Kyla
I love it here!! Where else could you wander through the woods to get to a midterm? It's great. The atmosphere is relaxed, the foods amazing (compared to other schools at least) the people are nice and excepting.. I mean yea it's a little more liberal than an average school but the student body is diverse enough you'll find ppl perfect for you
Gladys
I love nature and this school seemed to be the perfect fit. Seeing the deer right before your eyes is simply amazing. I love it and I am so glad I came to UCSC. The people, professors and staff are great!
Chelsea
I love that UC Santa Cruz is up on a hill and kind of secluded from the city. It makes the campus another world from the city. It's warmer up here than in the city where it's foggier and windier. It's cool that it's in the forest, but it also has some open spaces and some great views of the city and ocean. It's only a 15-20 minutes bus ride to the beach however, which is great for warm, sunny days. If you live on campus, you tend to spend a lot of time there because it's so convenient. We have a great gym and many places to eat, and lots of activities so you don't need to go off-campus until the weekends. It's a college town though which is cool. Lot's of students live downtown and everyone knows where the students hang out. I think that it's great that it's such a large school so you never run out of people to meet, but since it's divided into 10 colleges, you get to know people from your individual college really well, which makes the school seem smaller. I wish we had a football team or more pride for the basketball team, but people do go to rugby and lacrosse games. I think that having a football team would bring more pride to our sports though. I guess what unites our school instead is protests, which is why we're considered hippies. People think it's really relaxed here and everyone just goes to the beach and smokes weed, but really it's a UC, which means it's still tough, we all work really hard, and we study a lot. It's a big commitment just like any other University.
Kyle
The one thing I tell people when they ask me about UCSC is that unless I was traveling the world at that moment, I could not imagine spending my undergraduate career anywhere else but Santa Cruz. The community of the school is very welcoming. The people are nice and the weather is beautiful. I am physically and mentally a happier person when I am in Santa Cruz and at UCSC. The UCSC campus isn't the easiest campus to walk across. There are many hills and bridges that traverse large gullies. I often tell people about how crazy it is the first time you walk from one class to the next and you look back and can't see where you came from because of how thick the redwood forests are. As a student living on campus most of one's time is spent at his or her respective college. UCSC has ten colleges which students create an affiliation with upon entering the university. Your affiliated college is the place where you live, eat, and often hang out with friends. One of the great things about living on campus is the access one has to nature. From any given point on campus one must only walk ten minutes in any direction and be completely immersed in towering redwoods. There are many mountain biking and running trails through the woods that are spectacular. Since moving off campus I would say that most of my time is spent in class or at various study areas or libraries. The city of Santa Cruz is definitely influenced by the presence of the university. Many students participate in the economy of Santa Cruz via working in markets, cafes, shops, etc. Every first friday of a new month there is an art walk throughout the city of Santa Cruz. During the art walk many galleries and stores open their doors featuring works by local artists and sometimes pieces by UCSC students. The administration on campus is very involved in the student life on campus. One thing I would change in regards to administration would be to standardize a punishment system that is university wide. While living on campus I often witnessed punishment being given in what many students felt was an unfair manner. While we do not have a very big sports following at UCSC our school pride is still large. This is evident in our notably unusual mascot, Sammy the Banana Slug, a native to the redwood forests that cover UCSC. While it may seem a weird mascot, Sammy is quite unique in that he has no known natural predators. One thing I will always remember is giving a kiss to the first banana slug I ever saw. This UCSC tradition/superstition is said to bring good luck and great grades for the rest of college.
Kyle
The one thing I tell people when they ask me about UCSC is that unless I was traveling the world at that moment, I could not imagine spending my undegraduate career anywhere else but Santa Cruz. The community of the school is very welcoming. The people are nice and the weather is beautiful. I am physically and mentally a happier person when I am in Santa Cruz and at UCSC.
Devon
To me, UCSC is the perfect school. First off, it is beautiful in the middle of the red woods and next to the ocean. I love the fact that we are the banana slugs, and while there isn't a lot of sports enthusiasm, the students have a lot of school pride and are proud of our mascot. I enjoy the walk between classes, and studying in the cute cafes at each college. I work in the McHenry library, which has juts re-opened and has a delicious cafe as well. I live right down town on Laurel Street, an while there are a lot of homeless people, I like my location a lot. All the Santa Cruz houses are cute and funky, my house is purple, green, blue and turquoise inside. I am in front of a bus stop, a ten minute walk to the board walk and around the corner from Pacific avenue. There is always something fun going on downtown, live music, art shows, concerts at the Catalyst. Its a young and quirky town. My dad always exclaims: "look at all these characters!" when he visits, but those "characters" are very interesting and nice people!
Shelley
My favorite part about UC Santa Cruz is that it is located in a beautiful forest, but also just 5-10 minutes away from the beach and the famous Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Of course another great thing is all the friends I have met here and how friendly students and professors are. If I could change one thing, I wish that it did not get as cold and rain as much here -- but that is just because I am from sunny San Diego. I think the size of Santa Cruz is just right. It is a very spread out campus, but it is awesome to walk through the forest to get to class or see the amazing views of the whole city and ocean when you are on the field. People react positively when they find out I am a student at UC Santa Cruz, but there is often a remark about being the banana slugs, which I find rather funny. When I am on campus most of my time is spent in the library, since as a senior my work load is a bit heavy. Santa Cruz is an adorable town full of old Victorian houses, the boardwalk, lots of good places to eat, go out, and an awesome feel to it. Santa Cruz is in northern California and subsequently very liberal. The most recent event on campus was protesting the current UC tuition hike -- a great cause. There is a lot of school pride because we are the Banana Slugs!!
ERICK
I was very nervous about going here and didn't know what to expect. I absolutely love this school now. The view from campus is just truly magnificent, nothing beats it. Another thing I like about it is that the people here are extremely nice. This is the best decision I've made so far in my life.
Rotem
Overall, the school is beautiful and friendly. There are views of the ocean, forests and farms. The people, overall, seem friendly and accepting and full of slugpower. Teachers, as well, are friendly, helpful and experienced. The school also offers a wide array of majors to choose from and the advisors are highly useful and available. Complaints may be mostly walking distances between classes. Places to check out in this vast campus are the bookstore, the dining halls and cafes and the gym. The gym is big and has a gorgeous view.