UCLA or UCSD?

Question

I recently was accepted for transfer into the UCLA department of design media arts, as well as a pre-major in the Interdisciplinary Computing & The Arts Major at UCSD and I wanted to get people's opinions on which might be a better program. Im a little on the fence here, but at this point I see myself going to UCLA, for a variety of reasons, but mainly because of the location(in terms of getting a job, I hate westwood), and also because Im already in the program there, unlike at UCSD where theres still a chance I might not get into the major.
Any thoughts? Anyone? has anyone graduated from either program that could shed some insight?

Answer 1

A lot of people would love to have your problems. Both schools are among the best public universities in the country. UCLA is ranked a little higher -- but the truth is that you should have similar opportunities graduating from either school.

I usually tell people to go to the best school they can get into & not to consider factors like location or the social scene. While UCLA is ranked a bit higher -- I think that these two schools are close enoug hin quality where you should make your decision based on something other than academics. You say you don't like UCLA's location. Well -- UCSD is located in one of the most beautiful spots I've ever seen.

Bottom line -- you can't go wrong. Visit both places and see which feels more comfortable.

Answer 2

I know that the ICAM program at UCSD is impacted and they put people on pre-major first. However, if you are certain about going into ICAM, they will not be able to stop you. In other words, you will find a way to get in. They state that the minimum GPA is 3.0 in lower division classes. But technically, you can retake the classes until you get a better grade. Out of all the required courses, the hard ones are the Calculus I and II (Math 20A and B) and intro to programming with Java (CSE 11). The rest are what many people call "easy A" classes. If you have already taken some of the pre-screening courses at your JC, they will honor those grades into the GPA. So if you have already taken the Calculus courses and received good grades, you've done most of the hard work already.

UCLA probably has more social activities but I am an outdoors person so I prefer San Diego. But that's just my personal preference. Definitely go visit both campuses before you make your final decision.