<p>I don't think UCSC is a school for everybody, but I think it is a better school than people on this thread are stating.
<a href="http://www.ucsc.edu/about/%5B/url%5D">www.ucsc.edu/about/</a>
<a href="http://www.ucsc.edu/about/distinctions.asp%5B/url%5D">www.ucsc.edu/about/distinctions.asp</a></p>
<p>dstark,
"...a 'better' school"? Who was talking about "better" or "worse" relative to UCSC?
Atmosphere & campus culture were being discussed, not quality. Those are aspects best understood by current students & recent grads of a campus, not by the institution's website.
I find it fascinating that whenever anyone weighs in on a discussion about subjective aspects of UC, or one campus, there's always an attempt by someone to redirect people to "official" info.<br>
Hmmmm.</p>
<p>Epiphany: I misunderstood and it's a good thing that you made a point that because your ELC, it doesn't guarantee admission into all the UC's, but only one, pre-determined one. You must be have competitive eligibility, not just minimum eligibility to compete for admissions at top UCs like UCLA, Berkeley, and UCSD.</p>
<p>Ive never seen such uninformed and pretentious attitudes towards one of the best universities in california. Santa Cruz is rated one of the best in undergraduate education in the entire country. Many of our nations top scientists are faculty at UCSC. Also, a particular campus's acceptance rate does not necessarily indicate the quality of education, as seen in many case studies of students at ivy leagues. If anything, a campus's attitudes and intellectual atmosphere have more to do with that. My girlfriend is a phil major at Berkeley, and through her I was able to meet John Searle, one of the few modern day philosophers who teaches at Berkeley. When introduced I made a snotty underhand comment about the fact that I was going to UCSC, and the dude stared me in the eyes and said, "The only thing that separates Berkeley and any other university is the ficticious assumption that prestige has any practical application." makes me think you guys are a bunch of insecure academia whores who want to make themselves feel better for going to SB or SD when the only two schools that have any real distinction to grad schools are ucla and cal. as you can tell im very sensitive about my school. Go slugs!</p>
<p>good post kidicarus</p>
<p>thank you fei.</p>
<p>Obviously I am posting to an old thread. I stumbled upon it after Googling something else.</p>
<p>I was accepted to UCR and UCSC. I am presently attending UCR. My choices were limited in that I already hold a bachelor’s degree; Cal and UCLA were not an option. Irvine rejected me, and I believe it was for that exact reason (I have a sterling GPA, activities, work, disabled…)</p>
<p>Now, understand that I have no axe to grind. The UC system is the best public education system in the world. The system was modeled on the Ivy League, and it would be fair to compare the various UC campuses to its Ivy League equivalent.</p>
<p>Overall, the system is strong, regardless of the campus…but with budget cuts, who knows. Some are better than others, but to say that UCR is the worst UC (pre-Merced) is like saying that Cornell is the “worst” Ivy League (US News ranked it the lowest). Pick up UCR (or Merced) and pop it into any other state, and it’s the flagship school or #2.</p>
<p>Realize the following facts about UCR: EVERY other UC is either in or adjacent to a major city or in a GORGEOUS area. Then you have UCR, located in the Inland Empire. Trust me when I say that the campus is nice (not great, but nice), but the surrounding area is crap.</p>
<p>UCR has an undeserved bad reputation. My personal prediction is that once they get their medical school open, you will see its reputation improve greatly.</p>
<h2>Here’s the breakdown of UCs:</h2>
<p>Top Tier:</p>
<p>Cal (UCB): Not only is Cal the flagship UC, but it is the top ranked <em>public</em> school in the world. Cal accepts the best and the brightest. Even with the fee increases, if you are a California resident, and cannot get into Harvard, Yale, or Stanford, go there. Overall, the best school.</p>
<p>UCLA: The #2 UC. Period.</p>
<hr>
<p>Second Tier (in no particular order):</p>
<p>UCD: Very strong agricultural program. Probably your best pick if you want to go to vet school or agribusiness, not a bad choice for pre-med or pre-law. Buy a bicycle.</p>
<p>UCSB (not to be confused with CSUSB): Party school, on the beach. Good school, but heed that warning.</p>
<p>UCSD: Good school, also on the beach. They styled it after Oxford, with their colleges.</p>
<p>UCI: Good school, located in the heart of Orange County. Be prepared to be surrounded by people who think Reagan should be considered for sainthood.</p>
<hr>
<p>Third Tier:</p>
<p>UCR: The ■■■■■■■ of the UC system. UCR gets the scraps left over from the above. However, I sincerely believe that it will stealthily rise in the rankings once the med school is built. Has a good relationship with UCLA and USC (amazing, but true). </p>
<p>UCSC: VERY left-wing. Seriously. Cal doesn’t have many hippies attending (they hang around the campus, but don’t attend). Santa Cruz, however, does. However, if you want to be an astronomer…if not the best, one of the best. Beautiful school. On grades: what I have understood is that they give both letter grades (though you may have to request them) and an evaluation. Sounds good in theory, but…med schools don’t care if you “Grokked the vibe of the study of life”; they want to see that you got an A in Biology. Has an odd reputation that may haunt you if you don’t want to be an astronomer. (Note that I’m not saying it is a bad school…just that its reputation is odd.)</p>
<p>and</p>
<p>UCM: The new one. Don’t go there. No reputation, and all it has going for it is that it is the new UC. Look at the history of UCR, and consider that they are slashing budgets.</p>
<hr>
<p>Final thought: Ask yourself the BIG question: what do you want to do? Look at the individual programs at each school and rank accordingly. Don’t get caught up in just the rankings of the school…a program at a “lower ranked” school may be better than the same program at a “higher ranked” school; rankings are for the school as a whole. Visit the schools. See if the reputation of the school is something that is worth living in the area (exception: Cal. If you get into Cal, ignore the fact that it is in a ****hole area…if your degree says “Berkeley” it is worth 4 years of living there).</p>
<p>Would I have chosen Cal or UCLA over UCR? In a heartbeat. Would I have chosen UCD or UCSD over UCR? Yes. UCI or UCSB? Maybe, but only if they offered me a great package with it. As I said, I chose UCR over UCSC…SC is beautiful, but R does have stronger programs overall. Not knocking Merced, but it is WAY too new.</p>
<p>Now, a note on the Cal State system:
Cal Poly SLO is a great choice for engineering.
Pomona’s OK, but…it depends on who you talk to.
The rest: If your dream is to teach K-12, go for it. Otherwise, watch out. You get what you pay for.
Exception: Many Cal States have unique programs. IF you find something like that, do the research and see if it is a “good deal” or BS. For example, Sonoma State offers a wine marketing program; where else can you get that? Cal Poly Pomona offers a hospitality program that (supposedly) rivals the best in the nation.
Overall, don’t go to a Cal State otherwise.</p>
<p>Good luck to all.</p>
<p>^ A well-written and informative post.</p>
<p>I’d like to add my own comment though. In my general area (my high school, nearby schools, etc.), it seems like we rank UCs slightly differently. We have Cal at the top, followed by LA, then SD, and then Davis/Irvine, while everything else seems to just…fall below that. I’ve heard people my age say that those five are the only UCs worth going to (granted, some of these people have a tendency to look down on anything not Ivy League).</p>
<p>Oddly enough, a college counselor told me last year that it was “more worth it” to go to Merced, precisely because it was a newer school; apparently, Riverside has been around for a long time and hasn’t picked up too much in rankings, while Merced, being a younger school, “still can rise up within the next five or 10 years.”</p>
<p>Of course, this is in no way representative of the real rankings/academic merit of each school. But it’s an interesting difference.</p>
<p>^ Thanks. And good luck at Cal. Its reputation is due a lot to its rigor. :-)</p>
<p>A thought on people’s opinions. USC is referred to a “University of Second Choice” by people who get rejected by the Ivy Leagues. Personally, I think its a good school. ;-)</p>
<p>Likewise, Cal alumni look down on UCLA…“it’s second, but a <em>distant</em> second” is how it has been put by a couple of Cal students/grads.</p>
<p>Academia is extremely elitist. Harvard & Yale look down on the rest of the Ivy league, yet…ask someone from Oxford or Cambridge what they think of Harvard.</p>
<p>Another very big part of UCR’s problem is that they accepted (almost) EVERYONE who applied. Basically, their acceptance policy was basically that of a Cal State.</p>
<p>A year ago, they changed their policy. They are actually rejecting people!</p>
<p>The counselor was right. Merced is the “wild card” of the UC system. Irvine was established after Riverside, and has a better reputation. Theoretically, Merced could surpass Riverside as well.</p>
<p>With the budget cuts, though, it’s unlikely. Play the probability. </p>
<p>To everyone reading this: Take what I put at the end to heart. Don’t just look at the school, but compare programs as well.</p>
<p>Good luck to everyone.</p>