[thesmiter]

Hi. I'm a junior, I go to Lowell High School, and we're the largest feeder school into the UC system. Lowell High School is located in San Francisco, which is in the Bay Area.

Ask me any questions about California culture and the UC schools. Be warned that I can't say much beyond the basics for Southern California, which is like a whole other world. I can't answer specific questions about UCLA, Irvin, etc.

[ququ-pops]

Do you know anything about Stanford ?

[thesmiter]

(Original post by ququ-pops)
Do you know anything about Stanford ?

What do you want to know?

[ququ-pops]

Just about how hard it is for international students to get admitted? and how is the student body like, and is it like a really close knit community etc

[thesmiter]

(Original post by ququ-pops)
Just about how hard it is for international students to get admitted? and how is the student body like, and is it like a really close knit community etc

Local students do get priority, but the UCs also want to draw in more out-of-state and international students, who pay more for tuition than their in-state counterparts. And with the continuing UC budget crisis right now, I'm sure they would really appreciate the extra money you would bring in.

On top of that, American colleges are desperate for 'diversity', so if you can somehow tie in 'bringing culture form your foreign country' to your app, you'll bring more diversity to their campus when you're admitted. Unfortunately, this isn't as big of an issue at UC, what with their Asian-filled campuses. Diversity matters at almost all private universities, but State schools like the UCs won't care as much.

UCs generally have a HUGE, and I mean, HUGE student body. The entering freshman class numbers in the thousands. However, once you just any of the hundreds of on-campus groups/clubs, you'll hang out with a pretty close-knit group of friends. Generally lots of school spirit as well.

[Sharri5]

Stanford isn't a UC. this thread is worthless.

/thread

[BigBadSaint]

Where do Cal grad students live? Is there any housing for them on campus, or do they have to commute from suburbs like walnut creek? How do students cope with Bay Area living costs?

nb stanford won't give financial aid to foreign students - $40k tuition ouch

[FightOn]

(Original post by BigBadSaint)
Where do Cal grad students live? Is there any housing for them on campus, or do they have to commute from suburbs like walnut creek? How do students cope with Bay Area living costs?

nb stanford won't give financial aid to foreign students - $40k tuition ouch

I don't go to Cal, but go to school in Cali and am from the bay area. Although Cal may provide housing for graduate students, it is probably unlikely to obtain student housing. Most people, whether it's up in Cal or any other urban university tend to live off campus in rental properties nearby. I've been to Berkeley a bunch of times, and a lot of students do live off campus in apartments or rent houses near campus. Also, I'm from Danville which is right next to Walnut Creek and I can say with certainty that no students (unless they live with their family and only have class sparsely during the week) would live in Walnut Creek and commute the 30-40 min (with no traffic) to Berkeley. There is plenty of residential areas in Berkeley or even Oakland in which you could live nearer to campus. Students live very frugal to survive! haha

[MartinMorrison]

Why is UC Berkeley so strict on Computer Science exchange students that they won't even take applications? Even Caltech does!

Which UC are you going to go to?

When you apply are you allowed to apply to different campuses directly? What is the limit for the number that you can apply for?

How does UCSD stand up to the other UCs? It seems third after UCB and UCLA. Is is quite far away from LA and everything else? Are there trains between San Diego and LA and if so how expensive/long? If you don't have a car and study at UCSD, would it be pretty bored/bad for travel and limited?

Someone told me UCLA and UCB and full of not so smart instates and really smart out of staters/internationals - is this true? Do out of state students at UC have to pay alot higher than in state students (like at least 2-3 times more)? Is getting admittance to UCB as prestigious as getting admittance to an ivy, even though UCB is public?

Do people generally look down on public universities with the exception of UCLA and UCB or are there other really good public universities in the US that are world renowned because I know UCB and UCLA are quite famous in alot of places.

[devil09]

(Original post by MartinMorrison)
How does UCSD stand up to the other UCs? It seems third after UCB and UCLA.

It is. It's on par with UCLA for many of the sciences, however. Berkeley and UCSD have reputations for being more intense and stressful than UCLA. Can't say how truthful that is.

Is is quite far away from LA and everything else? Are there trains between San Diego and LA and if so how expensive/long?

Without a car, yes, it's very far. It takes well over 5 hours to get between UCLA and UCSD, including travel to the train station, the train ride, and travel from the bus station. Travel within LA itself can take upwards of 1 1/2 hours by bus, depending on where you're trying to go.

Someone told me UCLA and UCB and full of not so smart instates and really smart out of staters/internationals - is this true?

I think they tend to be pretty smart in general.

Do out of state students at UC have to pay alot higher than in state students (like at least 2-3 times more)?

Yes. That's why they're admitting a lot more of those students now.

Is getting admittance to UCB as prestigious as getting admittance to an ivy, even though UCB is public?

Domestically, no. Internationally, maybe.

Do people generally look down on public universities with the exception of UCLA and UCB or are there other really good public universities in the US that are world renowned because I know UCB and UCLA are quite famous in alot of places.

Not quite sure what you're asking here. Many public universities are known and respected. Nevertheless, most public universities are not attractive to students from outside their states. Partially this is because many prefer to keep the vast majority of their student bodies composed of in-state students and partially this is because they offer limited financial aid to out-of-state students, thus making them poor financial bargains. U Michigan and U Virginia are probably the most geographically diverse public universities.