Out of State & Overwhelmed

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of California - San Diego
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<p>hi, i'm a senior in high school and got accepted to UCSD's Warren College. i'm from Connecticut so i don't have the opportunity to visit UCSD and i'm a little out of my element.</p>

<p>i don't know for certain if Warren is the right/wrong choice for me but from my research (i looked up pictures of Warren, read a few blogs from UCSD students, went on the virtual UCSD tour, and called admissions and got in touch with a person who was in Muir and explained to me each college), i think i'd like it. nonetheless, i'm still a little nervous about going so far away in a college that i haven't really 'visited'.</p>

<p>so here are a few questions (it's a lot but i hope you don't mind)...
1) how hard would it be to switch out of Warren if it isn't the right fit for me?
2) how long are the breaks ? i know that it goes by trimesters but i'd like to get an idea on how many days we get off for christmas/thanksgiving to see if i can visit home
3) is having a car essential? or even a bike? or is there a campus bus and how much would it cost?
4) what should an out-of-state person like me bring?
5) is Warren far away from the main buildings/center of the campus?
6) i'm thinking about majoring in something in the medical field; would being in Warren put me far away from my classes?
7) how far away is the beach? the virtual tour said a 15 minute walk but does that apply to Warren or anywhere on campus?
8) would i be able to meet other students from other colleges? or would being in Warren restrict me?
9) how is Warren compared to the other colleges?
10) how is the security? my mom is already worried about me going so far...
11) what is the average class size?
12) what is the residence like?
13) would it be hard to request a change in roommate?
14) are the dorms co-ed?
15) do they offer chinese classes?
16) where should i go if i want to get involved in clubs and student activities?
17) i know it's early but how's the study abroad program?
18) is it hard to get a job in/around campus? (i signed up for work study)
19) what is Sun God?</p>

<p>it's a lot of questions but even a few imputes/advice would be great! and they don't have to be related to any of the questions at all
anyway, i appreciate all the help i get!</p>

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<p>1) Not a lot of people switch out of the college they get into. However, don’t view it as the end of the world if you end up not liking Warren. You’ll typically make a lot of friends from all 6 colleges. The GEs aren’t too bad, and you can always move off campus or apply to live in ihouse or all campus (which is currently held in sixth).</p>

<p>2) Spring break is typically 1 week and winter break is 3 weeks (but we had 4 weeks this year). If you live in the res halls you aren’t allowed to stay there over spring break and will have to make other arrangements (flying home or staying with a friend).</p>

<p>3) We’re very much a walking campus. There is a bus that drives within the campus and several routes that go off campus. Bus routes are free within a 14mile radius - haha, I remember that from my orientation two years ago! A car is helpful to go downtown or to internships, but not necessary. I don’t own a car.</p>

<p>4) As an in state, I don’t know. I do live 8 hours away. It’s best to pack light (the essentials) and you can buy what you need once you’re down here.</p>

<p>5) Warren is quite far away from the center of campus. Pretty much, unless you live in Marshall or Muir you won’t be 5 minutes away from everything. At least the dining hall is in the area and close!</p>

<p>6) Most of the biology LDs are in Revelle, which is quite far from Warren. However, you will have classes all over campus anyway and where you live doesn’t matter <too> much in the end. I’ve had physics problem sessions in Pepper Canyon (near sixth), chemistry discussions in Warren Lecture Hall, and even my Marshall writing class was in Sixth college.</too></p>

<p>7) I take the 30 down to the beach from a stop near Marshall, and it takes about 10-15 min. I don’t know about Warren, sorry, and the mentioned beach is the only one I go to :/</p>

<p>8) You will meet plenty of people from other colleges in your classes. Outside of class, you have to be willing to venture out and go to orgs, events, etc. I wouldn’t say Warren necessarily restricts you since everyone has to do this to meet people outside of their own college.</p>

<p>9) Kind of too broad for me.</p>

<p>10) Coming from a girl who lived on the first floor in the dorms and never locked anything the entire year, the school as a whole is pretty safe. Petty theft seems to be the most common (don’t do what I did in the dorms), esp from people leaving their things unattended. I’ve actually absentmindedly left my laptop at a dining hall for over an hour and when I finally remembered it was still sitting there. There’s a whole crime report for UCSD online, if you want to search it up. We have emergency call boxes around campus and a nightly escort service.</p>

<p>11) Classes are typically between 200-400. Seminars, honors classes, and certain professors have smaller class sizes (anywhere from 30 to 100).</p>

<p>12) Don’t know.</p>

<p>13) I think they typically discourage you from changing roommates unless the situation is bad or continues to be really bad. It’s not as simple as it sounds, since one of you has to move out and someone else has to move in. It’s definitely possible though.</p>

<p>14) Suites are single sex. The suite across the hall, above or below you can be (and typically is) opposite gendered.</p>

<p>15) Yes.</p>

<p>16) [url=&lt;a href=“http://wailua.ucsd.edu/studentorg/StudentOrgList.aspx]StudentOrgList[/url”&gt;http://wailua.ucsd.edu/studentorg/StudentOrgList.aspx]StudentOrgList[/url</a>] Also be prepared/waiting for a spam of emails advertising activities, and a ton of flyers everywhere advertising orgs.</p>

<p>17) I don’t plan on studying abroad but I have one friend who went to France and really enjoyed it. I also have three friends going to Denmark, Australia and Taiwan this fall. They didn’t have trouble getting in and are really excited about it. I think it’s important to research specific programs (there are UC sponsored ones and private ones) to see what fits you. I know that there are a lot of programs!</p>

<p>18) There’s a job listings on port triton. I had difficulty getting a job my first year, but I didn’t 1) apply early and 2) apply broadly, which are major factors. If you want to do research eventually, it helps to get yourself established in a lab, even if you’re just hired to do the gruntwork at first.</p>

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<p>@momosky
thanks for taking the time to answer all those questions!
i have just a few more questions
you mentioned that you couldn’t get a job your 1st year because you didn’t apply early enough and i’m wondering what is considered as “applying early”? around what time/month should i start looking for jobs?
and why are the length of the vacation breaks different this year? is it going to change every year or was this year an exception?</p>

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<p>I have lived in San Diego for 32 years. UCSD is in one of the most beautiful spots in San Diego…LaJolla. The campus a stone’s throw form the ocean. Millionaires are the only ones who can afford to live there! The weather is fabulous, foggy mornings, but little rain, but I would suggest a car. Southern California is not big on mass transit, but be prepared for some of the highest gas prices in the country!</p>

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<p>@MindySue
i really thought about getting a car but the problem is that i’m from out of state and it would mean getting a cali license along with a car registered in cali, which would mean a lot of paper work and money so i don’t want to resort to it unless it’s absolutely necessary. i’m also worried about the parking space in general, and also the gas price as you’ve mentioned. perhaps i should just wait until after my first year to see if i need a car?</p>

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<p>I consider applying early as in, not waiting till the start of the quarter to look for a job for that very quarter. I also didn’t know where to look for opportunities as a freshie and that really limited my job search. I now know that there are plenty of listings on port triton and just on flyers in all the buildings :slight_smile: and I didn’t know that most summer internship apps are due winter quarter. I suppose if you’re already working you would know about that, but I definitely came into college very clueless haha!</p>

<p>I’m just a second year so I don’t think I’m qualified to answer your second question. Someone told me it’s just because of the day New Years ended up on this year, and hence we got an extra week. -shrug- </p>

<p>I didn’t need a car my first year. There were so many new places to explore as a freshman at walking/bussing distance, and I didn’t have an off campus internship, so it really didn’t matter. I found a friend with a car and that’s how we ventured off further. Friends are good.</p>

<p>I definitely wish I had my car 2nd year. Sometimes I do feel very limited about what I can do. For example, I couldn’t apply for several shadowing and volunteer opportunities because I can’t make the commute (about an hour by bus, but 15-20min by car). Ultimately, bringing a car has tradeoffs and I can only give you my experience of UCSD without a car.</p>