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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]UCLA and cal are great schools. Most see it as a step above Michigan, uva, and the like. Honestly, they’re probably the two best public universities in the country. And they both have pretty cool campuses. I get it.

Just be aware, if coming from a fancy east coast school there will be some social adaptation required. California is very different. Take the flip flops, but leave the sperry topsiders and vineyard vines polos at home.[/quote]

I agree that they’re great schools, [b]I just don’t understand why a Big 3 student would choose a huge, public, cattle-call like environment over a comparable private university[/b]. I also don’t think there’s really any appreciable difference between Cal, UCLA, and Michigan. They’re very much peer institutions. It just depends on what you want to study and where you want to live for 4 years. [/quote]

After many years (sometimes 13 years) in a small school environment, many kids are drawn to the big universities. [/quote]

Depending on what you study, once you move beyond the freshman and sophomore courses, the class sizes can be quite small.

UC Santa Cruz uses a small college system.

The campuses are also beautiful and in great neighborhoods. I came east for an Ivy but a [b]part of me wishes I’d gone to UCLA,[/b] minutes from Santa Monica and other beaches, a few hours away from skiing, and gorgeous national parks all over. [/quote]

No one believes you. You had at least 2 years to try to transfer to UCLA, and you never did. 🙄 [/quote]

What an idiotic response. Could care less if you believe me or not. I did say a part of me but I know not everyone can read with subtlety.

A certain school in Boston beckoned, and I thought four seasons and a new milieu might be interesting. My parents would not have supported my transferring from what they believed to be an educational Shangri-La.

There’s still no way Boston can compete with SoCal for beauty, weather, and access to nature. The winters were #$&* cold and dreary. Outside a few historical areas, Boston is a fugly town.[/quote]

I agree that living on the west side of LA is quite nice,  but Westwood Village is a ghost town, the actual facilities at the UCs are kinda run down, most popular majors are impacted, housing is crowded, and student services, like advising, are poor.  The reality doesn’t really match the dream, at least these days.[/quote]

My DD just graduated from UCLA and I have spent a ton of time in Westwood over the past four years, including this past week.  Westwood Village WAS a ghost town in the 2020-2021 school year when my DD started at UCLA and all classes were on line.  But it is no longer a ghost town and is bustling with activity all the time. It's a great little "college town" in the best part of LA.  There are two historic movie theatres there with lots of Hollywood premiers. DD graduated with a double major in four years (could've graduated in December), one of them being a popular major.  Housing is crowded at many, many fine universities, but my DC never lived on campus because dorms were closed first year and once she lived in an apartment, she never wanted to live in a dorm.  DD had the time of her life and has repeatedly said that UCLA was the perfect college experience.  EXCEPT for (and I agree 100% with you on this one) advising.  DD didn't have a real advisor until she was officially accepted into her first major at the end of sophmore year.  They learn to figure it out on their own.

UCLA is NOT run down and is one of the prettiest campuses you'll find.  The landscaping is beautiful and the campus is meticulously maintained.

After attending a small private from K-12, DD knew she wanted a large, public university and didn't apply to any privates.  The UCs are definitely not for everyone.  Students need to be self-starters, self-advocates, and go-getters who don't need any hand-holding because they won't get it there!  [/quote]

Some of the building exteriors on the main quad are very pretty, but the insides of all of them are not particularly impressive/ very institutional, even the Admissions Office is kind of dreary.  The contrast with some of the Los Angeles private colleges is stark if visiting them at the same time.  Westwood Village never recovered from the shooting there on the 1990s.  I never understand why, with so many students right there, but outside of the strip closest to campus with In and Out, Whole Foods, and Lemonicas (which I agree is always busy with students), there are many empty storefronts.  [/quote]

Seriously. There are empty storefronts everywhere in the US now. Have you been downtown DC lately!  Or anywhere else in the country!??[/quote]

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