Hi! I was
Missed my 15 min edit window oops… here’s what this was supposed to say:
Hi! I’m trying to decide on which school to attend, and have narrowed it down to either Cal Poly or UCSC. I am admitted for English/Literature and hope to get my teaching credential in the future.
For Cal Poly, it is a bit closer to home (still a couple hours though), I know people going there, it feels safe and I love the small town feel of San Luis Obispo. English is not what they’re known for, but I like the small class sizes and focus on undergraduate teaching. I am somewhat concerned about it being a “party school” and its lack of diversity.
I love that UC Santa Cruz is located in the redwoods, although it is further from home and I don’t know people going there yet. Their literature major is technically rated higher, but I haven’t heard from anyone in the program about whether they’d agree. I am excited about separation into smaller colleges and that it’s a liberal university, but worried about whether there’s truth to it being a “drug school” and how easy that is to avoid.
Thank you to anyone who’d be willing to give me your two cents! I’d really appreciate it 
Flip a coin if you must, there’s no wrong choice here.
They are both excellent. I wouldn’t be concerned about their relative ranking. Go to the one you feel most comfortable (from the comments, i suspect that’s SLO) and stop thinking about it.
Every college has parties and drugs - but nobody is going to force you to participate. both campuses (on and near) have plenty of other things to spend your time on.
Note that if your goal is a teaching credential, SLO is the better choice;
they have a true School of Education, rather than simply the Education minor available at UCSC.
That said, both schools would give you what you need.
Best of luck with your choice.