<p>I want to double major in economics and political science and I wanted to know which school would be better for me. I'm talking in terms of overall college experience- academics, social scene, personal growth, location etc.</p>
<p>I want to go to Law School after undergrad.</p>
<p>I'd appreciate it.</p>
<p>Political Science and Economics are both top 10 ranked departments in the country at UCSD. Both are extremeley strong there. Neither department is ranked in the top 25 at USC. However, if you wish to go to law school, UCSD is pretty tough to get good grades at. At USC you would likely get more personal attention and probably a bit higher grades which would help when applying to law schools (the higher grades). Both are excellent institutions and there is a lot of other things to consider when choosing such as social life, tuition $$$, etc. Ill post more on them later. Have fun choosing!</p>
<p>I think UCSD is more focused on the science. I would say USC is the better choice if your choosing to go the humanities route.</p>
<p>So u guys would say USC is a better school if planning to go on to graduate school?</p>
<p>I would say it's easier to get a higher GPA there...so ya.</p>
<p>USC and please do not think twice. there is a post somehwere on CC that just focuses on life in UCSD. the main comment that goes around everywhere is how boring the immediate area around the school is. There is literally nothing to do and ur really not in the heart of San Diego, ur about an hour away by bus or car if ur lucky to have one. USC is a way better school and the overall experience is a lot better.</p>
<p>"There is literally nothing to do and ur really not in the heart of San Diego, ur about an hour away by bus or car if ur lucky to have one."</p>
<p>WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??? AN HOUR AWAY? You are all of 10 minutes away from the heart of San Diego (downtown). You are 11.5 miles from UCSD to downtown San Diego and Gaslamp District and about 3 Miles from Pacific Beach. ABOUT 5 Miles from Mission Beach. These places offer some of the best nightlife in Southern California. Obviously you have no idea what you are talking about if your trying to tell the poster he is an hour away from the heart of San Diego. La Jolla is even technically within the city limits of San Diego. I am not argueing that the UCSD campus is dead and heavilly focused on science with lots of study focused students. Cause it is. However, stating that their you are an hour away from the heart of San Diego is hillarious. You are between 5-12 minutes away from where people would call the heart of San Diego which technically would be between Pacific Beach and Downtown San Diego. USC does offer a much better social life on campus, especially for students under the age of 21. But once you hit 21, living within the city of San Diego is a blast. However, UCSD's campus can be very boring. You would deffiantly need a car. Visit both campuses and areas around the schools. USC is not in a good area, however, whenever I am there I always feel very safe on campus. It only getts iffy when you walk off campus in certain area. UCSD is in a very wealthy area of San Diego by the beach, but the immediate area on and around campus can be very very boring, especially if you do not have a car.</p>
<p>"I would say USC is the better choice if your choosing to go the humanities route."</p>
<p>Ok why would you talk about the 'humanities route' when the the poster is stating he wants to go into political science and economics, which are SOCIAL SCIENCES not humanities. Check the rankings before you make such a claim. USC does not have a strong political science or econ department, while BOTH departments are ranked in the top 10 in the country at UCSD. That being stated, USC would likely be somewhat easier to get better grades and such at, which would help when applying to law school. I recommend visiting both schools then making up your mind and not listening to people who have no idea what they are talking about and are stating that UCSD is an hour away form the heart of San Diego, when it is max 10 minutes from the heart of San Diego and is technically within the city limits of San Diego, and stating that Political Science and econ are humanities when they are social sciences and both ranked much higher at UCSD than they are at USC. I never get why people who have no idea what they are talking about make up stats such as the hour away crap and post it. people take advice litterely when choosing a school, so think twice before making up information and posting it if you know nothing about it and are making it up. Hell, it doesnt even take me an hour to get to downtown San Diego from the OC/SD border. Where on earth did you come up with such a stupid statement that UCSD is an hour away from the heart of San Diego. Hillarious. Academically, UCSD is stronger in the Sciences, Pre-Med, Social Sciences and at the graduate level, while USC is stronger in the professional School areas such as business, communications, film, etc. Stating that one of these schools is a way better school is foolish. Overall they are very similarly ranked. It really depends on what area you want to study in. Because these two schools strenghts are in very different areas. The posters academic interests are stronger at UCSD. However UCSD is very diffiuclt to get good grades in, and that should deffiantly be considered when thinking about law school, as a strong GPA (along with high LSAT) is very important.</p>
<p>I have to agree with Chris. You're insane to say that the heart of SD is an hour away. o_o Mexico is an hour away... SD is not. Hop back onto the I-5 South for about 10 minutes and you've reached downtown. There's tons to do there... SeaWorld, the Zoo, Balboa Park, Gaslamp, Petco Park, the Convention Center... etc. etc. And La Jolla isn't THAT boring. If you believe it is, you can hop onto the I-5 North and check out Del Mar. There's tons to do around UCSD. :P</p>
<p>Here is the UCSD post saying how boring it is. a ton of ppl commented about the distance from all the SD action is from campus. </p>
<p>I checked google earth to corroborate it and the area did look far away from Downtown and didnt look as it had a lot of commerce and clubs in the nearby vicinity. I might be wrong but a lot of ppl corroborated that in my post.</p>
<p>The San Diego Zoo is 14.53 miles away, less than a 20 minute drive from UCSD. I wouldn't consider that far away at all. SeaWorld and Gaslamp are even closer. It's not like you're commuting to L.A., for Christ's sake.</p>
<p>How exciting do people expect a college campus to be? Sure, there are events every now and then, but we go to college to learn, not to party. If you're that desperate for action, a 10 or 20 minute drive should be nothing at all to you.</p>
<p>I think its a combination. Sure the primary factor is academics. but when 2 schools are good academically, I at least move on to social life and location. I havnt been to UCSD so i cant say anythign as fact. Most ppl in that thread said they know a ton that transfer cause its just so boring. they might be boring party poopers but then again when so many ppl say it, i take it they arent bluffing.
I dont think its worth picking UCSD eitherway over USC. USC has much more school spirit, prestige and job placement. Although i prefer the city of San Diego a lot more than Los Angeles :P</p>
<p>I strongly disagree with acarta07. The university--booming with life itself (with ~26k students)--is right near San Diego, a large city, and right by the ocean. What more could you want?! It's a misconception that there's nothing to do but surf; I don't see how you could ever be bored there. I've been there before (I live in so cal).</p>
<p>"I think UCSD is more focused on the science. I would say USC is the better choice if your choosing to go the humanities route."</p>
<p>By that logic, one shouldn't go to MIT for economics or linguistics, since it's focuses more on science. (This is ignoring the fact that econ and ling are social sciences.) As you probably know, those departments are very strong at MIT -- some of the best in the country.</p>
<p>And I'm not rooting for UCSD because I'm a prospective student; no, I'm more of a Berkeley-ite. =)</p>
<p>For Economics and Poli sci, I would say UCSD is better academically since it is ranked much higher than USC in each of those fields. </p>
<p>USC wins hands down for social life.</p>
<p>As for law school, that will mostly be determined by your LSAT score and GPA. </p>
<p>If cost means nothing, go to USC and have a great time. If cost is an issue, and you can live with a lesser social life, then go to UCSD.</p>
<p>"I checked google earth to corroborate it and the area did look far away from Downtown and didnt look as it had a lot of commerce and clubs in the nearby vicinity. I might be wrong but a lot of ppl corroborated that in my post."</p>
<p>Haha. I agree the campus can be boring, although being in La Jolla is incredible in the sense of beauty and the surrounding expensive area, which in my opinion is far more desirable and expensive than south LA (USC). I drove from UCSD to Downtown SD today, it was 11.8 miles. And mapquested it, and it said 11.5 miles. And i went on UCSD's site and it said 12 miles. If you cant find hopping night life in San Diego, then I dont know what to tell you. Their are bars clubs lounges restaurants everywhere in the gaslamp district in downtown and pacific beach. I grew up in OC, lived in SD, and know live in LA, and everyone knows in southern california what the gaslamp district is and how crazy the night life is. I used to go down there before i even moved to San Diego. Im not sure if your spending too much time on the computer on google earth, but it seems pretty obvious about the nightlife in San Diego. But then again most of that type of nightlife that San Diego is known for is 21+, which wouldnt do a 19 year old college freshman too much good. But being 21 in San Diego is incredible in terms of opportunities for nightlife and fun. No one will corroborate you stating that the heart of san diego is an hour away from UCSD. I can promise you that. Maybe that UCSD can be boring yes, but an hour away from the heart of San Diego, no. Hell its not even 10 minutes away. Show me where someone said that the heart of San Diego is an hour away from SD. USC is deffiantly a more fun campus no doubt about that. however the location, in my opinion in terms of expense and beauty cant touch La Jolla. I dont know if i would want to live in south los angeles, but thats just me. USC is a blast whenever i visit, but when i walk to my car parked off campus i am often surprised at what the area around the campus looks like. However, this also could be a good thing as it doesnt shelter you from the real world as La Jolla or Westwood does. Also you stated that USC is way more prestigious. I dont know what field your in, but in anything science, medical, or social science, USC is most deffiantly not more prestigious. USC is more prestigious in law, business, film, communications, etc. Im not sure where your getting your info from. Its always interesting to have someone who doesnt live in so cal telling me how far my undergraduate school is from somewhere and what its like when the person has never visited there and has only read things online. then tries to say that a school (UCSD) which is located within the city limits of San Diego is an hour away from the heart of San Diego. Hillarious.</p>
<p>i'm kind of in the same situation. i'm picking between usc and ucsd, and i want to go to med school. so my question is: would it be better to go to a school that is well-known for its pre-med program(ucsd), but then struggle to stay above the competition and get a good gpa, or would it be better to go to a school better known for communications, film,etc (usc), but then excel and get a good gpa because of less competition?... anyone have suggestions?</p>