Malishka31

Did you go on EAP with financial aid? if so do know how that worked and if they meet full need or not? just any infromation.

infearandfaith

any general advice for incoming transfer poli sci majors? like I have no idea where to start with picking classes.

UCLAri

Malishka,

Sorry for the late response. Yes, I did do EAP with financial aid. They handle that on their end. They met full need.

infearandfaith,

Have you picked a concentration yet? Consider which concentration you want, and then go from there.

ccbchunks

UCLAri: I am SUPER SUPER CONFLICTED:
I sent in my SIR to UC Berkeley.
But I'm appealing for a late SIR to UCLA:
I'm a Poli Sci major (and I got into the honors program at LA) interested in International Relations but also looking at jobs within the US Gov or intelligence, etc...

What do YOU know about resources/career opportunities/admit rates to law schools/the benefits or disadvantages of going to UCLA versus Berkeley?

I'm scared that Berkeley's prestige is just hearsay-ish (that they excel more in sciences and math). And I'm also scared that LA is materialistic/there won't be anything to do after freshman year since I don't have a car/not as activist as Berkeley.

ANY input is highly appreciated.

UCLAri

I know people working in the US government and working for intelligence agencies from both schools.

As far as resources go, they're pretty similar at the undergrad level. Admit rates to law schools are also generally quite similar, and if you look at the student bodies at top law schools they're about the same (maybe a 5% or so difference at most schools).

Berkeley's prestige is definitely not limited. Despite some issues that get brought up on this board, Berkeley's a really really good and really really well respected school. I wouldn't worry much about that (and anyone in the government will know the quality of their IR programs.)

UCLA is no more materialistic than Berkeley, if you ask me. I know materialistic people in SF and I know materialistic people in Berkeley. Both have their ups and downs. There are tons of activist groups at UCLA, and tons of activities to involve yourself in year-round. Don't forget that UCLA was also a hot bed of protest during the 60s and 70s!

If you want to do intelligence, though, why are you worried about law school?

I think that you should go where you think you'll be happiest. Neither one will significantly hurt or help you more in the short- or long-run.

infearandfaith

I was thinking of doing International Relations or Comparative Politics, and I'm wondering if you have an opinion about each concentration? Regardless, any info on classes or just in general on concentrations would be awesome.

UCLAri

I tend to think that UCLA's comparative faculty is stronger and more well-rounded. IR is fairly limited right now, and the department recently lost a lot of good IR faculty. I'm inclined to say go comparative.

juventus10

what type of jobs are available for a B.A. in international relations/studies?

UCLAri

I think a lot depends on what you do with the degree.

If you avoid quantitative work the whole time, you are largely limited to qualitative analytical work. If you do some quantitative work, however, you can do all kinds of things. IR BAs can go to jobs like the CIA, FBI, banking, consulting, State Dept., etc.

Again, it often depends on your coursework.

nikkei325i

Banking too? EH?!?!?!?!?

juventus10

UCLAri, what major were you for UCLA undergrad and how good was the program?

juventus10

never mind i see it's political science. But how is the global studies program in UCLA in terms of practical usage after earning the B.A.?

UCLAri

I think that a lot of the practicality depends on how you want to apply it and what you supplement it with. If you're willing to maybe do some econ and stats on the side, you can make it quite useful come application time. If you do only qualitative work, however, you might find yourself passed over in favor of the econ-types.

Dawdger

UCLAri, what year did you study abroad? And how many years of Japanese did you have under your belt before you went?

Cuz I noticed that the Japanese minor requires the 100 series. Does the language intensive program fulfill that requirement?

UCLAri

I went abroad in 2003 (my second year of college), and had just over 2 years of Japanese done by then. The language classes abroad can most definitely fulfill the 100 series.