My kid is trying to make the decision. We visited both schools and still he is undecided. Familiar story to many of the kids-neither is his first choice. He did get admitted to SDSU honors though. UCSC seems like a very different campus-and seems like it could be isolating; SDSU seems a bit rundown as well, and when we visited recently there was a homeless man in the bathroom next to the orientation room and security was there because he had some type of saw. Neither campus is ideal. Any thoughts on reputation comparison of these two for say enviro studies/engineering?
Sorry to hear about the SDSU issue.
Of the two which did he like most ? They are different.
Any other choices he could pivot to if he likes neither?
Example U of Arizona is still taking apps - great merit depending on gpa.
Maybe there’s another school out there worth a look.
Otherwise you have to decide. Santa Cruz is more nature-y and in recent years housing has been a concern.
Being faced with a man with a saw is a bit concerning, especially for a parent. So I get it.
Both are fine schools. SDSU has D1 sports if that’s an interest.
Good luck.
The SDSU incident is highly unusual and sorry if this was a big turnoff for the campus. Both my younger son and niece attended SDSU and had no issues with campus safety when they were there. Not sure what you mean about your that SDSU looked “rundown”? The many times I have visited the campus, it appeared to be well kept and clean.
I would compare the major programs between the 2 schools. Look at the curriculum, the requirements to declare the major, and electives of interest.
Both have good reputations but completely different social scenes/vibes and neither my niece or son would have been happy at UCSC. Too remote for them and preferred the city life.
The housing situation is much better at SDSU vs. UCSC especially with the Honors college and the 2 year on-campus requirement for Freshman/Sophomores. Also plenty of off campus housing choices for Junior/Senior year.
There are several discussion threads you can look over regarding SDSU and UCSC pros and cons:
There is no perfect school but where a student goes for Undergrad will not define them, it is what they accomplish while there that will make them successful.
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Thank you! Very glad to hear that incident was unusual. It was Spring break at the time there so not a lot of students around, but quite a few tours like ours were happening. The weather was also terrible when we were there (pouring rain). The housing at UCSC is worrisome for sure. I think we were a little concerned with SDSU being also seemingly isolated from the town-not sure how the freshman really get anywhere very easily from the campus. I will read through the threads you posted there, thank you.
The Green line trolley line has a station on the SDSU campus so students not having a car have access to a couple of shopping malls along that trolley line along with other stops such as Old Town/Seaport Village, Amtrak Station and Downtown. My son used the Trolley line frequently for Freshman year until he brought his car Sophomore year when he was living off campus (he attended when the 2 year on-campus living requirement was not yet in existence). He however, lived across the street from campus year 2-4.
Good to know re trolley. He seems to be favoring SDSU a bit over UCSC. I think our concerns are mostly relating to quality and personal attention. The US News puts UCSC way above SDSU in terms of ranking for national universities (83 v 151). And considering SDSU in double in size from UCSC, we are wondering if he will be lost and get little attention from advisors, etc. We understand there are these external factors like housing and attractive city life, but it seems like quality should be primary issue.
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The SDSU Honors college will help make a larger university seem smaller and with the extra benefits listed, a student will have more attention from advisors and better professor interactions.
Yes, there do seem to be some benefits. I think the cost issue is also something we grapple with because we are paying full price at both (less $5000/year scholarship from UCSC), and it works out to about $85K more to go to UCSC for 4 years. So is UCSC $85K better? Hard question.
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