Hi guys! Fortunately but unfortunately, I’ve gotten into both of my top choices and now cannot decide Basically, I’ve gotten into the Computer Science majors at both UCI and UCSD, and there are both things I like about each school! And honestly wish I could go to both. Lol
I was originally admitted into UCI, and I just got off the waitlist for UCSD a couple hours ago and have a week to decide.
Career plans/interests: While I’m into software applications of CS as a whole, my primary interest right now is the videogame industry, (despite all the changes coming to the tech industry in general).
Which is why I would do a double major (if at UCI) of gdim and cs/software engineering, which is busy but doable, especially since I would have basically all my gen eds cleared from APs in high school. I will research how many gen eds I have left for UCSD, but it shouldn’t be as big a deal as if at UCSD, I would do a cs major and probably at most another minor.
I’ve researched UCI more than UCSD (despite living very close by) as I was originally admitted and currently committed to UCI.
I was put on the UCSD waitlist but heard that CS admits off the waitlist were very rare, so I never thought it would happen to me!
UCI
Pros:
like the campus!
safe area
community (already have looked into clubs I would join, like the game dev club and they also have a euphonic game ensemble club which looks really cool!)
specialized major, (gdim) which would likely also boost my GPA countering my cs classes lol
gdim also would probably give more opportunities for portfolio building and teamwork projects
more industry connections (irvine seems to have a weirdly concentrated tech and game hub, although it goes into la as well.) also, publishers from blizzard entertainment, sega etc. seemed to have visited UCI as guest speakers and such. Also there seems to be more big tech (although could be wrong) around the Los Angeles area than San Diego, although there are good opportunities at both places and aren’t too far away from each other!
my roommate who I would have to abandon
back to the point about the campus, I’m pleased with the surrounding area and shops, there’s an in n out like 5 mins from campus (small research point lol)
would dorm on campus for college experience
UCSD
also like the campus! and a bit more building architecture as well
also safe area
cs name, slight edge on prestige and research opportunities
overall higher college ranking and academics
less classes (?) at least would not do a double major, I would want to do a minor though (which I would choose what minor later)
would save money by living at home, although the money isn’t a substantial financial issue (that has been emphasized), it would still be nice and I would be familiar and comfortable in the area!
another point: may be easier to study abroad with less classes
generalized path, also could lead to more opportunities later
from what I hear the communities of ucsd and uci are similar in feeling
also important point: I was admitted into the Seventh College for UCSD. (not one of my original choices, originally chose Muir/Warren) seems like I’ll need to do environmental related gen eds? I don’t mind too much
Regarding UCI vs UCSD communities, the are very different. UCI is often referred to as a “suitcase” school because so many students either commute or go home on weekends. That leaves the campus very quite on weekends, without a lot happening.
At UCSD, the college system creates a sense of community. Many (most) students stay on campus and there is an active weekend social scene.
I’ve heard some complaints about both on the social scene actually- but it doesn’t bother me much at all as I’m an introvert and not particularly a party person! I could see myself at either UCSD or UCI :))
I bet you would get along with my daughter!! She said she spent practically the whole time on the open house day talking to people in these two clubs!! When she came home and talked to me about it, I heard about sooooooooo many niche interests that it turned out that she shared with the people she met…
Anyway the club members seemed friendly and talkative… so I would suggest that if you have more questions about UCI or want to talk to someone about student life, you might contact one or both of these clubs and ask if you could chat with someone. In general, both of my kids got a lot of value out of reaching out to student clubs and talking to members about both pros and cons of each school. It really helped them to get the student perspective. And then you could do the same thing with UCSD, if you find similar clubs there that interest you!
Career-wise, I am not sure that the GDIM major would give you an edge in future employment compared to just a CS major, but you would still be doing the CS major in any case. As far as personal enjoyment goes, the GDIM major does sound fun and my D said that she would have been very tempted to switch to it, or add it as a double major.
One further thought: The job market in CS is pretty challenging right now, and the connections that you make in school will matter. I do not know if a slight edge on prestige makes a difference or not. Maybe? But it is possible that industry connections matter more (my son who is in UCB EECS thinks that in this challenging job market, people he knows have been more successful getting internships and jobs through word of mouth referrals). This might be something to talk about with students, if you happen to talk to juniors or seniors who have been dealing with internship hiring, seeing their peers looking for jobs after graduation, etc. How do they feel either UCI or UCSD set them up for the job market? Of course this will not tell you everything, because each person has a different experience and the job market is also constantly changing… but might be something to talk about with students.
Thank you for your advice! I’m going to try to reach out to students from uci and ucsd about the specifics because yea, they’ll probably have a current idea of how the connections, prestige etc. work! It’s funny because the clubs at uci that I’ve researched seem to have a mirror image club at ucsd, so this just makes it harder lol
If I could get the same or similar industry connections/opportunities, I’m thinking it’s probably better for me to choose ucsd. But it seems uci is in a more advantageous location for tech in general also for more the software type, as I’m not doing computer engineering
Is UCSD the school where you feel you would be happier? If that’s the case, go there.
I would only go down the rabbit hole of thinking about connections and opportunities if you are on the fence otherwise, can’t figure out where you want to go or where you think you would be happier… since it’s probably hard to predict which school would be the strongest for you in terms of opportunities.
Happiness has a positive effect on grades and job outlook
I feel like I could be happy at both ucsd and uci although I’ve already been mentally committed to uci for a while now as well, I suppose I have a few more days to decide!
I’m curious about the extent to which this might be changing. I know it’s a small sample, but UCI has become an increasingly popular destination from our Bay Area school district; if this is representative of wider trends, it could make some kind of difference in that?
Also, if these courses are not part of your major, I would check whether they are open to everyone. Some courses may be restricted to just students in the corresponding major (my son saw a lot of this when he was considering UCSD engineering).
Academically it seems like the cs major at UCSD leans more toward the technical aspect, and goes deeper that way (I would also have to take calc 3, which is not required at UCI for cs but only cse)
But also UCI seems to have more project based classes, especially in gdim and as well as its ics courses which I could add to my portfolio and resume etc.
For games specifically, UCSD seems to have one course: cse 125, which is only available senior year and spring, so right before graduation. It seems that you have to apply for the course () and it’s a class of around ~30 people. I just read a reddit post where someone got rejected from the class that’s kinda crazy, although I think I could build games through the game dev club at both uci or ucsd either way, just probably more at uci
If I’m at UCSD however, I’ll probably have a bit more time (? even if I will be taking a couple more math classes possibly) as I wouldn’t be double majoring. But then I would probably pick up a language or business minor either way, so not very sure on where I’d end up the busiest lol
True, that’s important as well, the class I was looking at seems to be very small and focused and that currently, you can only enroll with professor permission during the end of your senior year I fear it seems hard to get into, although it seems like a class I’d enjoy
Basically, I’ve gotten into the Computer Science majors at both UCI and UCSD, and there are both things I like about each school! And honestly wish I could go to both. Lol
She said she spent practically the whole time on the open house day talking to people in these two clubs!! When she came home and talked to me about it, I heard about sooooooooo many niche interests that it turned out that she shared with the people she met…
also for more the software type, as I’m not doing computer engineering
) and it’s a class of around ~30 people. I just read a reddit post where someone got rejected from the class