<ol>
<li>Students like to use macs, but it really doesn’t matter. I’ve used a PC since freshman year and I have not had ANY issues with it. Some computer engineering classes require some work to be done on PCs, so it can also be less of an issue for that. Although you can figure out a way to do it on a Mac, it’s just troublesome.</li>
<li>First week at Santa Cruz is welcome week. There will be a huge clubs fair so you can figure out what you will want to get involved with. There will be various tours given on campus. Your floor will try to get everyone together with activities and icebreakers.</li>
<li>There are dances every so often on campus at different colleges. If those are not your thing, there are off-campus dances that are for UCSC students. Those usually have a theme, get really crowded, but can be a lot of fun. </li>
<li>What are you interested in? It really depends on your interests. There are HUNDREDS of clubs, so you WILL find something if you look during the OPERS festival (clubs fair).</li>
<li>I believe so, but I’m not completely sure.</li>
<li>It depends on your major, but I say they can be. You might not notice competitiveness in lower division courses, but you will notice it more for the upper division courses.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>Neither, unless you’re going into CS or CS:GD. PCs with Windows tend to be favored due to the software required, but it’s not that hard to get Windows to dual-boot on a Mac.</li>
<li>Everyone is socializing, finding out where things are, getting settled in. My college had a ton of activities to get people together. Like a Rock Band contest in the dining hall!</li>
<li>Concerts, dances, parties, clubs, and other kinds of events. Even things like “regression night” where they bring out board games and toys for people to have fun with. :)</li>
<li>Ballroom dancing! There’s also a fencing club, and various other sports clubs. There are religious clubs and community service clubs. Even a comic book club, and the Film Production Coalition. To name a few. There’s a kind of “club day” early in the year where all the clubs set up tents on the east field and advertise.</li>
<li>Not sure about this, sorry.</li>
<li>Not terribly, in my experience. Most people I meet are self-motivated to do well, and don’t feel the need to compare their grades/progress to their peers.</li>
</ol>
<p>Does anyone know if there is a Women’s lacrosse club? Or maybe crew?</p>
<p>I thought I saw women’s lacrosse last year–but I can’t seem to find it on the site anymore</p>
<p>What about (off-campus) mountain biking? I’ve only been to SC a couple times – is there any singletrack to speak of? Should I even bother bringing my mountain bike, or just a cheap road bike for getting around campus?</p>
<p>Re: mtn. biking…My S. originally took mediocre hybrid for getting around campus, then discovered great mtn biking just behind campus in the forest. Apparently there is single track & fire trails he & his friends ride alot. He ended up up getting a better mtn bike to take better advantage of those trails… Also, gotta have lights on bike if you ride around campus at nite or campus police ticket. It’s pretty hilly on the campus, you probably know, so even cruising around involves some climbing.</p>
<p>I can’t believe family members (and/or guests) need to pay $105 each to attend orientation. It’s ridiculous. What is the orientation about? If its something I can attend by myself, then my mom will probably be willing to drop me off… but I don’t want her to waste her time driving me. 
Do you guys think our parent(s) should attend the orientation? Or is it mainly for students only?</p>
<p>Our student went to orientation on his own. We parents did drive him there (3 hr trip for us), dropped him off & enjoyed our own day in Santa Cruz. If family isn’t real familiar with the area or would like a better sense of where you’ll be living your life the next few years, it may be worthwhile for them to go. It does seem like alot of $$ though. The parents have their own separate “orientation” on campus thru the day, they aren’t with the students.</p>
<p>There is a brunch or something provided as a I recall, but it’s really not worth it for the parents to attend in my opinion. Some might feel it is, but I don’t.</p>
<p>One of my mom’s friends had wandered the campus doing a personal tour of her own instead of going to the parent orientation. And my mom (who was kind enough to drop me off so I did not have to fool with parking) did something similar (she spent a lot of time in the slugstore) before wandering off to explore Santa Cruz County.</p>
<p>It is a lot of money, but I really don’t see too much benefit to the parent portion. I looked over their orientation materials (they were on the reverse of the student materials during my orientation) and it was a lot of the same information, but minus the more student specific things. A lot of info can be found online. Let your family go enjoy Santa Cruz while you get bombarded with way too much information ;)</p>
<p>Which college fits me the most? im leaning toward college 8, crown, college 9/10, or merrill. is it true that crown in up on a hill and hard to get up there?
-chinese-prefer to be in an asian enviornment
-major: biology
-shy. hard for me to talk to people, but once i got to know them, im more comfortable
-i don’t like parties/drugs</p>
<p>-Also i live in the bay area, by Oakland/Hayward. how would i get home during winter/spring break… is there shuttles, buses i can take?</p>
<p>-is it ok to submit my SIR on may 1 because im still waiting for my appeal status for UCD, which will be up on apirl 30. is it a disadvantage if i submit it so late?And when do we do housing stuff?</p>
<p>@Jw0406: Those colleges all sound good for you. 8/9/10 are a bit more social, but it ought not be an issue. Both Crown and Merrill are up the same hill, yes. Speaking as a Crown student, it is not a bit deal. It’s hard to climb for the first week or two, but after that your legs will have toughened up from all the other hills on campus. I don’t do any other excersize, and I can go up cardiac hill without breaking a sweat.</p>
<p>About buses to get home, there’s the 17 that goes from Santa Cruz so San Jose, and I’m pretty sure you can find another bus to take you further than that.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure there is not disadvantage to posting it late.</p>
<p>Commenting on the parent-orientation thing:</p>
<p>I really see no point in having your parents go to orientation with you. First of all, it’s a ton of money, and second, you are separated anyways. What you as a student do at orientation: you get grouped with your college and they do ice-breakers. then they take you to a classroom where they give you a bunch of info on general eds and stuff like that. Then you are set free to visit your major department meetings, take placement exams, sign up for classes, eat, etc. </p>
<p>Having your parents there is a waste, in my opinion. Besides, isn’t the point of orientation to get you started in college? Are your parents going to be attending college with you?
Just something to think about.</p>
<p>Yeah, my parents aren’t attending. Is the orientation overnight or just for the day? How do we know what classes to sign up for and which professors to choose (I’m guessing there’s a rate my professor site) - should I talk to my counselor to choose?</p>
<p>Thanks everyone~! This thread is so informative :]</p>
<p>It’s just for the day. I think it starts early morning and then ends mid afternoon. You know what classes to sign up for by doing your own research. If you are completely stuck, you will be able to talk with your college’s advisors at orientation. You can check websites like ratemyprofessor.com to check if the prof is good or not, but I wouldn’t rely on it too much as it can be extremely biased. Students who don’t study or don’t put enough effort into difficult courses tend to rate quality-professors down. Some of my best profs/courses have been rated 2.0-3.0 on the easiness category for RMP.com.</p>
<p>One hint of advice is not to take too many courses pertaining to your major during your first quarter. Of course one class is your core class, but try not to do two major-related courses with that. Sort of a rule of thumb that you need at least one quarter to “adapt” to college studying and whatnot. If you end up getting a low grade in one of your major-related courses, it will be very difficult to declare your major. One of my friends recently had to change her major due to failing multivariable calc and her chem course during her first quarter at UCSC.</p>
<p>Are classes for engeering and computer sciences programs (lower division included)
impacted? thanks</p>
<p>I’m in the Comp Sci: Game Design program, and as far as I can tell, there is very little struggle to get into classes. A few people had trouble getting into the intro to programming class because they left it until the last sign-up appointment(a week after sign-up for first two classes), but that was their fault. Dumb move leaving it until last. A few classes have had the number of quarters offered cut back, from 3 to 2. Just plan ahead and it won’t be a problem.</p>
<p>Regarding transportation to the bay - there’s the BART connector that runs each weekend. You have to make a reservation ahead of time, but it’s inexpensive and easy.</p>
<p>When do you sign up for the Summer Bridge program?</p>
<p>Does anyone know about the Outdoor Experiences theme in the dorms? Is it a good idea to get involved with it, it sounded fun to me, and I want to see if anyone knows/or has been a part of it. Thanks!</p>
<p>How’s the traveling on campus? I was in the spring spotlight tour and it was definitely a challenge to get up and down those hills.</p>
<p>I was told that bringing a bike helps, since freshmen aren’t allowed cars on campus, but imo a bike seems like more of a hassle with all that hilly land. xd</p>
<p>Unless you’re already a mountain biker, I wouldn’t bring a bike. You’ll get used to walking around campus within a couple of weeks. And there are always shuttle buses if you’re feeling lazy. This campus is NOT car friendly, so don’t even consider that as an option when you’re an upperclassman.</p>
<p>FYI: Narrative Evals were voted out by the academic senate yesterday. They are no longer automatic. Students can specifically request them from a professor, but they’re basically going away.</p>