<p>I'm probably gonna go to UCSC, but I'm having trouble deciding on which colleges I should apply to... so for anyone who's been in UCSC or knows anything about the colleges:
Which college out of the ten is the best in your experience?
For a major in psychology, which one should I go to?
Which one has the best dorms, food, atmosphere?
Thanks.</p>
<p>i got in, but will not be attending. I think my housing dreamsheet would have looked like:
1. College Ten
2. College Nine</p>
<p>i'm not a c19 fan, they're all stuck up there (yeay stereotypes!!)</p>
<p>major has NOTHING to do with your college. unless you're really lazy and want your major's classes a 2 min walk from your dorm. best atmosphere=porter, best food=19</p>
<p>Kewkiekid is correct. Freshmen have to live in the dormitories, as opposed to the apartments, and the most recently built dorms tend to be in the best condition as well as being designed with the most recent college conveniences in mind. Here that means Colleges Nine and Ten - their dorms (if they have them) are the newest because those are the most recently built colleges. Even if they have only apartments for freshmen instead of dormitories, their apartments will be newer than the dorms of the older colleges.</p>
<p>I don't have recent information as to how food varies between colleges. My only recent information on campus food is that the cafeteria food overall is much worse than in previous years.</p>
<p>There is one other point to consider, though - convenient transportation to off-campus. There Cowell is best due to the location of bus routes. My son Leo found that to be the case during his freshman year at Cowell, and its then-Provost had made that point to both my sons when I asked him to sell them on UCSC in general and Cowell in particular. Leo also lived in a newly built apartment at Cowell last year and said the bus going right by there was really useful.</p>
<p>How is the atmosphere at Cowell and Porter?</p>
<p>Hi all, thanks for the info. I was wondering however... I am going to go to UCSC in the Fall majoring in astrophysics. I have heard that Crown is kinda the school for science majors, and I know that I should not pick a college based solely on major, but I kinda like that geeky-vibe (if that makes sense). What is it like at Crown? I also heard that Colleges 9/10 were actually closer to science hill, do a lot of science majors live there? I am also probably gonna bring my PC down and I was wondering where, if anywhere, the video-gamer crowd is? Any suggestions, knowlede, or lymriks which might help me in my post-high school exestential quandry would be much appreciated.</p>
<p>Ambrosia,</p>
<p>This is from my daughter, who is returning to Porter after a year off:</p>
<p>"Porter creates closer & easier contact between students than Cowell because the dorms are individually larger, and arranged around a central square. Its layout is like a Japanese garden, conducive to peace and harmony. The focus is on natural beauty- whereas the other colleges are mostly utilitarian and functional, Porter is more about creativity. Porter is the site of the annual Queer Fashion Show, where students work together to design clothes, choreograph dances, and direct or act in performance art. Porter isn't just popular for art students; many science and humanities majors feel most comfortable at Porter."</p>
<p>Enigma,</p>
<p>The principal disadvantage of Crown is the hills. If you are assigned to a lower quad dorm, you'll get plenty of exercise just getting to the cafeteria. Anyone with short legs should avoid Crown.</p>
<p>Crown's science emphasis died 30 years ago. There is little to choose between the colleges in terms of academics. I have no idea about "geeky vibes". UC Santa Cruz is probably the best of the UC campuses for undergraduate geeks, and especially freshmen and sophomores, because of its undergraduate emphasis and smaller class sizes.</p>
<p>I recommend Colleges Nine and Ten because they are newer. Science major freshmen should avoid Cowell because its dorms are made of concrete and so are noisier, which makes odd hours sleeping difficult when you have lab classes scheduled at odd hours.</p>
<p>The PC gamer crowd is everywhere - you'll have no problem there at any of the UCSC colleges.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info Tom!</p>
<p>Oh yea I have another question. I was actually considering Porter for a while, but I heard the drug use is rampant in that college. I'm not into drugs at all. From what I heard, doing drugs is kind of a lifestyle at that college, and although I'm really into art and creativity, I don't want to be constantly around everyone getting high off pot. Is this stereotype true?</p>
<p>Hi, I am a second year student at UCSC, living at Porter college. I havent declared a major yet, but I intend to study theatre arts, philosophy, and/or elementary education. My earlier post in this thread sucked so heres a much more worthwhile response:</p>
<p>Which college out of the ten is the best in your experience?
Its impossible to say this enough times, but every college is good. You really have to visit the campus to get the feel of each college, but you will probably be happy wherever you are. The major differences in the colleges are the academic focus (which really only matters for your core class) and the style of housing. Each college has distinct housing, except 9 and 10 which are structurally identical.</p>
<p>For a major in XXX, which one should I go to?
Your major shouldnt make any difference where you live. Some students select colleges that are aligned with their majors, but the majority do not. i.e. Everyone thinks the majority of Porter student study some form of art, but actually the most common major here is Bio/Marine Bio. </p>
<p>Which one has the best dorms, food, atmosphere?
Again, visit the campus. Porter tends to have more of a fun/community atmosphere because of the central quad. You find people in the quad at any hour of the day or night. Im not sure what the other colleges are like in that respect, but no others have a central area to congregate.</p>
<p>Food is technically the same at all dining halls, but youll notice some differences. A couple distinguishing factors are:
-Porter has all round tables, while the other dining halls have mostly rectangular tables with a few round tables.<br>
-College 9/10 (or, as we call it, c19) tends to have more options and has a standard pizza station at all meals
-Each college has an alternative eatery that will accept flexis on your meal plan. Each meal plan starts with $50 in flexis that you can use like cash all over campus. Each eatery is different from the rest, theres deli, pizza, Mexican, etc.</p>
<p>There is a wide variety of dorm styles.
Porter is the most traditional dorm housing, with 2 large buildings that house ~300 students each. Crown and Stevenson both have small houses with ~30-60 students in each. Kresge is ONLY apartments. Check out each colleges website for exact details.</p>
<p>All colleges except Kresge now have new apartments, which are primarily for upper class students, but its possible to squirrel your way into them your second quarter here. Also, plenty of students continue to live in the dorms beyond their first year. The apartments are VERY competitive, so they go to seniors and juniors first. If you are desperate for an apartment as a freshman, live at Kresge.</p>
<p>Also, colleges 9 and 10 are brand new, so they have the "nicest" and newest dorms. Please don't pick 9/10 just for that, you'll be ridiculed by the rest of campus for it. Trust me on that.</p>
<p>have heard that Crown is kinda the school for science majors, and I know that I should not pick a college based solely on major, but I kinda like that geeky-vibe (if that makes sense). What is it like at Crown?
Crown is definitely more science based than other colleges, and tend to have more of the gaming events and such than other colleges. However, you will find this niche at each college. VISIT CAMPUS.</p>
<p>I also heard that Colleges 9/10 were actually closer to science hill, do a lot of science majors live there?
C 9/10 are closest to science hill, but you can get there quickly from nearly anywhere on campus. Unless youre at the base of campus, you can get anywhere in central campus in 20 mins</p>
<p>I am also probably gonna bring my PC down and I was wondering where, if anywhere, the video-gamer crowd is?
Youll find this more at Crown, but I know there is an active gaming community at Porter, and probably other college as well. Porter has an annual 24 hour video game tournament.</p>
<p>Oh yea I have another question. I was actually considering Porter for a while, but I heard the drug use is rampant in that college. I'm not into drugs at all. From what I heard, doing drugs is kind of a lifestyle at that college, and although I'm really into art and creativity, I don't want to be constantly around everyone getting high off pot. Is this stereotype true?</p>
<p>You will find drugs wherever you go, but I think Porter is just more open about it. You dont have to drink/smoke/do drugs to fit in, there are plenty of people who dont. HOWEVER, if you are looking for substances of any kind, theyre probably easier to find at Porter than some other colleges. No one will pressure you to do drugs, but theyre there if you want. </p>
<p>Hey Tom, I know you went to UCSC as well as your kids, but I disagree with some of your statements.
Freshmen have to live in the dormitories, as opposed to the apartments.
Not true, its possible (hard, but possible) to get into apartments as a froshperson. And if youre at Kresge, thats the only option!</p>
<p>Cowell is best due to the location of bus routes.
Each college has a bus stop, at most youll walk 2 mins from your dorm to a stop. Personally Id HATE to live in the Cowell apartments because the traffic over there is horrendous, its like living on a busy suburban street. With lots of j-walkers.</p>
<p>Ok well I do have finals at 8 am that I should be studying for right now. Feel free to ask more/PM/IM me with any specifics.</p>
<p>First off, thanks to Tom and kewkiekid for answering my last post. So I have it down to two colleges; Crown or College 9. However, from what I can see there are definite advantages and disadvantages to both. Crown: Advantages; Science emphasis, awsome core class, gamer crowd. Disadvantages; the hill (images of trying to walk up that in the rain with a 12 pound backpack), farther from science classes. College 9: Advantages; closer to science classes, still semi-cool core class, some game culture, new dorms, good food. Disadvantages; no direct science emphasis, new college = lack of personality. So my question is this, dose anyone have any info on either college that would help me make my choice (types of people, which has better dorms, closeness to key parts of campus, etc.)? I have visited the college so I know what they both look like, but don't really know about what goes on inside. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>enigma,</p>
<p>My son (Little Fuzzy) says Crown's core course isn't that much better than Nine's - that college selection based on core courses is valid only concerning the ones to avoid (i.e., Merrill's). Core courses are generally just one quarter, but the food is all year.</p>
<p>Ease of access to the rest of the campus includes considerations of vertical distance as well as horizontal. I hated getting to Crown from Stevenson, and my girlfriend was at Crown. At least Crown has asphalt paths now.</p>
<p>Could anyone go through all the colleges and give a little desription of them? I think 9, 10, porter and crown are well covered in this post but I'm really curious about the others. I also was just sent an email about Merrill College Freshman Scholars Program, does anyone know anything about that?</p>
<p>I have a question? I am going ot be a freshman, do I have to live in the dorms ???</p>
<p>anybody knows how to send sat scores and ap scores
through mail or collegeboard? so confused</p>
<p>I got the same Merrill College Freshman Scholars Program e-mail...can someone talk about it or Merrill College in general?</p>
<p>Merrill College Freshman Scholars Program is a great opportunity, it's like being in an honors program frosh year.</p>
<p>REALLY basic description of colleges:</p>
<p>Stevenson - stereotype of the "jewish" college, the second college (read: older dorms), smaller 'houses' of dorms that house ~40(not sure?) students each. core is 2 quarters, theme is "self and society". physically located on the east side, on the far side of cowell, right about the athletic fields and gym.</p>
<p>Cowell - first college, a good mix of people without a strong stereotype, theme/motto: "The pursuit of truth in the company of friends.", located on the east side between stevenson and the bookstore/the new humanities complex. i've never been in the dorms there, but they're the oldest on campus. housing is in multiple medium sized buildings.</p>
<p>Crown - sterotype of "nerds/geeks/technology/etc", located above "cardiac hill" (your legs will hate you) - north of cowell/stevenson/bookstore and east of science hill and c19, housing is smaller buildings with ~60 students each, theme is "Ethical Issues In Emerging Technologies", really small dorm rooms</p>
<p>i'll get to the rest later...gotta pack to get back to school!</p>
<p>danielriga - nope, but i would recommend it.</p>
<p>I attended Stevenson 1967-71. My girlfriend was at Crown and then off-campus. I had several friends at Cowell. Merrill and Porter opened for students for the fall of 1968 and the fall of 1969 - I went to those only for classes. I am familiar with Stevenson, Cowell and Crown.</p>
<p>Stevenson's dorms hold about 50-55 students when each floor has a lounge, and @ 60 with one or no lounges per dorm. The rooms are more oblong than Cowell's, which tend to be more boxy and square, so the Stevenson rooms have more effective space. The rooms in Crown's dorms were more like Stevenson's than Cowell's.</p>
<p>Cowell's dorms are noisier than Stevenson's or Crown's due to construction materials. Stevenson's dorms have all-wood floors and so are easier on the feet. When I visited Stevenson in 1998, its dorms had hideous dark wood paneling in the hallways which made the dorms quite claustrophobic, especially as all the lounges were converted into residential rooms.</p>
<p>Crown's buildings are on a very steep hill and there is a considerable elevation distance between the lower quad of dorms and the other buildings. Cowell's lower dorms are on a less steep hill. Stevenson's lower quad is on a small slope. Avoid the lower quad dorms at Crown if you go there - your legs will thank you. But it will do wonders for your cardio-vascular system.</p>
<p>There is an asphalt path around Stevenson's lower quad overlooking the ocean which provides one of the most gorgeous views on campus. It was so breath-taking that I walked it every day it wasn't raining for four years. Oakes and College Eight have similar views for their lower quads.</p>
<p>The main bus route on and off campus runs right by Cowell. This is very, very convenient for bringing groceries on campus from the local Safeway. It cuts about 15-20 minutes off the round-trip time from campus to Safeway and back compared to every other college, and minimizes the walking distance to dorms/apartments from the bus stop with loads of groceries compared to the other colleges. My son found this very convenient, and Cowell's then provost Laudusaw had mentioned it when I asked him to sell my sons on UCSC in general and Cowell in particular. Leo (Little Fuzzy on this board) said that Laudusaw was correct on that point.</p>
<p>Leo told me that the very short distance from the Cowell bus stop to the new Cowell apartments makes the apartments noisier than those of other colleges. He thought it was a fair trade-off - he lived in one of the apartments there for the 2004-05 school year.</p>
<p>Which college has co-ed halls?</p>