<p>Hi. I recently got in UC Davis Computer Science in Letters of Science. I also got in UC Santa Barbara Computer Science in their college of Engineering. Even though I hear UCSB has a very prestigious undergrad engineering program, UC Davis is overall a better school as of now. My plan is to do well in undergrad and get my masters in Berkeley. Obviously I would like to have a ton of fun in college and UCSB may seem like a much better school for that. However, I care about my education much more so please give me an answer purely based off the education. Which of the two options would you choose?</p>
<p>It sounds like Davis may be the better choice for you. Keep in mind that plans change. Perhaps there is absolutely no doubt in your mind that you are going to get a CS degree. There are hundreds of kids entering college right now with that exact same thought. Some, perhaps many, end up changing their mind over the course of the next four years. Since you think Davis is overall the better school you could decide to go there so that if your plans change you are at the better school.</p>
<p>^^^^^ What he said ^^^^^</p>
<p>is UCD good for computer engineering or UCI a better choice?</p>
<p>I agree with the above and would add - there is plenty of fun to be had at Davis. You’ll need to look harder than you would at UCSB but, it is certainly there.</p>
<p>I’d rank UCD slightly ahead of UCI in CE but, not enough to make a big difference in the long run.</p>
<p>UCD is about as close to UCSB as you can get (assuming you are speaking of US News which has UCD in a tie for 39&40 and UCSB in the next tie directly below for 41). But if you need a tie breaker, you can go with that one. Of course one reason US news doesn’t rate UCSB as highly is it doesn’t have a large a graduate school presence, but one aspect of that is that undergraduates get a lot of the research opportunities graduate students often do at other schools. Also, you are in the school of engineering at UCSB and letters and science at UCD.</p>
<p>I think both are good schools and have twins likely to end up at one each as things look now, but I thought someone should present the other side. </p>
<p>This is a little late but UCSB is also the #2 university for research opportunities for undergrads in the US, ranking above Stanford and the like. Also I’ve heard that the engineering students get a lot of attention from their professors because the COE is relatively small compared to the school and that engineering students usually get all the classes they need to graduate on time. UCSB’s COE is it’s most prestigious department while Davis is more focused on Bio and Agriculture.</p>