Should I go to UCLA or UC Berkeley?

[gradstudentsk]

Hello! I'm new to this thing… I've been looking around and there's some great Info on here! However, I didn't see that much info on California Public Health schools…

I am deciding between the Health Policy and Management concentration at UC Berkeley or UCLA and am having a REALLY difficult time!


I went to UCLA undergrad and absolutely loved it-- the weather, the campus, the people, etc. I also have friends who have gone to UCLA's School of Public Health, hence I'm more familiar logistically with UCLA's SPH compared to Berkeley's. I know UCLA's area like the back of my hand, my family and most of my friends live in LA, where as Berkeley is a completely new region to me, I know almost nothing about it (besides what I learned at Spring Visit Day).


I'm not looking for new experiences in a grad school (as this may be a factor in grad school search for people who want to experience a new city), I am quite happy with my life in LA… however that being said I do want the best possible education!


I know that Berkeley and UCLA are both ranked the same, but from what I hear Berkeley's SPH is considered more ‘prestigious' of the two schools, ‘the best School of Public Health west of the Mississippi'. Also I know Berkeley has a more established program, and from what I could tell on Spring Visit Day Berkeley's professors seemed more accessible and caring than the professors at UCLA. Both the Westwood and Berkeley areas are expensive to live in (boo!), however Berkeley is slightly (VERY slightly) cheaper.


Anyways, as you can tell I need help deciding which one I should go to… given everything I have just written, what would you do? I'm taking a vote and the winner is the school I will attend 😀 lol

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[catladyMPH]

Berkeley. Cost is the same, academics are very comparable, but the Bay area is WAY more live-able than LA.

 

[bobdogsam43]

berkeley

 

[shruts1116]

If you want to work in LA after you graduate, then UCLA... other than that I would go with Berkeley

 

[troopa]

definitely berkeley!

 

[MPHhopeful47]

I know this is an old thread, but I'm facing the same dilemma now. I applied to UCLA (CHS) and Berkeley (HSB) and have now been admitted to both.

I want to get my MSW as well and I was already accepted into UCLA's program and was told by Berkeley that if I was admitted to Public Health, I was pretty much guarenteed to get into Social Welfare (apparently no one has ever applied this direction and not been admitted).

I haven't been to either admit day, but I'm planning to go to both. I don't have all the financial info yet, but I know that I'll be getting at least $10k as a grant from UCLA for the first year.

My end goal is to be able to work in health promotion / education (I'm a newbie in this field and don't know why Berkeley only refers to promotion), but I really like variety so I want the expertise to be able to design, develop, and evaluate community health programs as well. To that end, I'd also like to be prepared to obtain CHES certification. (The MSW part is that I'd like experience working with individuals in more mental health settings, being able to become a LMFT).

So here is my dilemma. I am in love with Berkeley - the place, the people - I am much more of a northern California girl than a southern one. I've been living in so Cal for 2 years (6 years in total, but not consecutively), but none of this time in LA - OC and IE. I'm not really sure I will like LA and it is EXPENSIVE. I've been wanting to move north for 3 years. If I did move to LA for 3 years (dual degree program), I'd want to move north after that.

On paper, UCLA's program is perfect. I am interested in reproductive health and they are really strong in this. The classes descriptions look awesome. I have no idea how often they are all offered, but they look perfect. The program is a great fit for me. I've also heard that Berkeley's program is really theoretical and research focussed. I've done a lot of research, but my joy comes from working with people and helping on a day to day level, not on the policy level.

Does anyone have any insight on this? I'd love to hear about anyone's experiences with either program. Also, how supported they felt as students as well as how able they were to find jobs after the program.

Thank you!

 

[kurly]

hear Berkeley’s SPH is considered more ‘prestigious’ of the two schools, ‘the best School of Public Health west of the Mississippi’.

Actually, that would be UW, not Berkeley. 😉

 

[hare also wins]

I know this is an old thread, but I'm facing the same dilemma now. I applied to UCLA (CHS) and Berkeley (HSB) and have now been admitted to both.

I want to get my MSW as well and I was already accepted into UCLA's program and was told by Berkeley that if I was admitted to Public Health, I was pretty much guarenteed to get into Social Welfare (apparently no one has ever applied this direction and not been admitted).

I haven't been to either admit day, but I'm planning to go to both. I don't have all the financial info yet, but I know that I'll be getting at least $10k as a grant from UCLA for the first year.

My end goal is to be able to work in health promotion / education (I'm a newbie in this field and don't know why Berkeley only refers to promotion), but I really like variety so I want the expertise to be able to design, develop, and evaluate community health programs as well. To that end, I'd also like to be prepared to obtain CHES certification. (The MSW part is that I'd like experience working with individuals in more mental health settings, being able to become a LMFT).

So here is my dilemma. I am in love with Berkeley - the place, the people - I am much more of a northern California girl than a southern one. I've been living in so Cal for 2 years (6 years in total, but not consecutively), but none of this time in LA - OC and IE. I'm not really sure I will like LA and it is EXPENSIVE. I've been wanting to move north for 3 years. If I did move to LA for 3 years (dual degree program), I'd want to move north after that.

On paper, UCLA's program is perfect. I am interested in reproductive health and they are really strong in this. The classes descriptions look awesome. I have no idea how often they are all offered, but they look perfect. The program is a great fit for me. I've also heard that Berkeley's program is really theoretical and research focussed. I've done a lot of research, but my joy comes from working with people and helping on a day to day level, not on the policy level.

Does anyone have any insight on this? I'd love to hear about anyone's experiences with either program. Also, how supported they felt as students as well as how able they were to find jobs after the program.

Thank you!

I am a UCLA undergrad graduate, and I have been accepted to both UCLA's CHS dept and Berkeley HSB (same departments as you) for Fall 2009 and I am also debating what I should do. I am a CA resident, so I know that tuition would be cheaper if I stayed within CA, but I am also considering rank. My #1 choice was Johns Hopkins and I got accepted into their program.

Similar to your interests, I am working towards establishing a career around women's reproductive health issues and health education. I knew that another benefit of attending either UCLA or Berkeley is to get that dual degree MSW on top of the MPH, but I wonder if it's worth it to get those degrees at a lower ranked school and forsake JHSPH?

I guess in the end, I'm looking at "success" rate of graduates (placements, types of jobs graduates get after the program), amount of money I get, and ultimately which area I would like to get a job in, but here's my piece that might help in your decisionmaking: I spoke to a Program Specialist who works for the Alameda County's Dept. of Public Health. She graduated from UCLA with an MPH, and she told me that if I wanted a program where I'd be supplied not only with theory but with practical tools that I could apply to any position I obtain in the future, then I should go to UCLA. She says that she still uses the things that she has learned at UCLA and applies them to her daily work. I understand that you would like the more clinical, "field" work type of stuff (as opposed to research).. I'm not a big research person either, but I also talked to a Berkeley MPH grad and she still continues to do community-based/level work. She said it's really what you make of it and what professors mentor you.

I hope this provides some insight!

 

[tk6]

I know this is an old thread, but I'm facing the same dilemma now. I applied to UCLA (CHS) and Berkeley (HSB) and have now been admitted to both.

I want to get my MSW as well and I was already accepted into UCLA's program and was told by Berkeley that if I was admitted to Public Health, I was pretty much guarenteed to get into Social Welfare (apparently no one has ever applied this direction and not been admitted).

I haven't been to either admit day, but I'm planning to go to both. I don't have all the financial info yet, but I know that I'll be getting at least $10k as a grant from UCLA for the first year.

My end goal is to be able to work in health promotion / education (I'm a newbie in this field and don't know why Berkeley only refers to promotion), but I really like variety so I want the expertise to be able to design, develop, and evaluate community health programs as well. To that end, I'd also like to be prepared to obtain CHES certification. (The MSW part is that I'd like experience working with individuals in more mental health settings, being able to become a LMFT).

So here is my dilemma. I am in love with Berkeley - the place, the people - I am much more of a northern California girl than a southern one. I've been living in so Cal for 2 years (6 years in total, but not consecutively), but none of this time in LA - OC and IE. I'm not really sure I will like LA and it is EXPENSIVE. I've been wanting to move north for 3 years. If I did move to LA for 3 years (dual degree program), I'd want to move north after that.

On paper, UCLA's program is perfect. I am interested in reproductive health and they are really strong in this. The classes descriptions look awesome. I have no idea how often they are all offered, but they look perfect. The program is a great fit for me. I've also heard that Berkeley's program is really theoretical and research focussed. I've done a lot of research, but my joy comes from working with people and helping on a day to day level, not on the policy level.

Does anyone have any insight on this? I'd love to hear about anyone's experiences with either program. Also, how supported they felt as students as well as how able they were to find jobs after the program.

Thank you!

Hi all, I have the same exact dilemma! I just found out about getting into Health Policy and Management at Berkeley and I was already thinking about accepting UCLA's Community Health Sciences. I graduated UCLA, know the professors/program at UCLA, love it and the campus and I already live here and have a support network here, but eventually I want to move back home to the Bay Area and work there. People say go to school where you want to work and I believe that's true but I'm so confused. I think Health Policy and Management would be more helpful to my career and possibly give me more opportunities and money...What would you do? For now, I'll be going to both orientations and admit day events. Also, does anyone know the dates we're supposed to inform the school of our choice? Both emails I got did not have a specific date. Thanks!

 

[nimesis]

You need to respond to either school by April 15th.