<p>I'm a political science major who has gotten into every UC that has made decisions (so still just waiting on Davis, Berkeley, and LA). Assuming I don't get into Cal or LA, San Diego is the highest ranked school for political science (in IR its actually ahead of LA, I think). But I have some concerns about San Diego. I have heard that it is a "socially dead" school, and one of my most influential professors warned me against attending there (I don't really get why). Honestly, for undergraduate coursework, do rankings matter so much that it should be the primary mode of selecting a campus? I feel like I would fit right in at Santa Cruz, if you catch my drift ;), but I'm concerned its politics department just isn't worthwhile. And even if I got into LA or Cal, I feel like the coursework would be <em>significantly</em> more difficult at those schools, and I don't need that; Campus prestige is not worth a lower GPA and a horrible college experience. I think. And living in Isla Vista sounds like a lot of fun. I'm not really interested in Irvine, Davis, Merced, or Riverside. </p>
<p>If you had your pick of any of the Campus's, which UC would you transfer to?</p>
<p>The idea that some campuses are “socially dead” while others are “socially viable” is absolutely ridiculous. You need to make your choice on two factors: education and location. Note that location and student life are completely unrelated; you will make your social life what it is wherever you go. I know absolute hermits who live in the corners of IV so they can attend UCSB; I know social butterflies who recently graduated from UCSD and are currently living in Washington D.C. working in politics. All of that is up to you.</p>
<p>In short, for political science, I would highly recommend UCSD. If you want to attend a school for its pathetically inappropriate and often misleading party reputation, then do so. Sure, where you did your undergrad work is now becoming less and less relevant, but if you want any chance at grad school or a job in your actual field, then you want to choose the school with the best preparation for it.</p>
<p>I guess that’s part of my fearnot being prepared for SD, LA, or Cal. I almost never read anything for my ccc classes and waited till the night before to write papers, yet I still got an A on every paper and got an A in every class except for 1 B. And coc (my ccc) is generally considered to be a very good and academically stimulating ccc. I’d like to think I’m just awesome, but I dont and I don’t know if I’d know how to handle a top teir UC. Then again, I could just be freaking myself out, ya know?</p>
<p>And I think I’d go to ucsc if I don’t go to one of the top teir campuses, not ucsb, because I love the location and the general social environment/feel of the place.</p>
<p>^ Hey, your the first person besides me I’ve seen on the board that goes to COC. From the summer classes I’ve taken at a UC, the classes seem pretty manageable if you stay on top of them. The material is the same no matter where you go, it’s just about time management. I prefer quarter over semester, semester seems too drawn out and long to me.</p>
<p>I totally understand. I’ve been worried about the same thing. I recently read a thread in which a bunch of new UC transfers from cccs were discussing the fact that, in order to prepare for the new academic standards, they treated their last semester in community college as though they were at a UC. You’re absolutely going to have to prepare, because the students who come from cccs and expect to do just as well at UCs with the same amount of work are the ones who are most disappointed and most likely to fail. Keeping that in mind, what I’ve done this semester is begin my homework/projects the day they are assigned, and I work steadily on them, arranging a schedule each day for the number of hours to spend on each subject. As a result of this, I’ve experienced no last-minute anxiety, and I’ve gotten a small, small taste of what I’ll need to do at UCs. </p>
<p>Also, about UCSC, I’ve definitely considered going there for the same reasons. If I don’t get into UCLA or Cal, that will be tied with UCR for me. It is a beautiful, centrally-located campus with fine academics.</p>
<p>I guess I’m wondering if it is well established fact that cal,
La, and even sd are going to be significantly more difficult than the other campuses? I think it’s reasonable to take into consideration the academic competition you’ll be encountering at a UC, because it’s only at my ccc that I have been getting good grades in high school I was a c/b student. I’d rather go to sc or sb and and have a more laid back, less “I want to kill myself” type of college experience than I probably would at Cal. But, it would certainly be hard to turn down Cal, assuming I get in. Hell, it’s going to be hard to turn down all the campuses…</p>