UCLA Ling + CS vs UW CS

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I just got accepted off the waitlist to UCLA for Ling & CS! It was so unexpected, like I didn’t think I’d get pulled at all??? But right now, I’m enrolled for UW CS at Allen School, and I have till June 1st to make my decision.

Any advice on the differences between the programs? Or specially, the UW vs UCLA CS departments? I’m hoping to find a program that, at the minimum, will give me skills in software development skills & a solid base in machine learning/AI/NLP since ultimately I want to work in computational linguistics (+ earn a graduate degree from a good school)

UCLA

Pros:

  • in California
  • it’s ucla I mean like that alone—
  • could minor in Data science engineering to supplement on the STEM side

Cons:

  • a B.A. instead of a B.S. degree
  • less CS content in degree program than UW; wouldn’t have advantage of a pure CS degree
  • out of state

UW - CS

Pros:

  • already committed
  • instate tuition
  • stronger overall CS program; a pure CS degree with flexibility to specialize in ling

Cons:

  • would rather live/work in California
  • passing up opportunity to attend UCLA
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Are costs an issue? UCLA will be around $76K/year based on 2024-25 estimates.

If you are thinking of Graduate school, then attend UW for Undergrad, save the money and consider UCLA for Graduate school.

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Don’t see a scenario where paying higher for UCLA would be better. UW CS is top notch and should have flexibility to add linguistics as a minor.

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This shouldn’t be a reason for you to want to attend that school. I understand why you might think so but it’s just reality. Prestige won’t matter.

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I wondered which UW until I read “Allen School”, which I take to mean that UW is the University of Washington.

UW is excellent for computer science (and this would be true regardless of whether “W” meant Washington, Wisconsin, or Waterloo). I do not think that you are gaining anything by switching to UCLA. Employers in California know how excellent all three of these particular UW’s are.

If you were in-state in California and UCLA were less expensive then I would consider switching. Given that UW is less expensive then I would stick with it.

I would expect that if you get accepted to a really top level graduate program (eg, Stanford level) then you will find that other students in the same graduate program come from a huge range of other universities, and that a LOT of the other students in the same graduate program, possibly a majority, come from undergraduate schools that are ranked a bit lower than any of UCLA, U.Washington, or the other two very strong UW’s.

These are significant plusses for UW. I would stick with it.

I might add that I worked for many, many years for a very good high tech company headquartered in California, and the company I worked for hires LOTS of people from out of state universities. U.Washington on your resume will get your foot in the door at companies in California.

You are in at two really excellent universities. Congratulations!!! However, I think that UW is the stronger choice here between two excellent schools.

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We, here in California, know that Washington is north of our state (yep that Pesky Oregon is in-between us) and, believe it or not, our CS employers actually employ people from Washington state! We are a large state and have multiple CS hubs throughout California’s boundaries.

If you want to pay into our state’s coffers, then by all means attend UCLA. Our state calls you a “cash cow” because you bring in some money and will pay outrageous fees for the benefit of our state. Our state needs the money.

If you want to get a strong education in CS, and save some cash for grad school, then stay instate and apply to grad school anywhere, including UCLA. Yes, we will take your money at anytime!
Our employers will still be here.

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Thank you for all the responses! I might take a little longer to deliberate, since this has been a really tough decision to weigh on. I have been told that, if I chose UCLA, we would find a way to make that financially happen, and I’ve been advised by parents not to focus on this aspect?

Right now, I think both the academics/education and the campus life/opportunities/experiences in the area are a big factor. Both schools offers a great education for sure (for both linguistics and comp sci, one program focused on one subject area over the other, obv.). But I also think the quality of life experiences related to other interests of mine (ex: swimming, music production) I’d get from each campus beyond my education and related to other interests of mine are also important?

Idk I’m just afraid of regretting either a) passing up UW CS or b) the opportunity to attend one of my dream schools like UCLA

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I think that there’s an element of “familiarity breeds contempt” here. And I fully understand that, having once been a high schooler in Virginia who bristled at any pressure to consider the top-notch publics in that state. (Didn’t end up with that decision to make, as we moved out of VA in my junior year, but just saying that I know the feeling.)

But, I honestly think it would be foolish to give up a spot in UW CS, which is one of the tippy-top CS programs in the entire country/world (even more highly-regarded than the full CS major in UCLA’s engineering school), for the CS+Ling major at UCLA, even at cost parity. Throw in the fact that you’d be paying more than double for UCLA over the in-state cost of UDub, and… just no.

I understand that you think you’d like to work in computational linguistics; and if this continues to be your primary interest, wonderful! You can indeed pursue that at UW too.

But linguistics is an interesting field. A lot of the people who end up loving it never thought they would, and a lot of the people who were excited about studying it end up not liking it as much as they expected. Maybe you have explored the field in enough depth already to be sure - I don’t know. But my point is, at UCLA, you’d be locked in. You couldn’t switch into straight-CS. If you discovered a different sub-field of CS that you loved more, you wouldn’t be able to reallocate all of the linguistics coursework you’d be committed to. And your CS foundation would not be as robust as you’d get with the full degree at UW.

I think you’re already clear that UW is better academically. The argument for UCLA basically boils down to California + “dream school.” And yes, I know that UCLA has captured the public imagination as a “dream school” avatar of sorts. It’s a cool place. I get that.

But truly, so is UW. It’s an amazing university with a phenomenal CS program, a gorgeous campus, a vibrant student community - honestly, all the things. (One of my California kids loved it more than any of the UC’s. Familiarity breeds contempt!) Most of the difference comes down to weather. And I know that isn’t nothing. But… $160K also isn’t nothing. Paying that kind of money to downgrade the flexibility and CS clout of your degree just doesn’t add up.

You can still get internships and jobs in California. Worst-case, for $160K, you could do a masters at California school after you finish at UW and still come out ahead, but that probably won’t be necessary unless it’s something you specifically want.

Congrats on the UCLA admit, but I think you should stay the course at UW.

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It’s admirable of your parents to want to allow you to make a decision separate from the financial impacts.

I’d just say to consider… if they are prepared to “find” an additional $160K to give you the best possible prospects, then consider this decision not as UCLA vs. UW, but as UCLA vs. (UW+$160K).

You want to work in Silicon Valley after you graduate? The median home price here is up to $1.8M. That money could come in awfully handy when it’s time to make a down payment.

OTOH, if you decide that the UCLA experience is too good to pass up, your decision will benefit not only the state of California, as Aunt Bea pointed out, but also someone who will be more than thrilled to fill your spot in the UW CS program. And you certainly wouldn’t be the first to decide that they couldn’t pass up a UCLA offer!

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Agree with @aquapt because they will also need to pony up dollars for flights, health insurance, rents-if you decide to move out of the dorms, car/auto insurance/uber and food. LA living ain’t cheap, so get them ready for some sticker shock.

Most of the UC’s are impacted for certain majors. If you’re okay with being locked into the major, then you can’t get frustrated if you try to change out and they (Bruins staff) reiterate that CS is impacted.

Good luck! Don’t place your parents in a financial bind. You are only allowed to take loans of $27K TOTAL, from the federal government, over the 4 years of your education. Your parents are going to have to figure out how to fund $300K for UCLA tuition/fees over 4 years without including the expenses that I have noted above. You have a really good deal with UW and it makes more sense than being stuck in freshman math classes of 400+ students at UCLA.

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Hey,

I’d like to provide some different perspective on this issue. I was in a similar situation as well a couple of years ago (deicing between UW CS + Honors program and UCLA CS). I ended up choosing UCLA CS, but I have a close relationship with UW as well (been taking classes there ranging from kids’ summer camps to 200s level math for around 8 years of my life). I really love both school, but there are a few points of comparison I would like to touch on [LONG POST INCOMING]: quality of courses, quality of degree, quality of opportunities, quality of life, and finally, cost.

Quality of courses is one where both schools lack, in my opinion. When took regular courses at UW during the school year alongside the college students, my class was taught not by a professor, but by a postdoc who in all honesty didn’t care for the class and it showed. UCLA also has several professors who are the brightest minds in their field, but make it clear that teaching basic undergrad courses is not how they would like to be spending their time. Big deal, they’re both public universities. In both schools you will have class sizes ranging from 40 to 320 even for your upper division courses. Something to keep in mind, but you really don’t have a choice at this point.

In terms of quality of degree, there is a surprising clear winner here. UW CS is a very prestigious program. Its CS degree and pace of courses is lacking for its name. UW CS requires a 3-course into sequence, along with “upper division” foundations in probability, discrete math, data structures, and architecture. Other than a capstone, everything else is just an elective. UCLA does all the same as lower-division requirements, at a faster (and better) pace: intro sequence is 2 quarters, discrete math and probability are not in the CS dept so you don’t have to fight for them, algorithms is one class at UCLA where it’s two at UW, and the low-level courses are accelerated as well. At the end of freshman year, normal UCLA freshmen come out with coursework looking like a UW mid-year sophomore. The UCLA Ling + CS degree, however, has fewer CS requirements. Pairing it with the DSE minor would be an excellent choice given your interests, but you can just take extra CS classes on the side if you don’t want the rigidity of adding an extra program to your plate.

For the linguistics component, UW has a solid ling program. UCLA has a top 10 in the nation ling program, which is known to be relatively STEM-heavy and computational. Many plain CS students choose to use Ling courses to fill elective groups, and they are regarded very highly (people tend to enjoy them much more than CS courses XD).

Now let’s talk AI. Both schools have courses in it. UCLA has more, pretty flat out. In fact, it’s a good thing that your interest is in AI because almost all of UCLA’s CS electives are in some form of it: foundations, machine learning, deep learning natural language processing, computer vision, etc. I’d recommend looking at courses in both the CS and EE departments at UCLA because I am not going waste space by listing all go them. UCLA is extremely well regarded in the AI sphere, and so is UW. You really can’t go wrong wither way here, but UCLA has more offerings for you.

Quality of opportunities: both schools are excellent. Almost everyone at UCLA gets some sort of internship after second year, with many going to big tech and many getting stuff their first year too. UW is pretty similar from what I’ve heard – there’s a bit more competition at career fairs, etc. because there are 3 times the number of CS majors as us, but other than that opportunities should be equal. For grad school prep, you might have an easier time getting in to a UCLA linguistics department research opportunity, but you could also get something similar at UW.

Quality of life is a VERY large factor in your undergrad experience. Do not underestimate this. In high school, I was very certain that I wanted a place where I could just hunker down and work on my studies. I can tell you now that if I did not have a thriving social scene, I would not only be miserable, but also have fewer opportunities. You’re in-state for UW, so let’s be real, you’re from the puget sound region and probably a Seattle suburb. You know the Seattle freeze and the Seattle weather. If you’re from a small town in the East you’re in for a nasty surprise. UW very much has an unfriendly energy to it: people aren’t very outgoing, the U-District isn’t very safe anymore (this breaks my heart), UW dorms are spread out in distant areas so after-class banter is more challenging. UW has a beautiful campus, but it’s rare that you’ll be able to see the mountain at the end of Rainier Vista. Seattle as a town is relatively depressing as well (as stated by the numbers). BUT, UW is an absolutely STUNNING campus, with great skiing and hiking nearby if that’s you thing. If you actually like the rain, then UW is your haven.

People might say that LA is nothing like what it is in the movies, but UCLA is actually like what you see in the movies. That’s because it literally is in the movies, with many films taking place at a “university” being filmed right on campus. It’s also very close to Hollywood. Located at the crossroads of Beverly Hills, Bel Air, and Santa Monica, UCLA has probably the best location in town with affordable rent prices (private appts in Westwood go for less than they do in U-District). LA weather is a dream, and the beaches, hiking, and views are to die for. However, distances are FAR, and you will spend a lot on transportation because public transport is not good. The bar scene is not strong near campus, and UCLA’s status as a party school is quite overrated.

Now for the most important factor: cost. UCLA will cost a lot more. Period. For many people, this reason alone should make UW the clear winner, as probably all of the other CC posters will make abundantly clear. My parents are only paying my first year tuition, so I am paying everything myself with money I get from tech internships and will graduate with $30k debt. Not good, but I will be able to pay it off quickly with my first full-time job. I would be able to put a decent bit of this in the bank if I didn’t choose to go to UCLA. Then again, I got my internships through UCLA-specific FAANG recruiting events, so no guarantees I would’ve gotten anything at UW.

In summary, from my experiences UCLA is a clear winner in basically every aspect. It’s quite literally a dream school for me (I had no idea it would be when I was in high school, I only applied because I applied to Cal). It’s just a cost issue at this point for you. Does your family really want to sacrifice $160k extra for UCLA? A Toyota Camry and BMW 5 series can both fulfill the needs of a family of 4. One will set you back much more. Just some food for thought.

(P.S. if you have Running Start credits or the Washington dual credit coursework, UCLA is actually more accepting of it than UW somehow)

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You can easily go from UW to live in CA - that’s not really a con.

And passing up the opportunity to attend UCLA? I assume you are passing up the opportunity to attend many schools and many students will be at UW of various majors that passed up the opportunity to go to UCLA.

Big flagship = big flagship - they’re likely more alike than different - so while it might be better for you (only you can decide), I don’t think it’s better for the reasons you are insinuating.

That you have to find a way to make it happens sounds like your folks would strain - but ultimately it’s a family decision on how they want to spend their money.

But I can’t imagine your outcome / potential would be vastly different at one vs. the other.

Good luck…

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Wow, thank you for the really extensive response! I’ll try to respond to some these poins. Other posters have definitely mentioned the differences in programs, but this kind of gave me perspective on the other aspects.

The UCLA Ling + CS degree, however, has fewer CS requirements. Pairing it with the DSE minor would be an excellent choice given your interests, but you can just take extra CS classes on the side if you don’t want the rigidity of adding an extra program to your plate.

That’s what I’ve been most concerned about, since although I can add CS classes, I’m not sure which ones I could feasibly add. Without being in the reg. CS program, I don’t know if I would be able to do the required pre-reqs to get me into those classes. That’s what I’ve kinda of been researching, to see what my options and compare the possible programs/minors/classes I’d get at UCLA versus a UW CS degree + a major or minor in Linguistics.

UCLA is extremely well regarded in the AI sphere, and so is UW. You really can’t go wrong wither way here, but UCLA has more offerings for you.

I’m actually surprised by this? Considering UW has a pretty robust computational linguistics program, I would’ve thought they’d offer more AI classes. However, I do wonder which classes would available to me within Ling + CS at UCLA, since I wouldn’t be taking all the regular pre-req’s a reg. CS major would.

You’re in-state for UW, so let’s be real, you’re from the puget sound region and probably a Seattle suburb. You know the Seattle freeze and the Seattle weather.

Should probably mention that, even though I am a WA resident, I haven’t actually spent much time living in the state (only 1 yr, like 2009-2010) or visiting. My family’s from the western side of the state, but I myself haven’t actually lived that long in WA since I’m a military kid, so I’ve kind of lived all over. Even though I’m in-state on paper, I haven’t ever really lived/experienced Seattle, beyond occasional visits and my parents anecdotes of going to college there (Seattle U) way back in he 90s (they loved it, and had a very diff. impression of the U-district and the city in general XD). But from my visits to LA, I definitely agree that it’s as cool as everyone says.

Quality of life is a VERY large factor in your undergrad experience. Do not underestimate this.

I agree! And that’s what’s been so hard about this decision, is because the quality of undergrad and opportunities in LA is something that is irreplaceable, and the clear winner in this area. The campus offers me a lot more to explore my other interests, such as music production/music culture, continuing competitive club swimming (UW doesn’t have much swimming facilities since they don’t have a team?), etc. (though regardless of the school I choose, I’m not going to be a participant in the party culture/bar scene, since that just isn’t me).

It’s just a cost issue at this point for you.

Yeah, pretty much. I’m lucky that I have the opportunity to consider the programs separate from the financial impact, but it’s definitely something I can’t ignore (esp. considering I have a younger sibling who will be going to college, wanting to go to USC or other SoCal UCs OOS)

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Can you explain how you are in-state for UW if you’ve not lived there in 15 years.

Is it a military family situation or something like that?

Just curious.

Thanks

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:point_down:t3:

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got it - thanks. Missed that.

I know some states give in state tuition to military kids…not sure how qualifies for Washington…but makes sense why hasn’t spent recent time there.

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Yep, WA gave me in state since both my parents are residents and have the various legal ties to the state. I kinda knew where I did/didn’t want to live in college, so that’s why I primarily applied to only West Coast schools (minus like a few VA safeties as last resort) with a solid CS program (UCs & UW).

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If budget were a concern (if there’s another sibling), as a WA resident you also qualify for the Western Undergraduate Exchange - so discounted tuition at schools - like - may not be to your liking - but a Utah.

In the end, things have a cost and a family has to decide if a cost is worth it. Truth is, UW kids and UCLA kids are likely working with kids from Utah, Arizona, Colorado State and wherever else in the program.

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I will respect your parents suggestion and not talk about cost. No reason for anyone to make a tough decision tougher by introducing a criteria you have specifically been told by your parents to ignore.

I think you need to be introspective and make a call. My bigger advice is once you make that call never look back. Two great options!!

Thank your parents for giving you the ability to “ignore” costs. I would take their advice and ignore that aspect of the discussion on CC.

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OP: The cost difference is substantial. Difference in annual COA is over $40,000 per year. ($76,327 for UCLA versus $34,948 for UW-Seattle = $41,379 difference.)

UW-CS is higher ranked than UCLA’s program.

The University District in Seattle has a lot of homeless residents who have become increasingly aggressive. More of an annoyance than a serious safety issue.

Do you suffer from SAD (seasonal affective disorder) ? If yes, then Seattle may not be the best location for you.

Discuss cost of attendance with your parents ? Do they believe that you will be able to borrow over $165,000 during the next four years ?

Student debt is a serious problem in the US. Causes indebted students lots of stress and depression, less job choice/flexibility, causes many to delay marriage, delay/forego buying a home, and delay/forego having children.

With a younger sibling heading to college during your college years (I presume), your parents need to be upfront & clear regarding how they will pay, or how they expect you to pay, for UCLA as well as funding your younger sibling’s education. Many parents have mistaken beliefs about sources of funds for college. What if the money runs out after a year or two ?