<p>What are your opinions on uc Santa Cruz anything would be wonderful thank you :)</p>
<p>Hippies. </p>
<p>In all seriousness though, Santa Cruz is a really cool town, and the campus is pretty unique. I think it’s a good school, but it’s not completely worth it to me, considering it’s about the same price as the other UCs but it’s one of the least prestigious (probably coming out on top of only Riverside and Merced). However, if you don’t have the grades for the top-tier UCs, it would probably be a good match for you (also taking your username into account haha).</p>
<p>It’s not just about hippies anymore. Yes, it’s liberal, but it’s considered to be a strong research university in the sciences, among other areas of study.</p>
<p>I have to disagree. It is for hippies. So much pot smoking and the food is very hippie.</p>
<p>I was born and raised in Santa Cruz and still live here…so I’ve experienced PRE-UCSC as well as the way it is currently. I will say that it was more “hippie” back several years ago. I’m talkin’ the REAL hippies of the '60s and very early '70s. Now THOSE were some hippies! 
And, no, I never was one. And truth be known, there can be quite a divide between “Town and Gown”. We don’t always get along. While UCSC has brought some positive aspects to our community, I believe that there’s plenty of negative to go along with it. Some of that is just the students, themselves, renting in neighborhoods sometimes causing noise and adding vehicles. But, that happens in any college town. </p>
<p>Also, back in the late '70s and early '80s, some of the recent graduates of UCSC stayed in Santa Cruz and got very involved with local politics. Unfortunately, they changed the political scene so much that after awhile even those original liberal grads on the city council felt there needed to be a little more “establishment” in our city government. Santa Cruz had become known as the super-liberal town that sometimes felt taken over by homeless (by choice) and strange transients who seemed to be everywhere downtown. Some of that’s changing, but I still think that many Santa Cruzans feel that our town just isn’t the same as it was before UCSC. That might be true, but I also understand even without the university, we were bound to change “with the times”. Maybe not quite so radically, though.</p>
<p>I’m thinking that if the university was more into sports—a Pac 12 school or even just had some good teams that everyone came out for, it might be more accepted here. Don’t get me wrong. UC helped to put food on OUR table. My mom worked there for several years. But, I have to agree that there is a certain “flavor” about UCSC that might be considered more “laid back and liberal”. Hippie might not be the exact word to describe the whole campus. But it does attract a certain type of student in some of their colleges within the university. That said, there are plenty of moderate liberals and conservatives who attend and are the furthest thing away from being "hippies. </p>
<p>I don’t happen to like the way the campus is laid out. I prefer my redwood forests in the parks. Sure, it has some beautiful areas and a gorgeous view from on top of the hill. But, I like a different type of campus.</p>
<p>Well, lots of my friends got into UCSC that also got into Cal Poly Pomona. Hell, someone even chose Fresno state over UCSC. Most of them chose Pomona over it simply because the cost. I don’t think there’s really any much added prestige to their school either though cause I never hear anything about them. A lot of my friends characterized it as a hippie, pot smoking place as well. That’s kind of attaches a bad rep to a school. In all honesty, do a campus visit.</p>
<p>Beachkid: As you can see from some of the responses, there is definitely a perception about UCSC that is less than flattering. You need to have a tough skin and not be caught up in what others think if you choose to attend that campus. </p>
<p>My daughter chose to SIR to UCSC and she was accepted to Cal Poly SLO, UCSB, and UC Davis. She just fell in love with the campus on her first visit. Subsequent visits only reinforced her decision. My husband is a UCSB alum and hires many engineers from UCSB, yet he’s been extremely impressed with everything he’s learned about UCSC. My daughter is not a hippie or a pot smoker/partier. We just attended orientation and I felt there was an appropriately diverse student body. My daughter has met many incredibly nice students on her numerous visits.</p>
<p>One reason UCSC might not get as much press as some other UC campuses is that it has a greater emphasis on the undergraduate programs. It doesn’t have as many graduate programs as some of the other UCs, but if you follow the news feeds, you will see that UCSC is very well represented in its niche. It was recently ranked #7 WORLDWIDE in universities less than 50 years old (UCI was 4th). It ranks 3rd in research citations.</p>
<p>With that said, the campus doesn’t appeal to everyone. It is spread out and wooded and hilly. My daughter loves it. Other people might prefer a flat campus with ample parking and buildings clustered close together. I recommend that you visit, visit often, sit in on classes, and make your own decision. Just know that if you choose UCSC you need to be confident enough to disregard the less than enthusiastic responses you will likely receive from others.</p>
<p>I know several young people who’ve recently graduated or are currently attending. All seem happy there. At least one is more of a party kid and had a very good time freshman year; the others were more serious from the get-go. One friend’s son was a high school slacker. He went off to Santa Cruz, discovered a love of biology, crushed his freshman year classes, and decided he wanted to go to med school. He got some great internships over the years, including one which was more a comp sci one. </p>
<p>For what it’s worth, the campus routinely turns up on nationwide lists of top 10 most beautiful schools. The layout isn’t to everyone’s taste, but it does garner a lot of admiration.</p>
<p>We just got back from freshmen orientation, too. The campus was full of regular, not-pretentious, fun, friendly kids. If you are really super smart, you will probably be the big fish in the small pond BUT the campus is gorgeous, the are really in to being green, and the climate is relaxed but serious about school.My son chose it over Irvine because it had a better, less-competitive feel.</p>
<p>Hello to all. I am wondering what kind of GPAs and SAT scores you had when you were accepted into UC Santa Cruz. Also how many EC’s and community service hours. Thanks alot!</p>
<p>I don’t know if I’m much of help as I’m a soon-to-be senior and I’m really considering UCSC. I did just visit the campus last week and I have to say if you’re not into nature, you might want to reconsider because it is within the forest. But the field is on this ledge that overlooks the whole of Santa Cruz (the view of the beach is spectacular)! And the residential campuses are what gives it a more intimate feel since there isn’t exactly a main campus. So you kind of have your own group within your residential college and I believe your major.
The people there were super friendly and I wouldn’t say they’re “dumb.” Honestly, it seems to have a lot of diversity and different kinds of students. The teachers at my school who have gone there loved the place. I would say quality of life is very high.</p>
<p>As far as academics, I’d say minimum 3.5 GPA and an SAT score of at least 1850 and ACT 27. I’m NOT SURE ABOUT THIS though. I just remember my guidance counselor was talking about UCSC and I think that was the range it had. Not a shabby school!
Since it’s a UC (privates “care” more), I have heard ECs are not as important unless you’re talking UC Berkeley or UCLA. Again, don’t quote me.</p>
<p>I am not a fan, and couldn’t imagine attending college here.</p>
<p>The campus looks more like a summer camp than a university. Unless you have a car, getting into Santa Cruz for a burger or something must be a huge pain.</p>
<p>Graduates I know are good, not great, and typically have neck beards.</p>
<p>They have an awesome astronomy department.</p>
<p>Well from a former students perspective:</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say the people are “hippies” but more of very liberal hipsters who just shop at Urban Outfitters. I had a professor grade my essays based on my opinion (I’m more conservative with my political views and he was not) rather than the quality of my essays. There are some normal people, ecspecially in Greek life. Everyone everywhere smokes pot you’re ignorant of you don’t think so haha UCSC is just more open about it, but so are most parts of the bay area of CA in general.</p>
<p>I personally did not like the campus and chose UCSC because it was the best school I got into haha. I wouldn’t say it’s not a good school academically. If you plan to major in econ/business/marine bio/engineering/psych/any sciences go there. All those buildings are brand new and have the most donations from alum. Other major don’t have so many classes but it is near the silicon valley and I know lots of people who got internships there this summer. One guy I know even got a job at google right after he graduated. The art program is also good, but that’s where you’ll find all the hipsters haha. Most of the top majors are sociology, history, legal studies, psych, engineering, and marine bio I think based on the people I met</p>
<p>They are ranked within the top 5 research universities in the world an the man who built the thing that landed on Mars went to UCSC. The school itself is ranked number 75 or 76 in the nation which is not a top 20 or even 50 but the school is still well known</p>
<p>It has it’s pros and it’s cons</p>
<p>Here are my stats when I was accepted for Fall 2011:</p>
<p>3.8 W GPA
African American/White Female
1600 on SAT
650 on us history sat 2
520 on bio sat 2
4 on English Lang AP, 4 on AP Euro, 5 on APUSH</p>
<p>EXTRACURRICULARS:
Highschool cheerleader for 4 years
Competitive cheer team for 2 years, Key Club, AVID, Spanish Club, Friday Night Live mentor to a middle school student, Sunday school teacher, pop Warner cheer coach</p>
<p>I wasn’t a super outstanding student, I just had a lot of EC’s, a rise in my grades, divorced parents, and pretty good essays. I applied as a psych major. Schools don’t always look for “cookie cutter” perfect 4.2 class presidents all the time like everyone thinks</p>