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Wstrdg
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Posted: Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 09:00 pm |
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Last edited on Thu Jul 12th, 2007 06:09 pm by Wstrdg
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DesperateDad
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| Joined: | Tue Mar 14th, 2006 |
| Location: | California USA |
| Posts: | 871 |
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Posted: Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 09:13 pm |
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at first when I saw your post, I immediately thought no-brainer: Go Bears! But then I saw free money......making it more difficult.
Cal's engineering school is ranked in the top 3 in the country (with MIT and Stanford) so a degree from there is highly desirable. OTOH, SD has all those biotech firms in the 'hood. IMO, Cal has a better campus student community - Telegraph Avenue ain't La Jolla, but then the typical student can't afford to shop in La Jolla. Cal also has D-1 sports creating a lot of school spirit, but that might or might not be of interest. Participation in research might be a little bit easier at SD, particularly with the Regents.
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Wstrdg
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Posted: Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 09:49 pm |
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Last edited on Thu Jul 12th, 2007 06:09 pm by Wstrdg
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DesperateDad
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Posted: Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 10:07 pm |
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Yes, of course, SD is top-ranked in the specialty of BIOengineering, while Cal's College of Engineering is #2/3.
Everyone loves to bash Cal, so take the boards with a grain of salt. (A certain person has a particular problem with her experience there, and nearly everything she posts as a complaint is a really problem with the state uni system in general since the same issues exist on the other campuses.) UC San Diego engineering is just as hard. Engineering schools do not allow for electives, so no gpa-padding humanities classes to balance out the load. The UC Frosh sciences also grade on a tough curve (relative to other top schools), so kids who are used to being in the top 10% of their class, are now in the bottom 50% (which, by definition, has to happen), and looking at C's for the first time in their lives.
But, if your S does not like the community up north, then SD is an easy choice. The Regent's is a big plus.
fwiw: last year, our HS had two girls interested in engineering with the same choices. One thought La Jolla was about as boring as could be and went to Cal. The other spent a weekend at Cal and was afraid to go out at night - she chose SD. I ran into the mother of the girl at Cal last week and she reports her D is having a great time and receiving a lot of "personal attention" from profs, which surprised them bcos the school is so big. Haven't heard from the girl down south, however.
btw: most kids at Hopkins aren't having fun either.
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WestrnMom
Super Moderator
| Joined: | Fri May 26th, 2006 |
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Posted: Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 10:38 pm |
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My friend's child is a student at UCSD and said that the set-up is different from the other UCs in that you belong to colleges that may not involve your major. Are you familiar with the set up? It sounds from your posts that your son would prefer UCSD but thinks Cal is the better school. I'd suggest going to the school where he will be the most comfortable, likes the campus and the surrounding community, and the student population. Since they are large schools, there will be a variety of students attending each one, so that may be less important than the other physical factors. How accessible are the profs at each school?
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 11:36 pm |
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| Both UCSD and Cal are excellent options, and I think it would be splitting hairs to say one is really substantially superior academically. There's also something to be said for wanting to broaden one's horizons and experience a different part of the world beyond home turf. But really the only opinion that matters is your son's. If you took the bio-engineering component out of the picture (after all, majors can and do change), where would he be happiest to attend? Last edited on Mon Apr 2nd, 2007 11:40 pm by CarolynLawrence
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Wstrdg
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Posted: Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 04:50 pm |
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Last edited on Thu Jul 12th, 2007 06:09 pm by Wstrdg
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 05:13 pm |
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Just a thought but: There's always Cal for graduate school.  On the other hand, as I said, I think they're both great options, so there really is not a "right or wrong" choice -- just different choices. Give him some time, and he'll figure things out. Keep us informed.Last edited on Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 05:13 pm by CarolynLawrence
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mathmom
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Posted: Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 06:05 pm |
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My bias is that in general Cal is better for grad school. Last spring I was talking to someone in Cupertino who really felt that UCSD was a hidden gem in the UC system. He thought very highly of it when hiring. (He was more of a straight computer guy than bioengineering though.)
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vocca
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Posted: Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 06:29 pm |
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My daughter has also been accepted to UCB, which is the only UC she applied to, but will not be attending.
Members of our extended family have attended UCSD, were happy there, and were very successful afterwards in their graduate pursuits.
If you son hates the area around UCB's campus, and has merit scholarships and the benefits of the Regents at UCSD, UCSD seems to me a clear choice, especially for bioengineering and biotech. UCSD and the San Diego area are well known for their strengths in those fields. I think the general locale of UCSD is very pretty, too.
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Wstrdg
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Posted: Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 07:23 pm |
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Last edited on Thu Jul 12th, 2007 06:10 pm by Wstrdg
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DesperateDad
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Posted: Tue Apr 3rd, 2007 08:36 pm |
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| fyi : the utlimate Bureaucracy (with a big B) at Cal is Housing services. Do NOT miss their deadline or your dear son could be sleeping in the Oak Trees (great view btw).
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Wstrdg
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Posted: Sat Apr 7th, 2007 02:26 am |
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Last edited on Thu Jul 12th, 2007 06:10 pm by Wstrdg
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