I actually live in PB. Tourmaline beach is my profile pic. I will say UCSD is beautiful but it isn’t a super friendly place haha. The nickname UC Socially Dead doesn’t come from nowhere. I agree with @bruins8clap when he said the UCLA vibe is pretty unrivaled. It was by far my favorite of those that I toured.
@Trashception awsome, love the pic. I’m a north county dweller myself. I’m not arguing with the lack of social atmosphere at UCSD, its a shame really. It has such potential for being an amazingly social place built right on the ocean with UTC (which wow! has that place grown/ modernized in the past few years), as well the new sky rail they are building from UTC/UCSD all the way down town I think? While La Jolla itself is more of an older wealthier crowd, there’s still tons for students to enjoy and socialize with. Then you hit the younger bar scene of PB. So I guess it has to be that the sports teams at UCSD are whats holding it back from being a super social school pride kind of place. UCSD has all the surroundings a super social school needs, plus its location on the ocean is pretty unique, just no credible sports teams.
@Trashception side note… How in the hell doesn’t UCSD have D1 teams? that has blown my mind for a long time. It’s not like its a tiny school, even though its already at what 35k students? and then they just allocated/ started building new dorms and facilities for something like $700 million so they can expand to 45k+ students matching if not exceeding UCLA. Yet we don’t have any real D1 sports potential. Don’t get it
@Scoobybrew but UCSD is moving to be D1 by 2020, isn’t it? http://ucsdguardian.org/2018/02/12/division-1-worth-cost/
I’ve honestly heard that at UCSD undergrads get left behind a little bit. Not very social, less research available. I’ve always been told it’s an amazing place for grad school/PhD/med school but that other UC’s are better for undergrad and offer more opportunity.
@CAtransplant thats a great article, I didn’t know there was a financial burden (other than being able to host and compete at the D1 level). It looks like that is happening, I didn’t know that, and while I’m not much of a traditional sports fan (I lean towards extreme sports). I bet it will take several years before there’s a consistent atmosphere of school spirit relevant to UCSD D1 sports. I think it will help, but it won’t be a sudden change (maybe the first year just because it’s the first year and exciting due tot hat), but still it will take some time and UCSD athletes proving themselves against other big name D1 schools.
I went to a high school with no football field and pretty much no school spirit. It was sad and as much as I think I would love UCSD for the academics, it just isn’t my first choice.
@tinedancer I’d say yes and no. It depends on your major. If its Bio and maybe Chem related you’re in the right place (bragging rights wise). I’m in neither of those but I still think it’s somewhat irrelevant, it’s what you accomplish outside of your classes that counts from my experience. If you’re only doing undergrad, whether you went to one of the big 3 UC’s or a generic college, it won’t matter very much. It’s what work experience you seek outside of lectures and class that counts. The only people that really care about your GPA or which specific university you went to are the Universities you are applying to for Grad school.
Same here, UCSD would be a really good school for academics, but it’s not my first choice either. I would consider UCLA, UCI, UCD to be my first choice as a stem major. I live in San Diego, most of my high school friends went to UCSD and I meet some UCSD students at my cc who take classes at CC while going to UCSD.
However, it was well known UCSD to be more academic and be socially dead. It is sad, considering SD has some of the most beautiful beaches, good places for young people to hang out, not so much traffic compared to LA.
@Scoobybrew I know it’s what you do outside your classes that counts and that was kind of my point. I’m a biology major and I’ve heard from people who have gone there and others who went to different UC’s, that there’s actually more research opportunity at places like Davis, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, atleast for undergrad biology. Again just what I’ve heard from people I’ve talked to. My biology professor at CC got his Phd in Bio at SD and he agrees it’s the best place for a masters/PhD, but for undergrad it can be a challenging place to get research/internship opportunities.
@Trashception I can understand that, I wish UCSD was on par with UCLA in that regard. I’m a bit older (still 20’s) but even if I was at a super social school, I’d probably rarely attend games and what not. Which is why I can completely understand people not making UCSD their first choice if they want amped up school spirit for sports and stuff. Tons of fun if you haven’t done it.
@tinedancer wow, that’s news to me. I not fully versed in Bio as I’m headed to Mech Eng. I always thought of UCSD as top notch for BIO and Chem with all the medical companies that are around campus and san diego. Maybe as you say I’m thinking of grad school, I do know from my friends in grad school there, it is constantly considered a top school in the nation. however it could very well be relegated to solely grad school.
@Scoobybrew Trust me it was for me too because I thought SD was unrivaled in the Biology area on all fronts, and that’s why it was my number one for a while, but the more people I talked to the more I was consistently told that Davis or Santa Barbara would be a better option for me for undergrad and that UCSD would be better for grad school because they are amazing for that.
This is just for Biological sciences though, I’ve only really talked to people who majored under the biology umbrella so I have no idea what undergrad is like in other majors.
@tinedancer Do you know the reason as to why there are not as many research opportunities for bio majors? Is it due to high competition or just lack of opportunities?
@tinedancer I’m not that surprised I guess. From what I’ve heard in the Eng area, unless you want a PHD, don’t get fooled by the UC hype. Go to a state school or (if possible) MIT, Cal Tech, Georgia Tech. Ignoring the private tech school options. Apparently UC’s lack hands on experience that employers are looking for, which from my literal work experience, it seems to be true.
…unless you’re planning on pursuing medical school. I’ve heard the opposite is true - that UCSD is the better option. Someone else claimed that UCSD received just over $1 billion for research while UCSB had received about $150 million…With this, one would think that UCSD would have far more research opportunities…Also, UCSB is isolated and internships and hospital experience would thus be harder to come by. At UCSD, hospital experience would be right there on campus.
@kristinpete I think we are saying the the same thing. I’ve heard nothing but the best for UCSD grad school, and I bet doing an undergrad at UCSD to try and get into UCSD grad school probably gives you an solid edge. But under grad just for the sake of undergrad might make less of a difference.
@kristinpete Don’t get me wrong UCSD is still an amazing school, I’m not trying to say otherwise, or that you wouldn’t get an awesome education there or that there’s NO oppurtunities at all. I’m just strictly talking about undergrad and what you do in undergrad and that I’ve heard if you’re pursuing biology research you might find more, and more diverse, opportunities elsewhere.
That’s all ?
@IBkidonthestreet I think it’s less about competition and just more that UCSD truly focuses on grad kids, because as we’ve all said, no one can argue that they are one of the best for grad school and up.
@Scoobybrew Well no, I wasn’t referring to grad school - I was referring to undergrad pre-med.
This is off-topic, but I need some advice since I can’t find a lot of info online. I’m an art major, but I have no idea what the art program at UCSD is like. If I get accepted (not a lot of hope for that lol), should I go to UCSD or SDSU? I know that UCSD is heavily STEM-based which makes me a little nervous and a UC is also a lot more expensive for oos tuition. I’m just torn because I don’t think I’ll be into the party vibe at State (I’m introverted), but I also don’t like UCSD’s rep as a socially dead school. There’s also the prestige of going to a UC. Any info on their program would help, thanks!