UCSD vs UCLA for social life/bio programs?

<p>Right now I've weeded out most of my other choices mostly due to distance from home (ucb, uci, harvey mudd, usc, ucr, mt holyoke) and came down to choosing between ucsd and ucla.</p>

<p>I'm interested in pre-med, and am pretty sure that biology is something I'm going into as a career path (I did a lot of volunteering, internships, etc. in high school). However, I'd still like to minor/double major in something that'll deal with social issues of some kind, and want to explore many other topics aside from just bio.</p>

<p>UCSD - I loved the laidback campus and the dorm setup in Thurgood Marshall. UCSD is also surrounded by an abundance of bio-industries where I can get either research/internships. I got accepted into the Jacobs School of Engineering for Bio-engineering: Pre-med. The program looked very, very appealing to me. The only problem is, I'm afraid it might be too hard and not give me a lot of flexibility to explore different topics because I hear engineering requires a lot of credits. I am also concerned about the social life. I generally love to meet activists and people who care about what's going on with the world and want to actually make a difference rather than just go to college for personal gain or be too career oriented. So I'm afraid that UCSD may have a dull student party and life. </p>

<p>UCLA - The campus was gorgeous, but the dorms actually weren't very appealing. They were really tight, and the bathrooms looked like they're shared by lots and lots of people, which made it seem slightly gross. The food was amazing, however. The thing that's appealing to me is that UCLA is known to be good across the board. I like the idea of this because it provides flexibility. However, because I'm almost pretty sure biology is my passion even if I don't choose premed, I don't know if I should stick to UCSD for the strong bio program. Everyone also tells me that UCLA is wonderful for its social life, and that should be a major reason why I choose the school... because it'll offer a better undergraduate experience. I like the idea that the school may be very active, but I've heard horror stories about sororities and fraternities yelling late into the night and preventing people from sleeping.</p>

<p>So ultimately, I'm debating between the programs and social life at UCSD (strong, but hard; dull?), and UCLA (more flexibility; too noisy?). Generally, I love having the opportunity to party and be active, but I also like to be surrounded by people who are focused, just not focused to the point where its impossible to have a conversation with them. I'm generally pretty laidback in lifestyle, and pretty ambitious when it comes to academics, but I need a party scene in the proximity so I don't feel trapped. I want to be a really well-rounded person, but want to get the best bio background as I can.</p>

<p>So I guess what I want to know is... How much better is the SD program in comparison to LA? And is LA sorority/fraternity scene really, really large that it may be more annoying than fun for me? And is SD as boring as people say it is? Or is there a decent amount of activities (I'd like to do some club tennis, and whatnot)? How does SD compare to LA in its other programs (humanties, etc)? Cause everyone says LA is better, but does that mean SD's non-bio/engineering programs are crappy? I know SD is 1/4 engineering majors... does that affect diversity? Which school has better research opportunities for undergraduates (and is it easy for 1st/2nd yrs to get?) And does UCLA's prestigious name really affect career options in the future? And for people who attend these schools... do you sleep a lot?</p>

<p>I know, a lot of questions, but any help would be nice. Thank you sooo much in advance.</p>

<p>Does anyone know?</p>

<p>I am on the same boat, and i agree with everything u said 100% about those 2 schools. For the issue of UCLA being prestigious affecting career options, I think the answer is no. I talked to many people, including my school counselor, and they told me that the only thing that matters is what you do at the college you go to. They dont diffrentiate much between the UCs, and the graduate school you go to will ultimately affects your career options.</p>