Ask HN: UCLA or UCSD for Computer Science?

My girlfriend is a Bio Engineering major at UCSD, I go to SDSU. There's definitely much more of a social life at UCLA than at UCSD. She's in a Sorority at UCSD and always says that without that, it would be very hard to socialize at that school. Academically I think they're relatively equal, UCSD might even be a little higher, not sure though.

UCSD is a 10 minute drive from Pacific Beach, where I live, where pretty much everyone in San Diego goes out once they're 21. Plus, there's a good Ruby Programming Club down here that meets at UCSD.

I'm a computer science undergrad at UCLA nearing graduation. Although it may not be much help to you for deciding, but I must say you will probably be happy with either choice from an academic standpoint. I think the UC system has done a fabulous job gathering talent and creating an excellent and competitive curriculum at a very affordable price.

Now let's get a little more practical.

I've never been to the UCSD campus so I can't speak about that, but I can tell you that I've been very pleased with my experience at UCLA. I'm from Northern California and, to be honest, was very reluctant to come down to LA. In fact, I kept telling my friends and family that UCLA was my last choice simply because of that. I was mistaken.

The campus is not the most beautiful I've ever seen but it definitely has its charms, and it's in a very nice area. I used to live near the corner of Santa Monica Blvd and Westwood Blvd, and I had problem walking home from school (about 40 min walk) late at night, even with my backpack and computer. Some may call me crazy but I honestly never once felt unsafe or threatened. Now I live in Brentwood which I also really enjoy. If you're interested, here are some pictures taken at the UCLA Hannah Carter Japanese Garden behind UCLA in Bel-Air (you can walk there from campus): http://www.flickr.com/photos/tacomanator/sets/72157614068382...

The Santa Monica bus system has been really great, and you can go to a LOT of places for 25c (regular fare is 75c, but UCLA students ride for 25c). Anywhere you can't go on the Santa Monica buses, you can get to on metro for a little bit more. There are a TON of things to do around here. My girlfriend and I often walk down to Santa Monica and the beaches around there, there's lots of interesting places to go inland, and you'll never run short of places to explore.

I have not forgotten you plan on studying computer science, but please do at least consider getting out of the nest every once in a while ;)

I can also tell you that overall I've had a very positive experience at UCLA in terms of classes and academics. There have been a few black sheep, and bad classes, but overall positive. At the undergraduate level, I honestly don't think you will be able to differentiate the schools too much, except that perhaps UCLA is a little more well known. I may be biased, but I've noticed UCLA's name come up in quite a few articles posted to Hacker News even in the last few weeks, but I only recall seeing a few for UCSD. Of course, I think this is perhaps a superficial comparison at best.

Whatever choice you make I hope you have a great time and make the most of it. If you have any questions, feel free to let me know :)

I lived in LA for 2 years, and attended meetings for the LA chapter of ACM Siggraph. They really have some kick ass presentations in graphics. When I was there, pretty much every month, there were VFX supervisors talking about the effects done on a movie that was just released.

It's a great resource if you want to learn about graphics, and cutting edge parallel processing environments (huge render farms). There's a lot of great graphics/CS work that's done in LA. If that's the route you're interested in going in, it's a great option.

It was those meetings + Hackers and Painters that got me to switch from being a design/animation geek to studying software engineering.

I was a double major in CS and Mathematics at UCLA, finishing in 2004. The campus is fantastic, Westwood is awesome, but the school of engineering administration left me with a nasty taste in my mouth. They were the most bitter, unhelpful academic counselors I have ever encountered. It started when I attempted to change majors into CS from a major in the letters & science school, having to apply and appeal to the dean more than 4 times, despite being extremely qualified and doing everything I was asked. It continued on well through my fifth year, due to bad advice I was given by a counselor regarding credits needed to graduate (I could not graduate as scheduled due to that).

It very well may have been that I got unlucky, but I can't in good conscience recommend the school of engineering to anyone.

I went to UCSD for my first two years, majoring in biology, and transferred to UCI, not because it was tough, but because I HATED the school.

Please, please, please consider campus and social life. I held the belief prior to entering college, one probably inherited from my traditional familial roots, that social life and location really doesn't matter - it's all about the academics and doing well. It's not true.

I was admitted to UCSD's Sixth College, and I was even given a student apartment, which as a freshman was pretty amazing. Problem was, I got it in some forrest-like part of the school. I felt like I was going hiking every time I'd walk to the bus stop. I started off on a bad foot.

I tried looking past that, though, and tried to find the social scene. The school is very very disjointed, having 6 separate 'colleges,' all with their own dining hall, etc. You don't feel like you're part of one big amazing school. Come 6pm, the campus is pretty empty, as the main hubs where students are supposed to be hanging out are quite far from their dorms. Everyone hangs out in their dorm building. It's depressing. Very very depressing.

Sure, La Jolla is a beautiful city if you're a 35+ moderately wealthy individual who likes to kick back on the patio of an Italian restaurant and watch the waves go by, or if you're a surfer. Me, I'm a city guy. I wanted a bustling city, where there was always something to do. The closest 'city' to La Jolla is downtown SD, which is nice, but you won't find yourself hanging out there too often. La Jolla just isn't a college town.

I couldn't bear it any longer after two years. Home was an hour and a half drive away, all my friends were at UCI, there were more things to do in Orange County and at UCI, and at UCI, I just felt like I was part of one proud campus. Although I do commute from home now, I often stroll into campus with my friends late afternoon, and attend lectures, free movies, etc., that are always happening on campus.

My brother, and good friends attend UCLA and from what I've experienced there, the social life is quite amazing. If anywhere you feel proud of the school you attend, it's UCLA. You're a Bruin. And although I hate the school and everything about it, due to some residual hatred from being rejected, I can say that UCLA/Westwood, compared to UCSD/La Jolla, is magnitudes upon magnitudes more bustling, exciting, and social.

I can't speak to the CS part of your question, but I can definitely give you some info on campus life with respect to UCSD. I had such a crappy experience, and really advise people not to go unless they are that type of individual that enjoys the laid back, surfer type lifestyle.

Campus and social life matters. Big time.

BTW: Since some SoCal HN readers seem to be popping up in this thread, we should really network and maybe throw a little get together. I've been trying to find people on here from SoCal for ages, but no one really responded to any of my inquiries.