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UC Davis. However, I am really struggling to decide on which school would be best for me. I was admitted to UCSD for their Bioengineering program which I understand is world-renowned in the Biotech industry. For the other schools, I was admitted as a Biochemistry major. I want to go into Biomedical engineering but I am not sure if I will necessarily like it. I am afraid that if I go to UCSD and discover that I do not want to continue with it, I will be at a loss compared to if I had gone to UC Berkeley or UCLA. Also, UC Davis is pretty lenient when it comes to changing majors(specifically into engineering).</p>

<p>I realize that it is nearly impossible to switch into the COE for UCLA and UC Berkeley but I still am curious to know what would be the best option for me. Is there anyone on this page that was able to switch into engineering from L&S from UCLA or UC Berkeley? What school would provide me the greatest options and opportunities?</p>

<p>Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! I'm really torn in what I should do because I feel that this decision will greatly impact my life in the future. I realize that whatever school you choose will be for the right reasons, but it's intimidating to think so far ahead. </p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

2

<p>If you’re pretty sure on Bioengineering go UCSD. If its still pretty up in the air, but you know that you want to do some sort of biology or engineering in general choose Berkeley. Both are great schools and at some level you cannot go wrong :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Also VISIT. They have very different atmospheres and cultures</p>

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<p>@EldrWnd Thank you for your response. I still am deciding what I want to do these next four years. I feel that BioE provides more opportunities for me than Biochemistry. However, since I’m in L&S at Berkeley and UCLA, I also have many options still such as Applied Mathematics, Statistics, or Economics. Like you said though, I can’t go wrong with either school.</p>

<p>I just visited UCLA and UCSD this week. I really liked UCLA’s campus and atmosphere compared to UCSD’s campus and atmosphere. UCLA is so much more social than UCSD which makes it such an appealing school. However, I’m really struggling to figure out what’s better for me: going to a school I would feel happiest at or going to a school with the most opportunities.</p>

<p>What do you think is better? </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>Hey! Congratulations on getting into the schools and the respective majors you got in for; you should be proud, and you have a lot of good options.</p>

<p>I’m currently a third year bioengineering major at UCSD, and am expected to graduate on time in four years. I had the same tough decision when I was in high school. I wasn’t too interested in the biology program I got into for UCLA; didn’t want to go to Berkeley because I got in as Letters and Sciences, and got into UCSD as bioengineering. Looking back, with the options laid out like that, I am really glad I stuck with UCSD. I do hear that Berkeley’s bioengineering program, though currently unaccredited, is definitely improving and rising up in ranking. </p>

<p>Anyway, just to give you a clearer idea of what bioengineering at UCSD is like… we currently have 4 focus tracks: bioengineering, biotechnology, bioinformatics, and pre-med. They’re taking out the premed by the end of this year, and adding a new biosystems track for the more bioE-EE students. Bioengineering and biotechnology are the two main tracks that get you jobs because it is accredited, and honestly, is a fantastic program.
My classes are currently <40 people, at most 80 when having joint classes with other tracked majors. Most of my professors are approachable, brilliant, and well-regarded in their field. Also, if you do good work and have initiative, it is not that difficult to get into the right labs and internships as lower classman undergraduate. </p>

<p>But just a word of warning, the first two years will go by kinda breezy. It seems like you did fairly well in high school for you to be in this current position, but I’m going to remind you that engineering will get hard. I suggest going through the flow chart ([Bioengineering</a> Department | UC San Diego](<a href=“http://www.be.ucsd.edu/undergraduate_major_bioengineering_curriculum]Bioengineering”>http://www.be.ucsd.edu/undergraduate_major_bioengineering_curriculum)) to see if the classes interest you. It’ll mostly be intro classes in your first two years, but things get a whole lot more interesting later on. </p>

<p>Another note, UCSD is a pretty science-oriented school, so yes, we may not be as noticeably social as other schools, but really, if you’re studying engineering, your chances of getting hammered on a weekday aren’t too high. They’re good people around, just gotta find them. If you want to go to parties, there will be plenty to go around, too. :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Finally, so I don’t just sound like an over-enthusiastic junior, my one regret/consideration used to be not choosing mechE instead, mostly because much of my coursework delves into (bio)mechanics, and it’s much easier/more well rounded of a degree to find a job with.</p>

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<p>Happiness and opportunities are not mutually exclusive. You can have a ton of happiness at one school, but be limited if you don’t seek out the proper people to talk to or the proper organizations to be involved in. Opportunities will be available for you at whichever school you decide on because they’re both fantastic options, but it’s really up to you to make it happen.</p>

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<p>@hunterrab Thank you very much! And thank you for responding! It really means a lot to me and I really appreciate it.</p>

<p>It’s really amazing being able to personally learn from a current BioE student at UCSD about the BioE program. I missed Triton Day and so I was unable to have that opportunity, until now. I’m so glad to know that there was someone who went through the same situation as me and made a decision that they were content with afterwards. I realize that UC Berkeley and UCLA may not provide me the most opportunities for engineering and especially not for BioE, like UCSD. Also, since the chances of getting into their engineering programs are pretty difficult, it would be better to not risk too much when I am already in one of the nation’s top bioengineering programs.</p>

<p>That’s interesting. UCSD really provides students a great amount of variety within the BioE department. I heard from the student adviser there that students can switch between BioE and BioTech with no impact since they are already in the program. I think that is really great since it gives students the opportunity to explore their interests more. </p>

<p>Wow, I didn’t realize how small the class sizes were! That’s really great to hear because I was concerned that it would be difficult to have access to professors and office hours with huge class sizes. Having world renowned faculty is really key for me in terms of knowing which program would be best for me. I’m also happy that underclassmen have opportunities to do internships so when they apply for jobs, they will be much more prepared. Do you and your fellow BioE classmates often study and work together or are you pretty independent?</p>

<p>And yes, I definitely understand that UCSD is much more science-oriented and therefore, less people have time to socialize. What I am beginning to realize is that it is what you make of the environment that matters more. If you can find a group of people that you grow really close to, then it does not really matter what school you go to socially. And yep, I agree about engineers. However, I’m sure that engineers go to parties when they have the opportunity, even though it may not be often. </p>

<p>I can see why you may have had that regret. MechE definitely seems to have more job prospective than BioE right now. However, with health care rising and the need to find more efficient ways of providing medicine, the BioE job market will continue to increase, hopefully. Are you still happy with your decision though? Do you feel that you will still be able to find a job after you graduate? Based on what you have said about your experiences at UCSD, I am sure you’re in good shape.</p>

<p>I think I see what you mean. You’re right. Happiness and opportunities are not mutually exclusive. However, I still feel that with more opportunities, there is more of a chance that you will find happiness from it as well. Like you said though, it really has to be up to me to make that happen. Whatever decision I make, it will be for the right purpose and reasons. It’s better to see the opportunity at the moment than it is to predict your future four years from now. </p>

<p>Thank you for your advice! It’s really helping me in my decision-making process right now.</p>

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<p>Easy: UCSD: #5 nationally in biochem! tough to beat LaJolla!</p>

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<p>Please write more about life at UCSD. One Mom just said that not having a car and her son getting to the beach is easy on the public bus to surf- can bring his board on the bus. Really?</p>

<p>my son is doing math-econ Revelle, and we were both so stoked. then came ucla then ucberkeley. all set to do triton day and that was going to be it. now he didnt’ go, instead doing an overnight at CAL. two summer edge courses.</p>

<p>everything we’ve read on CC speaks to SD being a kinder and gentler place to be compared to the other two with CAL being the most competitive and unpleasant with difficult profs to avoid who like to flunk frosh.</p>

<p>the only trouble is, eh wants to parleythe mathecon to haas business,. does not want to be a number cruncher, PhD in Econ, hoping for law school back east, georgetown after UC. suppose, if he can manage CAL, it might work out. </p>

<p>does anyone know about the UCLA business school? seems there’s more opportunity for investments banking in SFBAy,buthen I guess producers for movies are looking for money too…clueless here, someone please ring in. time is running out to decide.</p>