Deciding between U British Columbia & UCSD for physics
Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 3:07 pm
I've been accepted to the University of British Columbia and UC San Diego for graduate studies in physics, and I'm having trouble deciding between the two.
I don't know how UBC compares to UCSD academic/prestige wise (I know that UCSD is a great school, but I am not very familiar with UBCs reputation). I am interested in experimental condensed matter and possibly experimental AMO. Both UCSD and UBC seem to have good experimental condensed matter departments, but only UBC has experimental AMO. I might be interested in experimental biophysics, which UCSD is strong in, but I haven't looked into this much.
Does anyone know how the culture of the departments compare? I know that in general west coast US schools are a little more laid back, but that's the extent of my knowledge in this regard.
Regarding the cities themselves, I've heard that San Diego is somewhat sterile, at least for a young adult. Vancouver seems more diverse from what I've read, but I haven't visited either place yet.
The financial offers haven't been finalized yet either, so I can't take this into account (it would be a secondary factor anyway).
I plan on talking to some professors at my university and I am going to visit both schools in the next month, but I just wanted to see if anyone here had an opinion either way.
I don't know how UBC compares to UCSD academic/prestige wise (I know that UCSD is a great school, but I am not very familiar with UBCs reputation). I am interested in experimental condensed matter and possibly experimental AMO. Both UCSD and UBC seem to have good experimental condensed matter departments, but only UBC has experimental AMO. I might be interested in experimental biophysics, which UCSD is strong in, but I haven't looked into this much.
Does anyone know how the culture of the departments compare? I know that in general west coast US schools are a little more laid back, but that's the extent of my knowledge in this regard.
Regarding the cities themselves, I've heard that San Diego is somewhat sterile, at least for a young adult. Vancouver seems more diverse from what I've read, but I haven't visited either place yet.
The financial offers haven't been finalized yet either, so I can't take this into account (it would be a secondary factor anyway).
I plan on talking to some professors at my university and I am going to visit both schools in the next month, but I just wanted to see if anyone here had an opinion either way.