Overcrowding/Overenrollment Issues at top tier schools
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
The only undergrads that I knew who took 6 years to graduate from UCLA had changed majors fairly late in the game. But it was really common for pre-meds to need more than 4 years to fit in the impacted labs and pre-med requirements. Some managed by taking a summer session, but others extended into a subsequent school year. |
Anonymous
Any private, especially those with less than 10,000 students, are unlikely to have these particular issues. |
Anonymous
Right. And there almost invariably a direct correlation to cost. You want to spend $320 - $400K to send your kid to a private with the various associated trade-offs, that’s great. If others make other decisions based on the trade-offs that matter to them, also great. It’s just that graduating from Macalester or Davidson or Occidental, by way of example, instead of Michigan or Berkeley or UCLA is going to very likely cost you in the long run much more than the higher cost of attendance on the front end. |
Anonymous
But replace those three schools with larger privates….Cornell, USC, NYU, BU. Then what? |
Anonymous
|
Cornell, USC, NYU, BU (larger privates)
Vs UCLA, Michigan, Berkeley (extremely large, but highly ranked Publix that are comparable in cost) Hmmm. I don’t think I would go to any of the California schools to be honest |
Anonymous
|
All of them, including Cornell, are lower rated than Berkeley and UCLA .. ?
Are people seriously choosing schools that are lower rated, and in places like Ithaca, NY, over higher rated schools in California? USC is fine as a proxy (but without the NM pricing, more than 2x the cost), but anybody choosing NYU or especially BU over Berkeley or UCLA really isn't suitable for either of the latter schools anyway. Consider that decision a test-out ... |
Anonymous
I really think it's entirely school and major dependent, and can change as faculty and administration turn over. For instance the film program at UCLA is going to be completely unlike the pre-med program at UCLA. As is chemistry at NYU vs theatre. Or consider history at UMD vs CS. My sister did a highly ranked program at Yale for grad school and was super disappointed because the program was only limping along with recently retired faculty. There were big gaps that hadn't been filled so courses weren't being offered and aspects of the program were entirely absent. Another sister did her undergrad at a huge state school and had a fabulous experience with a niche major and tons of faculty attention. You need to do your research. |
Anonymous
Many people no longer care about the U.S. news rankings now that they are concerned mostly with first gen and Pell grant eligible students. UCLA does some important research but I have zero doubt that the quality of the undergraduate experience (size of classes, degrees held by professors, percentage of classes taught by TAs, and housing) is better at Cornell. FWIW, no connection to either of these schools. |
Anonymous
Or, put differently, are people seriously considering making their decision based on totally artificial and made up rankings instead of fit? |
Anonymous
I’m the UMich registration poster and I believe you that UCLA put 3 people in double rooms. It’s not that unusual. Also heard of other universities converting dorm lounges into dorm rooms too as needed. It sucks, but not the end of the world. It’s a problem when schools don’t predict yield accurately for whatever reason. |
Anonymous
|
I’m the early UCLA poster who mentioned buying classes. My DC hasn’t done it, but my understanding is that the students drop/add at a coordinated time.
I think the feedback from the grad student is solid. My DC has friends who love UCLA warts and all, but my DC is lukewarm about large parts of it and knows kids who are transferring out. The current TA strike has been a huge pita. |
Anonymous
I wouldn't fixate on rankings these days. USNews dropped the ball last year. Things like class size, the qualifications of instructors, how many years it takes to graduate, and so on and so forth are no longer considered in their algorithm. What matters now are the number of Pell Grant students, which is a dumb thing to measure since the top private universities give outstanding grant-based financial aid to low income students, therefore making Pell grants unnecessary. Last year's rankings are a total fail if you really care about the quality of undergraduate education. Personally, I don't think Berkeley and UCLA have any business on a top 20 list for undergrad. Sure, the PhDs may do some research but that's not really relevant for undergrads. And I for sure would choose lower ranked private schools like Cornell, Dartmouth, Vanderbilt, Rice, Notre Dame, Georgetown, CMU, Emory, WashU, USC, and NYU over the UC factories. Particularly for OOS. |
Anonymous
Sarcasm or no? Because I can read it either way. |
Anonymous
The oos cost of the UC’s isn’t that far off from a private college. You do realize most of us actually live in the DC area, and not California. |
Anonymous
I agree. It’s funny how Michigan is lumped in with UC schools as if all publics are exactly the same. |