University of California-San Diego Top Questions

UCSD is a huge campus, but I love how it is all one enclosed campus as opposed to other UC's like Cal or LA that are more within a city with streets, traffic, and hobos around. I think it makes campus much more safe feeling, although it is foresty with a lot of trees at night that can be kind of scary. Classes are just like any other UC, quite large lower division classes but you have smaller sections with around 30 students with TA's. and Upper division there are around 60 students or so, which isn't too bad to get to know your professors. La Jolla is a very rich, nice city. It's not so much a college town, but it is mostly UCSD students around the area. There is definitely no school pride, because there's no football team... sports isn't really a big thing here unless you're doing it. Overall I think UCSD is a good school, nice campus, academics, social life, events going on, and close proximity to so many places (LA, Irvine, downtown SD, Mexico, beautiful beaches) what's not to love?

I believe this school is amazing! I love how the school is divided into 6 different colleges because it gives you a better chance to get to know more people since the campus is huge! One thing I dislike very much at UCSD is the fact that all the departments are separated so you have to go to different buildings in order to get different problems fixed (i.e. payments, financial aid, academic advising, etc.). The biggest controversy on campus was about two years ago when a fraternity hosted a racially insensitive cookout; UCSD's reputation was hurt a little but only while we were in the limelight because of it. Now when someone hears you're from UCSD, they're very impressed. Unfortunately, our school pride is very weak...we have not football team by the way but basketball is pretty big here.

It's a relatively new campus with lots of extracirricular activities available for students. There's something for everyone as long as you're will to look for it. The beach is just down the cliffs with a beautiful campus environment. And don't be turned off by stories you might hear about Chemistry students ordering supplies through their lab to make and sell meth.

its not in a college town but it is a real community

I like UCSD for the location, personally. It's near the beach, great weather, good places to eat and socialize, especially if you're 21 or over. We do not have a lot of parties, but people make friends easily, and then you make your own fun with the people that you want to socialize with. When I tell people at I go to UCSD, they are often impressed because it is a good school academically, but also because they think I am lucky to live in such a prime spot in California. The one big social event at UCSD is the sungod festival, which has started to go downhill in the past year or so.

NO SOCIAL ATMOSPHERE! the 6 college system is great for getting to know people in your college but segregates others not in your college and makes it very difficult to interact with them because the campus is so spread out. also, a lack of good sports teams (other than water polo which plays DI) makes this campus very boring in terms of UCSD pride.

Large classes and segregated colleges eliminate school unity. The best thing about UCSD is that its RIGHT NEXT to the beach! My friends that look into UCSD seem to usually go to Stanford, berkeley, or the Ivy league. Best place to go is the beach! If you're looking for a party, UCSD I-house and the greek scene are the places to be. We have these awesome face trees in the eucalyptus forest: the singing tree and the talking tree... They look almost exactly like regular trees but they have speakers built into them (one plays music at night and the other talks)

Class sizes are a bit big, but without the cut-throat competition of some of the other, more prestigious UCs. There is also a big lack of school spirit. La Jolla is definitely not a college town, but there are still lots of fun things to do around town, especially if you like the beach. The college system is a little strange, but it is nice to live with people who tend to have similar interests and who take similar classes.

People don't realize how good a school UCSD is just because it isn't a big name school. we have some amazing professors and programs and some really dedicated and active student orgs. UCSD is very multicultural and we have a lot of activities and organizations to show it. La Jolla is a terrible town to have a college in. I wish athletics were better supported by the student body- we have some great teams but the student body just focuses on the fact we don't have a football team.

Sun God is probably the best annual event at UCSD: an entire day devoted to partying and ending in a huge concert with big name artists (Ludacris, T.I., My Chemical Romance, Damian Marley, etc.). UCSD is set in one of the most beautiful cities in the entire U.S. Upon turning 21, you will be in a city offering an amazing nightlife. Almost every concert tour stops in San Diego. A degree from UCSD will put you ahead of your competition in the job market, especially in San Diego.

If you are a winter admit, only if this is your dream school, should you accept. UCSD does have some programs that try to give you a sense of belonging, like OASIS. Then there are other programs that the school offers but it is up to you to find it. What I like about the school is that does give a chance for individuality and its not hard to be yourself. I have noticed that people are antisocial and many people make their friends in the dorms. The biggest controversy I think was the "mysterious package" at the medical center. People do complain about people being antisocial, but it's not as bad. Its a good school and fun, if you dorm there.

-i love the weather at UCSD (even though it's super super hot right now, but better sun than rain! :) ) - hmm one thing i'd change would be .. i guess maybe that competition wasn't such a big deal. everyone is always competing in classes and stuff like that. - i think UCSD is the right size, people wise. it's definitely bigger than my high school, but it's nice because you can always meet new people. walking and area wise, it's huge. it takes so long just to get to class, and the campus is so freakin' hilly. - UCSD is definitley not a college town. it takes so long to get places. basically if you don't have a car or know someone with one, you can't get anywhere. - i guess my favorite experience is sungod. everyone's drunk, and it's really nice to see everyone chilling and not stressed about school or anything. - most frequent complaints are that there's no football team and that everyone studies like hell.

The school is ever expanding and making the right strides with the new Price Center expansion. For the most part, UCSD provides an enjoyable experience. I would like to see an athletics program equipped with scholarships- without them, school spirit and athletic revenues will be nonexistent. Sun God reigns as the premiere social event every year, and the admin appears to be giving it a more full experience this year, which is a good thing.

I would try to hype up the school spirit more. There seems to lack school pride. i feel that the only time that almost everyone comes together is during sungod... which only lasts for ONE day. I think there should be more things going on on campus everyday in general. my friends came down here to visit and were surprised about how dead our campus was, even on a regular school day! the only reason people come out is to go to class... there should be more of a reason to come out! I wish we were closer to the city, or engulfed right in the middle of one (that would add more life to the school). I don't like people looking down on UCSD, calling it the University of California of the Socially Dead, although I have to admit, it sometimes feels like I go to such a school. I like the size of the school, but I wish that there was more diversity here (I only see whites and asians)

Sungod is sick. Some school pride, but I don't see the point of it (it's soooo high school).

UCSD is awesome! It's a huge university with a small college feel because it's composed of six smaller colleges with a close community feel. You get the best of both worlds, the resources of a large research university but the feel of a small private college. It's known for its academics but it has plenty of social opportunities. Especially the Sun God festival during spring quarter. It is a friday festival that lasts all day composed of multiple concerts as well as a carnival, it's AWESOME!

There's a lot of great things about UCSD, and all you have to do is go on a campus tour to hear them. I think that from this site though you are looking for the negatives. The biggest negative is that school pride - in a unified sort of way - doesn't seem to be there to me. There is lots of college pride (Shout out for Muir here!!!), but sometimes campus can seem kind of lonely (probably true for any school) The other thing that I disliked was the dorms. My roommates were b!tches, and I ended up moving out after 2 weeks. The staff didn't really seem to care (but I think I was probably biased before I went in, and the dorms aren't really as bad for most people as they were for me - so don't let that scare you away - you can get bad roommates wherever you go to college) AS for the greats - STUART ART COLLECTION - I could care less about art, but some of the things are just AWESOME. I mean how many campuses have a huge bear (like 20 feet tall) made out of giant stones and weigh a couple tons?? How many campuses have SunGod? How many campuses have giraffe catchers, or a library that has been futured as a uFO in attack of the killler tomoatoes?or a snake path? Or a canon view, ocean view, and a forest? How many campuses drop a giant pumpkin (this year 650 pounds) off the tallest building in Muir - or have a watermelon drop off the tallest tower in Revelle? And if you don't know what any of these things are you need to get your little butt down to SD and check it out. Go to the beach while you're here! The answer - NOT MANY, JUST UCSD! So go here, because it's where you ought to be!!!

One of the reasons I love UCSD is because of its six college system. At first, it seemed really stupid and arbitrary, but as I spent more time here, I realized that it is actually really useful to have a six college system because you get to know everyone in your college really well (due to common GE classes, common living and eating areas, etc) which make a 20,000+ undergraduate university a much more personal and welcoming environment. In addition to that, a lot of the administrators within each college oversee only 1/6th of UCSD's students, and therefore they are able to provide each student with much more attention and personal advice than would administrators who have to serve 20,000 + students. I would feel completely detached and alone without UCSD college system, and I'm really glad that I ignored my original discontent with the system in order to come here. I do wish t hat I had spent more time choosing the college I choose (Warren), as each college has a cirriculum centered around different principles. Luckily I do embrace the principles of Warren College (a life in balance, embodied by GE's that force students to focus on non-major areas in which they recieve a virtual "minor" in) and am glad I got lucky when I randomly ordered the colleges at the time I was applying to UCSD.

Best thing about UCSD- The Campus, La Jolla is a great area to have a campus, although it is quite boring and kind of a retirement town, the overriding class, and clean family atmosphere works well with the campus. There are many cute shoppng areas close enought to visit if needed(PB, HIllcrest, and Downtown) La Jolla is a beautiful beach town, not bogged down by tourism, but instead with all the HOT college surfers. Also the campus in general is beautiful, interesting and new architecture pops up at this school every year.

The school is too big measurement wise. I think we can have more people. When i tell other people that I go to UCSD they think that I'm really smart. I think the "collegetown" is not really "college-esk". I think it's just in too much of a rich neighborhood. There isn't enough freedom for college students around this area. We don't even have a frat row which really hurts our social abilities. We also have too many rules and regulations on campus about having events. I'd say that the only good thing we have here is Sun God. It's the only day you realize people can socialize. We should be able to do that more often.