Which UC is the best for undergraduate





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College Discussion Forums: College Search and Selection: June 2003 Archive: Which UC is the best for undergraduate
By Prettynail (Prettynail) on Wednesday, May 28, 2003 - 11:01 pm: Edit

There is ten undergraduate schools in the UC system. How do i know which one is the good for undergraduates. Some like Berekeley is only good for graduate school while the other is more personalized and more attention to the students. SO what do you guys think? I am particularly interested in UCSD and UCLA info.

By Lethalfang (Lethalfang) on Friday, May 30, 2003 - 12:22 am: Edit

All UC schools are mainly research universities. And among all the UCs, Berkeley has the highest faculty-to-student ratio.

By Carolyn (Carolyn) on Friday, May 30, 2003 - 11:09 am: Edit

If you are looking for "personalized attention" you will have a hard time finding it at any UC school - with the possible exception of UC Riverside. If you want personalized attention from teachers, your best bet would be a liberal arts college or possibly some of the smaller Cal State schools.

All of the UC schools are good academically but as the above poster noted, their main focus is on research, not giving "personalized attention" to students. You will have large classes - especially in the first two years - at every UC school. It will be up to you to make the personal attention you want happen.

Since you've indicated in other posts that you've already sent in your deposit to UCLA, I think you should stop worrying about the differences between UC schools and start concentrating on finding out all you can about the UCLA system. If you want a more personalized experience, you can get it but it will require you to take an active role in your education - researching and choosing the right courses, finding the professors who are known for liking contact with undergrads, taking steps to make contacts with professors even in large lectures, looking for research opportunities where you will work one-on-one with professors, etc. I would recommend this at any UC - or any large public school.

One thing you could do right now is to identify a professor in each of the several academic areas you're most interested at UCLA. You can find their email addresses in the department web pages on the UCLA site. Compare their names with the course catalog to find the profs who teach freshman courses. Write to them and ask them questions about courses, suggestions for preparing yourself for next year, etc. You may not hear back from all of them but you will probably hear from some - and that way you will get a feel for which teachers are more open to relationships with undergrads.

Another thought would be to look at the UCLA professor reviews on studentreview.com. That may help you to identify which teachers are good and which are not.

The most important thing is to stop second guessing yourself and start focusing in on making UCLA the best experience possible. It's a wonderful school but you must stop worrying about "what ifs" in order to make UCLA a wonderful school for YOU.

By Kat (Kat) on Friday, May 30, 2003 - 02:45 pm: Edit

I definitely agree with Carolyn. I graduated from UCLA in 1999 and I am currently attending a graduate program at USC. I am now realizing just how huge the classes at UCLA were in comparison to my current program and how little attention from the professors I received. Part of it was my fault though. Just like the rest of the students, I stumbled into the professors' office hours two days before the exam. If you want the professor to get to know you, make a point of seeing him in the first two weeks (you don't have much time on a quarter system). They are usually lonely in their office hours anyway. I found that I got to know the TA's a lot better since they teach small sections and are more approachable. But it's all about what you make of it.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, May 30, 2003 - 08:35 pm: Edit

UCLA got so much better after 1998(means 2002 Alumni and after). Students before that were dumb.


USC has 28800 students in a 150 Acres
Faculty ratio is like 1 to 12 or 13. Not much better than UCLA.

By Pds112 (Pds112) on Sunday, June 08, 2003 - 09:15 pm: Edit

There is no doubt in my mind that the only premier UC university branch is Berkeley. UCLA is very good, but Berkeley is the premier. If you want the premier education, go to Berkeley. If you want fun, go to UCLA.

By Jonny228 (Jonny228) on Monday, June 09, 2003 - 05:04 am: Edit

Of course Berkeley is the premier, but not for undergrad. Normally I would say UCLA but its huge, and not as educational as others in the UC system, due to the S:T. I might say this as being a surprise to others that read my other posts, but its UC Santa Barbara. Most of the UC schools have the same criteria just different town. Go to the pretty one. On a serious note, it is a great school.

By Nk110 (Nk110) on Monday, June 09, 2003 - 08:51 am: Edit

UC Berkeley is the best.

By Jonny228 (Jonny228) on Wednesday, June 11, 2003 - 10:20 am: Edit

Berkeley is not the best for everything. Their grad schools are amazing. Honestly if your planning to go to a UC school for grad school, then it is probably not the best idea to go to a UC school for undergrad. Its nice to have some diversity, it shows companies your not afraid of change. The curriculum for most of the UC schools are the same, just a different professor. At least that was to my understanding. Does the diploma at the UC schools refer to which institution you attended? I know when a friend went to IUPUI his diploma still said Indiana University, not IUPUI. If UC does not differentiate on the diploma, then my recent comment still stands, go to the pretty one. Like I have said before no matter what school of medicine you go to when you graduate, they still call you doctor. When you do walk into a doctors office, is the first thing you look at the school on the diploma? No its that big funky looking chair that catches everybodies attention. Or the "serenity" painting hanging on that one wall, all by itself.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 03:58 am: Edit

UC Rankings
Acceptance rate
1.UCLA 23%

2.UCB 24%

3.UCSD 40%

4.UCSB 50%

5.UCI 52%

6.UCD 58%

7.UCSC 60%

8.UCR 70%

9.UCM n.a.

By Selmer (Selmer) on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 10:47 pm: Edit

Ranking the UC's by acceptance rate is silly, but if you're going to do it, at least do it with the correct numbers.

1)LA 23.3

2)Berkeley 23.5

3)San Diego 36.5

4)Santa Barbara 49.8

5)Irvine 52.2

6)Davis 56.4

7)Riverside 77.4

8)Santa Cruz 79.3

If these rankings show anything, its that students prefer schools near beaches.

By Selmer (Selmer) on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 10:49 pm: Edit

The UC diplomas say UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA given at (the name of the city the school is in)

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 11:48 pm: Edit

Selmer, Sorry I didn't know u are a UCR student.
Yes UCR's acceptance rate is lower than UCSC.
My mistake.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Thursday, June 12, 2003 - 11:51 pm: Edit

>If these rankings show anything, its that students prefer schools near beaches

So UCSB's acceptance rate should be lower than
UCB and LA.

Nice Try.

By Jonny228 (Jonny228) on Friday, June 13, 2003 - 04:13 am: Edit

Thanks, Selmer, I known some institutions have different policies. I like the IUPUI way of doing that. My friend got his undergrad from Purdue and then his Law from Indiana, all on the same campus. I would like more schools to integrate this way. I am also going to mention does the rankings by acceptance matter if you do not mention how many applied? You know a lot of applications are just in hope. If they only included those in the numbers that were above requirements the stats would be decreased.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, June 13, 2003 - 12:54 pm: Edit

>You know a lot of applications are just in hope

I don't think so.

From UCLA Office

New UCLA admissions figures released today show that 10,507 prospective freshmen have been admitted to the campus for fall 2003, compared to 10,388 last year. The 2003 freshman class was selected from a record 44,941 applicants to UCLA.

The overall applicant pool had exceptionally strong academic qualifications, with nearly 19,000 students earning GPAs of 4.0 or above. The academic characteristics of the admitted class increased significantly over last year.

"We are thrilled to have admitted this extraordinary group of young scholars with outstanding academic credentials," UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale said. "We will focus our efforts now on encouraging these students to enroll at UCLA, and we will look forward to welcoming them to the Bruin family."

Vu T. Tran, UCLA's director of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Relations With Schools, noted the competitiveness among applicants. UCLA's admit ratio is about 23 percent; just under one of four applicants is admitted, an admit rate that is one of the lowest in the country for public universities. The quality of the applicant pool is outstanding, he said.

"High school students continue to be aware of UCLA's reputation for academic excellence, and they are working hard academically to be competitive for admission," Tran said. "Unfortunately because of the high volume of applications we receive, we have to turn down exceptional students whom other universities in the country would love to have."

UCLA plans to enroll 4,390 students, up from 4,250 last year.

"We intend to enroll more freshman this year to demonstrate our commitment to accommodate as many students as possible," Tran said.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, June 13, 2003 - 09:11 pm: Edit

This is for Selmer. (your UCSD Number is wrong.)

2003 New UC Pecking order

1.UCLA Applicants 44941 Admitted 10507 Acceptance rate 23.38%

2.UCB Applicants 36920 Admitted 8679 Acceptance Rate 23.51%

3.UCSD Applicants 43435 Admitted 17567 Acceptance Rate 40.44%

4.UCSB Applicants 37308 Admitted 18706 Acceptance Rate 50.13%

5.UCI Applicants 34359 Admitted 17926 Acceptance Rate 52.17%

6.UCD Applicants 30613 Admitted 17419 Acceptance Rate 56.9%

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Friday, June 13, 2003 - 10:04 pm: Edit

UCLA achieved its most successful fund-raising performance in campus history — setting a record for the University of California system — by receiving more than $509.4 million in private gifts and grants during the past fiscal year.


The $509.4-million fund-raising total reflects gifts and pledges received between July 1, 2001, and June 30, 2002, elevating the total for Campaign UCLA to more than $2.017 billion. That equals 84% of the $2.4-billion overall goal for the campaign, which concludes in 2005. The previous fund-raising record for UCLA was nearly $330 million, set in 1999-2000.


Berkeley - University of California, Berkeley, Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl unveiled today (Thursday, March 8) the extraordinary results of a $1.1 billion campus fundraising campaign .Berdahl said the Campaign which ended in December, surpassed its target, garnering $1.44 billion. The funds were critical to help to attract, strengthen and retain the best faculty members and students for UC Berkeley.

The previous fundraising by a public university was held by the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, which raised $1.41 billion in a campaign that ended in 1997.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Saturday, June 14, 2003 - 02:34 am: Edit

Well, now you know UCLA is better than UCB.

・Med-school UCLA>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>UCB(None)

・B-School UCLA>>>> UCB
UCLA 12th UCB 18th

・L-School UCLA=UCB

・R&D(Science ) spending
 UCLA More than 700 Mil USB 450 Mil

・Capital Projects UCLA 1700 Mil UCB 400 Mil

・Alumni Giving UCLA 500 Mil UCB 240 Mil

 Current NRC members UCB around 220 UCLA 70
 However future candidates
 (Guggenheim+Sloan+FB awards winners)
・UCLA around 320 UCB 200

1995 NRC ranking
UCB No.1 UCLA No.12
However NRC rankings were based on 1993 Data.
It is a old news.
2005 NRC ranking
・UCLA 3rd
・UCB 4th

・Acceptance rate
 UCLA 23% UCB 24 %

・Location
 Bel Air>>>>>>>Oakland

Chancellor(Key Person)

・UCLA
Harvard Provost for more than 20 years
Hired by UCLA in 1997.
Try to make UCLA as good as HYP.
In the area of science and engineering research,
UCLA has gone from 12th in the nation to third between
1997 and 2000, passing Stanford, Harvard, MIT.

UCB

 Graduated from Augustin in South Dakota
Happy to be UCB's chancellor.(no desire)
 Former UT's President

By Selmer (Selmer) on Saturday, June 14, 2003 - 07:08 pm: Edit

I don't go to UC-Riverside but whats wrong with that school anyway? I got rejected from UCLA in SEP and I'll be going to UC-Davis this fall. I still love UCLA and I really still want to go there, possibly for grad school. My older sister also went to UCLA and loved it.

My question to you Shitakirimusume is, Why do you feel you need to troll for UCLA, its strong enough to stand on its own and you aren't making it look any better by posting comments which insult other schools of higher learning. Get a life please.

And my numbers for UCSD are correct, I got them from the UC website (UCOP) where did you get yours from?

By Selmer (Selmer) on Saturday, June 14, 2003 - 07:08 pm: Edit

Here's the website for the numbers

http://www.ucop.edu/pathways/ucnotes/april03/news1.html#camp

By Selmer (Selmer) on Saturday, June 14, 2003 - 07:14 pm: Edit

>If these rankings show anything, its that students prefer schools near beaches

"So UCSB's acceptance rate should be lower than
UCB and LA..Nice Try"

Okay, I just read this now so I will make a comment. Can you lighten up please, I wasn't trying to attack UCLA. I just meant I think the reason why Davis gets less apps than UCSB is because of location and the reason why UCB gets less apps than UCLA is due to its environment.

Do you go to UCLA, then you should know Santa Monica is just a short drive away and there is a beach there.

Lighten up please, UCLA is a great school which does not need you as a troll. Go away.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Sunday, June 15, 2003 - 09:51 pm: Edit

>If these rankings show anything, its that students prefer schools near beaches

"So UCSB's acceptance rate should be lower than
UCB and LA..Nice Try"

>Okay, I just read this now so I will make a comment. Can you lighten up please, I wasn't trying to attack UCLA. I just meant I think the reason why Davis gets less apps than UCSB is because of location.

Yes and No.(mostly no)
(UCSB is not a party school anymore.
Three of their profs are selected to be new members of NRC.(outnumbered UCB.) UCD might be worse than UCI.

>and the reason why UCB gets less apps than UCLA is due to its environment.

No. I think the size of the economy of both
cities matters more. i.e, Greater LA vs Bay Area.

UCLA's economic impact to LA is more than 6 Billion While UCB's impact is less than 2 Bil.

>Do you go to UCLA, then you should know Santa Monica is just a short drive away and there is a beach there.

No, I don't go there.(Stanford Alum.) But I know the traffic is terrible from UCLA to Santa Monica. It took 40 Minutes to get to SM. It is not like UCSB, at all.


>Lighten up please, UCLA is a great school which does not need you as a troll. Go away.

Why don't you go away.

Without correct information, people tend to think that UCB is better based on 10 year-old information.

I just mentioned the facts.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Sunday, June 15, 2003 - 10:04 pm: Edit

> I don't go to UC-Riverside but whats wrong with that school anyway?

Well the difference between your post and my post was ranking order of UCR . I just answered your question below.

>Ranking the UC's by acceptance rate is silly, but if you're going to do it, at least do it with the correct numbers.

>I got rejected from UCLA in SEP and I'll be going to UC-Davis this fall. I still love UCLA and I really still want to go there, possibly for grad school. My older sister also went to UCLA and loved it.

I don't go there but I think people should know the truth that UCB is not better than UCLA .

>My question to you Shitakirimusume is, Why do you feel you need to troll for UCLA, its strong enough to stand on its own .

No, people like you have misconception that UCB is better than UCLA.

>and you aren't making it look any better by posting comments which insult other schools of higher learning.

I am not insulting any schools. It is a fact that UCLA received more R&D than UCB, HYPS.



>Get a life please.

Why don't you get a life. You are the one responded my post.

>And my numbers for UCSD are correct, I got them from the UC website (UCOP) where did you get yours from?

From UCSD Homepage. It doesn't matter UCSD (either 40 % or 35 %) is a safety for UCB and UCLA anyway.

By Greenmoo04 (Greenmoo04) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 12:14 am: Edit

Berkeley is the #1 public school in the country, not UCLA. UCLA may be better for grad school, but that's a different story. More people apply to UCLA because it is WORLD-famous. Ask any college bound student from foreign country, and they've heard of UCLA. I had an exchange student from Japan, and all she wanted to do when she came was to visit UCLA. I asked her why doesn't she want to visit Berkeley, she looked at my blankly and said, "what's that?" lol...UCLA has a world famous reputation that is dreamt to the dream school of tons of students around the world.

By Selmer (Selmer) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 12:44 am: Edit

"It doesn't matter UCSD (either 40 % or 35 %) is a safety for UCB and UCLA anyway"

It does matter, your facts are off and you use data that doesn't even exist (ie 2004 predictions)

"Why don't you get a life. You are the one responded my post"

No, you should get a life because I'm here on this messageboard because I've gone throught the college applications process and I want to help people while you are here just to troll.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 03:10 am: Edit

>It does matter, your facts are off and you use data that doesn't even exist (ie 2004 predictions)


I was right. I got those numbers from UCOP, UCSD and Sacramento Bee(Newspaper in Sacramento)
UCSD's acceptance rate was 40%

http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=allfields(admissions%20in%20the%20uc%20system)%20AND%20date(2003)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=2003&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=("admissions%20in%20the%20uc%20system")&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no

Nice Try again .

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 03:45 am: Edit

>No, you should get a life because I'm here on this messageboard because I've gone throught the college applications process and I want to help people while you are here just to troll.

I've gone though the college application as well. And I want to help people by telling them
correct information while you are here providing
wrong information. You haven't started College life yet. You don't know anything. Go gack to USD and study.
Get a life.

By Selmer (Selmer) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 01:42 pm: Edit

You're quite immature for someone who has already gone through college, I feel genuinely sorry for you.

By Collegy (Collegy) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 05:53 pm: Edit

Shitakirimusume, I really think you should stop annoying people by uour stupid messages. Do you work for UCLA's admissions office?
I'm sure most people feel the same. Acceptance rates and other stuff you talk about don't mean anything. I'm bored with your silly supports for UCLA.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Monday, June 16, 2003 - 10:56 pm: Edit

>I really think you should stop annoying people by uour stupid messages.

Well, UCB supporters might be annoyed.
Simply they don't want to admitt that UCLA is better than UCB.

>I'm sure most people feel the same.

Most people mean 5 people?

> Acceptance rates and other stuff you talk about don't mean anything.

Acceptance rate does matter.

Name one second-rated school with acceptance
rate lower than UCLA(23%).
(Colleges with Doctoral programs like UCLA only.
excluding LAC with Masters Programs )


>I'm bored with your silly supports for UCLA.

Obviously you are not bored since you are
arguing with me.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Wednesday, June 18, 2003 - 03:30 am: Edit

UC Rankings

1. UCLA
Admission Rating 95
Year 2003 was a turning point.
Under the strong leadership of current
chancellor, it will be even better in
the future.

Academic reputation is rising.

2. UC Berkeley
Admission Rating 94
Cal have been hotbeds of political and social
activities.
Academic reputaion is declining.


3. UCSD
Admission rating 86
With a growing reputation for being great
in sciences. UCSD has established itself
as one of the rising stars of the UC system.

Life at school. Study Study Study.
Everyone is interestd in success and a 4.0 GPA.

4. UCSB

Admission rating 82
USCB is known as a party school.
But they still manage to do the school work.
Its academic reputaion is rising.


5. UCI
(University of Chinese Im...)
Admission rating 80

Some students choose UCI over UCB
(in Socal area)
Social life leaves loads to be desired.
Well over half of UCI students commute,
and many others flee on Fridays.

Academic reputation is rising quickly.


6. UCD
(University of Cow D..)
Aadmission rating 78

Davis is a rural community in the middle of
dullsville. If you like life fast and furious
once in a while Sacramento is the nearest
urban oasis: otherwise, get used to spending
time on a campus . Most students are sexually active.
(nothing else to do.)

Academic reputation is declining.

7.UCR
(University of California Rejects)
Admission rating 76
A lot of students didn't want to come UCR.
Many students choose UCR because it is close to
home and many more choose it because it's the
best schol they got into.
Academic reputation is rising.


8. UCSC
Admission rating 75
UCSC is a haven for open minded people.
(Drug and Party)
Academic reputation is declining.

By Selmer (Selmer) on Wednesday, June 18, 2003 - 02:52 pm: Edit

source please? Seems like you just thought of stereotypes and made up numbers.

By Shitakirimusume (Shitakirimusume) on Thursday, June 19, 2003 - 02:06 am: Edit

You got SAT Math 600 SAT II IC Math 600
You are not strong in numbers. Don't argue.

By Selmer (Selmer) on Thursday, June 19, 2003 - 03:36 pm: Edit

ok....

again..source please?

By Jonny228 (Jonny228) on Thursday, June 19, 2003 - 08:01 pm: Edit

Shitakirimusume, how can you say a 600 is a poor number? Its good enough for almost any undergraduate school. Graduate schools base their admittance on your advancement. Now if your score was lower than your undergraduate schools average and your grades improved within the time frame you were there, that would look better than if you scored perfect on your SAT and maintained a 3.0 g.p.a. while in undergraduate school work. Your numbers are false, bogus, malarky. There like the first four letters of your screen name. Berkeley and UCLA have the lowest acceptance rate, not the highest. If your going to berate myself like you try on Selmer please first refer to me as Doctor Jonny. OK OK not yet, 34 credits from now.

By Selmer (Selmer) on Thursday, June 19, 2003 - 10:22 pm: Edit

I was going to tell you Jonny not to let him bother you too much, but I realze that would be hypocritical since he irritates the #$#@ out of me. Ever since I told him off for posting wrong info over and over in every thread, he's been posting after everything I write trying to repudiate all my information and digging dirt on me (like my 600 SAT math scores, which I don't think are too bad, I got a 720 in verbal, math isn't my best subject, shoot me)

And ever since he found out I'm goign to UC-Davis, he is starting to bash it. His info on UCLA is bogus, I agree, UCLA is a great school and it was my first choice and I got rejected, but he posts the same things over and over and 2004, 2005 data is completey dumb. I just made a comment that he is attracting nobody to UCLA with his trolling and I suggested he should stop since UCLA can easily stand on its own, but this supposed Stanford grad has nothing better to do than bug the *#$)(* out of me...aaah, ok there's my vent for the day.

By Jbizz (Jbizz) on Saturday, May 15, 2004 - 09:46 pm: Edit

all you guys need to shut up with that ••••


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