<p>Studying abroad is a good idea regardless of the campus you are attending.
If you are worried about the classes not being hard enough, there are several things you can do:</p>
<p>1) Raise your personal standards - get straight A’s
2) Go beyond the material in the classes you take.
3) Take more classes.
4) Double major.
5) Graduate early.
6) Intern.</p>
<p>All those things will help you get into a very good graduate school.</p>
<p>“Academically relaxed” means that most students life’s don’t revolve around getting the highest grades in every class. That’s a good thing IMO.</p>
<p>@Consider Yup! I had a personal goal of 4.0. That’s my mentality, but realistically, I know I’ll aim for a 3.7+ It’s that A- … And I’m actually looking for a job, but UCSC career center doesn’t list new jobs until September 7. -_- So… I’m just sort of waiting now. </p>
<p>@ProteinMan In a way, yes, it is a good thing. The whole, there’s more to life than school. But I experienced that in high school, and never did any of my school work because of that mentality. I want to change things up and ensure that I put academics first, because environment really plays a big part in how I am/do. I was even tempted to join a sorority and the volleyball club they had there, but I feel as though it might intervene with my studies, so I chose not to, no matter how convincing they can be. :(</p>
<p>I don’t mean put academics second. Of course it’s the most important thing and the reason were going to college for lol. I don’t want to have people in my class who get 100% in everything and always set the curve really high, it’s really frustrating lol. One of my friends last year was in my physics class and he would always set the curve at 100%. And besides, if someone really wants a challenge academically, they should go to Cal Tech. Just go read their forum and you’ll know what I mean lol.</p>
<p>If I’m understanding this right, you are going to be a freshman at UCSC, correct? (The college 8 core class tipped me off)</p>
<p>Oh, dear, you can’t judge a school THAT quickly. I wasn’t excited to go to UCSC at first, but I went into it with an open mind. I had a hard time in the beginning (but doesn’t everyone? New atmosphere, new people, new classes–it’s tough to adjust). I’ve met a lot of great people and I’ve had a lot of great experiences.</p>
<p>You really have to go in with a positive attitude. You are there to make the most out of your school. Don’t assume that just because a school doesn’t fit your lifestyle that it’s not for you! But I’m glad you’ve decided to stay :)</p>
<p>I was talking to one of my friends who goes to UCSC and this is going to be his second year as a health science major there and he said the academics are hard and that he had a tough first year. And this guy is really smart, he got a 5 in AP Physics, AP Bio (took Physics and Bio the same day), AP Calculus AB & BC, and AP Spanish. He had over a 4.0 GPA in high school and over a 2000 in his SATs and said he really didn’t study in high school but now has to work his a$$ off to try and get good grades. Also, a lot of it has to do with your major, obviously if your major is something like Theater, it’s not going to be hard as something like Biology, no matter what school you go to.</p>
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<p>Well there you go. I know a lot of very smart people who failed classes first year of college because they hadn’t learned study habits in high school. There’s being good at standardized tests, and then there’s being good at studying.</p>
<p>Lol, I never said he failed a class. He did very well his first year at UCSC, he got near a 4.0 GPA. He just said it was hard and he had to work his butt off. But my point is that even really smart people find academics at UCSC hard, it’s a UC school. The OP made it sound like UCSC is a walk in the park.</p>
<p>Lol, I wasn’t saying that he did. Just an example of how even smart people can struggle at UCSC. It isn’t even close to a walk in the park, especially if you’re in the school of engineering. Somehow it seems like having free time is an indicator of a school not being academically focused.</p>
<p>@thumbsupyeah Yup! Don’t worry. I am going to make the most of it. I’m excited for it to start. 
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<p>@ProteinMan
I’m not saying that UCSC is a walk in the park, but what I am saying is that compared to higher tier UC’s, the courses are not as rigorous. I have asked a good number of people who go to UCSC, vs. several friends at other UC’s. Their work mentalities are completely different. UCSC being more laid back vs. UCB/UCD/UCI students who have a compelling need to focus, focus, focus. And that is why I am not too sure if I want to stay in that sort of atmosphere. </p>
<p>I mean, the general attitude of UCSC is very relaxed. Your friend could be the exception to the norm. so good for him! But I’m not a health science major… or an engineering major, so I probably won’t feel the pressure that they feel. </p>
<p>@Liesel, Free time is a good thing. But in my situation, having too much of it will make me want to stray away from my studies. Hopefully that won’t be the case.</p>
<p>^
Well, if you put it that way, higher tier UC’s courses are not as rigorous as courses from much more prestigious universities such as Stanford, Ivy league schools, MIT, Cal Tech, Harvey Mudd, ect and their students are not as good. See what I mean? It’s not fair to compare colleges since there is always going to one that is better and more rigorous.</p>
<p>Also, I would not advise you to go through the community college route because the academic atmosphere at a CC is much worse. </p>
<p>“UCSC being more laid back vs. UCB/UCD/UCI students who have a compelling need to focus, focus, focus.”</p>
<p>Why wouldn’t UCSC students have a compelling need to focus? After all, we are paying over $30,000 dollars a year for an education just like all other UC’s. That’s enough of a reason to keep anyone focused lol.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure it is not easy. I’ve heard from many current students that you actually do have to study and focus on work.
I think the person is just more concerned about the prestige one thinks of when they hear UCB or UCLA as opposed to UC Santa Cruz…
But I am not going to judge until I spend at least a quarter here.
Oh and yeah just go to UC santa cruz I am sure if you want to do nothing but school work all the time you will be able to transfer.</p>
<p>@Protein</p>
<p>In general, some schools in the UC system especially UCLA/Cal are known to be harder than many of ivy league and other ‘top ranked’ universities. We get crappy grade deflation while many private schools have huge grade inflation. </p>
<p>And as someone who has seen the atmosphere at two very different Universities, students at UCSC are VERY relaxed. Even the engineering and pre-med students at UCSC have a lot of free time to chill and do whatever. This doesn’t need to be a bad thing… but it is nevertheless a fact. You have more time to get involved and network. You would think the $30k/year price would be an incentive for students to study hard, but this is not always the case (especially when parents are paying in full…some students don’t have a sense of how much college costs). </p>
<p>@just4college
It really depends on 1) your major 2) your courseload. If you take 15 units full of theater classes, it will be easy. 20 units of science classes would be considered quite difficult. Somewhere in the middle should be challenging but manageable. All the stoners that would rather not do any work end up in fluff majors (the ones that end in studies). Many of the students with high aspirations and decent work habits end up in business economics, math, chemistry, etc.</p>
<p>@ProteinMan Well, those are Ivy leagues. They’re in that category for a reason. I’m comparing it to other UC’s. And no, I’m not planning to take the community college way. Thank you for your advice though. And you may think people would take their education seriously for paying 30k a year, but I’ve known students who have been on academic probation because of their “socializing.” Not at UCSC, but at other UC’s such as UCI. </p>
<p>@just4college
Where in the world do you get the idea that I’m infatuated with the “prestige” of the colleges? I’m more concerned with the environment that I’m working in. And the studying part comes with any college, since it’s more of an independent environment than high school, per say. </p>
<p>@Cali Trumpet
Thank you for understanding where I’m coming from.</p>
<p>as for transferring from UCSC to say…UCI, is there a list of prerequisites for what classes or GE’s i need to take/satisfy?</p>
<p>For GE’s: You would want to complete all of the GE’s that UCSC requires. Once that is complete, you complete UC Reciprocity and your GE’s for UCI will be completed (sometimes you might need to do 1-2 classes extra though - depends on the university).</p>
<p>Pre-reqs: I’m guessing you are talking about the pre-reqs for your major. Use Assist.org to see what classes are required for your certain major. Keep in mind that Assist is for CC courses, so you can technically use a random CC as a type of “middle man” when deciding which courses you need to take between UCSC and UCI. However, this is not always full proof as there are a few cases (not too common) of UC-UC students being told that the class they took at their UC did not completely fulfill the required class at their prospective UC.</p>
<p>Hey all! I just wanted to do an update, because I’ve noticed that some threads don’t provide any updates. </p>
<p>Accepted to: UCD, UCLA, and waiting on UCI</p>
<p>I most likely will accept UCLA, so UCI does not matter.</p>
<p>Current GPA: 3.67
Upward trend starting Spring 2011, all A’s from then on. </p>
<p>IT IS POSSIBLE! UC-UC is possible.</p>
<p>CONGRATS SWEET! SAME HERE WITH UCD (waiting on Cal)</p>
<p>GPA: 3.61
Major: Computer Science and Engineering</p>
<p>UC-UC is indeed possible :)</p>
<p>Good job Guys!!! you give hope to readers like me :)</p>
<p>Going to try to transfer to UCLA for next fall. This is a great place to get info.</p>