<p>During the president's week (aka ski week) school break, S2 and I drove down to Southern California to visit UCLA, UCSB, and UCSD. These were his first formal school visits. For background, S2 is looking to stay in California and is keen to attend a large university. We were fortunate enough to visit students we know at each school, and also to attend one lecture at each one. Trip report follows:</p>
<p>First visit was UCLA. There is a lot of people (38K) in a small area (419 acres). This is good (lots of energy) and bad (congested). A great sports school - football at the Rose Bowl. We went to an Astronomy lecture that was excellent - the professor had well prepared materials and his lecture added value to these materials. S2 was unimpressed with Westwood. We had a good lunch at Damon and Pythias, followed by an ice cream sandwich at Diddy Reise ($1 each). But, there were many empty store fronts in Westwood. Evidently, they cannot have any dance clubs in the area, so even further limiting what students may do off-campus. All of the dorms are together on 'the Hill', with Bruin Walk the path to the campus. Many older brick facade buldings, provide a lot of charm to the campus. The student we visited is doing fine academically, and social life is centered around dorm, political groups, and Hillel.</p>
<p>On to UCSB. The location is beautiful. How many schools essentially have a private beach on campus? (20K students, 1000 acres).We did note that the buildings themselves seem a bit old and rundown. We went to a lecture on Human Geography. The lecturer was a recent PHD. The topic was a bit too broad and lacked depth. The class was ok - not great; not horrible. We visited a friend who lives in Isla Vista. He had just returned from study abroad in Costa Rica, and is an environmental studies major (one of the best programs at UCSB). Social life for him is small parties with friends as opposed to the renown big IV parties. We stayed in Santa Barbara, about a 10-15 minute drive from campus. We visited IV, but didn't bother with Goleta.</p>
<p>Then, to UCSD. The only one on our visit with the Oxford-like college system. (25K students, 2000 acres). Physically, very distributed. Built post-Berkeley Free Speech Movement, so likely intentional to not have a central focus to the layout. Great public art throughout the campus. The Geisel (dr seuss) Library is cool. We went to an Anthropology lecture, but they were just screening a movie that day with no real lecture. Pretty consistently, students remarked on how difficult the studies are. Is this because they are ranked #3 in the UC system, and have something to prove? One of our major concerns for UCSD, is the apparent lack of a social life (in contrast to UCSB which perhaps has too much social life available). The two students we visited had addressed it in different ways. One has a girlfriend and social life around a small group of friends. The other, hooked up with Greek life. The week before we were there, there was a student suicide, a senior. And, a few weeks before, a freshman committed suicide. Naturally, this is of concern. High academic pressure, with minimal social outlets and plenty of opportunity to be isolated from others.</p>
<p>We did a drive by UCI. In the heart of orange county. Given the similarity of ranking between it and UCD and UCSB; both of the other two are better located in S2's opinion. </p>
<p>The conclusions....S2 would be fine at any of UCLA, UCSD, and UCSB. He got an idea of what the campuses are really like on this trip. As he is currently a HS Junior, he is currently focusing on grades, test scores, and ECs. We'll see next year whether he has some choice.</p>