<p>highschoolda,<br>
why dont you just let this go. Some of us just dont agree with your standards for judging intelligence and the quality of education.. there are a lot of instances where the things you have purported are just dead wrong like others have pointed out...you are coming off like a very sad ignorant person who just wants to trample on other peoples excitement. A lot of very bright intelligent people have and continue to go to UCSC. I just nowreceived a few private messages from epiphany telling me about how his relative went to ucsc and got into boalt law school and cornell for grad school. A lot of very bright capable people learned to apply themselves at UCSC and thus the campus is one of the highest in the country for producing students who go on to grad school. The margin of difference between sc and sb is so slight it doesnt really make a difference anyways. Even if people at sb were somehow slightly more intelligent, which is a retarded notion, this does not in any way indicate that the school is any better. Sb is as good as all the other second rate uc's. Just let it go man. This is not a thread for trolls. We want to talk about santa cruz. Lets change the subject. Now, who has been accepted? I want to take about which campus college I should go to? College Ten and Kresge look nice, but I dont know much about any of them.</p>
<p>check it-- a 13th ranked school and a 32nd rank school is a huge difference. and SB is the only 13th and ucsc is tied with 6 other schools for 32nd. UCDavis,UCI and UCSB are 11th 12th and 13th... now you can make the argument that those schools are pretty much equal, but not sb and sc. Let's play the numbers game... ucsb is ranked 13th thats only 13 places away from ucb... ucsc is 32 thats 19 spots away-- thus, ucsb is closer to ucb than ucsc. i can do this with ucla,ucsd, u mich. ect...so ...i guess you're not an econ major huh? must be a philo. major</p>
<p>oh and majnags, </p>
<p>you are absolutely right about the studying issue. It is an enormous assumption to make that everyone studies the same and thus their grades can serve as conclusive evidence of their intelligence. So many factors weigh in on how any individual will perform in a given class. Socioeconomic status can affect whether on has to work, or whether one is a despondent trust fund baby who goes to school on their parents dime and studies at their own leisure (unfortunately for others, this is me). i have a pretty good gpa (3.67) and I am proud to go to Santa Cruz. i would never assume that someone with a low GPA was less intelligent than myself, hell i barely graduated high school. It wasnt until after high school that I became motivated to work hard. That is what people dont understand, it is the accomplishments of a school and the students that truly matter. SC is just as awesome as all of the other uc's. And another thing, you are 100% percent acurrate about the number of people influencing the acceptance rate. Not that it even makes a god damn difference. So back to the campuses... are you going to ucsc for sure?</p>
<p>if youve paid attention to any of the other posts, you would realize that some of us dont care what a ranking system that is based on bogus criteria such as acceptance rates has to say. LETS LEAVE THE TOPIC ALONE. Why are you misery mongers so hell bent on being *******s. Lets agree to disagree. You elitists care about rankings based on prestigue and admittance rates. Thats fine, you can have that, in that case, SB is a "better" school. But for those of us who care about other more personal issues like the intellectual atmosphere and the quality of education, we prefer UCSC and its open-minded laid back attitudes coupled with its nation-wide excellence and notoriety. It is by no means a bad school. Now will you please go start another thread, I would really like to talk about santa cruz. Any sluggies out there?</p>
<p>Well it should be obvious by now that I am a sluggie. Let me know if you any questions. </p>
<p>@CC, your reasoning is completely flawed. First of all your looking at public universities as opposed to all universities. As everyone knows, there are only a few public universities that compare w/ private ones. whatever index they use to measure it, like for example, if its based on a 10 point scale, the top 4-5 are in the 9s, the rest of them will drop down to like 6 -5. so on that scale, the difference between sb and sc is miniscule compared to the difference between sb and berkeley. How man places it is from the top means absolutely nothing.</p>
<p>It also depends on what your major is and what program you want to go into.</p>
<p>UCSC ranked 1st in the nation for its academic research impact in the field of space sciences, according to an analysis conducted by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) in 2003.
UCSC is headquarters to UC Observatories/Lick Observatory, which operates Lick Observatory and is a managing partner of the world's largest ground-based telescopes at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii.
UCSC ranked as the 2nd most influential research institution in the world in the physical sciences, according to a 2001 ISI report.
UCSC ranked 11th in the nation among public universities for the quality of its research productivity in The Rise of American Research Universities: Elites and Challengers in the Postwar Era, by Hugh Graham and Nancy Diamond.
UCSC ranked 1st in the nation among public universities in the Social Sciences in the quality of research productivity, according to the Graham and Diamond publication mentioned above.
UCSC ranked 6th in the Arts and Humanities index of the same Graham and Diamond publication.
UCSC ranked 15th among more than 60 elite universities for the percentage of students whose bachelor's degrees led to doctorates.
U.S. News & World Report's rankings for 2005 place UCSC in the top quarter of national public universities.
In a national survey of preferences of 3,240 high-achieving high school students, UCSC ranked 16th among the country's most desirable public colleges and universities (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2004). </p>
<h2>UCSC faculty include two of the University of California's honored University Professors, 19 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 10 members of the National Academy of Sciences, and two members of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. </h2>
<p>I am not saying that sb isn't better than ucsc. But that different isnt as much as you think sb and sc are still grouped together as part of the 2nd tier UCs, it does not compare to UCLA or Berkeley. To think otherwise is foolish.</p>
<p>You should also remember that those rankigs are based on best doctoral universities not best undergraduate education. since UCSC is largely an undergradutate university w/ only 1300+ graduate students, it wouldn't be fair to compare it to UCSB which has a 3000+ graduate student population. The fact that a small university like ucsc is even among the top rankings is cause for celebration. less students means less professeurs which inturn means less chances that a profresseur will make a break threw. college rankings are usually based on how many awards/fellows/nobel laureates etc. With a much smaller university, your naturally going to have a lower number of such award recipeints.</p>
<p>perfectly said maj, and with such great examples of ucsc's accomplishments! wow. So are you a current or prospective student? I am trying to get a feel for some of the campuses... let me know if you have any info! thanks..</p>
<p>USNews rankings are not entirely arbitrary; if universities did not regard the rankings with esteem, then they would not be attempting to preserve their rank. The USNews ranking system provides an incentive for colleges to continually improve standards as it gives them free publicity and thus more popularity when it comes to the number of applicants. Moreover, I think one can legitimately state that any university in the top 15 is qualitatively better than one that is 30 or lower.</p>
<p>im not saying they are arbitrary. Im just saying that the qualities they are based on do not necessitate a better school. no one is even talking about the top 10 schools. We are defending ucsc against those who are saying its a crap school compared to ucsb, which is bull. Besides, lets not talk about this anymore this is a ucsc thread. I dont want to argue about the validity of ranking systems. UCSC is not a bad school by any means. Get off of it please. Thank you.</p>
<p>U need to learn to read kid. I never said it was bad. I just said SB is slightly better and have rankings and more academicly achieved students attending as my arguments.</p>
<p>this thread has gone far enough....from now it just seems like a flame war.</p>
<p>gone far enough? NO REALLY??? lol. :) I have said that all along.<br>
highschool, You may have never said it was bad outright but you and many others certainly made valiant attempts to insinuate the idea at the very least. Although I do thank you for bringing closure to this dumb ordeal. Like I have been saying this whole time, I would like to hear from anyone who is going to go or goes to ucsc...thanks</p>
<p>Kid, i know u don't believe in college rankings, but it's the 32 best public school in the US. U should feel very proud. I know i would too. I never said it was bad nor did i mean it was bad. I think it's the 5th time i am saying the same statement. But congrats again and i wish u the best.</p>
<p>thanks. i appreciate it.</p>
<p>Yes I am a freshman at UCSC. College Nine, any questions, feel free to ask away.</p>
<p>what are some good colleges? are transfers usually sent to a particular college? What colleges are known for having the better housing setups? what do you know about the village? What kind of people does each college tend to have ( like college repuation)? any suggestions on any of them? and basically, how do you like it there? thank you so much!</p>
<p>this is going to be a long post. </p>
<p>Lets start w/ what I don't know. I am not sure what you mean by the village. Do you mean Santa Cruz, the city? Santa Cruz is sort of attached to a twin city called Capitola, together, i would estimate the population to be 200k maybe. apart from the hippe lifestyle, there are a lot of bars and clubs downtown. Theres a fairly long downtown strip that has all the major shops and many specialty stores. bus service is great so you don't need a car to get to anywhere in SC, though it would help. during weekdays, there is a bus every 4 mins from the central transit center in downtown SC to the campus. bus ride takes approximately 15-30 mins depending on traffic and how many people there are on the bus. </p>
<p>colleges are grouped into twos and they share a dining hall and administation center. </p>
<p>Nine/ten
Porter/Kresge
College 8/Oakes
Crown/Merril
Stevenson/Cowel</p>
<p>As for the colleges, they vary. College nine and ten were built a couple years ago. So they have the latest facilities, the rooms are supposedly larger than at some of the older colleges but can't confirm this. Bathrooms are neater. nine/ten attracts regular students mostly. No real community spirit or tradition. But its literally like at the center of the campus so many of the major classrooms and the science/engineering area is in walking distance. Also the dining hall food is supposedly the best out of the others as well. </p>
<p>The most famous college is probably porter. Thats where the naked run occurs. Thats mostly liberal art majors/hippes etc. Porter is well laid out and has a lot of art exhibits. Kresge is limited to apartment residents only. It is close to engineering/sciences area but again no dorms. </p>
<p>I believe Crown has a science related core course. </p>
<p>Stevenson/merril are close to the liberal arts library/book store and a couple of the larger lecture halls. Stevenson/merril is close to the atheletic center so it attracts a lot of people interested in sports. </p>
<p>I wouldnt recommend oakes because its way out in the middle of nowhere. you have to take a bus to get anywhere. But thats where MSI sections are held. </p>
<p>All of the except nine/ten are over 30 years old and have their respective traditions. The college system is kind of cool, but its not really restrictive. Its realy more for administrative purposes. When you graduate, you graduate with people from ur college rather than with all ucsc grads. Part of UCSC grad requirements is that you have to enroll in a core seminar course. Commonly known as frosh seminar. This is a 5 unit class, explores a particular theme. College nine theme is internation perspectives. Crown has a science one. Porter has an art one. Ten is social justice. Not sure about the others. </p>
<p>If you want a view of the beach then you want to go with porter or college 8. </p>
<p>I ll post later with more stuff as it comes to my head.</p>
<p>I am indifferent to the campus. Academics is great, lots of research opportunities for undergrads and instructors are all very good. The people i am not a big fan off, having lived all my life in the city. the college attracts a lot of people from like the country.. lot of people from idaho, wymoing, rural nevada and mideast california. There are a lot of hippies and liberals, lots of demonstrations/strikes. If your a conservative you better hide it in the closet. lots of gays. But 25% of the applicants come from LA area and another 35% come from the bay area so the majority of the people are regular city dwelvers. If you find the right people to hang out with, you will eventually come to like it. Weather is okay too, its not always raining or anything. You get sunny days atleast 2-3 a week.</p>
<p>i can thank you enough this is so helpful. I really appreciate you taking the time to help. Awesome!! Porter sounds really interesting... I cant say I wouldnt mind a view of the beach. i heard that they put most transfers in kresge though... do you know anything about what kresge is like? The larger rooms and food of 9 & 10 sound attractive. What would you recommend. Im a phil major, should i make my decision based on the schools academic slant, or does it make a difference? Oh and about the village, supposedly it is some place on campus that is like in the middle of a random meadow and has a bunch of singles in bungalows. Never heard of it? My last question before you get annoyed, how close is the beach really? thanks again you rock</p>
<p>A lot of campus has a view of the ocean. The whole campus is placed on a plot of hilly land overlooking it, so it only takes being on a certain side or elevation to see it.</p>
<p>For example, I'm Stevenson (though I live off-campus), and it overlooks the athletic fields -- and the ocean. </p>
<p>The beach is, like downtown, a bus ride away. It is NOT a walkable distance (as those who have missed the last bus coming back onto campus can attest -- 3-4 hours from downtown to campus). It's easy to get there. There's a bus that goes right down to the start of the boardwalk. </p>
<p>Kresge is the "writing" college -- it's the headquarters for the lit department, at least! They do have apartments instead of rooms, and it's in the middle of the forest. The rooms in 9 & 10 are not that much larger than the other rooms around campus unless you get an extremely lucky draw and get put in one of the end-of-the-hall rooms (which are big enough for 4-5 people by college standards, but still only room 2). </p>
<p>The various core classes are what should determine your selection as well. Each one gets rid of a number of GEs, so it's in your best interests to take a core that will get rid of GEs you wouldn't normally be inclined to take (for example, a science core like Crown's if you plan on just taking Phil classes). Take a look at the course descriptions for each of them; they all have their merits. Personally, I'm glad I chose Stevenson, though a lot of people hate it because it's a 2-quarter (used to be 3-quarter) core. </p>
<p>It may matter which college you choose for how your academic life will be. Each of the colleges has a stereotype for what kind of students it attracts, and it's a stereotype for a reason! You can make anywhere work, though. I do warn you that the campus is VERY college centric -- you even graduate from your college, not UCSC at large.</p>
<p>The Village is not a very good place. It has a terrible reputation for being remote, overpriced, difficult to access and the place where all the social rejects who couldn't hack it go. You also aren't allowed any parking priveleges ever, whereas other colleges occassionally have (very rare) opportunities to obtain a pass. I'm a first-year, my boyfriend a second-year, and we have an E and it works fine (we live off-campus). The Village is also known for being VERY far from campus proper, and also overpriced.</p>
<p>You will want to consider removal from the rest of campus when you join your college. For example, Crown/Merrill are at the top of a rather steep hill, which can be quite tiring/annoying when you have to go up and down it several times a day. Stevenson is stuck way in the back corner, and no buses go there until night (you have to walk through Cowell or from Merrill). Oakes is waaaay out on the other edge of campus, and is far removed from the road. Porter and Kresge are close neighbors, but are also at the "bottom" of campus. </p>
<p>The excellent thing about the layout of campus is that it's pretty close together. With a little effort, you can walk/bus anywhere you need to go (classes, dorms, food, shops, etc) in 20 minutes or so.</p>
<p>The hippies generalization is very true, so beware if you are conservative. It was a very scary time for me (who is, as you can guess, conservative) around elections! There is a small representation of conservatives, but we are overwhelmingly the majority. This is on campus, though; the rest of SC is pretty evenly split, though it still tends toward liberalism. </p>
<p>I can answer most questions you can come up with (except stuff about dorms unless they're 10, as I've never lived in the dorms), so feel free to PM me or AIM me. :)</p>
<p>UCSC sounds like a great campus</p>