<p>I just got accepted into Santa Cruz and now I'm trying to determine which college is best for me. </p>
<p>Here's my general overview: I'm not into drugs, or partying for that matter. I enjoy a generally quiet atmosphere. I'm planning on majoring in Psychology.</p>
<p>I've been looking into Cowell College, since it seems to be the most neutral, but I am wondering what the consequences of it being the oldest are. Are there any actual problems with this fact? Is it less clean than the others? Are the rooms smaller? Basically, what kind of toll has its history really taken on it?
Stevenson College also seems like a possible option, but again, it's the second oldest. Any drawbacks?
Although as far as the new colleges, with 9/10, it seems that they have no actual character, so I'm cautious to even consider them.
And my question about Porter: is it really as bad the impression I'm getting, drug-wise? I mean, I don't particularly mind drugs, as long as I can avoid them and am not ENTIRELY surrounded by them. </p>
<p>Are there any other colleges I should be considering? </p>
<p>Cowell isn’t terribly anything or another. Most colleges have a good mix of people but generally have a higher population of some type of stereotype or another. Cowell is known for attracting jocks, and Stevenson draws in a lot of humanities majors. </p>
<p>I’ve never been in Cowell dorms but I have been in Stevenson. The hallways are a bit small, but the rooms are a decent size. I haven’t heard complaints from people living in either.</p>
<p>You’d be right about 9/10’s lack of character. They’re also pretty loud.</p>
<p>Yes, Porter is heavy on drugs. I smell weed every time I walk through there. The people won’t pressure you into joining them, but it’s certainly hard to escape the smell.</p>
<p>What you say about wanting a quiet atmosphere and no drugs/partying points toward Crown/Merrill/Oakes. They’re generally very quiet, drugs and parties do happen but normally you have to go looking for them. Don’t get me wrong, Cowell/Stevenson aren’t bad choices, but they are somewhere in between Porter and Crown on the noise level and partying.</p>
<p>I’m a parent who went to UCSC in the Dark Ages. Crown has historically been the quietest. . .I think the 9/10 dining hall has the longest hours, esp. on weekends. I like walking more than most people, but it can be quite a hike to another college just for food. I think (but please double check this!) the Psych classes are most likely to be in the building near 9/10. So if you live nearby, this is nice. I don’t know how much snail mail is sent out these days, but your mailbox will be at your college, and it is a real PITA to pick up if you are never in the area. (Crown isn’t all that far from 9/10 BTW.) Be sure read the various colleges’ Core Course descriptions to see if any appeal to you or completely leave you cold.</p>
<p>I read Choose UCSC College thread last year. I was amazed at how the various colleges have retained their images. I started at Stevenson, lived on campus for two years, then transferred to Merrill. By that time, I had friends from all the different colleges and pretty much everyone lived off campus so college affiliation didn’t matter a whole lot. However, graduation took place at each college, so if most of your friends were from a different college, you did not get to walk together.</p>
<p>I live in Stevenson and also have a lot of friends at Cowell. Most of the people I know like to party a lot but that shouldn’t be a problem. Most parties are outside of campus so it wont get noisy if your worried about that. Either the RAs or CSOs will bust anyone who’s throwing a party inside the dorms. They are also really strict on quiet hours especially during finals week, If you do end up picking Stevenson or Cowell, then pick the substance free housing if your worried about drugs and alcohol. If you get caught drinking or smoking or even intoxicated in the substance free halls you will get kicked out of housing (there really strict on that).</p>
<p>Liesel:Thank you for your reply!
Crown doesn’t seem like the place for me, although I’m mainly basing this on the fact that major video game interest seems to be a prerequisite. That kind of vibe isn’t really for me.
Merrill, I hear, is much to isolated, which is why I’m not really considering it. I’d rather me in the midst of everything rather than off to the side. And while a quiet atmosphere is important to me, an atmosphere that’s too quiet might not be the best for me.
Stevenson definitely sounds like one of my top choices, especially the bit about the humanities, something I’ve always been very close to.</p>
<p>CCsiteObsessed: Thank you for the feedback! The course descriptions seem unnervingly vague, but solely based on those I would definitely pick between Cowell and Stevenson, assuming Porter follows its reputation.</p>
<p>As of right now Stevenson is my first choice. What is it like around there? Any interesting quirks or trivia?
Also, I don’t have a huge problem with drugs or alcohol, it’s just not something I’d want to be faced with constantly, so I don’t think substance free housing is necessary.</p>
<p>I don’t blame you about Crown, there is definitely a big gamer culture there. It is mostly centered in the game themed house though.</p>
<p>You shouldn’t put the core course too high on your priorities when it comes to picking colleges. The class lasts for one quarter, or ONLY in Steven’s case, two quarters. Not worth picking the community you’ll likely live in for 2 years based on a single class. Though I have heard that Stevenson core is really good! Lengthy sure, but not boring in the slightest.</p>
<p>I don’t have a whole lot more to say about Stevenson. Some of the dorms have a view of the ocean. The dining hall closes at 7pm, which can be a bit of a hassle. Good food, though.</p>
<p>7pm, huh? That might be an adjustment, maybe even for the best. Are the dinning rooms really very different? And do you know if it’s difficult to get a dorm with an ocean view?</p>
<p>My son lived in a Cowell dorm his first year (Adams house). He lived in a a double room, and on the substance free floor. It was very quiet! That floor seemed to have a couple of vacant rooms. The room was small, but they each had a closet, dressers, etc. I did not think the room was run down at all. This year (his sophmore year) he lived in a Cowell apartment with his roommate from last year and 3 other kids. The apartments are really nice (and seemingly new). My son chose Cowell because he felt he would “fit” there the most. He is a Literature major. (He is not a jock at all). Anyway, he really likes it there alot!</p>
<p>There are no dorms overlooking the ocean, only the Stevenson Apartments do. Freshmans can’t live in apartments their first year of college. We live in a House system. There are eight houses. It’s not like the other colleges whose dorms are huge building and hundreds of students inside them. In one house, there is around 30-40 students (mostly freshman). Each house has its own theme. We are divided into an upper quad and lower quad. I personally like the House system because you get to know everyone on your house and a lot of the times in big dorms you only get to know the people in your floor. Stevenson is also close to the gym and the sports fields. The two quarter course is on self and society. The first quarter we analyze a lot of religious texts and second quarter it shifts to more philosophical texts. Regarding the food, it starts out good and then gets worse through the year.</p>
<p>@ProteinMan: I thought that with Stevenson core you could take the segments in either order? </p>
<p>@mashka92: Unless you specifically request themed housing, you will not get any sway over which house you are in. The food starts out better, with more variety at the beginning of the year. The quality declines a bit after first quarter. </p>
<p>The dining halls are not terribly different. They all have salad bars, sandwich bars, cereal, fruits, and so on around the clock. At lunch through dinner they all serve pizza too. There is also a rotation through various other bars- taqueria bar, pasta bar, curry bar, to name a few. In addition there are several main dishes serves around meal times. These are the big part that vary between dining halls from day to day. They always have a menu online so you can check which main dishes they are serving.</p>
<p>One big difference is that the 9/10 dining hall ALSO has a permanent taqueria bar, and serves beef/chicken/veggie burgers all day long. It has late night hours and a lot more seating than other dining halls.</p>