Has anyone here turned down UCLA for UCSD?

HappyDaddie
Sat, 16 Apr 2011 15:03:07 +0000

Son is attending UCSD as a Bio major, was accepted to UCLA, Berk, UCI, and a handful of East Coast schools.

UCSD is the BEST. No contest at all. After our round of visits, I don’t see how anybody could even compare them seriously. All the lists and university grading systems are wrong. Read the new book, “Crazy U” and learn about who actually makes up these lists, it’s all phony.

Here’s an overly-opinionated list of WHY IT’S UCSD NO CONTEST:

Average under-graduation time at UCSD is 4 years and 1 quarter. This allows students to apply and study-travel around the world for 4 years and summers. UCSD has study abroad programs unique to itself and no other UCs, including trips to Paris in summer and through the school year. Credits earned are exactly the same as attending classes on campus. You can actually get financial aid for these.

Academics are better or equal to any other school in California and most on East Coast. Access to profs. Outstanding world class research.

UCSD has an exchange program with Dartmouth.

Healthiest campus in the country.

No smog.

Runners Paradise. Lots of jogging all over the campus and the surrounding areas.

Skateboard Paradise. Skate shops on campus and all over San Diego.

IT’S ON A CLOTHING OPTIONAL BEACH. That’s right, parts of Blacks Beach are nude. You can surf nude there. You can swim and sunbathe nude. Did I just convince you? WHY NOT?

Bike paths are so plentiful they actually have an incredibly busy bike shop in the center of the campus, in a 1970’s collection of buildings that are the funky center of the college.

The General Store Co-op sells vinyl records, bongs (!) guitars, and record players.

The six college system works great.

They have a new sit-down full service gourmet seafood restaurant that’s reasonably priced. It’s so busy you can’t get in without reservations.

Revelle is the coolest of the 6 colleges, despite its reputation as a nerd nest, they have their own library and computer center, late night snacks, their own bio study halls, and are beside the DANCE/THEATER school where all the hot girls go to learn how to be even hotter girls and you can see all the new theater plays, dance shows, etc. This is also right across the street from the nationally known La Jolla Playhouse; meaning the best entertainment in the city is 1 minute from your Revelle dorm.

1 billion dollars in research funding as of this year. They take research VERY seriously.

Go to Pacific Beach and Ocean Beach if you get bored. They make San Francisco look like the John Birch Society Sunday Coffee Brunch.

UCSD has 3 on-campus live music pubs; Porters, Che Cafe, and the newest, the Loft which is up on the second/third floor and has a giant wraparound wall of windows behind the bands looking down on the campus. It’s AMAZING and they are beginning to book more pro groups there.

The UCSD alumni network is involved and exciting.

Going to Berk? Kiss your sweet 4.0 GPA goodbye. You’ll get a 3.0. Your parents will be bragging to anybody who will listen about how their kid is going to Berkeley and meanwhile you’ll be sweating doing finals you’ve stayed up for 48 hours studying just to try to get a mark somewhere near the center of the curve. Good luck, you’ll need it bro.

At UCLA, students run most of the departments as work/study and they don’t know where anything is, and can’t touch the thing you’re asking for until their adult manager comes back at 2:00. I’m not kidding. It’s scary. Try making a black & white copy at UCLA. Just try it. Again, good luck.

Just visit UCSD. You’ll love it.