Hi! I’m an international student that applied to University of Washington, Seattle and University of California, San Diego for life sciences (intending for biochemistry). I also applied to Berkeley and UCLA, but I kind of doubt that I’ll get into these two, I’m more confident with UW and UCSD. I got accepted to University of Toronto so that is also an option, but I want to go to the US more since I intend to do grad there.
From my research so far, I realized that UW and UCSD are quite similar in terms of their campus atmosphere. Huge school, huge classes, busy students, not a whole lot of school spirit, city-like location, you also need to be willing to work hard and put yourself out there… at least that’s the general vibe I’m getting. In terms of their biochemistry program, I know that both have really good research opportunities and a lot of funding, which is primarily why I like them.
I’ve never been to Seattle, but I have been to San Diego when I was 10… not exactly a fresh memory.
I was wondering if I could get any insight from either current students at UW/UCSD or applicants?
Thanks in advance!
Seattle is a really cool city - and UW is a beautiful red brick campus and has a more active student population around it than does UCSD. Husky football, basketball and other sports are a BIG deal to students and alumni, there is plenty of school spirit (as evidenced by all the W sweatshirts you see on and around campus), fraternities, etc. Campus is really close to down-town Seattle and the touristy stuff like the Space Needle Pike’s Place Market, etc. Of course it rains most of the time and there is no surfing to be had.
By most measures, the weather in San Diego is much better but, there is no football at UCSD - and their other sports are much lower profile than UW. (sports are one of the main ways American colleges build and show ‘school spirit’) The school is actually in La Jolla, about 20 miles North of downtown San Diego - a beautiful but, somewhat sleepy place and has a real commuter feel, (to me anyhow). There are frats and other social organizations but, not on the scale of UW. Walking around campus, you are as likely to see a the logo from another school as you are the Triton.
Both are very good schools, especially for hard sciences. IMHO On balance - UW will give you the more of the classic college experience but, you will be wearing Gore-Tex most of the time.
Both schools are strong academically. UCSD is a pretty nerdy place. It has residential colleges. There isn’t much of a college-town atmosphere–the adjacent “student ghetto” areas were all built in tract-house style in the 1970s and are urban/suburban is a fairly sterile sort of way. The students who want more night life and a party atmosphere live in Pacific Beach and commute in. But the campus is in a nice area, and if you surf or like the beach you’ve come to the right place. The UCSD medical school is right on the same campus as the main campus, which might be good for research opportunities. Not sure about UW medical school. I’m much more familiar with UCSD than UW, but my impression of UW the couple of times I’ve been there (most recently about 3 years ago during an early summer heat wave) was that the surrounding area felt very urban, there definitely was a feeling of big-time NCAA division I collegiate sports (like UCLA and UC Berkeley, but unlike UCSD), and there is a college town area directly adjacent to campus. But you are also close to outdoor rec opportunities–the lake, etc. A lot of it really would depend on how you view the climate differences–because these are two very different climates.