Which College Should I Go to?

College Search & Selection
1

Hi all! Sorry for the lengthy explanation, but I have only a week and a half left to decide what college I should go to! Responses would be greatly appreciated.

So, here’s my situation. I have narrowed down my college choices to the following: University of Oregon (as well as the Clark Honors College), UC Santa Cruz, UC Riverside, and University of Portland. I was also wait-listed at the University of Washington. University of San Diego, Loyola Marymount University, and University of the Pacific are other colleges that I have been considering, but cost has been kind of an issue for these schools. Unless I can find a way to get more financial aid from these schools, they likely won’t be strong candidates. Also, I have visited all of these campuses.
I am mainly having such a hard time choosing because I haven’t decided what I want to major in – though, most likely business administration or computer science – and some of these schools offer stronger programs in one area or the other.

So, here are some pros and cons for each college that I am seriously considering right now:

-University of Oregon/Clark Honors College:
Pros: good business program, awesome campus, lots of successful alumni, chance to study abroad at University of Oxford in England (a program provided by Clark Honors College), a pretty awesome rec center, lots of school spirit, great football team, connection to Nike.
Cons: getting to and from home (I live in California), rainy weather (though, I could get used to it), no computer science program (though, they do have a computer information sciences program!), and Clark Honors college seems to be best for just General Ed. classes.

-UC Santa Cruz:
Pros: strong computer science program (as well as some programs in video game designing), beautiful campus, ocean nearby, near home, somewhat prestigious, great weather, outdoor rec center, view of the ocean, atmosphere strongly appeals to me.
Cons: not as strong of a business program as some other schools I have been accepted to.

-UC Riverside:
Pros: has a very good business school (and I was accepted into their business administration program. I have heard that it is easier to get an MBA at a prestigious school through their program than at some other schools), decent weather, located in Southern California, cool rec center, has a decent computer science program, relatives live nearby (One of my aunts went here and has been very successful. She majored in Business Administration)
Cons: not a very good reputation (though that seems to be waning), campus doesn’t really appeal to me, occasionally smoggy.

-University of Portland:
Pros: I got a huge scholarship to go here (it would cost as much as a UC campus – but I don’t think it has UC campus level academics), located near the city of Portland, offers decent computer science and business programs, cool rec center, good food!
Cons: a lot of rainy weather, a smaller campus, not as prestigious, foggy

So, these were all of the main factors that I have been considering in my college choice, just so you can tell where I am coming from. Is there any additional information about these campuses that I should consider? I have seen some people dispute about whether the Clark Honors College is really that helpful for non-English and non-Humanities majors, for example. Also, are there any campuses that seem to stand out in the areas that I am mainly considering?

Thank you for reading this, and I look forward to hearing your responses!

2

Prestige doesn’t really matter. Those people that are impressed at the barbecue by your school aren’t paying your student loans.

I would personally say you choose UC Santa Cruz or maybe UC Riverside. They’re IN California, they offer solid academics in programs you want, and you seem to really like the campuses.

3

I’d choose between UC Santa Cruz and UOregon.

Both have different strengths; UCSC’s Game Design program is terrific and its location is hard to beat.

However, UOregon has very strong programs in CS -
Look at this
(Ever heard of bioinformatics? if not, check it out… my BIL told me the other day “even our dumbest bioinformatics graduates get multiple job offers, it’s pretty disgusting actually” p)
https://www.cs.uoregon.edu/Education/computational_track.php
and this (Cybersecurity = the TV5monde terrorist attack by Isis has brought home the idea that there’s a cyber war and cyber terrorism, too, and that fighting terrorism will include strong cybersecurity specialists.)
https://www.cs.uoregon.edu/Education/security_track.php
and this (data mining graduate = write your own ticket in business)
https://www.cs.uoregon.edu/Education/database_track.php

The Clarke Honors College simply allows you to complete the University’s graduation requirements in classes capped at 19 students. It doesn’t add any extra class.

Email both CIS and Lundquist to ask whether it’d be easy/doable to combine a CIS major with an Entrepreneurship concentration*, or most especially, ISOM (or any other business concentration or minor that interests you). CS Data mining + ISOM would likely make you golden. Seriously. Business analytics and data mining are two very “hot” fields right now.
https://business.uoregon.edu/ug/concentrations/isom
https://business.uoregon.edu/ug/honors/

  • I'm assuming you have several AP classes under your belt, and thus, credits but see how both UO and UCSC accept AP credits.