<p>My son really wants to go to UCSC where he was accepted. I have heard rumors that drug use is excessive (I know every school has lot of drugs) but I am worried that his personality and prior history will make him especially at risk to party his year away.
Any input, previous experience would be appreciated.
thanks, RC</p>
<p>Although I don’t attend UCSC, I did have a huge interest in going back in the day. I visited the campus, knew people going there (still know alumni and current students), and actually attend a university that’s right down the hill from UCSC. </p>
<p>Drug use is there, most definitely. But, you’re right, it’s also everywhere and on every campus. From what I observed, the most favored drug is, of course, pot. Depending on your son’s social life and interest in using drugs, he can either choose to have it on the fore-front of his life or on the back burner. It’s really entirely up to him, but the temptation is most definitely there and it’ll stay there.</p>
<p>Here’s some things to consider…
It’s a relatively small school and Santa Cruz is a small town that is somewhat isolated from bigger nearby cities. The biggest complaint I heard from students going there, is that the night life and city life get boring after awhile and you have to kind of go out of your way to find new things to do… generally pot is one of those things that eases off the boredom. So if he’s particularly at risk of ‘partying his year away’, then UCSC may increase that risk, not because the school is full of a bunch of hippies and partiers, but because the city is small and gets boring (especially in winter).</p>
<p>But hey, it’s also a great school, incredibly beautiful and full of interesting people. I’ve known plenty of well-to-do, mature individuals that spent their undergrad years there, and loved every moment of it.</p>
<p>Drugs and alcohol are present and widely available on almost every college campus (with a few notable exceptions like BYU). If you don’t want your son to partake, I’d suggest that you talk to him about it and not prohibit him from going to UCSC due to its rumored reputation because he’ll be exposed to drugs and alcohol no matter where he goes.</p>
<p>EDIT: UCSC (and most colleges) also offer substance-free housing. Why not allow him to go on the condition that he lives in a substance-free dorm?</p>
<p>If he’s going to party his year away then he’s going to party his year away, and what school he goes to won’t really change that. The best thing to do would probably be to set a GPA that he has to stay over or you stop paying his tuition.</p>
<p>in the end, it will be your son making his own choices. if you have instilled good decision-making skills in him, you have done well. finally, be at peace with the decisions he makes because they are his, not yours, and you have (theoretically) already done your best at raising him.</p>
<p>remember, drug abuse can be a problem, yes, but there are alot of bad habits that can turn fatal and that are less condemned (read: obesity).</p>
<p>in northern california marijuana use is quite prevalent on college/hs campuses.</p>
<p>This is Cali, so you’re going to see kids with medical marijuana cards, and plenty o’ fine dank.</p>
<p>So I agree with an above poster: set a minimum GPA, no matter where he goes, that he needs to hit or else you cut him off. He’s going to smoke pot. How much depends on him, but you’re not going to be there to police him. Your job as a parent is pretty much over when it comes to raising him. The choices he makes will be based on him.</p>
<p>[YouTube</a> - UCSC 420 Fried Day 2007](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_AsN-Ep7Rg]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_AsN-Ep7Rg)</p>
<p>This probably sums it up</p>
<p>I have some news for you:
There is drug use on EVERY SINGLE CAMPUS.
There are kids who were perfect little angels in high school who turn into raging partiers on day 1 of college.
And then there are the kids who struggled and had a rough time, but use college to turn their life around.</p>
<p>I don’t think a particular campus can influence your son’s decisions to do or not do drugs one way or the other. Rather, sit down with him, have a good conversation and set limits (the gpa idea is a good idea). If he truly screws up, cut him off, make him live at home and go to a local community college.</p>
<p>I’m having the exact situation as Rocunn. Down to my son’s personality and brief history of smoking weed. I’m leaning 50/50 with everyone’s opinions in my final decision to send my son to ucsc. It would be a much easier decision if he’s a perfect kid that never smoked weed before. Woffles also had some good points. The tempation is there especially when it is quite socially acceptable there. Bordom is also a factor to consider. I also quite agree with the GPA sanction and downgrade to cc as these ideas matched
my recourses. Thanks everyone !</p>
<p>I think you guys all underestimate the percentage of college kids that smoke pot. It’s at least 25%.</p>
<p>And I doubt there’s a single college kid in the country who could not get pot if he was willing to spend a hour looking for it. I mean, I could probably find pot right now, at 2 AM in the Morning here.</p>
<p>Of course, culture matters a lot, and certain places are far more conducive to smoking pot than others. </p>
<p>Depends on the kid.</p>
<p>He’s going to find drugs on every campus lol, come on is this serious?</p>
<p>You can request to live on a sober floor, but it is California…</p>
<p>substance free floors are just a way for parents to have peace of mind. Im guessing less than half of the students picked a substance free floor without their parents forcing them to.</p>
<p>Substance free floors mean you have to get off your butt and go up a floor to get high. I have friends who were pressured into living on one, and it really hasn’t done much else but that.</p>
<p>Really, you can’t keep your kids safe from drugs by trying to prevent access to them. There are almost no colleges where they would be unable to find some pot at least given a few hours, and there are very good reasons you probably don’t want to send your kid to those few that are left. For that matter, once they graduate you can’t do much at all.</p>
<p>… keep in mind there are 15K students at UCSC and given its academic level ranking - #29 National Level Public University in USNWR’s 2010 best colleges report (way above some very well know National Level Schools with big sports programs) and high average GPA/SAT so there are clearly serious students at this school … note UCSB is Playboy’s #8 party school for 2010 and that school has a very high ranking as well … if the majority of the student body was drinking and smoking all the time, these programs would not be at this level … in general it takes a lot to keep up at these schools and chronic partiers will fall behind … Socially acceptable? I think that debate is long over since now we have had 2 Presidents that have admitted drug use - except one didn’t inhale … pot is everywhere and the temptation is on every campus (except some super religious ones) and will continue after college as well … self management is one of the key lessons to learn in college</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. I think that is most logical. Beside the drug reputation, I hope other aspects of college life and experience are good or better.</p>
<p>Best,</p>