UC schools over VA schools?

[Anonymous]

I'd favor VA schools over CA schools for a VA resident. Coping with the distance would be challenging, and unless you're speaking of Stanford or a specialty program unavailable in VA there would seem to be little reason to go to CA when VA's schools are excellent in themselves. In the end, the student's goals matter a great deal, too - size of school ands classes, atmosphere, post-grad plans, etc. all play into these kinds of decisions, and without that info it's difficult to provide useful objective counsel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a third gen UCLA grad, married to a Cal grad. With a Brother and Sister-in-Law both Davis and UCSB grads and their kids currently at UCLA and UCSC, and a kid at UVA I have a pretty good perspective. If in-state in VA then it's a no-brainer for UVA unless you have money to throw away.

Wouldn’t the college experience be much better in CA?

Maybe I’m just not a fan of Charlottesville.

Why would it? UVA offers the traditional college experience.

? So do a lot of the CA schools, and the weather is a heck of a lot better in CA.

That said, if VA in state, go VA.

My kid would definitely pick CA schools over VA schools, even though I'd prefer DC be closer to home in the DC area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would you pick Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD over UVA, W&M and VT?

Not UCSD

UCSD is leagues above VT and W&M, has a research budget that exceeds the combined research budget of all three schools in Virginia, is on the periphery of one of the most idyllic towns in the country, and has a mean average temperature throughout the year of 72 degrees. Totally agree. Keep your kids in VA!

And one of the ugliest campuses I’ve ever seen. My kid lost all interest after a tour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would you pick Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD over UVA, W&M and VT?

Not UCSD

UCSD is leagues above VT and W&M, has a research budget that exceeds the combined research budget of all three schools in Virginia, is on the periphery of one of the most idyllic towns in the country, and has a mean average temperature throughout the year of 72 degrees. Totally agree. Keep your kids in VA!

UCSD's research budget is above Stanford and Harvard. Is it a better undergraduate school than those two? If not, perhaps that shouldn't be your lead factor.

Stanford's is higher, actually. Nevertheless, nobody is forcing you to send your children to California for college. If you think STEM graduate school and career pathways reveal themselves for VT or W&M or even UVA graduates the same way (or in a better way) than they do for UCSD graduates (or UCLA, Berkeley or even UCI graduates, for that matter), have at it with that plan ...

NSF most recent R&D Expenditures have UCSD #7 and Stanford #10.

W&M and UVA have a higher percentage of graduates earning PhDs in STEM fields than UCSD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would you pick Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD over UVA, W&M and VT?

yes, yes, maybe

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would you pick Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD over UVA, W&M and VT?

Not UCSD

UCSD is leagues above VT and W&M, has a research budget that exceeds the combined research budget of all three schools in Virginia, is on the periphery of one of the most idyllic towns in the country, and has a mean average temperature throughout the year of 72 degrees. Totally agree. Keep your kids in VA!

UCSD's research budget is above Stanford and Harvard. Is it a better undergraduate school than those two? If not, perhaps that shouldn't be your lead factor.

Stanford's is higher, actually. Nevertheless, nobody is forcing you to send your children to California for college. If you think STEM graduate school and career pathways reveal themselves for VT or W&M or even UVA graduates the same way (or in a better way) than they do for UCSD graduates (or UCLA, Berkeley or even UCI graduates, for that matter), have at it with that plan ...

And UCSD has a medical school acceptance rate about 10 points lower than the national average. W&M and UVA are well above the national average.

NSF most recent R&D Expenditures have UCSD #7 and Stanford #10.

W&M and UVA have a higher percentage of graduates earning PhDs in STEM fields than UCSD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would pick:

Cal
UVA
UCLA

Then the others depending on major.

I would pick Cal over most other schools, public or private. It’s an exceptional experience.

Except for overcrowded classes, horrific housing issues, and dealing with the homeless population. I went to Cal 25 years ago and it was very bad then.

And yet, at least at UCLA, student satisfaction, retention rates, and graduation rates are very high despite having a much higher percentage of FGLI and Pell students than the rest of the T20. In short, students at UCLA tend to enjoy it. The people who lament crowded classes, housing issues, or the homeless are usually concerned online parents and not the students themselves.

That said, I'd still take UVA in-state over UCLA out-of-state purely on cost. UVA is a fine school and generally a peer to UCLA and Cal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would pick:

Cal
UVA
UCLA

Then the others depending on major.

I would pick Cal over most other schools, public or private. It’s an exceptional experience.

Except for overcrowded classes, horrific housing issues, and dealing with the homeless population. I went to Cal 25 years ago and it was very bad then.

And yet, at least at UCLA, student satisfaction, retention rates, and graduation rates are very high despite having a much higher percentage of FGLI and Pell students than the rest of the T20. In short, students at UCLA tend to enjoy it. The people who lament crowded classes, housing issues, or the homeless are usually concerned online parents and not the students themselves.

That said, I'd still take UVA in-state over UCLA out-of-state purely on cost. UVA is a fine school and generally a peer to UCLA and Cal.

Because they have nothing to compare it to. Someone who's only experienced Domino's doesn't realize that pizza from Napoli, Palermo, or Verona are all unique and have different flavors. If you've only eaten Domino's than that's heaven.

[Anonymous]

Well, very few here have experienced more than one of these schools, but that doesn't stop to them making broad statements on scant information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would you pick Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD over UVA, W&M and VT?

Not UCSD

UCSD is leagues above VT and W&M, has a research budget that exceeds the combined research budget of all three schools in Virginia, is on the periphery of one of the most idyllic towns in the country, and has a mean average temperature throughout the year of 72 degrees. Totally agree. Keep your kids in VA!

And one of the ugliest campuses I’ve ever seen. My kid lost all interest after a tour.

I have seen all of these campuses and I would rate UCSD last, but it isn't terrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would you pick Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD over UVA, W&M and VT?

Not UCSD

UCSD is leagues above VT and W&M, has a research budget that exceeds the combined research budget of all three schools in Virginia, is on the periphery of one of the most idyllic towns in the country, and has a mean average temperature throughout the year of 72 degrees. Totally agree. Keep your kids in VA!

And one of the ugliest campuses I’ve ever seen. My kid lost all interest after a tour.

I have seen all of these campuses and I would rate UCSD last, but it isn't terrible.

Yes, my CA kid has zero interest in UCSD. The PP is correct that it doesn’t offer a traditional college experience. For those of you in VA, consider yourselves VERY lucky.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would you pick Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD over UVA, W&M and VT?

Not UCSD

UCSD is leagues above VT and W&M, has a research budget that exceeds the combined research budget of all three schools in Virginia, is on the periphery of one of the most idyllic towns in the country, and has a mean average temperature throughout the year of 72 degrees. Totally agree. Keep your kids in VA!

And one of the ugliest campuses I’ve ever seen. My kid lost all interest after a tour.

I have seen all of these campuses and I would rate UCSD last, but it isn't terrible.

Yes, my CA kid has zero interest in UCSD. The PP is correct that it doesn’t offer a traditional college experience. For those of you in VA, consider yourselves VERY lucky.

If you are looking for a traditional college campus, you will likely be disappointed with UCSD. But if you are a fan of brutalist (and modern) architecture, eucalyptus, and ocean views from your dorm room, you've found your spot. i loved it there and my kid is loving it too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would you pick Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD over UVA, W&M and VT?

Not UCSD

UCSD is leagues above VT and W&M, has a research budget that exceeds the combined research budget of all three schools in Virginia, is on the periphery of one of the most idyllic towns in the country, and has a mean average temperature throughout the year of 72 degrees. Totally agree. Keep your kids in VA!

And one of the ugliest campuses I’ve ever seen. My kid lost all interest after a tour.

I have seen all of these campuses and I would rate UCSD last, but it isn't terrible.

Yes, my CA kid has zero interest in UCSD. The PP is correct that it doesn’t offer a traditional college experience. For those of you in VA, consider yourselves VERY lucky.

If you are looking for a traditional college campus, you will likely be disappointed with UCSD. But if you are a fan of brutalist (and modern) architecture, eucalyptus, and ocean views from your dorm room, you've found your spot. i loved it there and my kid is loving it too.

I absolutely loved UCSD. Graduated in 1991!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would you pick Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD over UVA, W&M and VT?

Not UCSD

UCSD is leagues above VT and W&M, has a research budget that exceeds the combined research budget of all three schools in Virginia, is on the periphery of one of the most idyllic towns in the country, and has a mean average temperature throughout the year of 72 degrees. Totally agree. Keep your kids in VA!

And one of the ugliest campuses I’ve ever seen. My kid lost all interest after a tour.

I have seen all of these campuses and I would rate UCSD last, but it isn't terrible.

Yes, my CA kid has zero interest in UCSD. The PP is correct that it doesn’t offer a traditional college experience. For those of you in VA, consider yourselves VERY lucky.

If you are looking for a traditional college campus, you will likely be disappointed with UCSD. But if you are a fan of brutalist (and modern) architecture, eucalyptus, and ocean views from your dorm room, you've found your spot. i loved it there and my kid is loving it too.

I absolutely loved UCSD. Graduated in 1991!!

Right on! Class of 1990 with a class of 2025 kid.

[Anonymous]

In general, I don't think paying OOS tuition makes sense for Virginia or California residents in this case unless there is something specific (e.g. film studies at UCLA).