UCSC, Long Beach, or Cal Poly for Marine Biology

College Search & Selection
1

Hi everyone,

I’m a marine bio major. I applied to UCSC, Monterey, SFSU, CSULB, and Cal Poly for Fall 2019 Transfer from a CC. So far I’ve been accepted to SFSU and CSULB. I’m assuming I’ll get into UCSC, and let’s say, hypothetically, I also get into Cal Poly.

Out of those 5 options, UCSC, Poly, and LB are the top 3 choices.

Pros and Cons of each school:

I’m from the Central Coast and I live pretty close to Cal Poly, so I don’t necessarily LOVE the idea of going there, because I kind of want to get out of this area (just to experience something new). However, I work at an aquarium that is closely associated with Poly, so I already know a lot of students and professors there, and it would be pretty easy to find housing.

I’ve been to the Long Beach campus and surrounding area a lot, because I did volleyball camp there 5 times. That area is not my favorite. However, I wasn’t expecting to get into Long Beach because it has such a low acceptance rate. Also, housing is a lot cheaper there than SC.

Santa Cruz has been my number one choice for a while, because of the area (and the surf there) and marine bio program. However, housing is SO ridiculously expensive. I’m also wondering if it’s better to go to a highly ranked CSU like Poly or LB than a mid-lower ranked UC like Santa Cruz.

A friend of mine recently told me that housing shouldn’t really be a factor when you’re trying to pick a program, he said “I’d rather be broke for a few years, and have a valuable college experience and get the degree that I want, than have an affordable apt but have a program that isn’t a good fit”. Which I thought was pretty solid advice.

I’m having a really hard time deciding, so I would appreciate any input/experiences you have. Again, my major is marine bio so I’d really like to know which of those three schools are best for that program. Lastly, I’m planning on going to grad school, preferably Scripps. I’ve heard which school you go to doesn’t necessarily dictate what grad program you get into… but I’d gladly take any advice you have on that matter.

Thank you very much.

2

Did you run the Net price calculator for both the CSU’s and UC’s? With the Blue and Gold scholarship, Cal grant and Federal aid if eligible, UCSC might be affordable. I would wait until you have all your acceptances and FA packages in hand before eliminating any schools at this point.

3

In case you haven’t seen this, here’s the link to the CSU Coastal Resources,
including Research Vessels, Dive programs and Marine Facilities for the CSU system.
Be sure to check out the major requirements and read the course descriptions for the major at each school.
Good luck.

https://www2.calstate.edu/impact-of-the-csu/research/coast/coastal-resources/Pages/csu-marine-resources.aspx

4

Hi Gumbymom, I guess I should have mentioned… My dad is technically a disabled veteran, so my tuition is paid for. I am also eligible for the Pell Grant, though it doesn’t fully cover housing and books, etc. I would prefer to not take out student loans, and I have a decent amount of money saved. I haven’t totally eliminated any schools yet, I guess my question was more about each school’s marine bio program more than the cost of each. Thank you for your response! :slight_smile:

5

Hi hop, thanks! I think I definitely need to do more research into each school’s program, I’ll check out that link for sure. Thanks again!