<p>well the title says most of it, i got accepted into both schools as an electrical engineering major and im having trouble deciding where to go. </p>
<p>last time i checked, the engineering program at ASU was ranked higher than UC Santa Cruz, but im not sure how much that matters. </p>
<p>im from CA, but i got a provost scholarship to ASU ($12800 each year) and so just based solely on tuition, its the cheaper option. i havent yet applied to the barrett's honors college, but they are still accepting applications, and im pretty sure i would get in. </p>
<p>however UCSC still has the UC prestige, but its still considered a low tier UC, so idk which option would be better.</p>
<p>Have you visited either campus?</p>
<p>yeah i have visited ucsc. i liked the greenery and how close its to the coastline, but the constant uphill walking is an annoyance. also the dorms i saw were pretty bad, really small and cramped. (im not trying to suggest that all the dorms were bad, im sure the new ones are much nicer, but it still left a bad impression on my parents) </p>
<p>for asu, i’ve seen pics of the tempe campus only. it looks really nice, and its flat and even compared to hilly ucsc.</p>
<p>If money isn’t an issue, then just go wherever you feel more comfortable in and where you can actually see yourself attending for a full 4 years. Although a school may look very nice, you’re there for the education and the experience. Assuming you don’t live on campus after your freshman year in college, you really don’t spend that much time on campus unless you’re in the library/lab. I never really thought the main part of UCSC campus was that hilly, unless you had to walk up to Crown every day (which people can get used to). If you have some type of physical disability, then I guess this would be an issue… otherwise I think you are over exaggerating it.</p>
<p>I lived in College 10 at UCSC for a bit (moved to Cowell after) and my dorm was pretty much brand new and next to a really nice dining hall. But what you have to remember is that the dorm life is only 1 year. I would never pick a school based on dorms. Hell, I don’t even remember what my dorm room looked like that much because we were always going out.</p>
<p>ASU has a great alumni network and recruiting. I’ve visited there twice and was amazed how much school spirit they have (may have been the alcohol though). If you’re into sports, then attending games here is amazing. I probably partied harder here than I did at UCSB. I had some complaints from friends saying how some of their classmates don’t really take their academics seriously and wonder how they even got into college though.</p>
<p>UCSC doesn’t really have an extensive alumni network, but you’re located in California and you have access to nearly all the industries. The UC name carries weight, even if it’s considered lower tier. I think they are approving in their rankings and starting to become more selective. If you’re into engineering, then your job prospects in the area also looks good if you can keep up your grades and get an internship/experience.</p>
<p>well i guess i did slightly exaggerate how hilly ucsc was. i know i can get used to it and all, but it can be inconvenient, especially if i bring a bike. </p>
<p>if you dont mind me asking midnightgolfer, what was your major at UCSC? and which personally did you like better, ASU or UCSC?</p>
<p>I probably wouldn’t bring a bike if I were you. The hills might be tough for bikes, so most people just walk or take the campus buses. I rarely saw people biking while I was there.</p>
<p>I came into UCSC under the 3/2 dual engineering program where I was supposed to do Economics at UCSC and Engineering Math/Statistics at Berkeley. Ended up going a whole different route though and ended up transferring to Cornell after 2 years.</p>
<p>I don’t think I have enough experience at ASU to give a fair judgement on that. Maybe if I crashed a few classes or spent some more time on campus, then I would probably be able to answer that. I spent most of my time at ASU watching football/going to parties. Also, I was born and raised in California and I wouldn’t go out of state unless it was a top school. I guess it’s a little different in your case because you were offered a scholarship, though. </p>
<p>Otherwise, I think I like UCSC more overall just because its in CA. In terms of academics, I don’t really see that big of a difference. In terms of school spirit + campus events, I really like ASU.</p>
<p>how were the campus events and nightlife at ucsc? and how were the class sizes, which are supposedly very big at uc’s? </p>
<p>i did end up getting into barrett’s which has 1:15 class size, just to compare.</p>
<p>I don’t really remember any campus-wide events (other than the OPERS festival), but most of the residential colleges hold their own events. If those don’t interest you, clubs/groups always hold events.</p>
<p>Nightlife can go either way. If you have friends/connections to parties, then you can go out nearly every weekend. My freshman year we probably went to large house parties 2-3 times a month, but we got tired of getting shutdown by cops (loud parties + being under 21 did not help) and also trying to find a way back to our dorms at 4am. You get kind of tired of big parties after awhile, so smaller kickbacks of ~10-15 people is usually where its at. Those are usually abundant (depending on what type of people you hang out with) and are the most chill.</p>
<p>Downtown is also kind of cool and has some bars, but not really a place to go clubbing. I transferred out of Santa Cruz before turning 21, so I can’t really answer how SC is if you are legally allowed to drink :P</p>
<p>Class sizes depend on what type of class you take. I wouldn’t look into the class sizes stated by the universities/websites though because the numbers are a bit misleading. They will say ~40% of classes have less than 20 students, but those classes will include discussion sections/labs/seminar classes. That drives down the ratio down to numbers such as 20:1 and etc. So major classes like intro to psych or a required economics class might have 100-300 students, but the discussion section only has about 15 students.</p>
<p>The way I see class sizes at UCSC is as follows:
Writing class- 20 students
Lecture (for intro class) - 150-350 students
Lecture (upper division class) - 50-200 students
Discussion (for intro/upper div) - 15-20 students
Seminars - 10-50 students
Labs - 10-20 students</p>
<p>Those are just estimates, but the class sizes aren’t that bad. The social sciences typically have the classes with the most students, while the engineering/science classes are normally on the lower end of the ranges I posted. Most public universities in America have that type of model where the lecture is in a big hall where the professor teaches the material, then there’s an associated discussion with the TA at a different time in much smaller classrooms. There are some honors programs that also offers smaller classes/dedicated attention, but those are a little separate than actual classes.</p>
<p>how would you go out constantly without a car? i’ve heard the buses are inconvenient and stop after a certain time in the night. and can you tell me a little more on the residential college events, 8 was my first choice. </p>
<p>finally, do you have to take the math placement exam even if your ACT math score was high?</p>
<p>Freshman year we relied on the buses, but sometimes we would get rides with our soph/junior friends who had cars. It does kind of suck because UCSC campus is kind of isolated from the city, so walking back to campus and your dorm room is a loooooong journey (did it once or twice). Soph year I had a car, so it was pretty easy getting around. However, I normally chose to ride the bus unless I was going out at night.</p>
<p>Your college might hold random events like a BBQ, dance, and some kind of holiday-themed party. Your dorm building/floor also might have a bonding event like going to the beach. These aren’t really big events, but they come with free food and a nice way to meet people. Groups/clubs normally throw larger events.</p>
<p>The ACT math score doesn’t count for anything in college, mostly because it’s usually everyone’s highest score and the math on it is relatively easy. To be exempt from the test, you need a 3+ score on your AP Calc AB or BC exam.</p>
<p>oh alright cool. what about class availability? are there classes that fill up really fast and cause an inconvenience? like i’ve heard the lower division classes that are required for upper STEM classes are short on seats. </p>
<p>and finally, i have to ask, have you ever been to the forest raves at UCSC?</p>
<p>Normally it’s the intro lower division classes that are difficult to get into because most of them don’t have pre req/restricted for majors and you get lowest priority because of your freshman standing (the more credits you have = better priority). Most of those classes are huge and if for some reason you aren’t able to sign up for them, you should be fine because students drop those classes like crazy in the first week. I don’t know how different it is now, but I’ve never had an issue with trying to pick up a class for engineering/econ/math. The only times where I barely got into a class was for something like psychology or music. Some of the smaller lower/upper div classes might get a little difficult to join, but you just need to know which ones to sign up for first (first pass you can only sign up for a certain amount of classes).</p>
<p>I’ve never been to a forest rave at UCSC. I don’t think I’ve done much in the actual “forest” part of UCSC other than go to Tree Nine, a handful of random hikes, Porter caves, and one game of paintball.</p>