<p>If you could tell me more about your qualifications, such as ECs, specific test scores, and classes, I would be able to give you an answer. I am not sure about "hooks", many people I know here are extremely accomplished in some way so I'd say that if you have an academic focus and can prove it, it will give you a good chance at being admitted.</p>
<p>If anyone on this thread happened to be accepted or rejected by UC Santa Cruz, I would be really interested to see their stats and whether they will be going here in the fall.</p>
<p>I am only applying this fall - but will let you know. My cousin (female) got into UCSC and Univ of Michigan this year, with GPA @ 3.2 and scores around 1250. She chose Univ of Michigan.</p>
<p>i'm headed there in the fall. as for my gpa...i screwed around a lot when i was younger so there's a couple of f's and lots of w's in my record. when i got serious about my education, it raised to about a 3.0.</p>
<p>i've been accepted to uci, ucr, ucsb and of course ucsc. :)</p>
<p>just finished filling out applications for transcripts. all i have to do is sit and wait to see what else pops up. by the way, i chose kresge as my top choice because i'm a literature major. also, in no particular order, oakes, 9, 10, and probably porter. i like their location on the map.</p>
<p>why did you choose ucsc over ucsb?</p>
<p>i applied as an english major. recently, i decided i was also gonna try for linguistics also. ucsc seems to have the better linguistics program out of all the schools i was accepted to. </p>
<p>to me, ucsc offered more in terms of beauty. can't beat being in between the coast and a forest of redwoods (not to mention meadows, streams, etc).</p>
<p>the current students can correct me if i'm wrong, but i think they have all you can eat and free bus service in the city of santa cruz. can't really go wrong in terms of food and transportation.</p>
<p>i guess ucsc is just the better fit for me. :)</p>
<p>Hi there.</p>
<p>It seems I shall be attending Santa Cruz in the fall, hopefully with the eventual result of receiving a degree in Russian studies. I chose Cowell as my preferred college.</p>
<p>My GPA so far has hovered around 4.4 (weighted), I scored a 34 on the ACT (equivalent to a 1520 on the SAT), and my SATII scores are as follows:
Writing - 730
Math IIC - 700
Literature - 740</p>
<p>I was accepted into UCSB, UCI, UCR, UCD, and UCSC. I chose Santa Cruz by default after having visited the first two of the list, as the campuses were rather unimpressive. My enthusiasm skyrocketed shortly following, when I discovered Santa Cruz to be the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. All my life I've fantasized of sitting on a fallen redwood in the forest, alone, see, reading or solving chess problems or whittling or writing a passionate essay, whilst puffing of my briar pipe. I've imagined rising with the sun, bringing outdoors with me a steaming mug of rich coffee brewed in a plunger pot, watching the day gradually bloom. Even on stormy days I foresee great contentment, as the library is absolutely magnificent, the way it's so seamlessly integrated amongst the natural extravagance containing it. And the people are happy - there's a certain casual, intellectual flair about them that I really love. I could not see myself going anywhere else, I think.</p>
<p>Andrew Austin</p>
<p>Mr. Goose, Thanks for starting this thread. My daughter has appreciated the information very much and, in fact, based on your description of the campus and college system, wants to visit and will probably apply in the fall. It will probably end up as the only "large" school on her list if she does well enough on the SAT IIs.
I do appreciate your rational descriptions - no hype, lots of useful information. THANKS!</p>
<p>you can find other info on the university and it's colleges on here...it's a pretty interesting read. :)</p>
<p>I spent a friday night and saturday morning in college 10 last year... and it was awesome :) the people were really nice and didnt look down at me as the 10th grader i was. the campus is so beautiful.. we went on a little shortcut from where we parked the car to college 10, and the nature is so awesome there. </p>
<p>do you know anybody in the astrophysics department? if so, can i have their AIM screen name? I have some questions to ask, like if there are undergraduate research opportunities, how the hands-on studying is, and if the major is impacted.</p>
<p>Nice thread. I attended UCSC from 1972 - 1977; graduated with a Math and CS double degree and was a Cowell Student. </p>
<p>The reason there is no central location is that UCSC was built after the Free Speech Movement began at UCB. It was intentional on the part of the planners to not have a large, central place for students to demonstrate, i mean, congregate in.</p>
<p>I was intrigued by the list of stereotypes for the colleges. When I went, Cowell was the 'traditional college' at UCSC. I agree with the point about the hill to Crown and Merrill being a pain. When I attended, students primarily chose their colleges based on the core classes. Today it seems most students choose based on the dorm situation.</p>
<p>IMO, the college system (at both UCSC and UCSD) are great systems and add to the college experience.</p>
<p>I checked out the wikipedia article....
"In the 1970s there was a huge wooden labyrinth in the area where College Nine is now, north of the Campus Health Center, an abandoned 'Senior Thesis' project. A popular tradition was to take new students to this maze in the dead of night when the moon was new and have them find the center of the maze in the dark. On the way, the initiated would tell a ghost story about a student who hanged himself center of the maze: "and now...his ghost sometimes appears on moonless nights." While not hazing exactly, some people actually freaked out trying to accomplish this task. The maze was torn down quietly by the administration because it was becoming a hazard, or possibly because of the emotional breakdowns."</p>
<p>The labyrinth was very cool. But I think they tore it down as it was a site for major partying......</p>
<p>
[quote]
The labyrinth was very cool. But I think they tore it down as it was a site for major partying......
[/quote]
</p>
<p>sounds like your reason would be closer to the truth. i can imagine students doing that. :)</p>
<p>i'm sure most people still choose the colleges based on the educational theme. the social (stereotypes) info about the different colleges doesn't seem like common knowledge. i had no idea myself till i saw it on CC.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The reason there is no central location is that UCSC was built after the Free Speech Movement began at UCB. It was intentional on the part of the planners to not have a large, central place for students to demonstrate, i mean, congregate in.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>this is actually an urban legend. the campus is modeled after the british universities (oxford, cambridge, etc). it was designed and construction began before the UCB free speech movement.</p>
<p>I'm a student at UCSC as well. I live in Porter and am a Theatre Arts major. I am VERY active on campus and can answer questions as well. I absolutely love Santa Cruz and couldn't imagine myself anywhere else. I am originally from Los Angeles and thought I'd end up at a LAC, but UCSC is much better for me.</p>
<p>two other great resources of UCSC info are <a href="http://www.ucscweb.com%5B/url%5D">http://www.ucscweb.com</a> and <a href="http://www.livejournal.com/%7Eucsc_incoming%5B/url%5D">http://www.livejournal.com/~ucsc_incoming</a></p>
<p>been reading that site all night.</p>
<p>can't seem to find any first hand info on oakes though. looking for info from people who actually live there. my first choice is kresge and my second is oakes. porter was my second, but i'd like the occasional peace, quiet, and privacy. :)</p>
<p>i'll go</p>
<ol>
<li>10</li>
<li>9</li>
<li>8</li>
</ol>
<p>Oakes is the "underrepresented minorities" college. Not to group people, but that's pretty much the only place on campus you'll find minorites all around. They are on the west side of campus and are about as far away from all campus resources as you can get. That's a plus from some people and a draw back for others. check out <a href="http://oakes.ucsc.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://oakes.ucsc.edu/</a> for info.</p>
<p>kresge is fun, just remember they are apartment-style living only. instead of being in a dorm you're in an apartment.</p>
<p>Porcupyne, Kresge has a very unique atmosphere. I have met people who like it there but I have also met people who really didn't like the environment. It is somewhat far away from things and tends to have a lot of older students and is really quiet.</p>
<p>oakes is... weird</p>
<p>when i was on a tour there, my tour group was all white, and so was the tour guide. some hispanicky girl outside oakes ran by and said something like WOO UCSC LETS GET SOME DIVERSITY HERE YEEEAH</p>
<p>hmm</p>
<p>kewkiekid: i think i was more worried about social life last night (early this morning). i equated lack of talk with a dead social life. using the right keywords, i was able to find out more about oakes on some search engines. it wasn't as dead as i assumed. :)</p>
<p>mr. goose: kresge's still my first choice mostly because it's related to my major. i also like its location; checking out some satellite pics of the general area really helped me. it appears more forrested than it looks in the panorama pics...it's something that i'm really looking forward to. proximity to porter and oakes is a plus since both seem to be the centers of social life (one advertised, the other more underground). finally, i just like a lil' peace and quiet so i can focus on my edukayshun. :)</p>
<p>taffy: i won't offer any excuses for that girl. there was no need for that girl to go out and make people feel uncomfortable like that. had she looked at the statistics, she'd notice that enrollment of minorities is steadily climbing at ucsc and ucsb. in a few years (say 10 or less), i'm willing to bet that it'll mirror the other universities in terms of diversity. asians (which i'm classified as), latinos, blacks, whites, whatever...we all have our share of ignorant people. however...</p>
<p>keep in mind that unless one is, or looks like, a minority; then that person has no idea what it is like to be one.</p>