University of California-Santa Cruz Top Questions

I LOVE UCSC

This is really a wonderful school and a wonderful town. It is welcoming, easy to navigate, and safe. I've never felt unsafe on campus, but I do avoid walking through the forest after dark. There are always buses running that will get you very close to where you want to go, especially at night.

I would like to offer one piece of advice which I have learned and I think it would be helpful to many members of the student body - please think before you speak. This applies to classroom questions, protests, student government, your interactions with the administration, life, etc. Often the greatest ideas are presented in the most mind numbing fashions that no one listens.

UCSC is unlike any other place I've ever been. There are so many different people and ideas that you are exposed to, and the environment is great for letting everyone develop into their own unique person. Also, it's in a redwood forest which is awesome. There's a massive forest in upper campus that you can spend a day wandering through and still barely see all there is to see.

I got disgusted with this campus my freshman year. People are retarded, classes are ridiculously easy until you get up to upper-division courses, and I was living in a really shitty part of campus, stuffed into this isolated dark apartment. I was pissed. The lack of literature classes is also disheartening, and I'm looking to transfer somewhere smaller with a creative writing focus. That said, I've met some really intelligent, fun, open-minded people here. Santa Cruz is a "chill" place. You can take difficult classes if you want to work hard, and you can take easy classes if all you want to do is hang around and smoke weed all day. I'm certain most college campuses are the same, one of my best friends goes to Yale, and she's met some of the craziest, dumbest people imaginable. You can make this campus work for you. Some people absolutely love it here. You should at least visit.

UCSC is absolutely beautiful. Yes, the campus is huge and the buildings are spread out. You will have to walk on trails to get to some of your classes and it does get cold during the winter. The buses get full when it rains and there are not a lot of places to park when your up on campus. But besides that, the campus is environment friendly. The fresh air, the hiking trails, the fields, and the view of the ocean makes it all worth it. I recommend this college to anyone that has an open-mind and loves beautiful scenery.

All good here!!

The deer are really pretty.

There are so many different types of people at UCSC that it makes it easy to find a nitch no matter what you're into, its not like there is a person you have to be to fit in... like typical USC frat guy.

Our mascot is a slug, how cool is that?

I'm very cynical about this school and I hope it improves soon. Most people from the city areas like San Francisco and Los Angeles don't like it here.

The one thing that did surprise me is how many homeless people live in downtown Santa Cruz. Some areas can be kinda shady. I don't like walking alone late at night, either downtown or on campus. I take the bus. There are campus peace officers who you can call to escort you somewhere, and if you have a long way to walk or feel uneasy just call them, you'll be better off in the long run just by feeling more secure.

UCSC is a beautiful campus, and I love many aspects of life here, but in 20 years, UCSC will be very different - less forested, less academically broad, less unique, and a poorer place for it.

Overall Santa Cruz is a mellow university full of nature lovers, jocks, surfers, musicians, nerds, hippies, and so on. It feels like a year round summer camp at which you can do whatever you want, but if you have too much fun there will be a price to pay. You can get a great education here along with experiences with a wide range of people. While it is not the perfect place for everybody, if it fits your personality, you will love it!

nope

UCSC is having some serious problems. Without some significant change the future looks bleak. These next few years are going to bring a lot of change and I hope UCSC will be ready.

I LOVE UCSC! It was my first choice of university and I am so happy here!

Would I come here again? Yes I would!

it's a bubble. for ***A LOT** of students, UCSC was the only school that they got into. A LOT. I can not stress that enough. This school is so easy to get into.

Overall I love UCSC