life decision: I got in UCLA, UCB, UCSD.... which?

[mickeylex]

Going to LA won't ruin your financial future. You'll be fine.

Just do well in school, cultivate a strong network and be ready to take chances.

I'd say go to UCB. You are looking at a career in Computer Engineering/Sci and if you spend enough time creating a strong network, you will do well financially in the Bay Area. In addition, it will be easy to move to San Jose / Silicon Valley and/or San Francisco (you'll enjoy living in SF) for your first job.

 

[ak]

Academically, I would say you can't beat Berkley, but competitiveness is probably the same amongst all the colleges you named. All engineering/computer schools are competitive in nature.

One thing to consider though, is all the school sports stuff. I went to a small engineering school for undergrad and did not know what I was missing until I went to Georgia Tech for grad school. I'm not the biggest sports fan but it is so much fun going to College sports games esp if your team is competitive! The cool thing is you can root for your team as an Alumni, too. So in that aspect UCLA is great. Also, from my experience, I think undergrad studies are pretty much similar amongst all engineering schools... you study engineering basics which teaches you how to think like an engineer but you dont' really do anything specific. When you go to grad school is where you start to think in terms of speciality in the field and start to go into more of the nitty gritty of things.

So if I was you, I would do undergrad at UCLA then go to UCB for grad. The downside of this is that you'd have to apply to UCB again for grad. If you go to UCB then unless you do really badly, you can probably go to UCB grad school without too much fuss.

 

[Cairo94507]

PLEASE do not let a football team or girlfriend become any aspect of the choice you make.

 

[whatisreal7]

Couple of things:

* I agree with Cairo, you are 18-19, don't let a girlfriend, lifestyle decisions, or fear of competition affect your choices. In this case, it is in my opinion, between a good choice and a great choice. You'll be fine either way, but there is an opportunity to be great.

* Not all undergrads are created equal. There are some schools who have "inflated GPA's" (Ivy leagues? :biggrin: I'm going to get flamed for this one), and let me tell you, the good recruiters know which schools these are. Berkeley is not one of these, and you'd be lucky if you get out with a 3.5 in EECS. That's one tough program. But you'll find out exactly what you're made of.

* Since you're from Malaysia, and if you ever plan on going back, you'll want a name that resonates. I have been running Asia Business Development/Marketing for major Fortune500 Companies over the past few years, and let me tell you, when some of these customers, even CEO's at big companies we work with, find out about the Berkeley name, there is an incremental amount of respect they give you. There is a reason why EECS is consistently ranked in the top 3 in the NATION.

Its obvious I am trying to get you to more seriously consider UCB. You have a long life ahead of you, so don't be afraid to pay your dues now, and reap the benefits of life later. You'll have many years to "rebalance" the "life" you think you might've compromised by going to Berkeley. Look at most individually successful people in their lives...they never made it big by enjoying life early on. Its all about the blood, sweat, and tears before the sweet sweet nectar of success =)

 

[Malibu Rapper]

PLEASE do not let a football team or girlfriend become any aspect of the choice you make.

We have a pretty damn good basketball team, too. And water polo, and baseball, volleyball... hmm, most national championships of any school. BUT, the academics are great, too.

We're talking about Cal and UCLA here and the difference in academics is trivial as they are both very good schools. Heck, when we look at resumes from fresh out of college students with their bachelors degrees, we take them with a grain of salt. They think they know everything already. The smart ones are the ones that realize they have a lot to learn...

But I would agree if it were a decision between a good school and a bad school whether or not to make considerations about campus, lifestyle, etc. However, these are two schools that are consistently ranked side by side as the top public universities in the country. They each have programs that are better than the others. So when it's a virtual toss up, why not consider the other factors?

Also don't discount the fact that you could change your major. A LOT of people do. Heck, when I was in high school I thought I was gonna be a lawyer.

 

[ak]

PLEASE do not let a football team or girlfriend become any aspect of the choice you make.

Why not? College is an experience, not just academics. The colleges he mentioned all have good academics anyway so there has to be other things involved than just academics to make the decision.

 

[JadeFox]

Hey Cloud,
As a recent graduate of UCLA (2006), I want to first congratulate you on your acceptances. I was an English major and subsequently my classes were all in the northern campus "where all the girls are." Sure there are some pretty ones but don't buy into the hype. It's not like you're going to date them all. Odds are you will stay with your girlfriend, or easily find another if things don't work out (college does change people). If you're going to make a decision don't let girls weigh in at all. I actually wanted to go to Irvine b/c I liked the environment better, but chose LA b/c of the name. Like everyone said my grades did suffer mildly. I just hated the traffic and parking to death.
Good luck on your decision. I would definitely check out the campus and surrounding environment thoroughly.

I know everyone may give you a hard time b/c you love your gf and want to be close to her, and that's no shame. You guys may end up staying together forever. I know it's contradicting what I said about not letting girls weigh in on your decision, but realistically it does. Definitely keep it between UCLA and UCB.

 

[whatisreal7]

We have a pretty damn good basketball team, too. And water polo, and baseball, volleyball... hmm, most national championships of any school. BUT, the academics are great, too.

We're talking about Cal and UCLA here and the difference in academics is trivial as they are both very good schools. Heck, when we look at resumes from fresh out of college students with their bachelors degrees, we take them with a grain of salt. They think they know everything already. The smart ones are the ones that realize they have a lot to learn...

But I would agree if it were a decision between a good school and a bad school whether or not to make considerations about campus, lifestyle, etc. However, these are two schools that are consistently ranked side by side as the top public universities in the country. They each have programs that are better than the others. So when it's a virtual toss up, why not consider the other factors?

Also don't discount the fact that you could change your major. A LOT of people do. Heck, when I was in high school I thought I was gonna be a lawyer.

Sure there are some programs that are better than others, but when you're talking about engineering, i'm sure you won't argue Cal's program has an advantage.

 

[Cloud]

Also, I forgot to mention this but I have close to ZERO programming experience(berkeley don't accept the courses and I am going in as a TRANSFER student(I can't imagine going up against those who have had 2 years of berkeley programming experience). I think I will get raped in there...

 

[whatisreal7]

Also, I forgot to mention this but I have close to ZERO programming experience(berkeley don't accept the courses and I am going in as a TRANSFER student(I can't imagine going up against those who have had 2 years of berkeley programming experience). I think I will get raped in there...

I went in with zero programming experience as well, but they have an intro course called CS3 that many engineering students take. There's more engineering students without programming experience than you think. Don't let this deter you. You'll work your way up.

 

[nsxotic911]

I didn't go to a Cali school, but I did major in CS @ UW and I have found that Berkeley's webcasts (http://webcast.berkeley.edu/courses.php) were very helpful. This would be a good indicator of what the classes are like.. Like everyone else, I have no doubt that Berkeley's the best from a technical perspective.

With that said, it is really hard to decide when you're young. Nonetheless, one has to determine whether they want to invest in being the 'best of the best' at a specific activity, or whether he/she wants to invest in being the most well-rounded with a solid foundation in a particular activity. I think this is one of the most critical decisions you'll have to make.

If you want to be the best of the best programmer/developer, get a job, and continue to move up into projects of greater technical complexities.. become a software architect etc get the best fundamental CS education you can.

The foundation will be of monumental value in your professional technical career.

On the other hand, if you think you may want to do work in a different, non-technical field down the road, a balanced background in life and education will be very helpful.

UCLA and other schools may offer a more balanced life and you may find out that in addition to being a developer, you may want to be an Entrepreneur, an artist, a bum, whatever Or have enough background to muster confidence to do something else.

With ALL that said, I will say that I have seen people with PHD in CS suck at Computer Science, and people with GED's be amazing ... I currently have a mentor who is a Software Architect and he had a BS in Economics.. no CS classes whatsoever, EVER. I'm often embarrassed by his depth and breadth of knowledge.

At the end of the day - I believe strongly in the axiom of, "Genius is 1% intelligence, and 99% perspiration"

Good Luck.

 

[akira3d]

I too got accepted into UCLA for Computer Science, but I decided to go to USC (to study film production). I'm not exactly sure how that's advice, but, as you might expect, I'm just slightly biased against UCLA.

I don't like Berkeley...they told me I could reapply for their computer engineering department after enrolling in a community college. Glad I didn't have to go that route.

 

[Cloud]

I just don't feel confident enough to take on the competition. I do manage to get good grades but I hate the feeling of being surrounded by intelligent competitors. I took caluculus and discrete math classes with a bunch of engineering students from china and let me tell you, they were goooood. Geniuses... I get really frustrated when that happens.
Working hard will help of course! but the fact remains that when a genius works as hard as a normal guy, they are god like.

Of course I'd be glad with a high salary after graduating but, I'm more interested in finding a company that will like me enough to employ me for a couple of years and get me a greencard through a H1 visa.

Btw, can anyone find the average salary of berkeley engineering undergrads and UCLA engineering undergrads? googled all over and nothing.

 

[DDankew]

I just don't feel confident enough to take on the competition. I do manage to get good grades but I hate the feeling of being surrounded by intelligent competitors. I took caluculus and discrete math classes with a bunch of engineering students from china and let me tell you, they were goooood. Geniuses... I get really frustrated when that happens.
Working hard will help of course! but the fact remains that when a genius works as hard as a normal guy, they are god like.

Of course I'd be glad with a high salary after graduating but, I'm more interested in finding a company that will like me enough to employ me for a couple of years and get me a greencard through a H1 visa.

Btw, can anyone find the average salary of berkeley engineering undergrads and UCLA engineering undergrads? googled all over and nothing.

You basically mind up your own mind...then UCLA it is. CAL will eat you alive if you do not like competition. When I was there (1982) a former straight A student (Freshmen) went onto the Campanile and wanted to jump off because he was flunking all his classes.

Even my friends who were straight A's students in high school were on probation and getting D's and F's at CAL and the classes they had trouble in were the basic curriculum (ie Calculus, English 1A, Chemistry).

 

[transdzn]

First, congratulations on your achievement! As many stated above, you cannot go wrong with either of those fine institutions. But, since my family has two Bruins graduates--UCLA would be my choice. Also, you'll continue to pump fist in the air long after your binged-drinking, Redbull depending and red eye studying days! Rooting for your sport team that is... UCB?

Best of luck

 

[NSXclear]

It might also depend on where you want to work after college? Is you plan on working in the Bay Area then UCB might be a good choice. Manyy people in the bay area have affiliation to that school. If you plan in working in LA then maybe consider UCLA.

I live in San Diego, and have worked for several employers here as a senior software engineer. I have many friends that went to UCSD as CS and worked with me. UCSD also has an excellent program and are well respected here in San Diego.

 

[NSXclear]

I will have to respectfully disagree. If three students, each with 3.5 GPA, same major, but three different schools, it is not hard to imagine the employee will pick the one who came out of the more reputable school in the engineering discipline. Also if one school has a more difficult program, you have to believe the same GPA was probably harder to come by. You are correct, however, in that this effect diminishes the further you progress with your career.

You are absolutely correct if all three applicants were all equal except for the school they attended. Since this is the only thing that separates them, then yes the employer will most like pick the one with the more reputable school in engineering discipline. But applicants are hardly equal, I doubt the interviewer in the software industry will pick one person over another just because he went to UCB vs someone that went to UCLA (Unless the hiring personnel went to that school also). They will more likely look at work experience and how you fit into the culture. Like I said before, all three schools have good programs and one school does not substantially standout among the others in CS.

I was in the same circumstance when I decided to attend UCLA (CS). I had to pick between the same three schools. Many of my friends in Computer Science and Engineering had to make the same choice. We discussed this topic before and we concluded it didn't make a difference here. All three schools have great engineering programs. It came down to experience and how you fit into the culture of the company.

 

[Malibu Rapper]

You are absolutely correct if all three applicants were all equal except for the school they attended. Since this is the only thing that separates them, then yes the employer will most like pick the one with the more reputable school in engineering discipline. But applicants are hardly equal, I doubt the interviewer in the software industry will pick one person over another just because he went to UCB vs someone that went to UCLA (Unless the hiring personnel went to that school also). They will more likely look at work experience and how you fit into the culture. Like I said before, all three schools have good programs and one school does not substantially standout among the others in CS.

Having been in the hiring situation before, I can tell you that employers do not always pick the beter school. There are MANY people that come from the best schools with high GPAs and do not fit into the work culture well. I've seen some of the best come out of the best schools and they have been total misfits in the workplace environment. Single dimensional geeks/weirdos with bad interpersonal skills, poor work ethic, you name it. They often have very impressive educational backgrounds... A good employer at a good place to work will hire the best candidate. A lot of times these are the guys that went to a city college, transferred, or went to a second tier university. Some don't even have degrees. Places that want the propeller heads usually aren't the best places to work.

 

[Hapa88]

Another UCLA grad here. I think it was the best choice I ever made! (I also considered UCSD's Warren, but looking back, I'm really glad I went to UCLA).

 

[NSX@40]

Don't rule out UCSD too quickly or minimize its reputation. "The UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering ranks 9th internationally, according to the 2007 Academic Rankings of World Universities by Subject Field conducted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China." Go to http://www.jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/grad/facts.shtml#ranking for more facts about UCSD, and see the actual rankings of "Top 100 World Universities in Engineering and Technology/Computer Sciences" at http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/ARWU-FIELD2007/ENG.htm. You'll notice that UCB places 5th and UCLA is ranked 33rd.

Congratulations on your academic success. I agree with previous posts... focus on the EDUCATION in making this important decision. Good luck!

NSX@40 -- UCSD Revelle 1988