<p>I am trying to decide between my current 2 top choices - UCSD vs. UCSB for Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE). I definitely would like to go to grad school, and I am not into partying.</p>
<h1>For UCSD:</h1>
<p>+ UCSD is more prestigious, ranked higher for ECE, with good research opportunities - UCSD ECE classes are tough, and ECE GPA, on average, is lower, thus hurting chances for grad school admission (possibly for employment too) - UCSD classes are very large even in upper division classes, diminishing opportunities for interaction with the professors, which in turn may lower chances for good recommendations for grad school. - UCSD student culture is cut-throat competitive - UCSD campus is very large and boring
o UCSD location is wonderful - not an issue</p>
<h1>For UCSB:</h1>
<p>- UCSB ECE is very good, but ranked below UCSD, with good research opportunities + UCSB ECE classes are slightly easier, and ECE GPA, on average, is higher for the same effort, thus helping chances for grad school admission (possibly for employment too) + UCSB classes are slightly smaller, thus helping opportunities for interaction with professors, which in turn may increase chances for good recommendations for grad school + UCSB student culture is more cooperative than UCSD - UCSB has a party school image
o UCSB location is wonderful too - not an issue</p>
<p>In general, even though UCSB ECE seems to have more positives, UCSD ECE seems to get recommended as the choice to make.</p>
<p>Please comment on my impressions above and assign relative weights to the positives and negatives. All of your opinions are highly appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>honestly, the rankings are only important at the graduate level. and yes, UCSB will be easier and less competitive than ucsd beause the campus vibe is more laid back. Plus a lot of people do not like UCSD because it is very boring and the people arent gorgeous. You have to go somewhere that you like and are happy so you feel good enough to have energy to study and what not. Furthermore, college is what you make of it. From the people I know who have gone to ucsb vs ucsd, all the UCSB people say they love it where as UCSD people say they are extremly miserable and lonely because there is no one to talk to. Dont listen to the rankings. Both schools have pretty much the same engineering programs. and grad school mostly cares about grades rather than if you went to SD instead of SB.</p>
<p>I’m a UCSD student in CS, so I’ll help with the knowledge I have.
In terms of difficulty/prestige/GPA: UCSD classes may be harder, but that’s why it is prestigious, and UCSB’s classes being easier is what makes it less prestigious.
In terms of class size, I’m not actually sure if UCSB’s classes are smaller than ours. Even if they are, it isn’t going to be small enough for you to make connections with professors by just going to class. If you’re going to any public school and you want to get to know the professor, you have to make the effort to get to know the professor. All professors have office hours where you can visit them and talk about anything.
Not sure what you mean by “student culture” being competitive. If you mean students being competitive with each other in classes, I wouldn’t really agree. Obviously you’ll have hard classes wherever you go but no one is going to go out of their way to make sure their grade is higher than yours; everyone just wants to do well for themselves.
Our campus is very large, you’re right, however I wouldn’t say it’s boring. I, too, was scared about the Socially Dead nickname, but if you actually make an effort to be social you won’t have a problem. The only students at our school who think it’s socially dead are the ones who just sit around and don’t do anything. Join a club, join a frat/sorority, go surfing, there’s a bunch of stuff to do here.
In response to the other guy, I’m a UCSD student and I’m definitely not miserable. I don’t know what kind of people he knows who couldn’t find anyone to talk to because there are tons of students here.</p>
<p>Ultimately, it’s up to you. If you want to be able to party all the time, go to UCSB. If you want to have easier classes (though I can’t guarantee they’ll be that much easier), go to UCSB. It was a tough decision for me because I actually do like to party but at UCSD I found a nice balance where I can party when I want to without it being excessive, and I still get a prestigious education. The opportunities for engineers here are really great, we always have really nice job fairs and companies that come down to talk to us, and as a CS student it’s really great to see these things because I’m not as worried about employment anymore.</p>
<p>I chose SD because I’m paying a bunch to go to college, so I might as well get the best education I can.</p>
<p>sorry I apologize. i wasnt trying to come off as bias… i dont go to either of those schools… I was just gving honest disclosures of what I have been told by current students… but the commenter above me is also a student and gave his own voice. The only way you could honestly know for yourself what the vibe of the school is by visiting. After all everything is relative to what you are used to… people who are used to excessive social activities might find a quieter place boring. where as the anti-social person might find a party college extremely intimidating. It all depends on YOU. I was just giving my 2 cents about the “rankings” tbh.</p>
<p>I cannot believe the lack of information from the people who have posted above. UCSD and UCSB are so similar in rank and prestige that it sounds silly to say that UCSD is more prestigious than UCSB. And no, UCSD is not at the same level as UCLA and UCB–sorry. If you look at the rankings on USworldnews.com, you will find that UCSB and UCSD are pretty much tied in rank in 2013 (UCSD, UCSB, UCD, and UCI are very comparable in rank).</p>
<p>I know it is too late to decide, but I hope you made your decision based on visiting both campusus and comparing your comfort level at both schools because based on the similarity in rank between these two schools, it all comes down to that. </p>
<p>Take it from a transfer student who graduated community college with a 4.0 gpa and chose UCSB over UCLA.</p>