My son was admitted to both for CS. Any opinions either way? Two very different schools. I’m particularly interested in reasons why a person would choose one CS department over the other as well as one school environment over the other.
Does cost differ or matter?
Cost doesn’t matter. My son did receive OOS award for both schools.
Demographics will be very different. Do you think he might prefer slower paced semesters at Mines vs quarters at UC’s? My son attends UCI Bren for CS. He was able to test out of calc with AP Calc BC. No multivariable calc or difficult physics required for uci CS. I would check the degree requirements for both and see if he feels more comfortable with one over the other.
Does he want to ski or go to the beach?
1 Like
He seems to think the quarter system wouldn’t be that different from what he is used to now in terms of pace of classes. Then again, he has never attended a college course aside from the “simulation” with AP. That’s a good point about the physics requirements that he definitely would have at Mines. I assume that the overall curriculum at the UCs are similar but I’ll check with UCSC. I know he’d prefer less classes that require writing essays, hence less humanities requirements which he would have at UCSC.
No skiing but he has hiked in northern Colorado many times in summer. He does like the idea of being near the beach and being able to see the ocean from campus.
While some AP courses (e.g. calculus BC in one year starting from completion of precalculus) cover material at the same speed as college courses, many (e.g. calculus AB) cover material at a slower pace.
Under the quarter system, 30 weeks of instruction are cut into three 10 week quarters, and the summer session is another 10 week quarter. Under the more common semester system, 30 weeks of instruction are cut into two 15 week semesters, and the summer session is usually a half length term of around 8 weeks.
So, for example, a year long single variable calculus sequence is commonly cut into three quarters on the quarter system and two semesters on the semester system.
However, it looks like UCSC offers single variable calculus in two quarters of 5 credit courses instead of three quarters of 3 or 4 credit courses, so the speed may be faster for this particular sequence.
1 Like
Hey there! I’m a current freshman at UCSC and I was in a similar position as you. I had to choose between UCSC, UCI, UCD, Cal Poly SLO, Colorado Boulder, and Mines for computer science and I ultimately decided to go with UCSC. Remote learning has been a little weird, but given the 6 months I’ve spent with UCSC so far, I couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else. If you have any specific questions, feel free to reach out.
1 Like
Thanks for popping up over here- what made UCSC stand out over Mines in terms of both the CS department/curriculum/opportunities and the overall school environment? And after 6 months, how has your impression of the school changed or remained the same? Was there anything in particular about Mines that was a negative for you? And anything in particular you remember liking?
Curriculum-wise, I wouldn’t say UCSC “stood out” compared to Mines, but UCSC had way more connections and a much stronger alumni base in the Bay Area which is a blessing to have. These past 6 months have been pretty brutal in terms of academics, but I’m going to college to learn and I can confidently say that I have learned a TON!
I’ve been a pretty big snowboarder my entire life, and as I’m sure you’re familiar with, there are some great mountains nearby Golden Colorado. However, I knew that I loved the warm, ocean vibes more than the constant cold, rainy weather so I wasn’t too hurt giving up the slopes to live in paradise. And by the way, by paradise I mean paradise; the weather is always perfect, the city is always filled with fun things to do, and the coast is the most beautiful place in the world. Somehow, Santa Cruz has better weather than Santa Barbara, and that’s saying a lot.
In the past two months, a Microsoft recruiting team came to UCSC and I was able to meet current software engineers, build my resume that will increase my chances at landing a job, and got some very valuable insight towards what I can do to get a headstart in my Silicon Valley career. My time in Santa Cruz so far has been perfect and I couldn’t ask for more.
2 Likes
You’re off base with the weather. It rarely rains and is sometimes cold but not constantly.
For OP, do you want mostly males or a gender balance?
1 Like
@Justinbecause thanks for posting. We are from Santa Barbara too and my S got into CS at UCSC. It is a great option for him since he is also interested in taking more bio classes. He wants cooler weather and more rain than SB. Did you have any trouble getting classes assigned? How is the vibe vs. SB?
1 Like
Thank you for this detailed and well thought out response. I love that you were able to meet this team from Microsoft. And definitely the proximity to SV and having the alumni base there is a plus. My son ultimately wants to be in California for his future career rather than Colorado.
How is it managing the physical size of the school? I understand using the bus system is key in getting around or can you make it easily between class if you just walk? And currently do you have any in-person classes? What are the remote classes like? Have TAs and profs been accessible? And lastly, are you living on campus and have you been from the start? How has that been going? What is it like being on campus during this pandemic?
I really appreciate your first hand insights. Enjoy your spring break!
My son doesn’t seem to mind the gender imbalance of Mines. The diversity spread of Mines mirrors our area of New York. Same for the political feel (ie, more purple than one way or another). I like that UCSC has a more diverse mix of students. It has a reputation for being much more left wing than other schools, and certainly as compared to Mines. My son is pretty apolitical so far, so all he wants is an accepting environment.
Thanks for your reply- he actually prefers going to UCI but got in undeclared rather than straight into CS. Still looking to see if it is realistic to get into the major as undeclared or if it is too much of a gamble. We do have the flow charts for both UCSC and Mines for comparison. Good point to check the specific requirement differences.
Flowsheet for UCSC: https://undergrad.soe.ucsc.edu/sites/default/files/curriculum-charts/2020-10/CS_BS_20-21_0.pdf
1 Like
I think one of the biggest differences between the two of these after you take out the obvious of location, vibe, weather is the classes and class size.
My son is finishing up his junior year in CS/Video games at UCSC and loves it BUT one of the difficulties of UCSC is large classes and getting into them.
I compared several spring class sizes between Mines and UCSC, and at UCSC you get BIG LECTURE CLASSES with sections led by TAs. Into to comp sci is 50 students at mines and 450 at UCSC. Data Structures is 60-70 this spring at Mines, 120 at UCSC. Discrete Math is 80 at Mines and 400 at UCSC.
So, how does your son learn and are big lectures good for him or does he want smaller more hands-on classes.
Also UCSC is impacted, meaning there are more students wanting to be in certain classes than there are spots in those classes. Students - especially if they don’t have advanced standing due to lots of AP classes - can find themselves unable to find a spot in the classes they need or want. My son hasn’t had too much problem with this, although, yes, we have had some over the years, but he had sophomore standing as a freshman which gave him an earlier registration time. He could usually get two things he wanted, but often had to scramble for the third. The complaint you hear most often about UCSC on Reddit is that students can’t get into their classes.
But the other student is right - it’s right next to Silicon Valley, there is good teaching, and the location near the beach could not be prettier. Campus culture is very laid back and you get to see deer every day.
We love it, but there are some negatives.
3 Likes
The impaction of classes is definitely a concern. That seems to be the case for a lot of schools in California given the high demand for the CS major there. We have definitely considered the greater ease in getting the classes you want or need as well as the overall class size. With my son doing all of his high school classes remotely this year, he feels as though class size may not matter so much. However, I’m not sure how well he will be able to get himself noticed in a department that is as large as the one at UCSC. He does have a few APs that can get him out of having to take the lowest level CS class required foe the major as well as boost his standing in getting a better enrollment time, but the stress of having to deal with this each quarter would ideally be unnecessary.
Well, unfortunately, I haven’t experienced the bus system yet because of covid but I’ve heard that they are always pretty crowded. I also heard that many people don’t take the bus and either walk/bike/skate to class instead. The campus is pretty spaced out, but all the engineering buildings are pretty close to each other. Look up science hill and you’ll see what I mean. I don’t have any in-person classes but I’ve easily adapted to the remote learning style. Professors have been very accessible which was a shock to me given that some classes are pretty big and the TA’s are seriously some of the most helpful people I’ve ever met.
I don’t live on campus, but I live near downtown SC. Santa Cruz has managed to keep their fun city vibe while making sure to keep people safe. As for how social life is on campus, I’ve heard it’s a ghost town. I have some friends living in the dorms and they say it’s fine but I feel like all college campuses in California are ghost towns.
1 Like