Yale vs. UCSD Jacobs Scholarship. Help!

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hey everyone!</p>

<p>I'm currently a high school senior who was recently very lucky enough to receive admissions from Yale University as well as the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego. The Jacobs School, however, is offering me a scholarship that covers full tuition and includes benefits such as priority course enrollment, a faculty mentor program, opportunities to conduct research right when I begin enrollment, and a whole load of professional development benefits.</p>

<p>I applied as a bioengineering major to both universities, but I'm actually quite undecided as to what I really want to study in college. For a long time, I've always planned on going to medical school, but I've recently been considering a lot of other potential careers in areas like finance, computer science, and biotechnology. As of now, I personally want to keep my options open and have not committed myself to any particular field. However, I think it's safe to assume that I'll most likely pursue something in the math/sciences, but what I value most at this point is a high quality undergraduate experience in terms of academics, research opportunities, and personal development. </p>

<p>My purpose for this post was to ask you all for your advice and suggestions. What are the benefits of an Ivy League education over a school like UCSD, but at the same time, what could a program like the Jacobs Scholarship offer me that a school like Yale can't? I know that the overall engineering/science programs at Yale aren't ranked as high as some other universities (according to U.S. News and some other sources), but is this really the case in terms of overall research/educational quality?</p>

<p>I haven't visited either campus yet (even though I am a Connecticut native, but I haven't been back in over 10 years), but I do think that this will play a big part in my decision. For now, however, I would GREATLY appreciate any insight that you all may have. Thank you so much!</p>

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<p>What would you need to do to stay in that special program at UCSD? Do you need to keep a certain major, or maintain a certain GPA? What other options do you have at UCSD if you fail to meet those criteria? If you decide against engineering as a major, what academic options do you have there?</p>

<p>Comparing the requirements for both degree programs, does one offer you greater flexibility to take other classes that you might like to take? What about fitting in a semester abroad?</p>

<p>How about the financial aid at Yale? Will it cost you significantly more than UCSD, and if so do your parents care? Back before HYPSM started offering “super aid”, curmudgeon’s daughter turned down Yale for a full-ride elsewhere (she ultimately did end up at Yale for med school). You might run a search for curmudgeon’s posts and learn more about how that family made their decisions.</p>

<p>For additional insight on UCSD and Jacobs, try here: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-san-diego/[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-san-diego/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>What college GPA would you need to maintain to keep the scholarship, and would UCSD be affordable if you did not keep the scholarship?</p>

<p>UCSD > Yale for engineering, but Yale > UCSD if your goal is investment banking or management consulting. For medical school, whichever you can get a higher GPA at while getting the best preparation for the MCAT at the lowest cost is better.</p>

<p>A few majors at UCSD are impacted. You may want to ask if it is difficult to change major into such a major.</p>