<p>Bikes are definitely worth it. It may be tiring (lots of hills and all), but it's the best bet for reliably getting to classes or getting around downtown (though Pacific prohibits bikes on the sidewalks and the streets aren't quite marked for it). It is especially useful if you live off campus.</p>
<p>A car can be worth it, but probably not. You won't need it, the buses cover pretty much anything of interest (beach, downtown, Capitola, and Watsonville if you really want to; there are also connections to San Jose), and gas and parking can really add up (gas hovering around $2/gallon most weeks, parking passes going for about $45/month IF you can get one; even having a pass doesn't guarantee availability of parking, and the lots are pretty far from class).</p>
<p>The beach isn't terribly far away, but the campus isn't right on the shore, that's for sure. It takes me about 15 minutes to bike there from my apartment, and I'm within 10 minutes of downtown. I'd guess about 30 minutes by bus. That doesn't phase most people, though, who regularly take trips to Mammoth and Tahoe during the winter.</p>
<p>I am brave (I wasn't kidding about it being scary around elections), but I am also transferring. It's extremely difficult to find a safe forum for expressing dissenting opinions on campus, though classes are generally havens. The vegan thing isn't rampant, but there are a lot of "alternative" and health food joints around, and there's definitely a vegan representation in the dining halls (at 9/10, I think around 1/3 of their offerings were 'vegan-friendly').</p>
<p>I don't know how hard or easy it is to get singles. I don't know much about housing in general. The boyfriend got his first choice college, and had a terrible roommate (the only one on his floor who didn't like the match-up). He got into a single the next quarter without much issue, but he may've gotten lucky. By all rights, though, unless you have some pressing reason for needing a single, I'd recommend a double. Your roommate and your floormates will become your best friends, at least for the first few weeks (something I missed out on by choosing to live in an apartment off-campus). Most people get their first choice in colleges if they turn their forms in on time, but beyond that you don't have much say in your housing arrangements as a freshman. </p>
<p>Lessee...</p>
<p>Porter: the artsy/hippie college. There are a lot of the people who typify Santa Cruz that room here, but as Fish Wrap maintains (that's one of the on-campus newspapers), not everything you hear is true. They have gotten the reputation for being the most "free spirited," though, and they are where the First Rain Run begins (which is, consequently, often called the Porter Run).</p>
<p>Kresge: the lit college. Most lit majors go here, for whatever reasons. Maybe because the office is there? Maybe because of the core? I really don't know. That's the most pervasive stereotype, though. The apartments are also a big draw, and they have a co-op cafe where you can use your flexi-dollars (and it's also really good).</p>
<p>Oakes: this is the college with the multicultural focus. Their core is "Values and Change in a Diverse Society" and they have ethnic housing. While the idea is diversity, most people tend to go there to stick with things they're familiar with -- it's been called The Asian College and the Minority College that I've heard. It's also pretty remote, but it's not that hard to get to and is still on campus and directly off the loop (the main road around campus).</p>
<p>Merrill: Merrill houses the only Honors College program that is university wide (the honors system at UCSC is wacky: there are honors in the majors & honors by college (both obtainable by really good grades and probably some kind of project), and also the Dean's List and Chancellor's List (for GPA)), which includes the opportunity for a 3-quarter core and a community project. The honors at Merrill is closer to the "regular" honors programs you'll hear about at other colleges: special living arrangements (an honors hall in Merrill), honors classes you take together (honors core), etc. I don't hear much about Merrill except for the complaints regarding the hill people have to walk up.</p>
<p>Stevenson: Inexplicably called the Jewish College. I guess it does have a large number of Jewish students, but I never noticed that it made that much of a difference (I actually only heard that this week in core!). Stevenson has the only college-wide multi-quarter core (that is, ALL Stevenson freshman take 2 quarters of core, as opposed to the 20-odd Merrill honors students who take a year core; it used to be 3-quarters, and this is the first year it's been less than that), which a lot of people consider pretentious/annoying. Stevenson REALLY takes pride in its status as the second college on campus, and it also takes pride in being "intellectual." I haven't noticed that it's that much different from others, but that's what it likes to claim.</p>
<p>College Nine/Ten: Most often, they are mentioned together. They are pretty much the twin colleges, and the only real difference between them is their core. They're also right next to each other and, because they're brand new (opened in 2000 and 2002), they haven't quite earned the right to a proper reputation. So far, they're where the social sciences majors tend to hang out, which makes sense since they're built right next to the Social Sciences cluster (and have related cores). </p>
<p>Crown and College Eight I almost never hear about, so I can't help you there, sorry!</p>
<p>I personally wouldn't recommend choosing a college based on proximity to your classes because there most likely won't BE one place where your classes usually are. The whole campus is fair game for any class, as evidenced by my taking Math 11A (Calculus) in the same room last quarter as my Lit 1 (Literary Interpretation) course. Usually classes are put where they fit, but going too far into their wacky scheduling/assignment thingy is beyond the scope of my understanding. Suffice to say, there likely won't be one place where your classes will be.</p>
<p>You may want to consider a college where your academic peers will be. For an example of that, look at each college's core and what GEs they cover. Colleges 9 & 10 attract social sciences majors, Crown attracts science/math majors, Kresge lit majors, Porter arts majors (including theater and film), and so on. </p>
<p>A word about core: almost everyone learns to hate it. It's the first chance for a freshman to get one-on-one experience with their professors (or lecturers, as not all the instructors are professors), and it's also a place to hone writing and critical reading skills. It's kinda like the "Intro to College" classes you hear about at community colleges, only with a theme. </p>
<p>Also mind the evals! In addition to letter grades (or pass/fail, if you choose), you get evals. These can be good or they can be bad. A lot of people feel that grad schools don't even look at these, but I would think it silly to pass up the chance to see a personal evaluation from the instructor/TA of the class written at the time the class was taken. They're small blurbs, and most professors don't write more than a narrative account of how you did on exams/papers, but some professors can write some truly excellent things, and it is THOSE evals that are the most useful.</p>
<p>Mind you, this is only my experience, and it's a pretty non-traditional one as I'm a first-year living off-campus who had prior experience with the school and is considering transferring to a school that is, in some ways, its polar opposite.</p>