<p>I got into UCSD and UCB. My major will be engineering (most likely be mechanical engineering)
I saw the engineering ranking. UCB is ranked 3rd when UCD is 10th.
But I heard UCB's environment and neighborhood is not really good. The campus is really old, and it actually does not look good. A friend of mine who has been to UCB tells me that she does not want to go back there anymore. (she also gets accepted by UCB, but she chooses not to go in the end). Plus, it's pretty far from my home.
I drove down to UCSD last friday. I live at Los Angeles, so it only took me like 2 hours to get there. The campus and dorm are really beautiful, and I like it a lot. It is foresty, and the neighborhood is extremely nice. It is just really attractive.
In my point of view, I think environment and neighborhood does affect my concentration on education. I do underatand that UCB has a better reputation and a better engineering school than UCSD, but the campus of UCSD is just...too attractive. I did a little research on UCSD, and I can see that UCSD's engineering school is moving forward every year. It really has the potential to be ranked 8th or 7th in a few years.
So which college should I go? If UCSD, I can go back home every weekend, which will ease my finances also.
Any suggestons?</p>
<p>There are Berkeley types and San Diego types. You sound like you may be a San Diego type. Berkeley IS more urban, edgier & many of its buildings are older. (But not as old as Harvard's! Age of buildings has nothing to do with academic excellence ;)) The weather is colder and there's no decent swimming beach in sight. But the political climate, the artistic climate, the cultural life all rival San Diego. If that's not your bag -- Berkeley may not be either.</p>
<p>MODERATOR'S NOTE:</p>
<p>Threads about choosing a college after being admitted belong in the College Search & Selection forum, not in the College Admissions Forum, naturally.</p>
<p>OK.
At this point, I would say I prefer UCSD a lot more than UCB.
But I want more suggestions so that I will not regret on my choice later on.</p>
<p>Go visit Berkeley. As others said, academically, you'll be fine either way. You will be closer to home at San Diego, and you've said that's an important factor for you. Only remaining wild card is how you feel about the setting. So go up and see it with your own eyes, rather than just through a friend's. You'll either feel that it's old and gritty and you'll be happier at SD, or you'll be taken by its atmosphere and decide it's the right place for you.</p>
<p>I am not worrying about both college's academic excellence. What I am concerned is prestige. I know that UCC has a better prestige in many fields; in fact, I heard that students graduated from UCB (undergraduate) make at least $1000 more than the ones from UCSD.</p>
<p>Don't base what college you choose solely on what others have told you. Go visit Berkeley yourself (it's a 5 hour drive from LA along the I-5) and see if you like it or not. The campus is beautiful by the way, your friend must be describing the city of Berkeley.</p>
<p>They only give you 1 year of dorm. I wil be living in that city at least three years. The city of Berkeley is just...unappealing</p>
<p>If you don't like the campus and you think the city is lousy in Berkeley, go to San Diego. It sounds like you know what you want already. I really wouldn't worry about prestige or other things; in either place you'll have plenty of fine academic resources. Listen to what your heart tells you.</p>
<p>I think the notion that there are San Diego types and Berkeley types is spot on. The Berkeley campus, IMO, is one of the most beautiful in the nation, though it's gotten crowded with buildings. It did used to be considered bar none one of the most beautiful by many an authority. To me, the San Diego campus seems sterile, though it is in a fine location. Berkeley as a city is tolerable and great in parts, less in some places than others. I like some of its whackiness. I like old buildings. I'd much rather spend time in an old European city, for instance, than among a bunch of modern highrises.</p>
<p>You don't like Berkeley. So don't go.</p>