<p>Hi, Im an athlete and the above schools Ive been recruited by and been offered 90% to full rides for all of them. I have three weeks to commit to one before I start losing money, given the nature of my sport(Track and Field) scholarship money goes by very quick, so the sooner you commit the better. Ive taken official visits to all of these schools and theyre all on a somewhat even plane for me as far as interest goes. </p>
<p>Im asking everyone to help me with this decision by placing pros and cons of each university, comparing them if youre familiar with more than one, or commenting which one is overall a better university for the very rare athlete who actually seeks an education. Also if you are or were a student athlete familiar with these universities could you give as much insight as possible on the academic support, and other experiences. By the way my major is in the range of History, Intnl Relations, Sociology, and Political Science, so if you know about the strength of these majors in these Universities that would help. </p>
<p>I did take visits to these schools, but basically the school only tells you whats great about their university never whats not great, so Im asking for your insight because this decision will effectively determine the next 4-5 years of my life directly and the rest of my life indirectly.</p>
<p>Penn:
(Pros)
+ I Loved the Strength of The Degree
(Cons)
- Seemed Boring based on my official visit
- Track Team is not super competitive. </p>
<p>UVA:
(Pros)
+ Beautiful Campus and Great Atmosphere
(Cons)
- Seems like its in the middle of nowhere</p>
<p>Take all ratings with a grain of salt, but UCLA’s undergrad is ranked about the same as UVa and Michigan (below Penn). UCLA’s graduate programs for the majors listed seem about even with Michigan, with Penn a little behind and UVa behind that. I don’t see any basis for questioning the strength of the degree, at least compared to your other choices.</p>
<p>In terms of actual undergraduate education you’re likely to do better at Penn or UVA just because of their size. With that said, larger schools do give you more opportunities in terms of research, internships, special programs. I’ve heard mixed reviews about the atmosphere at Penn, but only positive things about UVA and Michigan.</p>
<p>I questioned UCLA’s degree strength because i knew a couple graduates who haven’t been able to get the best jobs, but thats probably more of a personal thing. How do you think the UC’s spiking up tuition is going to affect the student body/ courses/ etc. of UCLA. Because I got there thursday about 6 hours after they rushed the regents, and it seemed like everyone was really tense.</p>
<p>^^^ I don’t know where you question the degree… This may have alot to do with future location. Obviously, the so-Cal area highly respects UCLA degrees. I met a guy at one of my little brothers soccer games a few weeks back and he was amazed I was going to UCLA and was so impressed and ****, and he said he had just hired 4 kids from UCLA (because he could get good work for cheap) and he was very impressed. </p>
<p>It really depends on what you want to do… business? GO TO PENN, PERIOD! I would probably never go to Mich simply because of the weather, I love shorts and sandals almost 24/7. UVA is also a very good school, but like I said, I believe geographic location has alot to play with your answer. But, in short, I don’t think you can really “rank” the strength of the degrees from these institutions because all are very good and have great standing in the world, but UCLA and UPENN are definately the most well-known.</p>
<p>Well, UCLA class offerings suck dick. You get priority enrollment as an athlete, so you’re covered there and won’t get screwed to the same degree as the rest of us. Its not that bad, just less classes, bigger classes, typical ********.</p>
<p>what do you mean by the class offerings. Are the majors offered really restricted, or is it difficult to change majors. Because I know the academic advisers told me i enter school freshman year already into my major.</p>
<p>entering already into your major?
hmm that’s weird.
but dude, don’t worry about getting classes or anything.
you athletes get absolutely the best picks and the easiest classes.
UCLA is awesome. come here. you won’t get screwed over by your schedule.
period. (:</p>
<p>Strength of the degree depends mostly on you. Don’t come in college thinking that the degree gets you the job because for the most part, other various things YOU do gets you the job. I’ve heard of graduates in Ivy league schools not be able to find work and I’m pretty sure the strength of their degree is pretty damn good. </p>
<p>When I came into college, I thought good name = good degree = good job. I was very wrong.</p>
<p>I agree w/ Altema. You get the job, not the school. Again, I heard of people graduating from places like MIT and are still living with their parents jobless…</p>
<p>As for “business = Penn,” you have to get into the business school/ program. I dunno if being an athlete would mean immediate entrance into the business school or w/e… And then UVA has a good undergrad business program, too (and you have to apply for that, too).</p>
<p>And, UCLA treats their student athletes really, really well -_-</p>