Our kid got in to UCLA for business Econ and TCU for mechanical engineering. He would most likely change that to business. Leaving money out, and leaving politics or religion out, can you think of other things to consider?
We know that business econ is not necessarily business, but UCLA has a very respected worldwide Econ department. UCLA has great food, but dorms are severely impacted. They also will not take most of his AP credits, and he has a lot.
TCU will take all his AP credits, our kiddo would probably be more comfortable in the dorms, and there will still be plenty to do.
It seems both schools have a very strong alumni network and job placement.
Any feedback?
It seems to me that he should choose the school based on the career he would much more like to pursue. Those are very different paths.
My son is at UCLA For Bus – econ. Yes, there are good opportunities, but it is a large public institution that can be competitive. As such, you have to hustle to get both get internships and gain entry to clubs. For consulting and Wall Street type clubs, they are competitive everywhere, including at the Ivies. I’m sure this is true at TCU as well.
The dorms aren’t that bad. They guarantee 4 years of housing. All freshmen live in triples. Most sophomores continue to live on campus but many moving into doubles for. The majority of juniors and seniors end up in off-campus apartments. By dorm food standard the food is quite good.
Setting aside money and politics, if your child is truly undecided about business or engineering, start off at TCU engineering. It is very difficult to switch into engineering at UCLA – some would say next to impossible from a non-science or math fieldti start. TCU has a pretty good business program from my understanding. If your child thinks he wants to live in Texas afterwards, I’d go to TCU. If he is less decided on future location, UCLA probably has a slight edge.
Good luck.
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Thank you- I think he is in part just excited that he got into UCLA and he did like the campus. When you say competitive for the business fraternities are there particular ones for kids that are just trying to get into business or finance? And so far you would say the dorm experience has been a non-issue? Someone else with a freshman showed me pictures in the triple but there are only two desks and two dressers, so I’m trying to understand how all three kids fit.
He truly is undecided.
Each student has a bed, a desk and a dresser. What to Bring - What Not to Bring | Housing
Are you a CA resident?
Don’t forget TCU has a business surcharge. So you pay more than you think.
Business - you can do a specific program -
Accounting
Info systems
Entrepreneurship
Finance
Management
Marketing
Supply Chain
UCLA - you can’t. Do you want to study a business discipline or econ ? They’re very different.
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My daughter is also interested in business, but the closest major at UCLA is business economics. Could you share how competitive it is to get into the business clubs? You have to apply and can’t just sign up and join? How is the alumni network? Kids are able to find internships easily? Does kids have to take summer sessions due to the challenge of getting their classes during the school year?
I guess it depends on what he wants to do, business or engineering. If his interested in business, UCLA is a good choice if you can afford it.
Sorry for the delayed response, I was traveling for work. Business clubs are competitive. They are so everywhere including at the Ivies. UCLA has many business clubs and the ones that are particularly competitive are those focused on investment banking/finance and consulting. Within those fields there are many clubs and levels of competitiveness as well. I think the majority of freshman in the fall take it easy but my son tried to join clubs right away and within the first couple of weeks was already writing applications and interviewing already for consulting clubs. He said in many ways it was more compressed and worse than applying for colleges.
You can find internships but you have to work at it. They don’t come to you. Most on campus interviewing seems more focused towards rising juniors than younger students. My son again found summer and school year internships, but did so mostly on his own initiative. I think this will be true at most schools but especially so at large public universities.
Most students don’t take classes during the summers. It’s not too hard to graduate in 4 years and much easier to get classes your junior and senior years when you have greater priority enrollments. Priority is given for upper-classmen. Since there are 3 quarters, you’ll have priority for at least one of those quarters over similar level students - that’s when you want to sign up for popular classes. My son completed most of his gen eds Freshman year and the recommendation is to have at least multiple backup options in case you don’t get the really popular ones. You’ll get your major required courses and those needed to take advances courses - just perhaps not right away.
I can’t say the Alumni network at UCLA is great. I’m an alum and have tried to help out students who reach out but I’ve never tried tapped into it myself. I’ve heard mixed reviews from others. In my experience private schools generally have more of an advantage in alumni networking and especially smaller LACs. I think most alums will take calls and try to answer questions.
Overall, my son is very happy at UCLA. We don’t think there are opportunities only available to UCLA students or highly ranked schools, but the name does help with certain companies. I have friends who are recruiters in tech who - fairly or not - will more closely look at a resume from well known schools like UCLA over less well known schools and even other UCs (besides Berkely). But most companies care more about what students made of their school experience rather than the name brand of the school. The exceptions tend to be in investments and consulting from what I have been told where UCLA is acceptable but not highly desired like the Ivies are.