MHB CC to University: Deciding Between UCLA & UCI

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jboeding
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    University
AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around the decision-making process for choosing between UCLA and UCI for a biology major with a Spanish minor. UCI offers convenience, no rent, and a comfortable environment but lacks a strong ecology program and prestige. In contrast, UCLA boasts a prestigious ecology program, diversity, and a beautiful campus, but requires calculus and entails living expenses. The individual is weighing academic quality against financial considerations, especially with plans for graduate school at UC Davis. The consensus leans towards prioritizing academic reputation, suggesting that a stronger undergraduate program could enhance graduate school prospects. Concerns about calculus coursework are addressed, emphasizing that while Calc 2 is challenging, Calc 3 can be manageable with the right tools.
Jboeding
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Hey everyone,

Just to start off, I love this board! I love the family vibe the site gives off. You are all so very rational, so I couldn't have picked a better group of people to ask, haha. Sorry in advance for the wall of text.

I am a Bio major (General/ecology) with a spanish minor, currently at a community college in orange county. The only schools i am considering are UCLA and UCI. I am having a hard time picking between the two. UCI is guaranteed, UCLA is 99% guaranteed due to TAP Certification.

UCI:
Pros:
- Convenient, can commute
- No rent
- Cooked dinners, ha!
- Do not need to take Calc 3 (ha, no hate to any of you).
- Automatically enrolled in their honor's program (not a big deal).
- Close to my dogs

Cons:
- Not the best ecology program, so I would probably do general biology
- Not very diverse
- No very prestigious
- I don't find the campus to be totally appealing, although it does have it's pretty places.

UCLA:
Pros:
- Prestige
- Really cool Ecology program (a quarter abroad to do research).
- Very diverse (which I love)
- Beautiful campus (New bio building :O)

Cons:
- Requires Calc 3
- Requires rent
- So **** big
- Probably have to leave my three dogs with my parents, :(

From an academic stand point, UCLA would probably be the best, but from a financial perspective, UCI would definitely be cheaper. I plan on going to Graduate School for at least a masters (UC Davis). Does this play a role in deciding which school to choose? If so, why?

What do you all suggest doing? I am taking Calc 2 this summer, so jumping straight into Calc 3 in the Fall would be a wise decision. I have to decide within the next two weeks to either take a bio class, or Calc 3. I am signed up for both at the moment. I could always take Calc 3 later on, if things change, but it's better now since I am fresh.

Thanks everyone,
- Jacob
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Jboeding said:
Hey everyone,

Just to start off, I love this board! I love the family vibe the site gives off. You are all so very rational, so I couldn't have picked a better group of people to ask, haha. Sorry in advance for the wall of text.

I am a Bio major (General/ecology) with a spanish minor, currently at a community college in orange county. The only schools i am considering are UCLA and UCI. I am having a hard time picking between the two. UCI is guaranteed, UCLA is 99% guaranteed due to TAP Certification.

UCI:
Pros:
- Convenient, can commute
- No rent
- Cooked dinners, ha!
- Do not need to take Calc 3 (ha, no hate to any of you).
- Automatically enrolled in their honor's program (not a big deal).
- Close to my dogs

Cons:
- Not the best ecology program, so I would probably do general biology
- Not very diverse
- No very prestigious
- I don't find the campus to be totally appealing, although it does have it's pretty places.

UCLA:
Pros:
- Prestige
- Really cool Ecology program (a quarter abroad to do research).
- Very diverse (which I love)
- Beautiful campus (New bio building :O)

Cons:
- Requires Calc 3
- Requires rent
- So **** big
- Probably have to leave my three dogs with my parents, :(

From an academic stand point, UCLA would probably be the best, but from a financial perspective, UCI would definitely be cheaper. I plan on going to Graduate School for at least a masters (UC Davis). Does this play a role in deciding which school to choose? If so, why?

What do you all suggest doing? I am taking Calc 2 this summer, so jumping straight into Calc 3 in the Fall would be a wise decision. I have to decide within the next two weeks to either take a bio class, or Calc 3. I am signed up for both at the moment. I could always take Calc 3 later on, if things change, but it's better now since I am fresh.

Thanks everyone,
- Jacob

If these are your two options, I'd recommend UCLA. Academics should be top priority in choosing a school. As for Calc 3, I wouldn't sweat it too much. Calc 2 is definitely the toughest (unless you have a particularly hard time visualizing in 3D, in which case Calc 3 can be a bit tougher; on the other hand, the graphing utilities these days are amazing, and can really help you out). Particularly if you want to go to grad school, the better undergrad program you do, the better your chances are for getting into a grad program.
 
TL;DR Summary: What topics to cover to safely say I know arithmetic ? I am learning arithmetic from Indian NCERT textbook. Currently I have finished addition ,substraction of 2 digit numbers and divisions, multiplication of 1 digit numbers. I am moving pretty slowly. Can someone tell me what topics to cover first to build a framework and then go on in detail. I want to learn fast. It has taken me a year now learning arithmetic. I want to speed up. Thanks for the help in advance. (I also...
Hi community My aim is to get into research about atoms, specifically, I want to do experimental research that explores questions like: 1. Why do Gallium/Mercury have low melting points 2. Why are there so many exceptions and inconsistencies when it comes to explaining molecular structures / reaction mechanisms in inorganic and organic chemistry 3. Experimental research about fundamental Quantum Mechanics, such as the one being followed by Hiroshima university that proved that observing...
guys i am currently studying in computer science engineering [1st yr]. i was intrested in physics when i was in high school. due to some circumstances i chose computer science engineering degree. so i want to incoporate computer science engineering with physics and i came across computational physics. i am intrested studying it but i dont know where to start. can you guys reccomend me some yt channels or some free courses or some other way to learn the computational physics.

Similar threads

Back
Top