University of California-Santa Cruz Top Questions

I think the best thing about UCSC is that the people here, for the most part, dissasociate themselves with most materialistic things and don't focus on popularity or social status. Life in Santa Cruz is the epitome of the beachy college town with good people and a great academic focus.

UCSC campus feels like summer camp all of the time. It has been the best decision for me to go here. The school is not large, but it is spread out. You take trails through the redwoods to get to class. What more can you could you ask for. It is a good place to learn about current events, because there always activists somewhere. Plus, we are at the beach! I live literally 2 minutes from the beach, what other time in your life can you afford that.

I love the campus and I love the set up of the university into colleges because it makes it feel a lot smaller and more tight knit.

The campus is amazing: imagine having forests and fields in your backyard. The town is great, too: just the right size with lots of beaches and beautiful niches. Its important to know (if you are planning on living on campus) what the deal is with the colleges, as you will have to choose one and live there. Here is a simplified guide: bewarned: most of the below descriptions are extremely stereotypical. -Cowell: surfers/preppy/smart but quiet-er -Stevenson: smart with an attitude (be warned: a longer core-course than the other colleges). -Crown: science/math whizzes (warning: up a giant hill!) -Merrill: no idea honestly, but warning: up a giant hill! -Colleges 9&10: "normal" kids -Kresge: hippies and lesbians -Porter: artsy farts and hipsters -College 8: socal preppies -Oakes: "diversity" (warning: far removed from most of campus)

UCSC is extremeley beautiful. A lot of people I know can't handle the idea of living in the redwoods but I think its amazing. What more can you ask for a beach and a forrest! Natural Bridges is such an amazing beach, I love to visit the tidepools. I guess one downside about this place in my opinion is that we are anti large corporations so unlike the other UC's we dont have an In-N-Out, Taco Bell, etc on campus. What I thought was cool about UCSC is that just like UCSD we have ten small college housing communities you associate yourself with within the campus. It is supposed to really help bring people together. I'm not sure if it did, but I like how each separate college has its own look and theme to it. I've heard we have an outstanding Physics, astronomy,ecological and linguistics programs. Sure you may here that Santa Cruz isnt a serious campus but it actually is. Its a great school. People work together and help each other out, unlike some of the competitive schools where you may tend to feel alone.

The best thing about ucsc is that if you decide you want to work hard, you will get a great education, yet, you don't have to worry about rediculous curves due to an abundance of overachievers. If there's one thing i could change, its the parking situation. Parkings a bitch, and the ticketing people are nazi's. And its also very expensive to park. The school seems to be growing even larger, approaching 20,000, which is great for diversity, even bigger would be fine because as it is classes are usually no problem getting into. There's no real college town, everything off campus is so spread out that it cannot be confined to one area like at santa barbara, and that akes it difficult when events and parties are happening because neighbors (usually non UCSC people) are living a completely different lifestyle... which isunderstandable. One experience i'll always remember is the "4/20". The day of the year when thousands of people storm to a certain spot near campus to smoke together. I'm not part of it b/c i dont smoke, but it's definitely a trademark of UCSC.

UCSC's location is gorgeous. You can't really beat it. But the administration and beauracracy is horrendous. Especially if you're coming from a small private school, the culture shock is really a jolt.

It's the kind of school where it's 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} up to you. Classes can be too extreme, or too easy, depending on which ones you take and how seriously you take them. If you do all the reading you can get an education like an Ivy, or you can find the loopholes and just get the grade. It's really up to the students. You can be active in politics, social issues, fun, anything you want. Or you can just sit at home and watch movies with friends. Not right or wrong, just up to you.

There is the constant town/gown battle that rages on. UCSC is the epitome of a city on a hill, seemingly disconnected and unconcerned about the simple minded townies. There is merit on both sides of this argument. The amount of money and brain power the the university has and continues to bring to this town are what makes brings it some of its noteriety. That is, UCSC has lifted Santa Cruz ffrom a small town where tourism and frozen vegatables were the main industry.

The campus area is too large, and makes it difficult for students to get around other than taking the buses provided. Many of us dislike the fact that freshman and sophomores can't get parking on campus, and makes it even more inconvenient. The housing on campus is a little run-down. There should be more colleges on campus like College 8, 9, and 10. They are now overpopulated because of the high-demand. When I tell people I go to UCSC, people get the impression of the low-academic level at the school, and others emphasize on how great the beach area is. The college town (downtown) is dirty and lacks variety and nightlife. The mall is too small and needs more stores. The college town is very old, and almost abandoned by the corporate world. The biggest controversy so far is the expansion of our campus. The students do not have a lot of school pride, the majority is apathetic in sports and activities. Perhaps if we had a football team or a less picky cheerleading team, then more people would join and be involved. The most frequent student complaints have to do with the overpopulation in College 9 and College 10, how people cannot move in, the inconvenience of parking on campus for freshman and sophomores, and the lack of a frat row and a larger greek life.