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i'm having a TERRIBLE time trying to decide between UCSD (which will cost me about $13000 after financial aid) with the major "management science" OR USC (costing me about $10000 after financial aid) with "pRE-business" as the major...

which School will be better??!! i'm thinking if i go to UCSD, maybe i can transfer to UCLA-- will that be too slight of a chance to get in from UCSD? or will it be easier to transfer to ucla from usc?? i heard they're rival schools.. i also know many students who accomplished nothing in highschool got into USC b/c of money (they're from rich families). so thats kinda holding me back cuz it seems you can buy yourself into USC.. but yet it seems to have a better location, wat do you guys think?? UCSD or USC???

By Troy (Troy) on Wednesday, April 23, 2003 - 09:35 am: Edit

I was in your situation when I was a senior back in the day...

I got accepted to all the schools I applied to but didn't know which one to pick. Before I knew it, it was late April and I had to make a decision.

To make a long story short, after a lot of deep thinking I realized that I wanted to go to a big school and stay in socal (even though going east had been a childhood goal of mine)...So that basically eliminated all the schools I got accepted to outside of socal. I wanted to go to a bigger school because I thrive better in larger settings and there tended to be a lot more choices in majors (I promised myself I'd double major...one practical degree and one 'I love the major' degree).

So that eliminated Pomona and Cal Tech from the equation and left USC, UCSD, and UCLA to choose from. After taking a quick 'trifecta road trip' with my buddies to all three schools (a good story in itself) I eliminated UCLA...From there I chose USC because of specific departments I was interested in over UCSD. I probably would have gone to UCSD if I decided to undeclare or do engineering but I took another route and ended up at SC.

Overall, if you go to UCSD or USC the chances you'll transfer UCLA are next to nil. You would really really really have to hate your situation to do that. My advice is to be brutally honest to yourself and figure out your priorities. Take out all the skeletons in your closet and shake them around a bit...after that...more often than not you'll end up making the right decision for yourself.

By Lethalfang (Lethalfang) on Wednesday, April 23, 2003 - 11:41 am: Edit

If you really want to go to UCLA, like REALLY REALLY want to go to UCLA, and going to UCLA is your goal in life, then go to comm. college and transfer. The mindset of UC transfer admission is that if you are already in a 4-year univeristy, you already have a home, and they will give preferences to someone more needy, e.g. ones from 2-year colleges.
Between UCSD and USC though, their qualities are about the same depending on your major. In terms of location, UCSD campus is very beautiful in a very nice beach setting. UCSD is a very good research university. They have a very good graduate school.
USC has been improving quite a bit. There are still quite a few people who got into USC without accomplishing much because of legacy status and everything, but they are in minority. Most students at USC are good students in high school.
UCSD is better in life science and pre-med.
USC is better in engineering and business.

By Vizious (Vizious) on Wednesday, April 23, 2003 - 02:58 pm: Edit

hahah one of my friends has to make the same decision as well

By Sluggbugg (Sluggbugg) on Wednesday, April 23, 2003 - 03:47 pm: Edit

You seem to be LA bound, and UCS will put you right there. If you go Pre-Business at USC, you will be working your butt off in a solid, core business program. It's going to be all business all the way, so if you go that route, make up your mind beforehand that you really want a career in business.

Plan on grad school. To compete in the business world, you're going to need a Master's, and an undergraduate degree from USC will get you into a fantastic grad school.

Imho, USC students are pretty focused, so the crappy location doesn't matter as much as the superb academic programs offered at that school. USC is also an athletic powerhouse, so if you like that fun, collegiate sports atmosphere, this is a great place to be!

Most popular majors at USC are Business, Visual & Performing Arts, and Communications.

Most popular majors at UCSD are Biochemistry, Psychology, and Biology. It's the place to be for SCIENCE, but it also has great programs in liberal arts and social sciences.

UCSD has the better location over USC. It's practically located on the beach, and that can be distracting for some students who aren't used to the laid-back So Cal beach scene. UCSD students are pretty serious about studying, and they need to be that way in order to keep up with the demanding academic programs.

The upper-division courses seem to be of higher quality than the lower-divisions. San Diego is known for its superb research departments.

What I've heard from students who've attended UCSD is that the course work is hard, and you have to be self-motivated to do well. It's a big campus, and nobody's going to rescue you from failure if you can't stay focused.

You seem like you're really more interested in LA, and USC seems like the better fit!

By Blushingclover (Blushingclover) on Wednesday, April 23, 2003 - 08:52 pm: Edit

Actually, USC has a better business program. UCLA doesn't even have one, save a minor in accounting. Like the former poster said, I think that USC would be a MUCH better fit for you than UCLA.

By Crackcorn (Crackcorn) on Thursday, May 01, 2003 - 09:55 pm: Edit

But if you're so interested in business you may be doing yourself a disservice by picking an undergrad pre-business major. I've heard from many sources that graduate business schools PREFER non-business undergrads.