Which University of California is Best?

[shopbruin]

what? ucla dirty??? behind the school is bel air! the residents complain when the apartment dwellers scream during midnite yell for finals. buses can't travel on sunset near bel air at certain hours because it would "disturb" the rich ones... have you ever been to ucla? the campus is seriously gorgeous. even south campus, the science half still has some open spaces with grass!

visit before making judgement.

ucsd can be anti social because of their five different schools... people i know there are pretty social in the first place so it doesn't really apply...

according to us news, ucb would be first, then ucla. next was either davis or irvine.

 

[Karaethon1]

Housing at Berkeley is a major pain. You're only guaranteed 1 year and then you've gotta pay like $600/mo. with a roommate to live in the bad part of town. That alone makes LA better, not to mention other stuff...

 

[DDCSpeed]

depends on your major.

GO ANTEATERS!!!!!! 2 more years left and I am outta there. SCHOOL IS SUCK!

 

[Static911]

ucla campus is nice

but the apartment streets...ugh...smells of trash

Many asian girls there are quite hot. But the ones in my classes were stuck-up, big time.

static911

 

[Jfur]

I was born at UCLA so I obviously think it's the best

 

[co0lbean]

Never judge a college overall.
Look at the schools in the college(business, engineering, music, etc.)
I have no idea which one is better in the UC's

 

[worth]

Well I'm thinking either Berkeley or UCLA from what you guys told me. I'm not really sure about majoring--sometimes I think Engineering, sometimes Medschool. I guess some of both ...

 

[OS]

<< Berkeley has a good reputation but rents are atrocious and its in the middle of a smallish city and I find it dirty >>





<< No dirtier than LA, and the city is no smaller than Riverside/Santa Barbara and most other college towns. >>




Bzzzt, come back and talk to me when you see abundant fecal matter on the walkways of UCLA.

 

[OS]

<< It's the smog talking. >>



Heh, apparently you've never visited UCLA before. It's 15 minutes tops from the beach. There is no smog there.

 

[OS]

<< Well I'm thinking either Berkeley or UCLA from what you guys told me. I'm not really sure about majoring--sometimes I think Engineering, sometimes Medschool. I guess some of both ... >>



Don't go to a school because it is "better" or has a better reputation. Go to school because that's where you want to spend the next 4 to 5 years of your life. Reputation gets you in the door, it won't carry you throughout your career.

 

[Tetsuo316]

amen brother.

not a day goes by that i don't wish i had gone to ucsc. i felt so at home on that campus every time i went, and where did i end up going?

<----

the problem with the BIG uc schools is that one can feel herded through the system. take a tour of each campus and go with what makes you happy.

but on the bright side ... whoopty-sh!t, in eight months i get a little piece of paper with the words, graduate and berkeley written on it.

 

[TheOmegaCode]

yeah, there is only one University of California, but if you want universities, some say CalTech. Depends on the major.

 

[FrontlineWarrior]

After 3 full years of college, I can pretty much safely say that reputation is just that, reputation. I doubt there is any real difference in the quality of education or resources. That being said, many employers or grad schools rely on reputation as a factor in the hiring/admission process. That sucks, but that's life.

Personally, I visited Berkeley and didn't like it, so I stayed home and went to UCLA. I'm sure even if I went to Riverside I would get nearly the same quality education. It's like splitting hairs in terms of quality of education...

 

[crabbyapple1]

Ah. always that big debate over berkeley and LA. why bother?! Those are two school I didn't even bother applying to. I would've gotten in but those weren't for me. And for those who say, "well you didn't apply cuz you wouldn't have gotten in"..... Carnegie Mellon, Brown, Harvard, and all other UCs and States accepted me. Who else can say that they got accepted to 100% of schools applied to?

Anyways, that's besides the point. Like others have stated, you need to go by the one that you would feel more comfortable at and where you would be able to reach your goals best but there may be changes in your thinking once you get there. UCLA and Berkeley just weren't the kind of schools I wanted to go to.

This is more of a popularity thread than anything else.

Riverside has/had an awesome program for medical students. Really a cut throat program. It's a 7 yr med program (which my sister went through) and pretty much this is how it goes. Approx 300 students get accepted first yr. 1/2 are dropped after first yr. Another 1/2 are dropped 2nd yr. And yet another 1/2 are dropped 3rd year. After which only 24 are selected to continue at UCLA. I think this is one of the stronger med programs in the nation. UCR is an awesome school for the medical program as well as their environmental programs.

Irvine is a decent all around school. It's got a great Arts department as well as a EE and CS program

I can't say much for the other schools because I haven't had that much experience with them or those that went there.

Anyways, you can't really rank them..... too many variables and questions.

 

[shopbruin]

riverside is nice. they also have really decent meal plans and great ways of getting reduced plans if you work on campus. (i wish ucla had that... my housing is freaking expensive)

their newest dorms are really nice, and its a lot more easy going over there.

perhaps the only drawback is that it gets hot there.

 

[Karaethon1]

You NEED to decide med or engineering. If you go to med school, Riverside has a great 7 year med program in conjunction with UCLA (Riverside for undergrad, LA for grad).

If you go engineering, decide if you want to go to grad school. If yes, then pick whatever school you like. If not, go to Berkeley, cause it'll be a lot easier finding a job coming out.

 

[Kelvrick]

<< you guys all forgot about UC DAVIS!!! small quiet town near sacramento .. the air is healthy up there. >>



Heck yea!! I'm starting class there in 2 weeks. Go aggies!!

 

[miniMUNCH]

Save your money and go to a school where professors actually care about undergrad students...go to a Cal State school.

For technical education I recommend Cal Poly Pomona...possibly the best public tech undergrad school in California and it only cost about $1900 per year for tutition.

 

[swai]

<< After 3 full years of college, I can pretty much safely say that reputation is just that, reputation. I doubt there is any real difference in the quality of education or resources. That being said, many employers or grad schools rely on reputation as a factor in the hiring/admission process. That sucks, but that's life.

Personally, I visited Berkeley and didn't like it, so I stayed home and went to UCLA. I'm sure even if I went to Riverside I would get nearly the same quality education. It's like splitting hairs in terms of quality of education... >>


about this quality of education thing.... i would say that there is definitely some differences in quality of education among UCs, if only just a small difference

but i think the main difference is in the attitude of the university and the students. i think one of the reasons berkeley has the highest reputation is because of the atmosphere there. i guess you can say it's a little more serious and competitive... as opposed to, say, santa barbara, which is known as a party school.

i think the atmosphere/attitude of the school is largely responsible for the differences in the UCs, not necessarily the "quality of education".... do not overlook this when choosing a school!
if everyone at your school parties all day everyday and never studies, it's likely to rub off on you

 

[SackOfAllTrades]

I go to UCI. Our most apparent qualities are jaded kids, ricers, and a really good liberal arts program.

In all seriousness, we do have one of the best graduate writing programs in the country.

 

[KEV1N]

Davis! Davis! Davis!

 

[xyyz]

Cal's the best UC... they did a study a few years back that said call was also the best PhD school in the nation. It topped like 21 PhD programs. I think Stanford was #2 and Harvard #3.

Please... for those Cal zelots who go off saying you're the only UC or real UC... give it a rest...

 

[xyyz]

<< (1) UCB
(2) The other ones

[edit]
--or--

There is only *one* University of California >>



That's why it has no medical school right... hell it doesn't even hav ea dental school.... what you guys got a thing against health medicine?

 

[xyyz]

<< UCLA isn't bad.

Besides I hear teh women there are great. >>



UCLA has been ranked as the school with the best looking women in nothern america... (dunno if they still hold the title...) it goes to show you how many hottie the campus has...

 

[xyyz]

<< how is Calpoly san louis obispo? what is taht count as? >>



supposed to be a damn good engineering school.