<p>OKay I have this on another thread but i would REALLY like some help because the deadline is approaching, and I’ve been switching back and forth from UCLA and Cal for about 20 times!!! </p>
<p>I know no one can tell me which college suits my personality, but can anyone who has lived in NorCal and SoCal tell me some differences? i really need to make my college decision soon and any info about atmosphere/environment would be great. Good anectodes would be awsome. thanks!!</p>
<p>do you like NorCal? Do you want to stay there? Do you want family to be that close? I weighed these options when I was applying and decided SoCal over NorCal outweighed being close to family. SoCal=laid back (go to a musical or a play and see all the folks in jeans). But, I am biased, being from SoCAl… :)</p>
<p>Oh, but there are some places, times, events where formal attire is worn because the people are classy like that.</p>
<p>Westow,</p>
<p>i was in the same boat as you. i was set on UCLA but then i went to Cal Day and i was amazed. Then i proceded to switch back and forth between the two schools for about two weeks and today i finally sent my SIR to the school of my choice: UCLA!</p>
<p>it was a super-de-duper hard decision for me. Ive lived in San Jose, CA (nor cal, about 1.5 hours from Cal) for pretty much all my life and i felt that the experience i could gain from being in a huge (and new) city like LA would really help to push me along down that road of independence. sure, i would have been independent at Cal as well but i think the newness factor makes it just that more exciting.</p>
<p>Im planning to major in MCB or microbial bio and immunology and i also intend to go to medical school. When i looked at the Cal rates of med school addmission, their rates are very close to the national average. I guess the “name” doesnt really carry that much weight to med school admission officers. with that said, i think i can get an equally good eduaction at UCLA and have an equally good chance of being admitted to the med school of my choice. that also helped narrow down my decision so that it was basically soley based on the atmosphere.</p>
<p>from what ive read, UCLA students tend to manage their time between studying and liesure a bit better than Cal students. I also hear that the night life ant UCLA is tremendously better than at Cals. </p>
<p>so basically, both schools will offer you both great educations and a great experience; it is just up to you to choose which experience you want to experience (ha!)</p>
<p>i also chose UCLA over CAL because of the atmosphere. ive lived in socal all my life and i dont think i would be able to adapt to other weather. my bias towards CAL is cold depressing weather with cutthroat competition. although ucla is also academically competitive, it seems more laid back and more social. CAL does has more prestige, but i dont think the difference in rankings is significant for grad school. Just think of which school you make you feel more comfortable to live at for the next four years. good luck. :)</p>
<p>I chose UCLA after walking on the campus one time. Yes, I also visited Cal. However, I knew that I would love being at UCLA every day. Somehow, UCLA just wowed me more than any school I visited, and I figured I might as well be happy wherever I am.</p>
<p>Some might call it a bad reason, I call it the perfect reason.</p>
<p>so u guys basically went with ur intuition eh? thats not bad at all.</p>
<p>Some people find it bad to go on intuition, but I think it counts for a lot. As as student, you should feel capable enough to succeed despite your school.</p>
<p>im from the sanfranciscoish area too, and i vacillated for a realllly long time. i didnt really like cal campus much and la seemed like a new experience i couldnt pass up. so yah, i chose ucla</p>
<p>Why are soooo many people passing up on CAL after saying how prestigious it is but how the “atmosphere” at UCLA is better. Aren’t we supposed to be going to the best academically challenging school. I mean I wouldn’t pass up on say a stanford because ucla has a better social scence. I’m going to ucla btw but would really consider ucb just because i was born and raised in l.a. and would like to live/expeience somthing new</p>
<p>Well, a lot of people still feel like the Cal name carries much further. There is a good argument in favor of that, but I think in recent years especially under the stewardship of Chancellor Carnesale, UCLA has close the gap more than ever. Can it ever surpass Cal? Probably not. It’s a victim of youth.</p>
<p>okay well I sent in my SIR to UCLA yesturday and yeah. basically i like UCLA but my parents are being sooo unreasonable. they want me to go to Cal because 1) it’s closer and 2) it is more prestigous. But i dont regret it because they cant see what I see. ahhh but what’s bothering me now is that they are hella upset and is basically ignoring me. -___- </p>
<p>but GO BRUINS!</p>
<p>westow, in time they will understand that you made a good decision. </p>
<p>“1) it’s closer”</p>
<p>you’re going to have to become independent sooner or later</p>
<p>“and 2) it is more prestigous.”</p>
<p>your employer knows the academic quality gap between cal and ucla isn’t that big. </p>
<p>“they are hella upset”</p>
<p>as a native socal resident, we like to point out that “hella” is a norcal word. hehe ;)</p>
<p>is there something wrong with saying “hella”? should i not say in once im in ucla?? I like saying it hella hahha.</p>
<p>i plan on sporting my lavender polo shirt that says “HELLA” across the front.</p>
<p>Nor cal for life!</p>
<p>i wore my Nor Cal shirt when i went to UCLA for AAP day</p>
<p>I wore my Cal hat to Campus tour, which was on the Festival of Books day. I bet a lot of ppl saw me and hated me hahaha. well screw them cuz i hella luv UVLA!!</p>
<p>westow: as another socal native, i don’t think people care much. then again, i’m from l.a. city. you’re from norcal, the east coast, down south, it doesn’t matter; the reply you’ll probably get is something to the effect of…“that’s cool…” and it’ll be left at that. we just don’t care one way or another. there’s just so many people from all over the world that it just doesn’t phase us. :)</p>
<p>that being said…i think ucla would be a more laid back environment on the whole. department wise, i dunno since i hear both schools are cutthroat in certain disciplines. academically, i’m a firm believer in education being the same regardless of what school you attend…it’s up to you to learn all that you can. presitge wise, hmmm…berkeley might have more prestige according to us news; but honestly…regardless of the propaganda, people around the world know of ucla in name and academically. if they haven’t…well, do you really needthe opinion of such uninformed people?</p>
<p>both schools are great. u can’t go wrong with either one. SoCal and NorCal are both different, but once u live outside of California, you realize how amazingly similiar they are compared to the rest of the USA. </p>
<p>The UC system is the greatest system in the world when you look at how much we have accomplished. We broke every rule in the book, and we will continue to do so on all the UC campuses.</p>
<p>what do u mean by “We broke every rule in the book”? heh just wondering.</p>
<p>^ Public schools are not supposed to be better than top private schools. But we are. I consider it to be pretty amazing.</p>