University of California-San Diego Top Questions

I wish I would've known how challenging it was to manage time at UCSD. I came in full force, studying like no other, and essentially burnt out for the following two quarters. It also would've been nice to know how challenging it is to get your classes when you have a bad enrollment time due to coming in with a few AP credits. It's a battle for classes and it can give you a major disadvantage.

All the major's status (whether impacted or not) and how a typical class and quarter runs here at school.

I wish someone had told me to try to do MY best and not compare myself to others. I think competitiveness is a terribly way to look at school; I know it killed me when I could not be the top student in every class but I eventually learned to live with being happy and normal. No need to over-think or over-stress anything :)

I wish I knew about the 6 colleges and which ones to apply to.

I wish that I had taken more advantage of internships and job opportunities. I know that sounds really intense for someone who would only be a freshman, but you're only here 4 years. I wish that I had just thrown myself out there, but you can learn from my mistake. Any opportunity that you can take, TAKE IT. The biggest advantage of starting early is weeding out what you like and what you don't like early so you don't find yourself in your third of fourth year thinking maybe you never liked your major after all.

you need to be involved to be content wiht your college life

I wish I had known that in order to have a rewarding social life at UCSD, one needed to be in the Greek system, or at the very least join a club. I also wish I had known about the amazing research opportunities at UCSD sooner in my academic career, in order to take advantage of them.

everyone here is the same sort of personality, there are loud outrageous people here. If you have dyed pink hair or anything out of the slightly ordinary you stick out like a sore thumb. No is here to experience new things everyone is here to get a degree and get out, get a job and have 2 kids with a dog and white picket fence.

how unfit and unsocial UCSD was and how non-diverse it was

that there were many cool programs available as long as you go to the info sessions

Not much really. I was familiar with the neighborhood, community, and school.

I wish I knew how big it actually was. The campus is really spread out. It is hard to connect with other people who are not in your college.

I wish I had known more about what type of students would attend my school. I wish there was more of a community feel but with such a large campus you really have to look for people to give you that feeling. It is also nice to have such a large campus though becuase there are so many different activities and opportunities that I would not be able to be a part of at other smaller schools.

I wish I had known before that this school was more larger than it had appeared on the map, because walking everywhere is a pain and taking the shuttle is a pain to wait for. I wish I had known that this school is comprised of only pre-medical students who are out to make you feel horrible about not wanting to go to medical school or wanting to go to class because some classes really are a waste of time. I wish someone had told me that you should never take morning classes.

Before attending this school I wish I knew more about the international studies programs offered out of state.

That this school is so big. It is really hard to get around campus. I wish it was smaller so that we could get to our classes easier. The campus feels very disconnected because it is so big. People aren't as close as other schools. People just often do their own thing without others.

I transferred here so I actually wish I visited the campus my senior year in high school because at that time I only applied to UCLA. I didnt have any interest in any other University. It turned out though that I like this school a lot more. I do wish I had known more about each college in my university's general education requirements

I wish I knew that T.A.s taught some of the classes. They are ones that work with the professors and know the material. That was a little surprising to me.

The fact that 99{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students are asian and never leave the library, even on weekends. On the weekends, it feels like im the only one on campus

I wish I would have known about the lack of social life here, there are some opportunities but I feel the problem is that there is no football team as well as no division one athletics. Academically the school is very strong and rigourous but you get a great education. Academic advising and career counseling are not very well informed and its better to talk to older students about classes and grad school. The school can be very slow and boring but the administration keeps it that way to maintain focus on academics. So come here to study.

Nothing really, I researched on the school a lot before i decided to come here to UCSD.

I wish I had known that most of the UC's are looking for math and science based majors, especially engineers. Also, I wish I had known that UCSD was the second best school in the nation to attend for bioengineering.

Which college you choose (ERC, Revelle, etc.) affects your first two years immensely. You'll live in their houses, attend their freshman and sophmore classes, go to their groups, etc. You'll feel closer to them than you do to your school as a whole .Choose wisely! Do some research and see which mission statement you like better as well as which has the better housing (ERC and Muir are wonderful).

nothing

How bad commuter campuses can be socially

I wish I knew more about the city so that I may be able to take advantage of what the school and its surrounding environment have to offer for social activities.

Go for anything.

How to find cheaper books, and where to find cheper books.

How un-engaging most people are

Nothing, this school makes it easy to learn what you need.

n/a

I wish I had known whether this school was famous for the major I chose.

That you can and should start talking your major classes right away if you know what you want to do. Save your GE classes for later!

The anti-social atmosphere of it. Most people seem caught up in their own lives and don't try to reach out to others or go out of their way to be friendly.

that it sucked and has no social life.

That the competition for grades would be based on students in the course and their work and doing well is difficult when your work is graded against 85-90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} asian students who are highly educated over students here in the states.

go here if you know you will be satisfied with your proposed major; if it is lacking a major you're thinking of exploring, don't go here. you'll end up loving the environment / people / vibe / campus, but disliking the fact that there's nothing here close to what you want to do. especially for the fine arts students -- much of the visual arts program is taught in an experimental, theoretical way. if you're looking for tradition and hands-on projects, you'll need to wade through a lot of nasty visarts prerequisites to get to it.

That there is no school spirirt. Social life is all in the expensive frats/sororities. People are too academically focused. CONSERVATIVE to the max school.

I wish I had known more about the differences between the six colleges at UCSD.

Get involved and don't get too comfortable with your initial group of friends. Branch out your social network! Consider fraternities and sororities because it's a great way to meet people and get involved in things like philanthropic activities. The Greek system at UCSD is definitely not the stereotypical one that people often hear about.

Knowledge about the school general education requirements of the various colleges within the school.

I wish I had known how little school spirit UCSD students possess, because it would be nice to have a little more of that.

Seek out your social life as soon as you get here. Don't wait for it to come to you.

about financial aid and grants

Wish I knew about the lack of a college town and sports atmosphere.

I wish I knew more about what my career path is.

The most important social day at UCSD is when all of the extracurricular groups are on Library Walk. If you want to have a social life and do things that you enjoy sign up for as many groups that you fancy, because you will get on their email lists and then you can decide which groups' events sound right for you. Don't be afraid of signing up for 20 or even 50 groups it will give you lots of options and be some of the best experiences in college.

I wish I had known that the campus is split into 6 colleges and each college has different curriculum.

That the school is heavily research based. About UC Santa Cruz

I wish I would have known that you have to go out and try to make friends, that not all professors are concerned about your learning, and that it was absolutely dead on weekends.