Is UCLA a good school or is it too liberal?

Question

I have just been recently accepted to UCLA Berkley on a scholarship but am afraid that I might not get a quality education there.

My parents wanted to send me to Bob Jones University but the tuition is really expensive and recently we have had to put a lot of money out on a family emergency so they can't really afford the tuition for Bob Jones now.

My daddy said if I do a good job at UCLA that he will send me to earn my graduate degree at Bob Jones.

My friends say that UCLA is liberal school and that I won't leave with the exceptional education that I would get from Harvard, University of Texas Austin, Bob Jones, or Duke.

But my grandparents say that the undergraduate school doesn't really matter that much and that its where you earn your masters or law degree that matters.

Answer 1

UCLA is ranked 25 in the US as one of america's best colleges, berkely is 21 and obviously none of these 2 can beat Harvard that's for sure, same with Duke as for the Texas of Austin it's 44th place, but yeh UCLA is pretty good oh and btw. Duke is 8th place and Harvard is number 2...also I think it depends on what you want to major in because certain schools are known for certain things, like harvard is known for as a good school for law .

Answer 2

You're not going to get a poor education at either UCLA or Cal, and UCLA is not that liberal, if at all. The liberal school out of those two is UC Berkeley. Your friends are totally and completely whack, dude.



While undergrad school doesn't matter to your future employers, it may matter to the law school/grad school you want to attend. Good luck!

Answer 3

Berkley is a very respected school. Liberal or not, you will get a very good education. If you intend on going to graduate school, what you major in will determine if the school you go to is good or not. If you plan on going to law school, yes, Harvard would probably be considered one of the best schools. But, what are you career plans? Do you want to be a hot shot lawyer at a big firm, or do you want to teach third grade?

My suggestion: Get to the college and start taking classes. You will get good advice from counselors and career advisers  regarding graduate school. And, try to keep an open mind. You only mention a few school in your post. There are MANY great schools out there.

Answer 4

If Bob Jones University (which is one of the most conservative institutions in the  country) is your standard, then you would find UCLA very liberal, but you would find Harvard, UT Austin, or Duke to be that way too.  UCLA is no more liberal than any of those institutions.  I also just noticed that you said "UCLA Berkeley".  There is no such school.  UCLA and UC Berkeley are two different schools - UCLA is in Los Angeles!  Berkeley has a history of being more liberal, but that doesn't mean that everyone there will be a radical.  You can find a group of people there with whom you feel comfortable and ignore the others.  I'm sure that even at Berkeley they have groups which do bible study and the like - you won't be alone.

In addition, whether your education is good has nothing to do with the political bent of some of some of the people there.  You need to be exposed to a broad range of ideas in order to learn as much as possible.  That doesn't mean that you have to come away as a true believer of everything you were taught, but you need to know what others are thinking and what research they have done, even if their premises are very different from what yours might be.  If your values are strong, knowing how others think will only deepen them.  

In terms of what "matters", there are different levels of that.  If you get an law degree, an MBA, or a divinity degree, your grandparents are right that you will eventually be judged more by where you got your masters or doctorate.  However, in order to get into a good graduate program, it is easier if you also went to a good undergraduate school.  So even if twenty years from now no one will care where you got your undergraduate degree professionally, it is still important to go to a good undergraduate school.