UW vs UCSD for Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering

College Search & Selection
1

Hello everybody!
I’m an international student looking to study Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering. I have narrowed down my choices to UW-Seattle and UCSD (Warren) and I’m starting to panic a little bit, considering the May 1 deadline. After doing some quite comprehensive reasearch, I’ve come up with these general differences

UW pros:

  1. Cheaper (about 4k/year)
  2. Better weather (yes, I do like rain and some variation in weather considering I’ve spent my whole life in a desert)
  3. Better surroundings (I prefer the Puget Sound area and urban atmosphere of Seattle compared to La Jolla)
  4. Better social life

UCSD pros:

  1. Generally better academic rankings
  2. Elite UC with stellar engineering reputation
  3. Easier to transfer to Berkeley if I want to in the future
  4. More job opportunities for international students? (I’ve heard about this, is it true?)

I’m admitted as Pre-engineering in UW and Undeclared in UCSD so I’m not guaranteed my major in either of the universities. But, looking at the course material and where I stand in the incoming freshman class, I’m quite confident that I can get my major.

So, what I’m basically asking is, is there any significant academic advantage (in terms of internships, jobs, etc.) of attending UCSD over UW? Because academics is my number one priority, since my family is paying quite a lot for college. Otherwise, I prefer UW for general living

Thanks!

2

Those 2 schools are comparable, I would go to UW if I were you.

3

Transfer between UC campuses is not especially easy, I am told.

Like Dr. Google said, these two schools are comparable. UW is a research powerhouse.

4

Thanks!