@Bearly at this point of time I’m 80% leaning toward cal. I’m just waiting to visit the campus and talk w students in my major. If nothing dramatic happens my choice is confirm. I favor cal over UCLA because:
- cal has more flexibility on my major as well as other programs. The stats programs gives student more options to explore other fields where stats can be applied. I absolutely love to work on consulting fields where stats and applied math are ways to go. I can even declare minor in some engineering programs, which definitely makes my degree more marketable after graduation. Meanwhile, UCLA only has four tracks and doesn’t allow to minor in engineering (except environment science).
- cal offers me more scholarship opportunities than UCLA. I don’t want to stress too much over financial issues when I transfer there. It’s going to be a crucial 2-year period where I need put all focus and energy on my degree and career.
- I’m highly inspired by my math professor after the conversation with her yesterday. She did her master at Berkeley. Though the environment was extremely competitive and stressful, she never regrets choosing cal bc it opened lot of opportunities for her. She did consulting services too after graduating so she has lots of experience of what I should and need to do. I and her share few common things so I hope to follow her footsteps.
I have to admit that I’ll miss lots of social activities and networking at UCLA but it’s up to each person to make it happen. Opportunities are everywhere and they won’t come if I just wait for someone to show me.
UCLA maybe the best choices for somebody but everybody has different background. Only you know what you want to go and what you need assist with. Good luck with your decision, you can’t go wrong with either school!