Which UC

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - GENERAL
1

<p>I am deciding between UCSD and UCLA (also made Berkeley). I am an undecided major but I believe that for whatever I major in, even if the quality of education is different, the material I learn will be the same so I want to base my choice on other factors.</p>

<p>UCSD seems to have a better environment, I’d be at Muir which is like the perfect location there and more of my highschool friends were accepted there (I’ll already know people and I’m more of a eccentric introvert). </p>

<p>UCLA has a better food system (one swipe, all you can eat, I love eating in quantity), I could watch the basketball there (known for having players like Westbrook, Love) and my parents want me to go there (my dad used to work at UCLA hospital I would supposedly have more opportunities for research and such)</p>

<p>My parents believe Berkeley and LA have better overall “academic reputations”, which from what I’ve read/heard is somewhat true, but I don’t see how UCSD can be that much behind as I believe an education is an education eg. if I learn physics at one school it’ll be the same physics somewhere else. Does one school really have a better “quality of education” and how so? Where does Berkeley/LA’s reputations (as “better” schools) come from (skewed by athletic excellence maybe, but then again my parents don’t follow college sports)?</p>

2

<p>Honestly the difference between UCSD and UCLA is not huge. Just go to UCSD and be happy.</p>

3

<p>I want the answer too. My son in same: SD, LA, Berzerk. first it was no-brainer CAL (Berkeley) cause of national internatinoal rep and my son wants DC policy, lobbying, JD one day and thinks the CAL name will help.</p>

<p>But we kind of wish his only UC - gotta stay in California,not up for East coast blizzards, hurricanes, torandos, floods, yikes yet. wait for grad school for this.</p>

<p>…wish only UC he got into was UCSD. La Jolla, the bus with the surfboard! (he’s born in Honolulu and loves to surf). you’re in muir, dummy us didn’t research and in old REvelle but still, it’s UCSD . People get it confused with CalState SD and start cautioning “party school”. it’s not. #5 biochem in US, #15 Econ internationally.</p>

<p>UCSD is more sane - no stupid frat-football idiocy. no suicides from balconies. drunk O.D’s like UCSB and others, or pyschiatric admissions due to stress at CAL. Hadn’t really thought about UCLA, but suppose he should. lah lah land. Why is the most applied to school in the U.S.? the weather?</p>

<p>I must say, of the Eastern Schools the only one he’s go to would be Princeton over CA schools. didn’t apply to Stanford, Harvard, Yale. only princton. not even waitlist. </p>

<p>Yikes. I wonder. dang-it. Yesterday was Triton Day and we were going till this CAL thing. oh boy. shoot . stress. SD guarantees housing four years, CAL only two. and housing is a zoo in Berzerk…</p>

<p>Let us know your thoughts,decisions. some mom wrote that her kid surfs just fine without a car: bus and board to the beach.</p>

<p>Something tells me if you graduate Summa Cum Laude at UCSD it’ll open the same doors that a CAL 3.5 will (summa is 3.9+). CAL, I’ve been reading inthese posts has profs who like to flunk everyone…i wrote their names down to avoid for my son.</p>

<p>It was a no-brainer till UCLA and Berkeley came in. sounds like same for you. he’s got mathyEcon at UCSD. Letters &science at CAL. what do you have? I hear the EECS majors at CAL are stressed, reading it anyway in CC. what math are you finishing this year? CAL does in one 4 credit class what our local UNR does in two 3 credit classes, linear algebra and DiffEq. I think I recall that UCSD splits them up. UCSD sounds like it’ll be more sane. dunno, but maybe they pay more attention and care to ugrads than the CAL machine. send me a private post with your thoughts, what you weigh and how you decide. would really appreciate it.</p>

4

<p>Don’t go to a school because your friends are going there. College is about opening up and branching out.</p>

<p>I personally would choose UCLA.</p>

5

<p>@oceanpartier I am taking my parent’s preferences into my consideration, my preference for each is based on different reasons</p>

<p>@BuBBLES FoR SALE It’s not just my friends, that’s just one factor. Also I noted I’m an introvert, I don’t enjoy branching out with a bunch of different people, I prefer tight relationships with close people. </p>

<p>Anyways I’m more looking for answers to the questions in my last paragraph.</p>

6

<p>

</p>

<p>Yes, the concepts will be the same. The particle accelerators, nuclear reactors, and toys will not be.</p>

7

<p>UCSD! i am biased because I am a UCSD Muir student haha but in all seriousness, pick UCSD. UCSD offers a lot of unique things that both UCLA does not have. although all UCs are research institutions, UCSD has an abundance in research opportunities with world-class faculty. we are also surrounded by a lot of biotechnology firms one can intern with (i.e. Qualcomm, Salk Institute, Lumina, etc). We also have at least 3 or 4 hospitals around us – so if you are premed than it is a huge plus to get that clinical experience. UCSD is partitioned into 6 different colleges – with each college having their own culture, GEs, student organizations and leadership opportunities. for example, although we have an overarching student government the Associated Students, each of the six colleges have student government councils with their own presidents and executive positions. this gives more of a chance to be involved in stuff like that (unlike other UCs). Muir is literally 5 minutes away from the beach, we are the #1 UC in terms of applications submitted, we are ranked highly in a lot of articles, etc. our biology (and other departments like Psychology and Cognitive Science) are ranked really high too. so you will be taught by professors who are experts in their fields. we have a thing called “dine with a prof” – which pretty much means what it is. let me know if you have any other questions, comments, or concerns!</p>

8

<p>I’m pretty sure you’re mistaken about the UCLA dining. I think they’re on a point system not a swipe system.</p>