University of California-Santa Cruz Top Questions

Describe the students at your school.

Kyla

Yea we have our super hippy shoeless kids but there's plenty of normal ppl too. Cowells the best of course ;)

Rachel

My peers were open-minded, kind, artistic or otherwise creative, and advocated for social justice and environmental consciousness.

Gladys

The students at my school are very diverse, I see all ethnic groups getting along with each other and that is great. They are nice people and we all came for the same reason, to reach our goals and become someone in life.

Aneshia

Most of my classmates are extremely focused individuals who are actively interested in what the professor is lecturing about.

James

My classmates tended to be liberal, open minded, rather fun, and corkey individuals that helped me gain a new perspectives on multiple subjects.

Bailey

Diverse! All types, those who are completely uninterested to those going the extra mile and reading everything "optional" mentioned by the professor.

Jessica

Fun, smart classmates. Not exactly the most scholarly, intellectually, or artistic bunch.

Alexander

In General Education classes, classmates are not as focused or as determined as they are in the classes within their major focus, but you will find people willing to work harder once classes become more specialized.

rachel

Classmates are usually firendly and very open.

Aileen

Quirky

ERICK

The students here are all very nice and self-motivated. There are all types of students at this campus and have similar situations as yourself. There might be students who party and others who don't. Most students whom I've interacted with are mostly humble about themselves and won't brag about anything and will understand what background you come from.

Rotem

There is definitley raicial and socio-economic diversity at UCSC. All sorts of communities are accepted. There is even a floor accomodating the LGBT community. Groups that are formed tend to be diverse.Most students dress casually and wear comfortable shoes. The school tends to be more liberal in its polital leaning but it is not strictly so.

Kimberly

Students at UCSC are very diverse and extremely accepting. Our school definitely has that "safe" feel about it, meaning that everyone can be themselves without having to worry about being judged. The LGBT groups on campus are really prevalent, and have a lot of activities throughout the year. On the other side of the spectrum, the racial and religious groups at school are also really prevalent and host a LOT of activities throughout the year. There isn't a set group that everyone seems to be part of, rather there's a variety of different groups that everyone participates in. Most of the students are from California, but out of state students can be found around campus. "Different" types of students do interact, like I said, most everyone is accepting at this school. Politics is really prevalent at school, with students participating in protests and being politically aware. The majority of the students are liberal, but again, there are those few that are conservative. I don't feel like anyone would feel out of place at this school, because there seems to be a niche for everyone.

Genevieve

There are all different students at UCSC. There are ethnic resource centers for minorities including the African American resource center, the Chicano/Latino resource center, the American Indian resource center, and the Asian/Pacific Islander resource center. These centers offer support for minority groups and put on events that anyone can attend. In addition, the Cantu Queer Center provides support for LGBT students and friends and often has mixers and other fun events. Socio-economic resources include E Squared, a building that offers free textbooks and other resources for students who need financial support. Students with disabilities are also supported at UCSC, especially at the Disability Resource Center, which makes special accommodations for students who need them. For example, I had a job through the school driving blind students to their classes. So, there is a lot of diversity at UCSC but everyone mixes together, especially in the residential colleges and at all the campus events and clubs. This is because all UCSC students are passionate, interested in academics, and open-minded. In fact, I can't think of anyone who would feel out of place at UCSC other than someone closed-minded. Students come from all over but mostly just from California because it is more costly to attend UCSC if you're from out of state.

Cierra

Students at UCSC are from every race, sexuality, religion and ethnicity you could imagine. There is a strong LGBT community as well as many other communities which help promote cultural difference and representation. The main difference you find at UCSC is the location of students. It seems that most white kids are at cowell and stevenson and most latino or african american students are in Oakes. While you can pick which specific college you live in, you're not always granted first choice and I find that most minorites/majorities are grouped together. I The main issue I find with social cliques on campus is that greek life has the notion of superiority. Quite far fetched since greek life is not huge on campus. However it does seem they alienate themselves from others. To each their own, but most everyone else gets along and has no issues holding conversations and building new relationships. One fun thing though about UCSC is the variety of fashion you'll find day to day. While there will always be the girls in leggings, sweatshirts and Uggs, there will usually be a guy dressed in all black leather and studs next to her in lecture hall! There's a great sense of risk with fashion as well as a relaxed attitude towards dressing for class.

Kyle

Students at UCSC are socially and environmentally conscious, well-read, diverse, dedicated, hipster, intelligent slugs for life.

Elizabeth

Incredible diversity that comes with great acceptance and friendliness and--as one of the most hipster colleges in the US--often well-dressed.

Jordan

Have not had classes there yet.

Brittany

The classmeates I've had are completely helpful like they are the people you could really make study groups and even friendships with.

Maria

There is a group for everyone on campus. The LGBTQQIA (!) community is well-represented, as is every ethnic and religious background you can imagine. Something students should keep in mind is that UCSC is very, very liberal - there's a plethora of anarchist and socialist groups as well. There is a republican club, but, to keep things in perspective, in a school of almost 15000 people, it has something like nine members.

Alexander

My classmates are intelligent hard working.

Shanina

Students in my classes are very committed to their education. Many of my classmates try to exceed their expections in the classes. I find that many of my classmates are very friendly; we usually form study groups within each class so we can all help each other out with our schoolwork.

annette

intelligent, hard working, fun loving, future leaders in the field

Kelly

From tree-hugging hippies to Marxist hipsters, students here share a passion for learning and apply this principle towards creating a more just and environmentally-concsious future.

Nathan

UCSC is full of kids and young adults just like myself: Spending time and money at the university to better understand ourselves and discover who we want to be in the world.

Nicole

My classmates vary, there are always the hard focused students present, and with a couple not so focused high ones that will show up on a blue moon.

julio

My classmates are very opened minded, intellectualy successful, like to speak up in class, well groomed, very social, self motivats, very respectful, and love to ask questions when we are having discussions in class.

Adam

Opinionated, out-going, Environmentally Friendly, Protest,

Stephanie

They are extremely easygoing, and ambitious in their classes. It's easy to make friends or get help from other students in any class.

Hannah

Many of them are just trying to scrape, but some are very intelligent and hard-working.

Paul

They are an odd bunch that seem to be a right proper sampling of lower to upper middle class America; some Generation Y hippies and hipsters with a small fortune for pocket change while future computer engineers and marine biologists barely eat or own anything in order to pay off their massive loans: in short, we are, whether we Santa Cruzians like it or not, most easily defined by our wallets and material lifestyles.

Vivian

Some classmates are very serious about school, while others are not. It just depends on who you meet and who you hang out with. Everyone is different.

Shaun

Students of the University of California, Santa Cruz tend to be rather liberal, environmentally conscious individuals who take pride in beach culture and in the varied social climate of the university.

Alex

Talk to Professors! Take part in Sports. Balance Studing and Partying

Robert

they are people.

Caleb

They are intelligent and diverse, bringing many different points of view into discussions to put a nuanced light on the subject at hand.

Kirstie

My classmates are kind and studious people who help me when I need help in certain subject areas. I enjoy studying with my classmates before exams because we keep each other focused and teach each other the subject material once again if one of us cannot grasp certain concepts.

Marie

Friendly

ERic

tons of fun...

Daniel

My classmates are primarily concerned about their education but definatly know how to kick back and relax.

Jessica

All different kinds of people attend UCSC. Within my department, Environmental Studies, there are many different types of people, but most seem passionate and very concerned about the environment.

Emily

My classmates are generally eager to learn, extraordinarily intelligent, and very helpful to eachother.

Jeena

In intro classes, they are very fun, but don't always focus on work.

Keaton

Most are open-minded, thoughtful, and helpful people who enjoy learning and are interested in making a difference.

cole

Half hippie/hipster, half Asian/conservative business people. Environmentally focused.

Max

Freindly, down to earth and into the outdoors.

Danielle

People are very open, accepting and fun.

Jack

Self motivated hard working people that were socially and environmentally responsible.

Jonathan

Academically engaged, yet focused on contributing more to humanity, then to themselves.

Benjamin

Upper-middle class white kids. Lots of artistic types, but also lots of anime geeks. A fair amount of asians, but they stick together.