What is it like being a student at UC Santa Cruz? What are the teachers and other students like? Do students generally enjoy their time there?
My son took a LOA from UCSC after his first quarter. He did not enjoy the constant pot smoking, drugged up, hippy atmosphere of the campus. He was equally not impressed with his classmates or professors (or TAs).
Your experience may vary, but it was NOT a good fit for him. He is MUCH happier attending our local CC, and is looking to transfer to a 4-year next spring.
It just depends on who you surround yourself with. The drug culture and hippy environment is not pervasive throughout the campus. I believe they represent a smaller group that gets magnified or stigmatizes the campus. There is a fairly large group that focuses on studies. I heard that there is a dorm that is well known for pot smoking which one should avoid.