<p>@inthemorning
If you request a single sex floor, the university is REQUIRED to provide one for you.
Also, 80% of students get their first choice college.</p>
<p>@Youngmafia
You are not guaranteed a double. In my housing application, I stated that I would not accept a small triple, and yet I was put into one. I don’t mind it, it saves money, and I have found that I still have plenty of room. Besides, it’s nice having two roommates. :)</p>
<p>i worked at UCSC during the summer… man it was great. i lived in stevenson and ate at cowell. views were prime… im kinda sad i wont be going there.</p>
<p>one thing i remember though is that all the rooms were very odd shaped. some were hidden under staircases, some were abnormally small, and one was HUGE and had a very strange shape to it. i would go check out the dorms and find out what size you really want before applying for a double when you really should get a triple</p>
<p>: ) Actually the reason why I want a quadruple or triple is to save money. I really don’t mind sharing a room with a lot of people, and I think I am able to get along with most anyone, haha.</p>
<p>@aleiram51
It’s okay, I’m alright with being on a floor with dudes, I was just wondering if substance free floors really had any affect on the students. : )</p>
<p>@ajdavidson07
Rooms hidden under staircases? Which college was that in? That sounds so cool! Haha and I know I’m a big geek for saying it but the first thing I thought of was “Harry Potter!!”</p>
<p>Sorry for the double post!</p>
<p>ajdavidson07-
My bad! Sorry, I misread and skipped over the part where you said Cowell. : > I gotchu now.</p>
<p>^ na i said it was stevenson. i only ate at cowell. it was only a few dorms that were weird shaped… i was a coach for a summer program, and some of the kids had rooms that were extra big, and the one that was under a staircase was awkward shaped… had about 10 feet extra vertical room and a window under the staircase. was def the envy of the camp.</p>
<p>Whoops, sorry again for the misread. I don’t know what I was thinking when I was typing, lol. Thanks for clearing that up : )</p>
<p>): well… im concerned about this drug stereotype of ucsc’s so i have a few questions…
<p>My son is a freshman at Cowell…he is very , well how should I say it…very nerdy. No he doesn’t drink or smoke (although who knows, right?) His roommate pretty much the same. They are on the substance free floor. He says nobody pressures them to drink. From what I gather from conversations and stuff, they (he and his roommate and kids on the floor) are heavy into gaming. Next yr. they want to get a Cowell apartment, so more space, freedom, etc…He really loves it at UCSC. I am just a mom, but really, isn’t there smoking, drinking, partying, and all that at every college? It’s all about the choices they make along the way.</p>
<p>@sunnybaNANA
<p>my advice is to ask to be on a substance free floor, for maximum insurance.</p>
<p>@sunny
<ol>
<li><p>Uhm, lol. From my experience, more than 50% smoke and drink. Alcohol is definitely the most common substance, followed by cigarettes, and then weed. If I had to guess, I would say 80% of students drink occasionally, and 60-70% smoke in some form (marijuana or nicotine).</p></li>
<li><p>Probably not. You don’t need to smoke or drink to be cool, but it makes you feel awkward when everyone is doing it. Be sure to ask for a substance free floor or an academic floor. This is definitely what you want. </p></li>
<li><p>Crown, then Merrill.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for all of the inside scoop about dorming, foods, drugs, social factors and etc…<br>
We have toured UCSC , like it, and are leaning toward send our son this fall but have great reservations about its drugs use reputation. Our son has tried Marijuana a few times in high school, but has since stopped (we believe); he is a good kid with good grade overall. Before reading these helpful posts, we have been struggling with a possible decision to deny our son a chance to attending UCSC due to the fear factor that we could place him in a pot common and friendly environment. Just learn the option of requesting a non substance and academic enviroment for him. So, Crown or Merril should work for him? Should I even send him to Santa Cruz and worry that I may have knowingly send him
to a college that uses drugs more than other places, which could affect his descision or influences? UCSC seems to be the best choice we have among other colleges. Also, are
signing up for classes reasonably easy? unlike other UCs, majors and classes are impacted.</p>
<p>In all honesty, there is weed at every university. Most of my friends attend UC Berkeley, so I visit once a month or so and I’ve actually seen more pot usage there than at UCSC. No matter how much you try to shelter your son, it’s really his decisions that you should be worried about and not the actual environment. I’ve been at UCSC for 2 years and I’ve learned that if you aren’t in to drugs, then you can easily avoid them. My parents had some of the same concerns as you do (although I didn’t smoke in HS), but I didn’t turn in to some type of pot-head. Strangely enough, the more overbearing you might be, the more inclined he may be to smoke. I’ve seen that parent-child dynamic a LOT during freshman year in the dorms and I’m really happy my parents didn’t try to shelter me as such.</p>
<p>Signing up for classes isn’t that bad. Of course some courses may have been cut, it really depends on the department. I’ve gotten all my courses I’ve wanted since freshman year, so I don’t believe we are on the same page as other universities that have students who have to postpone their graduation date. Even if one of your courses is full, there’s always a substitute course you can enroll in that will fulfill one of your requirements (be it GE or major-related).</p>
<p>@schooldad: MidnightGolfer speaks the truth, especially about it being his decision. If he doesn’t want to partake in drugs, they are easy to avoid. You can definitely place your son in a substance-free hall (he’ll almost definitely be placed there if it’s requested). I live at Crown, and I’ve smelled pot a couple times over the course of the whole year, but I’ve never even seen the people smoking it. I’ve been offered drugs zero times, and I’ve been asked if I smoke pot zero times. To the people here, it really doesn’t matter.</p>
<p>What do you mean, unlike other UCs? I have friends at other UCs that have had trouble getting into classes. But anyhow, it’s not tough. Sign-ups take place in stages. The first sign-up allows you to enroll in 14 credits, and the second stage ( a week later) allows you to enroll in 19 credits. Courses are generally 5 credits. So just make sure he signs up for the important ones first! He’ll have an especially easy time of it if he has transfer credits from AP/CC classes, because people with more credits get higher priority.</p>
<p>My parents sheltered me a lot but I don’t really have any desire to start getting into drugs. :/</p>
<p>I’ve talked to some people that go there and they’ve told me that the drugs are there (though it’s just like every other college), but it’s easily avoidable. </p>
<p>I’ve also been told that the drug scene is very lax compared to other colleges and those who do partake in it don’t try to persuade others to do so, nor does the community outcast those who don’t. In fact I know a lot of people who are going there as well and have decided against drugs, like myself. xD
It all depends on the types of people he befriends and the decisions he makes, I guess.</p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I gather that you are from San Diego? If you are, did you find transitioning from San Diego difficult, since you can be driving home to often? Most people said the first year are usually difficult, but subsequent years for you? We’re from San Diego and our son is probably will go there this fall and I am trying to visualize what the next 4 years will be for him. Thanks</p>
<p>For proposed computer/engineering majors, which college or colleges have decent substance free/academic housing? Thanks</p>
<p>Crown. I live in the academic house, Galileo. It houses students in ACE (Academic Excellence Program), which gives extra help in math and chemistry. And then there are students who are not in the program, like myself, but were placed here because we put down that we are academically focused on our housing application. This house has longer quiet hours, which is really nice. The drug/alcohol rules aren’t any different as far as I know, but I don’t see ANY drinking or smoking here.</p>