Having a tough time deciding which college to choose from…
Deciding either Biology major or Biomedical engineering
UCSD - accepted to Human Biology major (muir)
UCSB - pre-biology major (college of letters & science)
UCI - biological sciences major
OSU - Biomedical Engineering major
I’ve always wanted to move over to California for college. I was born there and our family visits frequently. I grew up in Ohio and really just can’t see myself living here anymore.
Pros of Ohio State
- Close to home (2 1/2 hour drive)
- Buckeye Football & Basketball (two favorite sports to watch)
- Have some family there (brother goes there and 2 uncles)
- ~$10,000 cheaper than the other 2
Cons
- Don’t want to deal with Ohio weather anymore
- Close to home…
- Brother goes there
- Not much diversity from what my brother tells me
for the UC schools, i think they’re all great schools. I just heard UCSD is socially dead and triton eye… UCSB too much of a party school from what I hear. UCI - idk… too many asians? and I am asian lol…
I really like the look of UCSD and UCSB campuses. and the weather would be a lot better than what we have in ohio.
I only have information on the UC’s from what I hear from my friends that attend these colleges:
UCSD-- excellent school for engineering. So I would expect all their sciences and maths to be top notch as well. The campus can be academically competitive which is probably why you heard it can be socially dead. But like any other school in San Diego, I’m sure you’ll be able to find parties. I’m not too sure about the UCSD social life in particular but San Diego State is known for being a party school. I don’t know how far away it is from UCSD but I’m sure the drive isn’t too far away if you’re looking for fun.
UCSB-- it’s true that this school has claimed the title of the party school out of all the UC’s. But they also have one of the lowest admission rates out of all the UC’s so I would say it’s still a respectable school. There are plenty of research opportunities for undergraduate students (it’s something that they encourage their students to take part of) so you can get a lot of hands on learning. If you think you can get easily distracted by the beach and parties though, I wouldn’t recommend going here. I know someone that goes here for chemical engineering I believe and he has learned to ignore the party scene and focus on his studies. You can do it too!
UCI-- Asians Asians Asians. Yes the Asian stereotype is true. But they have other races there too just like any other school. There’s a lot of organizations and clubs you can join including dance groups, sororities/fraternities, various clubs but I think UCI is known for having the best dance groups (YouTube some of them they’re great). There’s lots of food and shopping to do here. The area is very safe because only rich people live there. It’s close to Newport Beach. Their biology department is exceptional so I’ve heard. I’m sure you’ll get an excellent biology degree here as well. They have a really great nursing program and medical school so I’m sure their biology department is top notch.
Thank you @aspiringvet !
UCSD - I’ve always wanted to go here, but when I found out about the social life it kinda steered me away. From an academic standpoint, I’d say this is the best place to go.
UCSB - Besides from it being a big party school, I’d love to go here. I really think I’d be able to have a good social life while still focusing on school.
UCI - I’d love to join a dance group here, but it’s really just so many asians here that idk I really don’t like being around asians so much. UCI has some incredible dance groups and I’d love to watch or maybe even join one. I’d be close to some of my relatives if I went here… they live about 15 minutes away from campus.
Just having a hard time deciding still…
Hmm if you’re looking for a good balance between academics and social life I’ve heard UCI has the best balance between the two. They’ve got great school spirit (just a fun fact is that they’re continuously breaking world records at their freshman orientations – I think last year was biggest water gun fight and the year before was biggest pillow fight). And like I said before, you can’t go wrong with their biology department because of their great nursing program and medical school. and if you have relatives that live that close to there there’s the option of living with them to save extra money. This of course sacrifices the college independence experience so I guess that would only be an option if money is a real issue. At least you’ll have a source for food if you’re ever going through broke college student struggles. Haha
UCSB is a different kind of school spirit I think. Since they live by the beach I’d expect a very tropical resort type feel so everyone might be feeling like they’re on vacation while studying. A big event I’ve heard about from them is Deltopia. It’s like a big music festival and the students go wild. But like I said before, there’s lots of research and hands on opportunities because they live next to marine life. So it’s kinda like a work hard play hard life haha
UCSD I’m sure you can find stuff to do here. It’s not like it’s a commuter school so the campus can’t be that dead. Sorry I can’t provide too much info for this campus because I can’t remember any of my UCSD friends saying anything about what they do for fun here. Haha all the other schools have big events that go on and post a lot on social media but my SD friends don’t really post much 
I just know the school is great academically.
Good luck on choosing a school though! All of them are great colleges and I hope I was helpful in providing info for the UC’s 
Thanks!
I think atm I’m just deciding on either UCSD/UCSB… one’s more focused on academics and the other is known as being a party school…
I just want a good mix…
Can you go visit? For a 4-year decision, it would help to be on the campuses ahead of time.
What about going Greek at UCSD? It would put you in with the more social groups. Just a thought.
@ChiefTeeph UCSD isn’t a party school like SB is, but it’s still definitely social enough to achieve the balance. You can find a kickback or a party every weekend without too much effort. Triton Eye is less real every year, and at a beach school of 30,000 there are always more than enough attractive people to go around. Greeks definitely have some bigger parties. In answer to Deltopia, UCSD has Sun God Festival (not the same level, but arguably the one thing in the UC system that comes close). Also, there’s always something going on at Porter’s Pub or RIMAC; Foster the People performed on move-in day, Bo Burnham, Audien and Logic all played free concerts fall quarter.
The bio programs at SD are among the top in the nation, and it has far more research and internship opportunities than the other two. washugrad is right that you should definitely try to visit the campuses and get a feel for each one’s vibe. If you were at Triton Day yesterday, that would have been a great opportunity.
That’s my perspective from here in La Jolla; I’m sure others in Isla Vista and Irvine can provide others.