I haven’t seen anyone post here, so I thought I would. I’m a parent of a 3rd year UC Merced student, and a HS Senior looking at UCs. I’ve been to Merced multiple times, so I feel I can give an honest review:
When did you visit? August (twice), January
Where did you stay? Would you recommend it? Hotel near freeway (cheap but not great), Airbnb near-ish to UCM (excellent), and El Capitan downtown (best hotel in Merced, no pool, but otherwise outstanding, walking distance to everything downtown). Note there are no places walking distance to campus - none at all.
Where did you eat? Did you try any local specialties? Surprisingly great food selection, all over. The Bar B-Q Pit is outstanding for old-school ribs & fixins, lots of good Mexican food all around, and the new West Coast Sourdough is worth a stop for SF-style clam chowder. Many new places going in.
How did you get there? What’s the best transportation mean to get to-from the campus? To Merced driving is easiest, but flying to/from Fresno isn’t hard - there are frequent Amtrak trains to/from Fresno with an easy uber/taxi ride to the airport, or get a rental car. There are also flights direct from Merced to LAX or Las Vegas, but they’re on tiny planes - like 8 people! For campus itself, car is easiest just because of the distance, but bikes work (it’s all flat, just kinda distant), and there are buses that the students can use for free.
What was the campus vibe? Hard to describe - everything is very new, lots of space (but not too spread out), surrounded by 360 degrees of open pasture land - literally nothing is nearby other than a park with a lake. Mountains are in the distance. It’s very relaxing, so nobody seems too stressed out - everyone is very supportive. But like all UCs, you gotta put the effort into it.
What did you think of the dorms? They’re all pretty nice since they’re so new - even the “old” Valley Terraces are nice, basically 3 bedroom apartments (without a kitchen), with 2 people per room. I wouldn’t recommend the rooms rooms for 3 person dorm rooms - too cramped for 3 people (my son spent 1 summer in one).
What are some must-see things in or around campus? There isn’t all that much to see on campus, yet - you can definitely take in everything in a day. The lake is pleasant, and in town there are some things - the courthouse is worth as stop, as is downtown itself. South of the freeway is sketchy, so avoid that, other than for the county fair.
How were the school facilities? Brand new, top notch, and also very green. The game room in the old Yablokoff-Wallace dining building is sad - everything is broken. And unfortunately the cafeteria food gets old quickly. The salad bar is solid, but the constant repetition of the purely average main dishes is annoying. Decent food trucks come on campus almost every day, but they cost extra.
Did you like it more or less than you thought you would? Why? My son definitely liked it more than he thought he would, except for the food (he’s off campus now). He’s made some good friends, and the education is top-notch (he’s CompSci Engineering), but also very tough grading - you must be disciplined and stay on top of your studies. But there’s a real sense of everyone pulling in the same direction - they all want UCM to be a great school.
Did anything surprise you? The distance of the campus from anything else - it’s literally miles away. Doesn’t matter for the first 2 years though, since you won’t really need to leave campus. And the northern part of Merced is much nicer than we expected (and south of the freeway is worse).
Hopefully these comments will help anyone else looking at UCM!
Thanks for the review! This was super helpful. D and her dad visited in the middle of the summer when no one was around except for a few ambassadors. It would have been too hot to bike from outside housing to campus.
If a kid lives off campus, is there a bus that goes to campus? I’m thinking of the new housing area closest to campus? Or do kids just drive to school? Is there enough parking for off campus students?
Do the professors live on campus? There’s a lot of new housing close to campus (but not that close since I see a lot of green fields on the map). I’m wondering if there is reliable transportation given there amount of staff and professors needed to operate a college.
Yes, the bus system is very good (both the city bus and the one by UC Merced), and goes most places. This year he’s in Merced Station, the brand new (and closest) off-campus housing. It’s by far the best, tons of amenities, basically high-end dorms just without a cafeteria, and includes free washer & dryer, full kitchen (but no utensils/pots/plates, etc), big weight room, etc. Downside is cost, of course, but totally worth it. They have their own shuttle to school that runs continuously, like every 10 minutes - a huge perk. There is definitely enough parking on campus, but it’s not free. No idea where professors live, but there is a lot of housing in Merced, so they probably just commute.
I did see a lot of empty land but not farmland near the new homes that looks like they will be building new homes. I think they mentioned that UCM will be biggest campus or the fast growing one in the near future.