<p>Where would you go?</p>
<p>List your reasons please....</p>
<p>Neither. UC's are overrated. Let the heads roll.</p>
<p>UCSD has a better reputation but UCSB is the most amazing campus I've ever seen.</p>
<p>Depends what you are going for : UCSD - More academy, more highly rated
UCSB - Better campus, funner</p>
<p>basically what newfoundgirlie said. oh and go to UCSD hands down for the sciences (generally).</p>
<p>I would go to UCSD because it has a stronger program for Computer Science.</p>
<p>While academically very similar, the schools are quite different in atmosphere and I recommend visiting both (while regular school is in session) to see which is better for you. Talk to current students in the cafeteria (or even walking around if you're outgoing) and see how they like their school and what they say about it.</p>
<p>ucsb is a residential campus, so students live in the dorms or right off-campus is the town of isla vista. ucsd is primarily a commuter school, so students live in beach areas such as mission beach as well as thru the rest of the SD area. So ucsd tends to be quieter in evenings and on weekends. </p>
<p>There are a bunch of things to consider that would differ in terms of your college experience at the 2 schools. Proximity to friends, ability to easily get back to campus for office hours or for a campus event, etc.</p>
<p>"While academically very similar"</p>
<p>-What?... these two schools could not be academically more different. UCSD has many many more highly rated departments and programs. UCSD's admission stats are also significantly higher than UCSB, although UCSB has been getting harder to gain admission to over the last few years. UCSD is universally agreed upon to be more rigorous and have better academics, and known to be significantly tougher to gain admission too. We are comparing a top tier UC (UCSD) with a mid tier UC (UCSB), and academically it shows. I agree, however, that the atmospheres of the two schools are very different. UCSD has a lot of science/medical oriented students who tend to study a lot. UCSB has a party atmosphere. For me i would rather attend the more prestigious and academically superior school, which is UCSD. However, for college experience, especially if you are under 21, UCSB would provide a better college life.</p>
<p>uccchris, you are of course entitled to your own opinion. Most people, though, would put Cal at the very top of the UCs (and the nation's public U's), put ucla along with Cal at the top of the UCs, and then consider ucsb, ucsd, davis, & uci to be mid-tier.</p>
<p>UCSB since it has a better balance of social life and academics. The location is also great as well. Not that UCSD's is bad, but San Diego is not a reason to choose UCSD over UCSB considering SB is kickass anyways.</p>
<p>And from what I hear, the students at UCSD are pretty nerdy. Not sure if it's true or not though...</p>
<p>I definitely have to agree with ucchris on this one. In California, UCSD is definitely seen as the better of the two. At my school, UCSB is known as the party school where kids who are more interested in partying than academics go. I am not saying that this is necessarily true for all students but that is UCSBs reputation. Furthermore, UCSD is known to be great in the sciences and the kids who go there tend to be into studying, thus giving them the stereotype of being nerdy.</p>
<p>"uccchris, you are of course entitled to your own opinion. Most people, though, would put Cal at the very top of the UCs (and the nation's public U's), put ucla along with Cal at the top of the UCs, and then consider ucsb, ucsd, davis, & uci to be mid-tier."</p>
<p>-Mikemac, What on earth are you talking about? What "most people" are you talking about? Do you reside on a desert island? I dont know if you just dont know anything about the UC system or have never looked at other posts here on CC. There are three tiers of uc's. This is universally agreed upon, it is not just my opinion. It is obvious to Berkeley is the #1 UC, UCLA is the #2 UC, and UCSD is the #3 UC.</p>
<p>Top Tier:
UC Berkeley
UCLA
UCSD</p>
<p>Mid Tier:
UCI
UCSB
UC Davis</p>
<p>Bottom Tier:
UCSC
UC Riverside
UC Merced</p>
<p>I dont know what your talking about but looking at the admission stats and highly ranked programs and it is clear that this backs up the tier system that untill you posted i had never heard anyone argue about. The top three UC's are somewhat unarguably:</p>
<h1>1. UC Berkeley</h1>
<h1>2. UCLA</h1>
<h1>3. UCSD</h1>
<p>This is really indisputable. I have no idea where you come off stating otherwise. The second tier is somewhat debatable, as to order, but the top tier is somewhat set in stone for now. Admission stats all show, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD all have average admit stats above 4.0 and above 1300 SAT's. All other UC's are well below this average. I believe their us news public school rankings are:</p>
<ol>
<li> UC Berkeley</li>
<li> UCLA</li>
<li> UCSD</li>
</ol>
<p>Undisputed UC Rankings:</p>
<p>Tier 1: UCB, UCLA, UCSD
Tier 2: UCI, UCSB, UCD
Tier 3: UCSC, UCR, UCM</p>
<p>
[quote]
ucchris spouts: -Mikemac, What on earth are you talking about? What "most people" are you talking about? Do you reside on a desert island? I dont know if you just dont know anything about the UC system or have never looked at other posts here on CC.
[/quote]
The clearest sign someone has a weak argument is when they have to blather about like a fool and attack others. And ucchris (who ought to use the handle ucsdchris) is a prime example.</p>
<p>This will be my last post on this topic since it seems to have abandoned any pretense of advising the OP, but for the record ucsd is nowhere near a 1st tier UC.</p>
<p>Here's the evidence: first, look at the US news rankings. ucla and cal are in the top 3 of public U's. ucsd is 7, irvine is 10, ucsb is 12, davis is 14. There are 2 clusters, and ucsd is in the 2nd.</p>
<p>Second, look at incoming SAT scores. This info is on the official UC website at <a href="http://www.ucop.edu/news/factsheets/2006/freshman_admit_profile_2006.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.ucop.edu/news/factsheets/2006/freshman_admit_profile_2006.pdf</a> Interesting to note, BTW, that ucchris never gives any links for the numbers he provides -- and for good reason, since they are invented. More on this later. If you look at the average SAT, again you see 2 tiers. For 2006 Critical Reading + Math, cal and ucla are both around 1340, the 4 mid-tier uc's range from 1291 to 1233. </p>
<p>As for the numbers from ucchris, he claims "UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD all have average admit stats above 4.0 and above 1300 SAT's." The chart from the official UC site shows this is a lie for SAT scores. And what he leaves out on the gpa tells you something about his veracity, too. Reading his post you might assume that cal, ucla, ucsd are about the same. In fact cal avg is 4.17, ucla is 4.12, ucsd barely squeaks over the line with 4.04 in 2006.</p>
<p>Bottom line, ucsd is a fine school but few apart from ucchris consider it one of the state's elite. It's a 2nd-tier UC, plain and simple. And all his shouting can't change that.</p>
<p>I really, really like San Diego...plus UCSD is AMAZINGLY strong in the sciences and social sciences...</p>
<p>so definitely UCSD</p>