remixed486

Just wanted to comment on a few of the points you made:

Currently, the UC System's financial resources is probably the most unstable it's ever been thanks to the large budgetary cuts on public education in the state. While it might not directly affect how your education will be funded, it is likely it will affect how much money your department or college gets from the university. That, in turn, could affect what classes are available, shared resources within the department and how many more graduate students will join the department in the coming years. Sounds like wherever you go, you're going to need a car. The Silicon Valley actually refers to the Southern part of the Bay Area where a lot of technology businesses/firms are located (e.g. San Jose, Santa Clara). It's about a 4-6 hour drive from LA depending on how fast you're going and traffic. San Diego is closer, but that's also a 2-3 hour drive. The weather might be milder than Ithaca, but I can assure you the air pollution in LA is far greater. In fact, driving into LA you can often times see a yellow haze suspended above the city. If you're susceptible to lung infections, that's something you might want to consider. Driving is not only a hassle in LA, but so is parking. I'd try and find an apartment with a garage. If not, permit street parking is the next best thing, but make sure you're an expert at parallel parking (seriously, the curbs are lined with parked cars, bumper-to-bumper). Are the profs at Cornell aware of the kind of research you want to do and welcome to take in your interests? If so, you can always carve your own path at Cornell. Are you planning to stay in whichever town (or the surrounding area) after receiving your PhD? If you're planning to move again, then remember this is going to just be a few years of your life. How well do you get along with the faculty and graduate students at UCLA versus Cornell? That's something I would also take into consideration. So basically, I think you should go to Cornell. I think it's a safer bet, especially if the faculty there are willing to help cultivate your research interests even though it's not exactly what they are doing. Plus, it sounds like you might have a better support system at there versus UCLA.

As a disclaimer, I actually did my undergrad at UC Berkeley and my sister is doing her undergrad at UCLA right now, so I have nothing personal against LA, UCLA or the UC system. I love LA, but after visiting there several times I've realized it's more of a place to visit rather than to live. I've never been to Ithaca before, so I can't really say much about what it'd be like to live there.

Goooood luck!