<p>Thank you all for your help. One more thing... I'm from northern california (where Stanford is) so UCSD is definitely away from my parents etc. The other thing is that my dad lives in New York City and I also went to boarding school in connecticut for a year--so I have experienced a bit of the East Coast culture as well. Something I'm really curious about is on a nation-wide scale, which school is technically "better". I mean, if you are from the east coast, I'm sure the way UCSD is considered is different than if you are from the west coast. How do the schools compare with reputation and prestige? Which school will help me get better jobs AFTER graduation? These aren't the only things I'm making my decision based on, but I'm curious.</p>