<p>haha thats really funny...i was walking downtown today and was like sneezing uncontrolably and the whole time was like "damn allergies" but usually no? or at least i've never had a problem with them and i can't think of anyone who has.</p>
<p>Thanks for offering a Q&A post. This is really helpful! </p>
<ol>
<li>Are the showers cold in the morning/evening?</li>
<li>Can you get around campus by foot? or do you REALLY need a bike? </li>
<li>Were the freshman classes hard? too big? comprehendible? Are there smaller freshman classes of 30 or so after that 300 student lecture? </li>
<li>Do you have REALLY good wireless internet/cell phone connection there?</li>
<li>Is the food good? Do they significantly differ within all 10 colleges? </li>
<li>How do you register for whichever college & is it first-come-first-serve? Can you transfer to a different college after first year? How long can you live on campus until they kick you out? </li>
<li>If you did sports, how competitive was it? Are there really only 6 tennis courts? </li>
<li>Is it easy to change roommates if there's a huge conflict? </li>
<li>What's the crime rate here? Is there campus security? If I had an evening class and it was dark outside, can I be escorted back to my dorm safely? How dark is it at night there? </li>
<li>How many years did it take you to graduate? What major?</li>
</ol>
<p>Sorry if I flooded you with so many questions, and I may have more coming. But thanks again!! :]</p>
<p>no worries - </p>
<ol>
<li>never</li>
<li>i've managed without a bike for two years - the campus bus systems are awesome and the city buses run through campus like once every five or ten minutes</li>
<li>a lecture is big, a seminar is smaller, and a section (corresponds with the lecture you're in) is the smallest. the class size depends on the course - i've had everywhere from 12 students to like 525 in a class. freshmen core seminars are small though.</li>
<li>phone coverage is now good with all carriers, and wireless can be used at any point on campus...really.</li>
<li>overall, the food is pretty good. i dont think it really differs since it is all basically the same stuff. and if you get tired of the dining halls, a bunch of colleges have cafes too.</li>
<li>i'm not sure how you register but i think that most everyone gets into their college of choice and you CAN switch (contrary to popular belief)...i had a friend who did it last year. and you can live on campus indefinitely - they never kick you out.</li>
<li>sports are fairly competitive, and there may only be six at the gym (i've never actually counted) but there are more at college 8.</li>
<li>definitely - thats the reason my friend switched colleges.</li>
<li>the crime rate is almost zero i think. the most i've heard of is people like spraypainting things on walls. there is tons of campus security and if you're out late at night, you can call the campus police to escort you home (if you're by yourself, feel uncomfortable, etc). its most definitely safe to walk back from an evening class...i've done it at ten or eleven at night after study sessions or whatever and i've never once felt uncomfortalbe or anything. its dark at night, but there is definitely sufficient lighting.</li>
<li>i'm transfering, but i'll graduate in 3 and a quarter...i started off as a biomolecular engineering major but then switched to english this past quarter and i completed the prep courses for both majors (if you work really hard as a freshmen and take classes that cover multiple GE requirements you have a lot of room to pick and choose between majors...also, CC summer courses and AP credits help a lot)</li>
</ol>
<p>"(if you work really hard as a freshmen and take classes that cover multiple GE requirements you have a lot of room to pick and choose between majors...also, CC summer courses and AP credits help a lot)"</p>
<p>So they let you take summer classes while being enrolled there?</p>
<p>you can take summer courses anywhere, you just have to make sure that they are UC transferable...for example i took a photography class last summer at one of the community colleges in los angeles (it was uc transferable) and santa cruz gave me credit for taking it - both GE credit (i think...even though i did not need it) and unit credit. you can take the summer courses either at a CC or at santa cruz</p>
<p>I am a current student at Porter, and have some different answers to share:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Are the showers cold in the morning/evening?
YES, there was a piping issue at Porter last year in the dorms and this year in the apartments. Both were fixed, but for a while hot water was unpredictable. But it was taken care of in a timely manner.</p></li>
<li><p>Can you get around campus by foot? or do you REALLY need a bike?
Don't bring a bike unless you're used to mountain biking - trust me on this one. The bus system is decent, and it's easy to walk anywhere on campus in under 15 minutes.</p></li>
<li><p>Were the freshman classes hard? too big? comprehendible? Are there smaller freshman classes of 30 or so after that 300 student lecture?
I've found classes here to be generally challenging but not <em>hard</em> compared to some of my high school APs. Sometimes you'll get profs that are particularly more difficult than others, but that's luck of the draw. Many intro classes can be 100-200, with a handful up to 450, but not many are that large. Core will be 20 or fewer, languages are 20 or fewer, and most other sections are 30 or fewer.</p></li>
<li><p>Do you have REALLY good wireless internet/cell phone connection there?
Cingular's good. Verizon's getting much better. Wireless internet is almost everywhere, but not the new humanities building and some other random lecture halls - but generally very accessible.</p></li>
<li><p>Is the food good? Do they significantly differ within all 10 colleges?
There are 5 dining halls, 12 cafes, and a variety of coffee carts, so there are plenty of options. The dining halls have a common menu each day, but there are specials at each. i.e. 9/10 ALWAYS has pizza while 8 has it every other night, etc. Food's decent, I'm a picky eater and cook my own food a lot, but the dining halls have definitely improved in the past 3 years.</p></li>
<li><p>How do you register for whichever college & is it first-come-first-serve? Can you transfer to a different college after first year? How long can you live on campus until they kick you out?
The college selection process is really random. You pick your top 5, they try to give you your first or second choice, but no promises. Last year Porter turned away as many as they accepted, but it varies each year. It's possible to switch colleges as long as there is room for you at the college you're moving into. Technically housing is guaranteed 2 years (4 for EOP) but there's plenty of room to stay on campus all 4 years.</p></li>
<li><p>If you did sports, how competitive was it? Are there really only 6 tennis courts?
We're NCAA div3 - so not especially competitive. Women's rugby is big, Tennis is top in our division, water polo is big. AFAIK there are either 6 or 8 tennis courts at college 8.</p></li>
<li><p>Is it easy to change roommates if there's a huge conflict?
Don't expect a conflict, it's really not that common. But yes, it's possible. Each college has it's own process, but generally there is a <em>swap week</em> near the begnining of each quarter when you can change rooms.</p></li>
<li><p>What's the crime rate here? Is there campus security? If I had an evening class and it was dark outside, can I be escorted back to my dorm safely? How dark is it at night there?
Most campus crime involves disorderly conduct/DUIs/etc. Downtown there are more serious crimes, but it <em>is</em> a real city, and cities are never 100% safe. I feel safer on campus at night than I do in my hometown at night (suburb of Los Angeles). There are night shuttles that run almost everywhere (vs day shuttles that are in more general areas). Paths are lighted, there are emergency blue light phones around, and there's really not much to be afraid of - I promise the deer don't bite!</p></li>
<li><p>How many years did it take you to graduate? What major?
I'm a 3rd year on the 5 year plan. I could have graduated this quarter, but I kept switching majors and then changing my mind and really didn't plan well - that's my own fault. I'm actually graduating in 13 or 14 quarters. The average is 13.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>HYE345 - I definitely started having allergies my first Spring here, being from LA and moving into the mountains shocked my system - but you get over it. Not a big deal, really.</p>
<p>RE: Mountain Lions. I've run into them 3 times on campus. But I go off into the woods a LOT. They're just as afraid of you as you are of them. I'm from an area where coyotes and bobcats roam the streets at night, so it was never a big deal for me. Most people never see one, but there are signs around campus warning you. Seriously, watch out for raccoons, they can be vicious if you get between a momma and her baby.</p>
<p>RE: Website. I honestly think the UCSC website is one of the best college websites. There is SO MUCH information available on there, if you use the search bar. Compare to any UC or CSU, we've got them all beat.</p>
<p>As a female student, the only times I've felt <em>threatened</em> at all, were off campus parties where everyone was too drunk to trust their judgments, on campus that's not an issue at all. Know your company, trust yourself, have a circle of friends you can rely on and it's not a problem.</p>
<p>sorry for totally boggarting this thread! Feel free to ask me questions as well, I am a 3rd year studying Theatre Arts and Sociology, I work for Theatre Arts, am an orientation leader at Porter, and volunteer with the admissions office, among other things...</p>
<p>you can AIM me at CreativEcstasy</p>
<p>RE: Mountain Lions. I've run into them 3 times on campus. But I go off into the woods a LOT. They're just as afraid of you as you are of them. I'm from an area where coyotes and bobcats roam the streets at night, so it was never a big deal for me. Most people never see one, but there are signs around campus warning you. Seriously, watch out for raccoons, they can be vicious if you get between a momma and her baby.</p>
<p>RE: Website. I honestly think the UCSC website is one of the best college websites. There is SO MUCH information available on there, if you use the search bar. Compare to any UC or CSU, we've got them all beat.</p>
<p>As a female student, the only times I've felt <em>threatened</em> at all, were off campus parties where everyone was too drunk to trust their judgments, on campus that's not an issue at all. Know your company, trust yourself, have a circle of friends you can rely on and it's not a problem.</p>
<p>sorry for totally boggarting this thread! Feel free to ask me questions as well, I am a 3rd year studying Theatre Arts and Sociology, I work for Theatre Arts, am an orientation leader at Porter, and volunteer with the admissions office, among other things...</p>
<p>you can AIM me at CreativEcstasy</p>
<p>RE: Mountain Lions. I've run into them 3 times on campus. But I go off into the woods a LOT. They're just as afraid of you as you are of them. I'm from an area where coyotes and bobcats roam the streets at night, so it was never a big deal for me. Most people never see one, but there are signs around campus warning you. Seriously, watch out for raccoons, they can be vicious if you get between a momma and her baby.</p>
<p>RE: Website. I honestly think the UCSC website is one of the best college websites. There is SO MUCH information available on there, if you use the search bar. Compare to any UC or CSU, we've got them all beat.</p>
<p>As a female student, the only times I've felt <em>threatened</em> at all, were off campus parties where everyone was too drunk to trust their judgments, on campus that's not an issue at all. Know your company, trust yourself, have a circle of friends you can rely on and it's not a problem.</p>
<p>sorry for totally boggarting this thread! Feel free to ask me questions as well, I am a 3rd year studying Theatre Arts and Sociology, I work for Theatre Arts, am an orientation leader at Porter, and volunteer with the admissions office, among other things...</p>
<p>you can AIM me at CreativEcstasy</p>
<p>erm...sorry....the board was having database issues, and then posted my reply 3 times and won't let me delete...:(</p>
<p>congrats kewkiekid, you cna take over.</p>
<p>thanks for the replies guys. it really helps us!</p>
<p>i know that to get to santa cruz, you have to go on the really windy freeway and it's somewhat isolated from other major cities. how easy is it to get from santa cruz to the bay area, san francisco, and monterey? </p>
<p>also, how good is santa cruz's music program? thank you</p>
<p>from santa cruz to san francisco, its just 17,85,101 and bam, youre there. 17 is the windy freeway but unless youre some horrible, horrible drive, you should be perfectly fine.</p>
<p>You get used to the 17 after a while, and if you take the 101 you can avoid it entirely (depending where you're coming from, of course). It's actually a really pretty drive.</p>
<p>Every weekend there is a BART connect that runs Friday (outbound) and Sunday (inbound), or you can take the 17 express (metro bus) that will take you to the San Jose CalTrain station, which will take you up to SF. I'm about 95% sure you can get to Monterey via public transit (bus) but have never done it myself.</p>
<p>The music program is VERY strong (I'm actually working on the annual opera currently) but is very intensive. You pretty much sell your soul to them, not in a bad way! It just means you'll spend a lot of time in the practice rooms, in sectionals, choirs, etc. Very time consuming, but most people really like it.</p>
<p>I'm gonna visit the school. what places should I visit? in the school and off</p>
<p>To a former student -- I just visited the campus today and went through 7 of the colleges. (1) I liked 8, 9, 10 best, so what is the possibility that I will get to live in one of them? Is it easy to switch out if I get one I don't like? (2) And is smoking allowed in the dorms? ... cus I smelled smoke from one guy's door when he opened it. (3) Do those 3 colleges have single-sex bathrooms? (4) How does the residential-college-picking process work? When is priority? Thanks!</p>
<p>We visited a dorm in Merrill today and it was a short hallway (not too many rooms) with a "model" (although someone had moved in) room. Pretty big, imo, but I saw only one bathroom. I asked the tour guide about it and she said the bathrooms were generally coed. Some weren't, but most were. She said you get used to putting on your makeup next to some guy shaving. Well, I'm kind of bathroom shy, if you know what I mean, but I think girls usually are. Don't know if I could get used to that -- I mean I won't even let my own family members into the bathroom when I'm using the toilet and I'm sorry but a stall that doesn't have a door that goes all the way down to the floor and up to the ceiling for privacy -- I think I'm going to end up being seriously constipated! Aside from that small issue, I thought the dorms (at least what I saw) were nice. I am going to try to see more dorms in other colleges tomorrow, but I'm still into College 9 or Porter.</p>
<p>What are the General Ed classes you have to take besides the ones for your specific college?</p>