Questions from a newbie.

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Santa Cruz
1

<p>Hey everyone, I will be a new student at ucsc in winter. I went to the orientation and paid a couple visits. The campus is beautiful and huge. Ohwell, maybe a little bit too big, it took me quite a while to find out where my classrooms are. Anyway, I still have a bunch of questions and wonder if anyone can help.</p>

<p>Q1. What are discussion sections? Are they important? Since they were optional, I chose not to attend when I registered for my classes. If I change my mind and want to attend the discussions, can I still make changes after school starts?</p>

<p>Q2. Where do students usually buy their books? from the bookstore or online? It should be cheaper to buy it online though, right? Does the bookstore carry used books? Also, how do you know what books to buy? Do you have to go to the first class meeting and the teacher tells you that? or can you get that info, maybe from the website, before school starts?</p>

<p>Q3. How many kinds of meal plans are there in ucsc? How much do they cost? Can I buy one if I live off-campus? coz all I found on the website was the prices of dorm room+meal plan together. I never found a price for only the meal plan. I talked to a couple students about the food, and they all said it kinda sucked =[ that bad, huh?</p>

<p>Q4. I was told that I could take the city buses (theyre called metro, right?) for free with my student ID. My case is kinda weird, however. I currently live at san jose and have to take the highway 17 express to travel from my home to school. I believe 17 express is a metro bus, but not a VTA. So can i take it for free? or do i still have to pay for it since I get on the bus in san jose, but not santa cruz.</p>

<p>Q5. As everyone knows, Santa Cruz is an expensive place to live in. Thats why my parents and I have decided that I am not gonna move close to the school. The transportation is a huge problem tho. I can either take the bus like I mentioned above or drive. However, I think everyone agrees with me that its NOT fun to drive on 17 everyday. Maybe once in a while, but certainly not everyday -.- And my car is kinda old and crappy. who knows, it might break down some day when I am driving on 17. Plus the parking permit is really expensive, right? Taking the bus seems the best thing to do. It only has one con: slow. So what do you guys think?</p>

<p>Please, any help, advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you =]</p>

2

<ol>
<li><p>Sections are more often mandatory than optional, but it depends on the course and department. Basically, it’s a chance to actually interact with the material in a group of 25 or fewer students and led by the TA. There are often low stress homework assignments specifically for sections, such as preparing a presentation on the reading or writing reflections. You should plan on attending, because you’ll probably have to anyway.</p></li>
<li><p>Most books are available at the campus bookstore, and some departments utilize the local bookstore, Literary Guillotine. Book lists for both stores are online. Yes, it’s usually cheaper online - but you’ll have to get readers on campus. You can get used copies if they’re available and you’re one of the first in line to purchase.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>UCSC bookstore: [The</a> Bay Tree Bookstore - Textbooks](<a href=“http://slugstore.ucsc.edu/ePOS?design=baytree&form=shared3/textbooks/main.html&store=721]The”>http://slugstore.ucsc.edu/ePOS?design=baytree&form=shared3/textbooks/main.html&store=721)
Literary Guillotine: [Books</a> for this quarter from The Literary Guillotine](<a href=“literaryguillotine.com”>literaryguillotine.com)</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Yes, you can get a meal plan if you live off campus. You can buy flexis, which I like to compare to Disney Dollars. 1 flexi = $1, but you can only use it at specific campus dining locations (all dining halls and coffee carts, Joe’s, some cafes). It’s nice because you don’t have to carry cash on you. If you want just dining halls, you can buy a block of meals. It looks like the site is down right now, but it’s definitely possible to buy just these plans. The dining halls really aren’t that bad, but if you live on campus and eat there every day it gets boring quickly. There are actually a LOT of options for campus dining. I like the Owl’s Nest at Kresge best.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes, you are paying for a metro bus pass with your student fees. However, the 17 express is not included. It’s actually an Amtrak bus that contracts with SC Metro for service. It’s $4 each way or I think $90 for a monthly pass.</p></li>
<li><p>I just did the opposite, living in Santa Cruz and commuting to SJ every day for a 6 month internship. I was not happy to drive, so I took the bus for a month. It got really old, really fast, and I switched to driving. 1.5+ hour bus ride each way vs 35 minute drive each way. And $8 bus fare each day vs $30 in gas per week, made that decision easy.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Campus parking is expensive, but you can park places in town and take the bus to campus. Or carpool.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Thanks kewkiekid.
I think I will drive as well.
At first, I thought its so hard to drive on 17 coz its uphills and all curvy, but after driving on it a couple times, I realized its not so bad!
It took me about 50 mins the first time, but the last time took me only 30 mins.
I gotta watch out for cops tho hahha. I saw at least 2 cop cars every time I went to SC.
Also I noticed that I could park on High St, but its only 2 hours which is not enough.
Do u know where I can park in town?</p>

4

<p>For parking downtown, it kinda depends how cautious you are with your vehicle. You can buy monthly passes in certain lots around Pacific Ave or at the Boardwalk. At least one church on High street rents parking spots per quarter. Or you can find neighborhoods with no parking restrictions, and leave your car on the street. One of my friends always left his car waaay down Western and picked it up on the weekends.</p>

5

<p>Soooooo, does anyone know how parking on campus works? I’ll be living off campus, but driving to campus. What kind of permit do I need to buy? And where? Also, is there a deadline? I looked at their website, but it just confused me even more… :(</p>

6

<p><a href=“http://taps.ucsc.edu/pdf/2009-10%20Parking%20Rates.pdf[/url]”>http://taps.ucsc.edu/pdf/2009-10%20Parking%20Rates.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>there’s some info on fees</p>

<p>and here is a map that tells you where you can buy parking permits:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www2.ucsc.edu/taps/pdf/erc_map.pdf[/url]”>http://www2.ucsc.edu/taps/pdf/erc_map.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

7

<p>its confusing -.-
if i am an undergrad, i can only purchase the remote permit?
and how remote are those parking lots? like really far away?
but still, it costs $474 for a year.</p>

8

<p>It’s really expensive to park on campus, but there are a lot of options. </p>

<p>If you’re an undergrad you can buy remote permits, ‘C’ permits, dailies, scratchers, and night permits. You might be able to get carpool as well, but I’m not positive. There are metered spots throughout campus, good for different lengths of time (30 mins - 2 hours depending on location.) Last time I checked they had options for permits good on specific days of the week as well. Like, if all your classes are T/Th, you could get a permit good for just those days. They might not offer that anymore. You can always just go to the TAPS office or call them up and ask, they’re really good at explaining options. Remember, campus is on furlough until Jan 4, and the first week of the quarter has really long lines at the parking office, so plan to stay an hour+ depending when you visit.</p>

<p>Also, if you like risks, you could park in a 10 or 15 minute spot and risk tickets - I personally know people who do this, and end up paying less over the year than if they bought legit permits (and they get to park more centrally). I do not condone this, but it’s an option.</p>

9

<p>imrockstar77, the remote lots are remote, but not super far away. There are three - one south of Oakes (west remote), one south of the gym/Cowell (east remote) and one above Kresge (north remote). I think north remote is actually the longest walk to get anywhere useful. There are campus shuttles going through east and west remotes every few minutes during the day, and night shuttles go to north remote on request. So if you’re lazy and/or don’t want to walk, you rarely have to wait more than 10 mins for a bus. It’s only annoying if you want to keep books in your car and go back to it between classes for stuff.</p>

10

<p>kewkiekid, thanks a lot.
I think I will just find a neighborhood that has no parking restrictions and park there.
And take the bus to school, just like your friend.
since permits are really expensive =[</p>