I hope to crack this mystery. My S is really into environmental science as well, and would be better off at UCSC than Santa Clara if he ends up switching majors. He also might be able to combine these two interests at SC and he loves the campus. It might take him forever to graduate though. 
Wow, that is a fascinating article. Wish we could see this updated yearly, ya know? I look at the list and am happy that my kid already has some good choices from it so far (some in state, some out) and hopefully a few others to come. Really appreciate you sharing this, sushiritto.
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Does anyone have any idea why UC Santa Cruz does not offer gender and women studies/ feminist studies/ queer studies / LGBTQ minor but all the other UCS do? I really want to minor in that (plus creative writing, but definitely the first more)? Is there any way I could get such a minor degree?
UCSC is my dream school and I was accepted and would die to attend but Iām really really worried about financials. I am an OOS student and submitted my FAFSA but donāt know my financial aid package yet. Does anyone have any advice on how I can get more scholarship/ aid, anywhere I can get big scholarships (even if theyāre 3rd party as long as UCSC accepts them). Any advice Iād be so appreciative, thank you!
The best scholarships come from the schools directly which means for OOS students very limited merit scholarships and none will cover close to the cost of attendance. Did you run the Net price calculator before applying? How much can you afford? Will you qualify for any Federal aid? You can take out $550O in Federal student loans only as a Freshman. Sorry no magic money fairy if you cannot afford most of the costs.
Anyone know if thereās a discord for the class of 2025 or something like that? Also, Iām desperately trying to decide between Reed and Santa Cruz. I genuinely have no idea.
Salaries are always going to be skewed by numbers of certain majors. Schools that are engineering heavy are always going to have the higher salaries.
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There are plenty of different websites that have their own list of ābest schools to get a job in Silicon Valley.ā Hereās another example: Silicon Valley Hiring: Most Popular Universities
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Hey great the Banana Slugs made this one! Yeah!
That one is even older (2015), any others out there?
I think the best place is to look at Department of Education web site. They do collect data both on jobs and salaries for the first year of the employment based on IRS data. The link is
Also, if you are looking at just the computer science data and job, here is the report published by IvyAchievement in 2018. It includes 3 years data 2013-2016. But it looks at many different data set and I feel is a good data driven ranking.
Here are some I just founded that have Santa Cruz highly ranked: https://www.campusexplorer.com/college-advice-tips/52C7D6F3/5-California-Colleges-for-Computer-Science-Careers/
Best Computer Science Schools | Payscale
Best Value Colleges For Computer-science Majors | Payscale
Google-based Ranking of Computer Science and Engineering Departments
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For those of you concerned about the median salary graduates make, the numbers out there are always going to be different. Payscale a pretty reputable website, and UCSC is the third highest ranked UC, just behind Berkeley and UCSB. Despite this, take it with a grain of salt like just you should with rankings from US News. Graduates across all the UCās are going to make around the same with an exception to Berkeley which is known to be one of the best CS schools on the planet.
I agree on this. Everybody needs to understand why you need to go to college and whatās the future plan. At the end of the day, itās the individual who is hungry to learn, use the resources available to learn, has good interview skill will get job faster with a higher salary.
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Exactly. Recruiters arenāt going to come to you just because you attend a school like UC Berkeley, UCSB, or UCSC. Itās about the effort you put into it: get a decent GPA, join clubs, do side projects, get an internship, etcā¦ then youāll have no problem getting a job.
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I will give you another example: 2020 Rhodes Scholars have been awarded to one from UC Berkeley, SC and one from UC Merced. I bet, none of us would have thought UC Merced will get one so early, did we?
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I really like Merced. We have two neighborhood kids (I knew them since they were toddlers). Both went and really liked it and both graduated this year. One is going back for a MA in Public Health. My son was just accepted to an engineering program and that is where he wants to go. The supportive staff, small class size, new campus, semester system, new curriculums, all make for a great place IMHO.
If anyone is curious, I logged into my portal a couple min ago and was able to see my financial aid decisions. I got admitted back in Feb though
Was it under the financial aid tab or did you receive an email?