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UCLA and UC Berkeley - I got accepted to both but can't decide which to choose. Advice?
So, I just got accepted to both UCB and UCLA. For some odd reason, where I live (section of marin county, bay area), a lot more people get accepted to Berkeley than to UCLA (well, at least until this year), so UCLA has had sort of a honorary following at my school. I think last year only 2 people got accepted, while more got accepted to UCB. So basically, there's been this idea that if you get accepted to UCLA (provided that you didn't get into somewhere much better, like an Ivy League), you WENT there, no questions asked. It was the school every UC prospect wanted. But, now that I got into both, instead of trusting cult following, I really want to find out which is best for me.
To talk about my ideas on each:
LA:
Perks: I really like the weather there. Being a bit tired of marin county cold weather, I think LA would be a nice change. The campus is also really aesthetically pleasing, clean, safe, and seems like a strong community of people. It's in the nicest section of LA, meaning that I wouldn't have to suffer the not-so-nice parts of the actual heart of the city. The condensed city part of LA - the true LA - seems very undesirable, but being in this area, I don't think I'd ever really need or want to go to the big part of the city, anyway. Also, 4 of my friends got in and are most likely going there, with others also going to UCSD, a vacation time's car ride away.
Now for Berkeley:
Originally, I was ALL for UCLA because I found so many perks. In comparison, UCB is not very nice-looking in my eyes. It looks a bit older-college like, which is cool in a way, but very gray and dirty... also, I don't like the surrounding area. It's really dirty, surrounded by smoke shops, has a general pothead hippy culture about it, is bordered by Oakland, and again, is cold and dreary half of the year through.
But then I compared the pure education opportunities. Ultimately, Berkeley seems to be the TOP of the UCs in terms of education. I am weighing the possibility of studying business, and Berkeley has the Haas School of Business, which people can enter as a junior, which I don't think is an opportuntity available at UCLA's business school. Thus, I'd get two extra rigorous years of business before grad school. I am also entertainging the idea of computer sciences, which UCB is also top-notch at.
So I really can't decide.... UCLA seems on the whole much more pleasant, but Berkeley has the better education.
So, I guess my real question is this: If I went to UCLA, how much of an educational opportunity would I be missing out on by not going to UCB? If I were one of two applicants for a high-rank job in business and we were both equally qualified, or even if I were a bit more skilled, would he get accepted over me if he went to Berkeley and I went to LA? How do their education opportunities compare? What can you tell me about any other important matters?
Thanks so much!!!
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