FAQ for Admitted Students

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - San Diego
1

<p>Is UCSD good for Humanities/Social Sciences/Anthropology/Economics/Knitting/XYZ?</p>

<p>Your best bet is to do two things: do a [Search[/url</a>] for references to your major within this forum, and do some research on your own amongst all the ranking sites.</p>

<p>Is UCSD serious about not getting any D's senior year?</p>

<p>Yes! Some of the UCs aren't, but UCSD usually takes this very seriously. Contact them ASAP if you think you might breach the Conditions of Admission in any way.</p>

<p>Is my college (Warren, Muir, etc.) good for my major?</p>

<p>It. Doesn't. Matter. Your college has absolutely zero bearing on your major; the sole exception is Warren, which has fewer GEs for engineers. That's it though. Period. It doesn't matter if you're a biochem major at Warren, Revelle, ERC, blah blah blah - you're still going to take the same biochem-related classes as everybody else.</p>

<p>Social life?</p>

<p>For goodness' sake - social life is what you make of it, not the college. If you want to party and get drunk off your face every single night, you can and you will find places to do it; if you want to study every night and avoid distractions at all costs, you can and will find places to do it. If you're a total partier, join a frat; if you're not, then don't. It's a friekin' huge campus - you will find places to socialize with like-minded people.</p>

<p>Is parking bad?</p>

<p>Yes. Do not plan to take your car out on a weekday unless you'd like to lose your spot and spend half an hour searching for a new one. Parking is especially bad for Warren students, because we have something like 4000 students and only 18 parking spots. I always have to park in Gilman Parking Structure, and even then I can only get a decent spot if I don't move during weekdays.</p>

<p>Should I bring a bike?</p>

<p>If you can, absolutely. UCSD is no Davis, but there are still quite a few students who bike here, and you'll quickly discover how hugenormously massive this campus is, and you'll be glad that you have a bike so that it only takes you seven minutes to get to that class on the other side of campus instead of 20 minutes if you were walking. Do keep in mind though that there are some pretty steep hills, so plan accordingly.</p>

<p>I hate my college - can I switch?</p>

<p>How can you hate your college already? Give yourself at least two quarters before you make up your mind about that. If you still want to switch, the university says that you can't, but you probably can if you pull enough strings and you have a very legitimate reason. But do not count on it.</p>

<p>What's the layout of the dorms/apartments at my college?</p>

<p>Go to [url=<a href="http://hds.ucsd.edu/housing/location.html#colleges%5Dthis"&gt;http://hds.ucsd.edu/housing/location.html#colleges]this&lt;/a> site](<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/search.php%5DSearch%5B/url"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/search.php), click on your college, then look for a link that says "View sample building layouts" (the URL should be something like hds.ucsd.edu/yourcollege/layouts.html).</p>

<p>Can I change my major?</p>

<p>Easily. Yes, even if you want to become an engineer. Unless you want to transfer into an impacted</a> major, you should have no problem switching your major, so don't worry about it.</p>

<p>Food?</p>

<p>There are numerous places to eat on campus (each college has at least one cafeteria associated with it, plus Price Center has a bunch of non-mealpoint restaurants). Each cafeteria is slightly different, but on the whole they generally serve similar stuff. You'll find out on your own which places you like to eat at, but more than likely you'll spend most of your time eating at your college's cafeteria, because walking to any other is a pain in the butt (or your legs).</p>

<p>Um, that's all I can think of at the moment. I'll be happy to answer any other general-ish questions (non-college-specific, please).</p>

2

<p>thanks! this can be very helpful for someone who doesn't know too much about ucsd.</p>

<p>i some questions too: does the campus generally empty out on the weekends? and will i need a car to get around or are there many places to have fun within walking distance?</p>

3

<p>Does the campus generally empty out on the weekends?</p>

<p>Let's put it this way: It's Saturday, noon-ish, and you decide to walk to the dining hall for lunch. You will, in all likelihood, see fewer than two people during your walk. So in a sense, it'll feel very empty. However, chances are that about three quarters of the on-campus residents are still in their dorms, so in another sense, it's far from empty. Many people do go off-campus during the weekends, but the majority stay in their dorms. It just feels empty because people are more apt to stay indoors on days they don't have to go to class.</p>

<p>Will I need a car to get around or are there many places to have fun within walking distance?</p>

<p>Well, that depends on three factors: your definition of "need", your definition of "fun", and if you have friends/suitemates with cars.</p>

<p>For example, my idea of fun is driving, so I'd probably die and wither away if I didn't have my car - I'm one of those whackjobs who likes to drive for several hours for no good reason other than for driving and for sightseeing.</p>

<p>La Jolla is a suburb type place, so generally speaking you can't really walk places. Keep in mind though that you can often finds things on-campus to keep yourself entertained (again, depending on what your definition of "fun" is).</p>

<p>If you're going to buy a lot of groceries, then you'll want your own car. You can use the shuttle to go to Ralph's, but then you're pretty limited in terms of how much stuff you can buy per trip. If you're in Warren you can buy groceries at Earl's Place, but it's horrifically expensive, so I wouldn't recommend it.</p>

<p>So, everything's really relative for that question, and works on a case-by-case basis.</p>

4

<p>do freshman usually bring cars to campus? is it better not to since everything is basically on campus if you are living in the res-hall.</p>

5

<p>Most freshman I know don't have cars. I haven't needed or wanted one. Parking is very tough in Warren.</p>

6

<p>Parking is horrible everywhere (though not as bad as Warren...). But unless you become very familiar with the bus systems, you will have a very hard time doing anything because there is nothing to do within walking distance unless you go to the movies all the time, and even then I would consider it too far to walk from any dorm room... I suppose you could walk to the beach, but unless you are fine with staying on campus all the time (or if you know people who have cars) I would say that a car is a definite plus. But you cannot leave your parking spot until 5 PM on the wwekdays unless you plan on staying out until after 5.</p>

7

<p>Great post. thanks</p>

8

<p>The bus system is quite easy to get used to
just remember 30 = downtown SD/beach
48/49 = UTC mall</p>

<p>but these buses stop at 12 so it's a bit of a pain if you're off-campus somewhere. A car is lovely when you have your own apartment since you're practically free to roam anywhere (plus your apartment has parking ). and you don't really have to take the car to school since school buses comes by the main apartments every 10 min (like costa verde, international gardens, la jolla colonies).</p>

9

<p>I got into Muir and from what I hear SDSU is the place to go to have fun, would bringing a car to make that 15 minute drive be advisable or would the bus take care of my needs?</p>

10

<p>I'm a junior but I want to know which college has the most single rooms available.</p>

11

<p>I think Warren does, at least for the residence halls (no singles in the apartments unfortunately)...even if all the residence hall doubles are converted to triples, then 40% of people who live in res halls will be in singles...</p>

12

<p>How big of a deal is Admit Day if I know for sure that I'll be going to UCSD?
Any idea when orientation will be and what's going to happen on orientation?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

13

<p>If you are in Warren or 6th college, then orientation will take place right before Welcome Week. If you are in any of the other colleges, then orienation will take place in late June.
At orientation you will find out everything you ever wanted to know about your GE requirements, UCSD life in general, and on and on. You will also get to meet a TON of people.</p>

14

<p>Okay. So:
I am considering a double major or design-a-major.
-Would Revelle's apparently HARSH GE's affect that at all?
-Would they consider a college change for me if it did?
-If I change colleges after the school year starts would they move me to a different dorm?
-Will admit day be at all useful in answering these questions, or is it just a glorifed campus tour?</p>

15

<p>Thank you TwylaBloo!
How does Welcome Week work? I'm in Warren, so does that mean I should just go to the orientation and stay in SD until the end of Welcome Week?
I'm in the Bay area and is looking to minimize the trips I have to make down to socal... :)</p>