Degree of difficulty (Cal & UCLA)?

burks4tw
Tue, 06 May 2014 18:01:15 +0000

@imaplealot‌ Hey there! Yes you can stay an extra year if you would like to. I know plenty of people who have decided to take a fifth year because they have either picked up a minor or would just like to soak up more classes. As long as you don’t go over the maximum amount of units (216) you will be fine.

@ocnative‌ WOOT! Yay Political Science The PS department at UCLA is quite massive and because of its size it is actually run quite well. James Bondurant (who manages student affairs for undergraduate PS majors) frequently sends out e-mails with the latest job/internship/events/and other opportunities. I am sure the situation is similar at Berkeley

There are several reasons I picked UCLA over Cal and a big one was that I much prefer LA over Berkeley. In terms of academics I found that both schools are similar and I just felt my quality of life would be better in LA.

Another factor that pushed me toward UCLA was political orientation. I consider myself a true moderate politically and after doing research, felt that UCLA would be a bit more balanced than the Berkeley crowd. Don’t kill me for that comment hehe! But I feel like I made the right choice for me, with a major like Political Science it is so important to have a balanced representation of information from both left and right leaning academics.

A friend of mine from CC went to Berkeley (also a true moderate) and she quit literally HATES the political climate at Cal. She has said that she has had multiple professors who are quite extreme (in both liberal and conservative ideology) and that a lot of the student body is too “out there” for her. This is less of an issue if you aren’t a PS major, but it is something to consider and if you are.

Either way, Cal or UCLA, you will get a fantastic education! Congrats!