UCLA vs UCSD vs ASU Barrett. Please help me choose!

aunt_bea
Tue, 27 Apr 2021 22:16:09 +0000

aquapt:

I’m reading your comments about “beautiful campus” and “on the beach”… and if that’s a firsthand impression, that’s awesome. But opinions differ widely about the campus aesthetic, and beach access isn’t really all that easy. Just want to be sure that you’re familiar with what it’s really like. I’m pretty neutral on it personally - I thought it was nice when we visited - but my daughter, who had expected to like it, really really did not. So it’s a very “YMMV” thing.

Same from my former students and my own children. It’s not on the beach. You haven’t visited the campuses, and others on this post, who are familiar and have visited, are giving you their opinions of the schools.
You’ve already formulated a narrow opinion of UCSD and ASU without considering what others here have told you who HAVE visited. Caveat emptor.
If you view the UCSD virtual tour, it lends to pictures showing and alluding to it being on the beach. It’s not. There are a few buildings, owned by the university, that are on the beach. UCSD is up on the hill, and is separated from the beach by cliffs.

sbdad12:

UCSD UCSD turned me off right away. Socially, it looked really dead (UC Socially Dead), it seemed very STEM-focused, and as someone else said, it is not on the beach itself like UCSB, but on the cliffs and can take a while to get down there.

The glider port, for the hang gliders to glide to the beach, is across the road from UCSD. Hang gliders do get stuck on the cliffs. Unfamiliar hikers do fall and get hurt or killed hiking the eroding cliffs.

[quote=“MYOS1634, post:33, topic:3522188”]
UCSD “isn’t that pretty - the pretty San Diego campus is SDSU :). It’s also not in San Diego but in La Jolla :), look it up, it makes a difference. But yes you’re near the Pacific ocean”.
Agree, lots of fog and overcast skies in non-summer months.

Anxiouscollegestuden:

I know tha UCSD is close to some big medical facilities from what I heard from my counselor, so I think that wiiod provide a lot of good psychology internships as opposed to ASU

Yes, there are many private labs and a few medical facilities nearby, but they are private and many don’t have relationships with the university other than the medical school.

The VA hospital is on UCSD’s campus and gives access to the Medical school. During my SDSU graduate work, UCSD gave us the courtesy to share the UC Med school library with UC med students. We saw students climb into shuttles to get to University Hospital in Hillcrest (It’s about 20 minutes to 30 minutes in good traffic down the I-5).
Shiley and Scripps Memorial are across the Freeway, but access is usually limited to the nursing school and med school programs.

Also, you seem to assume A LOT!

ASU is a very good, strong school and you seem to be undervaluing its strength. It has a strong social and alumni network. My daughter’s SoCal CS corporation worked frequently with ASU’s career service counselors for new hires. Comparing it to your high school in India is disparaging.

UCSD is on the quarter system-you have 10 weeks to prove yourself. If you double major, more that likely your classes will be held in different lecture halls across the university. Learn to skateboard or bike across campus because some lecture halls in different departments will take 20 minutes to walk across the campus. Some lectures start early.

If you plan to go off campus, without a car, it will be time-consuming and expensive.

Housing at UCSD is only guaranteed for Freshman, unless they get more buildings up. (There is constant construction going on.) You’ll have to find housing in sophomore, junior and senior years. In University City and La Jolla, it will be expensive. Assume $2K per month without utilities.

UCLA is a non-issue because you have NOT been admitted. Until you have been admitted, it shouldn’t even come up.

In my opinion, ASU will give you a more comprehensive US college experience. UCSD still has to work out some issues, but to some students the comprehensive experience doesn’t matter.