<p>I'm currently a transfer student and though I am confident that I will be accepted by all the UCs I applied to, I will probably end up deciding between UCI and UCLA as I live in orange county. UCSD is my 3rd choice but I really don't see much reason as to why I should come to UCSD instead of UCI or UCLA. My ultimate career goal would be to get a phD in physics. Here are the pros and cons about each school in my opinion:</p>
<p>UCI:
-I can commute there instead of living in dorms/apartments
-Commuting will save money as opposed to living at UCLA or UCSD
UCLA:
-More prestigious, which will matter if I decide to just get a bachelors in physics
UCSD:
-If I decide I want to live in an apartment, why should I not go to UCLA instead? Unless you guys can provide good reasons as to why I should come to UCSD instead</p>
<p>Since I'm a physics major and I'm hesitant of doing a double major/minor in math /applied math, I would like to know if anyone could talk about the upper-division math courses at UCSD. I would also like to know about the research opportunites at UCSD.
Also, which school has the better professors?</p>
<p>And for those of you who chose to come to UCSD instead of UCLA or Berkeley, what were the reasons?</p>
<p>Any useful input would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Commuting in Irvine really isn't that much cheaper. Most of the houses r around 1,000,000 + and the apartments are expensive :( itz a rich area so if u want to commute, make sure u could pay.</p>
<p>UCLA supposedly provides the opportunity for students to work with professors and such and, considering it's ranked #2 in research money, there's likely to be significant opportunity to partake in research. Still, it's completely up to you. UCLA has the prestige of being an all-round good school, however UCSD is often referred to as a powerhouse for sciences/engineering. Going with UCLA helps you out should you decide to change your major because prestige helps big time with that, but if you're dead set on a PhD in physics, I would go with UCSD.
And I think the killer beach is a bit overrated. Who wants to go to a beach when you can see celebrities and popular series (like House) being filmed on your campus xD</p>
<p>"however UCSD is often referred to as a powerhouse for sciences/engineering."</p>
<p>This is misleading. UCSD is not strong in all sciences and engineering fields. It is distinguished in the biological sciences and bioengineering. However, even within these fields, the career options for someone with a B.S. is relatively low. This is especially true in Bioengineering as it is highly specialized and requires a Ph.D. to obtain good career options. Right now, all the bioengineering jobs in the market are taken by chemical engineers, mechanical engineers, and electrical engineers. These three engineering disciplines are the traditional engineering majors. Most companies are interested in hiring someone with a B.S. in one(or more) of these majors than someone with a B.S. in bioengineering. This is simply because bioengineering is so specialized that it is incredibly hard for it to be applied to various aspects of many industries. In contrast, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and chemical engineering can be easily applied in various industries.</p>
<p>From my experiences at job fairs, a rather strange point has been subtly made to me and few other engineering students who are interested in biotechnology. And that point is employers often find it easier to teach biology to engineers in traditional engineering disciplines than it is to teach fundamental engineering to bioengineers. I can't seem to find a plausible explanations for it other than the fact that, again, it is highly specialized. The core programs in bioengineering are unlike those found in the traditional engineering disciplines.</p>
<p>So, the moral of the story is do your research. Don't rely on claims that are not entirely true or you'll end up with a degree that may not take you where you want to go.</p>
<p>According to Wiki, "The National Science Foundation has ranked UCSD first in the UC system and sixth in the nation in terms of Federal research expenditures."</p>
<p>Totally irrelevant to my comment, but I just wanted to point that out since someone said UCLA was #2. I personally chose UCSD over UCLA and Cal for pretty specific personal reasons and environment/atmosphere preferences, so I don't think I could use those to really make a case that would be compelling to you. I just liked the vibe a lot better, and I'm pretty deadset that this isn't going to be my terminal degree, so prestige doesn't really matter. In fact, I highly doubt my GPA would be this high if I had gone to either UCLA or Cal. UCSD also gave me Regents, and the priority registration and four year housing guarantee are freaking awesome. If you aren't sure that you're going to continue your studies at graduate/medical/whatever school, I guess prestige does matter, but since you say you want a phd in physics, I personally would suggest going to the school that would give you the better experience for two years of your life, be that Cal or UCLA or UCI or UCSD.</p>
<p>My professor attended UCLA for his BS in physics and UCSD for his PhD in applied physics. His opinion is that UCLA has a significantly stronger physics program. I trust his judgment.</p>
<p>"Going with UCLA helps you out should you decide to change your major because prestige helps big time with that, but if you're dead set on a PhD in physics, I would go with UCSD."</p>
<p>I'm not entirely dead set on a phD in physics. But isn't hard to change majors to say engineering after you transfer? If it is, then I really got no choice</p>
<p>"If you aren't sure that you're going to continue your studies at graduate/medical/whatever school, I guess prestige does matter, but since you say you want a phd in physics, I personally would suggest going to the school that would give you the better experience for two years of your life, be that Cal or UCLA or UCI or UCSD."
that seems to be the most common response I've heard from other physics majors I've spoken to. So I'll trust that.</p>
<p>" My professor attended UCLA for his BS in physics and UCSD for his PhD in applied physics. His opinion is that UCLA has a significantly stronger physics program. I trust his judgment."
You mean the professors are better at UCLA? or there's more research opportunities? If he attended UCLA a long time ago, the physics department has probably changed since?</p>
<p>
[quote]
And I think the killer beach is a bit overrated. Who wants to go to a beach when you can see celebrities and popular series (like House) being filmed on your campus xD
[/quote]
</p>
<p>House is filmed on UCSD campus?? :eek: i didn't know that!! thats awesome! Now i want to go there even more that before :p</p>
<p>@Newton, if you're a transfer student, I think its nearly impossible to change your major to the engineering school of any school, since at that point students will have significantly diverged from each other into their specialized majors. Even as a freshman applicant, UCLA's policy seems to be that you need to change within the first quarter, at which point they will re-evaluate your application in light of your new major (whether it's impacted and such)</p>
<p>And if you really aren't dead set on a PhD, I would say prestige>specialized reputation, because outside of a certain set of specialties (bioengineering being the big one), UCSD is not as well established as UCLA, which may make switching to a different graduate study more difficult.</p>
<p>"if you're a transfer student, I think its nearly impossible to change your major to the engineering school of any school, since at that point students will have significantly diverged from each other into their specialized majors. Even as a freshman applicant, UCLA's policy seems to be that you need to change within the first quarter, at which point they will re-evaluate your application in light of your new major (whether it's impacted and such)'</p>
<p>how about deciding to double major in physics and engineering? will it be hard to be accepted by the school of engineering?</p>
<p>Even if you manage to do that, a double major in physics and engineering is suicide. Engineering as it is will be an utterly consuming major, tacking on the conceptual side is going to lead to a pretty low GPA, which never factors in well for higher education/first jobs.</p>
<p>Seriously guys, it depends. Engineering and physics are not necessarily super time-consuming or super difficult. My major is engineering physics and I can gradate in 2.33 years. I have tons of free time and a high GPA. All I mean to say is that for some people, it may be too hard, but it's not necessarily too hard for everyone. Generalizing and exaggerating don't help.</p>
<p>I don't know specifically why my professor believes UCLA has a stronger physics program, but he's not very old. He attended UCLA for undergrad and UCSD for grad school, worked in industry for like five years and then became a professor here a few years ago. I'd guess it's been less than 15 years since he studied there. I can ask him some specific questions if you'd like.</p>
<p>I found the information for requesting a change of major should you decide to apply to UCLA. This is the link if you're interested. There's also a paragraph or two about double majoring and such.</p>
<p>I heard from a student at UCLA who did applied math and physics and still got a 3.6 or so gpa, so physics and engineering is definitely possible. I just have to spend nearly all my free time on those subjects. And I'll definitely have to stay 3 years after transferring.</p>
<p>"I can ask him some specific questions if you'd like."</p>
<p>If you don't mind, I would like to know what he thinks of the research opportunities there? Is it as simple as going to up to a professor and asking if they need a hand?</p>
<p>"I found the information for requesting a change of major should you decide to apply to UCLA. This is the link if you're interested. There's also a paragraph or two about double majoring and such."
Thanks for the link. I probably won't do a double in engineering, but I'll keep that in mind in case I change my mind in the next few months</p>