University of California-Santa Cruz Top Questions

Some good options to spend ones time. Rugby for example was an excellent experience. Lots of good sports teams to enjoy without the size and competitiveness of your traditional US college.

Every year, we have the Naked Run, in which many people gather at Porter college to run all over campus, together, DURING THE FIRST RAIN OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, naked (though some students still wear underwear and/or bras). You can actually read about it on Wikipedia. Frats and Sororities do exist here, but they are not as big or important as they might be at other universities. We don't have a Football team (yay!) but that means that all of our other sports get a lot of attention, like water polo, tennis, etc. Many students do leave their dorm doors opened because only residents have access to their buildings and a sense of familiarity and trust quickly builds (though I'm not sure of all colleges). And like I've said, we have really great and inspiring events, speakers, art exhibits, theater shows, student concerts and performances, and we also have a bunch of free, by-donation, or $2-$3 dances, almost every friday there's at least one dance on campus. After the first or second year though, students are no longer guaranteed with housing and so they live off campus. From what I hear, it's pretty alright if you like more liberty. But commuting can be a hastle.

I would suggest Cowell, Steveson, Kresge or Oakes for dorms. The housing people rarely read those "matches" to place you with a roommate, so be careful. 420 is a big deal to a lot of people, but you can avoid it easily enough if that's not your thing. Difficult dating scene, and Santa Cruz is very small, so you run into people a lot. Fraternities/sororities are not big; you are not allowed to display Greek letters on a house in the city of Santa Cruz. There are several movie theaters downtown, cool stores and two hookah lounges. Otherwise you need to be 21 to have fun. But there is usually something fun happening on campus if you can't drink. Great food all over Santa Cruz, including vegetarian and vegan dining.

I met my friends in the dorms. There is a party scene in the dorms and marijuana is plentiful. Last weekend I went to a party and the Boardwalk. There are lots of things to do that don't involve drinking though, downtown is always a fun place to go, and the beach and forest are always available!

I think most people are involved with either a sorority/fraternity or a ethnic group. I am involved with Lambda Lil Sis which is an extention of the Lambda Phi Epsilon fraternity. Some students leave their doors open. i do not think athletic events are all too popular at all. I met my closest friends through my particular college and groups I am involved with. 2am on a Tuesday i am probably sitting in front of my computer talking to people online. Off campus my friends and i go to the movie theater downtown and we also eat dinner at one of the restaurants.

students in dorms usually leave rooms open until they get to know everyone, then they knock and just come in later in the year. only freshmen, sophomores, and transfer students can live on campus. athletic events aren't that popular, but guest speakers, forums, theater, and other performance art are all really popular. i met most of my friends in the dorms, and i still meet people in classes every year and quarter. if i'm awake on a tuesday at 2 a.m. i'm either studying or partying... every year, at the first rain of the school year, students run naked through the forest across campus. it's a great tradition and it's fun and exhilerating. if you're not into drinking there's still lots to do on the weekends. there are always concerts or shows downtown at clubs and venues.

I don't know much about this topic. I've never lived on campus, and I have a family of my own, so I rarely participate in social activities there. There are several fun traditions, but many of them happen while I'm not on campus.

You either meet your closest friend in the dorms or in your classes. Athletics here are here, but barely, we have some intercollegiate teams, but nothing too intense. Greek life is pretty mellow too, but growing. There is no official greek row or even official school sponsored houses, but they exist and have a good time. People party here as much as they want to. I know lots of people who go to bed at 10 and lots of people who go to bed at 4, there's not too much influence either way. First rain is something we are infamous for where a bunch of students run around campus naked the first time it rains for the winter. People have a good time and no one takes it too seriously. There is all kinds of shit to do here though, the boardwalk, Pacific street, hiking, the ocean, beaches, malls, all the good stuff. Its really a great place to live!

Student government's receive a lot of student money, so I would suggest joining your college government (UCSC is split into ten sub-communities called colleges) and the campus wide government called the Student Union Assembly (SUA). Each college government has about $40,000 to allocate every year and SUA has even more. The governments not only allocate funding to student groups, but they also write resolutions which are statements which represent the official stance of undergraduate students. Many administrators come to visit and they have question and answer sessions, which I believe is something very rare and special. The Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs has an advisory board made up of students so that she can seek student input. She is also revamping her department and I have been involved in the Student Affairs Strategic Visioning Process, which has allowed me to interact with many administrators and staff from all over the campus.

There are tongs of clubs on campus for pretty much anything, which is a good way to make friends with similar interests. Most of my friends are people that I live near, and a few are from classes (a lot of from my floor and stuff though). Most people drink and smoke all weekend, but you could find people who don't. Maybe. I have a few friends who don't.