UC Berkeley, UCLA, or UC Irvine for UG?

[Girlygirl2020]

I know this thread was created back in 2010, but I just wanted to see if anyone had any new recommendation as to where I should go for UG. I'm a transfer student who was recently accepted to these three schools, and as a first generation student, I get little help from my parents with these kinds of decisions.
I know that "prestige" doesn't matter, but UCB and UCLA aren't in the same tier as UCI. Of course, that does serve as an advantage since UCI will be less competitive for me, relatively. 😳 UCLA will be the cheapest for me to attend.
Any thoughts? All comments will be appreciated, and thank you in advance 🙂

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[911 Turbo]

I know this thread was created back in 2010, but I just wanted to see if anyone had any new recommendation as to where I should go for UG. I'm a transfer student who was recently accepted to these three schools, and as a first generation student, I get little help from my parents with these kinds of decisions.
I know that "prestige" doesn't matter, but UCB and UCLA aren't in the same tier as UCI. Of course, that does serve as an advantage since UCI will be less competitive for me, relatively. 😳 UCLA will be the cheapest for me to attend.
Any thoughts? All comments will be appreciated, and thank you in advance 🙂

Ucla

 

[Goobs]

I know this thread was created back in 2010, but I just wanted to see if anyone had any new recommendation as to where I should go for UG. I'm a transfer student who was recently accepted to these three schools, and as a first generation student, I get little help from my parents with these kinds of decisions.
I know that "prestige" doesn't matter, but UCB and UCLA aren't in the same tier as UCI. Of course, that does serve as an advantage since UCI will be less competitive for me, relatively. 😳 UCLA will be the cheapest for me to attend.
Any thoughts? All comments will be appreciated, and thank you in advance 🙂

I wouldn't go to Cal since they're known for grade deflation. You want as high a GPA as possible, so if you think you can do equally well in all three schools I'd pick UCLA. Otherwise go to wherever you think you'll do best.

 

[Girlygirl2020]

I wouldn't go to Cal since they're known for grade deflation. You want as high a GPA as possible, so if you think you can do equally well in all three schools I'd pick UCLA. Otherwise go to wherever you think you'll do best.

I can understand picking UCLA over Cal, but why not UCI?

 

[Arbor Vitae]

Cal because it offers the best of all worlds. Most prestige, San Francisco is an awesome city, Berkeley is a great experience. When you apply to med schools, the UCs will value a degree from Berkley > or = UCLA >> UCI.

 

[Loveless]

If UCLA is the cheapest to attend, then there's your answer right there. It's a fantastic school to begin with, and you're getting a discount to boot.

 

[Goobs]

I can understand picking UCLA over Cal, but why not UCI?

Because you said it was the cheapest for you. 🙂

 

[CaliGirl14]

Ahhh go to UCLA. go where teh money flows

 

[alpinism]

Easy choice, UCLA.

UCLA is a great school and has more opportunities for pre-meds than UCI. Also, getting good grades should take relatively the same effort at both schools.

 

[JBruin]

UCLA without a second thought.

I have many friends who chose Cal and have regretted their decision post graduation. I have never met a UCLA grad who would have gone anywhere else. Anecdotal but food for thought.

 

[Akail]

Cal grad here.

Go to UCLA.

 

[snorlax]

Cal grad here.

Go to UCLA.

why would you not recommend Cal? i.e., why would you recommend UCLA over Cal if you went to Cal?

 

[CaliGirl14]

Isn't UCB known for its grade deflation?

 

[Goobs]

Isn't UCB known for its grade deflation?

Yes. It's going to take a lot more effort to get a good GPA there so why make extra work for yourself?

 

[taotronics]

Since we're on the topic of UC difficulty, how does UCSD compare to UCLA and UCI in terms of difficulty?

 

[CsHead]

Since we're on the topic of UC difficulty, how does UCSD compare to UCLA and UCI in terms of difficulty?

I don't know... I only went to one of the aforementioned three.. but at the time I would say UCSD was probably more so than the other two.


Who cares though.. UCLA has a ****ing football team.

 

[snorlax]

Yes. It's going to take a lot more effort to get a good GPA there so why make extra work for yourself?

I've heard plenty of anecdotal evidence (from people in the bay area) that it is harder to get a good GPA at Cal than UCLA, but I've never actually seen any evidence of that.

I think a more important consideration than the anecdotal evidence should be semester vs. quarter system. Depending on your learning style, you may be more fit for one system than the other.

 

[Anicetus]

I've heard plenty of anecdotal evidence (from people in the bay area) that it is harder to get a good GPA at Cal than UCLA, but I've never actually seen any evidence of that.

I think a more important consideration than the anecdotal evidence should be semester vs. quarter system. Depending on your learning style, you may be more fit for one system than the other.

It's because when you are a happier person going to a happier school, you will have more energy for doing well in courses.

Whereas at Berkeley, some people just get burnt out so easily from just studying all the time.

UCSD, however has a beach.

 

[Akail]

why would you not recommend Cal? i.e., why would you recommend UCLA over Cal if you went to Cal?

I'm sure people will have different perspectives but here's mine...

Cal has many talented faculty; over four years it was nice having people who were big names in their field teach you. There are also a lot of research opportunities which can be useful if you're interested in applying to medical school. The problem I had with Cal was that I personally just didn't feel like there was much of a social atmosphere. I made a lot of friends that I still keep in contact with and had a lot of fun, but it's a little harder to make friends in your pre-med classes. It's a lot more hardcore than I think undergrad should be. I definitely had some shady stuff happen to me where solutions would mysteriously disappear in chem lab but I don't think that happens for a majority of students. You'll get a good education regardless but personally I wouldn't go to Cal unless it makes a lot of financial sense (I had a full ride).

Incidentally, when I was interviewing for residency, I did happen to interview with a program director who was from Cal and we spend a solid 10-15 minutes talking about how horrible the experience was.

Personally, since UCLA is cheaper, I'd go there.

 

[yehhhboiii]

i vote ucla

but you can go berkeley if you like a challenge and enjoy being poor

 

[anguisette]

I know this thread was created back in 2010, but I just wanted to see if anyone had any new recommendation as to where I should go for UG. I'm a transfer student who was recently accepted to these three schools, and as a first generation student, I get little help from my parents with these kinds of decisions.
I know that "prestige" doesn't matter, but UCB and UCLA aren't in the same tier as UCI. Of course, that does serve as an advantage since UCI will be less competitive for me, relatively. 😳 UCLA will be the cheapest for me to attend.
Any thoughts? All comments will be appreciated, and thank you in advance 🙂

Are you from NorCal or SoCal and do you want to be away from family? Do you want to be away from your HS friends? Significantly cheaper?

Don't just think of college as a pre-med. Think of college as your college years too. Personally, I wanted to move away and be somewhere new for all four years.

 

[nabilesmail]

UCLA a bit less prestigious (nationally not in California) but overall a great school, better city, and non of that CAL- gunner/grade deflation stuff
UCLA is still like the second best public school in the nation

 

[nysegop]

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