<p>Hi, I'm brand new to this forum, and I'd like to ask for some advice.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, I applied to UCB, UCLA, UCD, UCSC. </p>
<p>My first choice was UCD cause I had a bunch of friends that went down there and I thought I had a very good chance of getting admitting knowing the stats of my friends' record. </p>
<p>Low and Behold! I was rejected from UCD and that friggin' crushed me. My first choice was gone....Noooo!!! (long story short, I went "emo" for a day or two...snapped out of it soon enough) </p>
<p>I didn't get into UCB or UCLA either...then again for the whole four years of high school, I never expected to. So whatever...moving along.</p>
<p>What I wanna get some feedback on is wheter I should go to a Junior College for 2 years then transfer to a UC or go straight into UCSC.</p>
<p>I'm leaning towards UCSC as an immediate route cause I'm not looking forward to staying home for another 2 years. On the other hand though, I can save a hell of a lot of moolah.</p>
<p>What's yall take on things?</p>
<p>how 'bout spend the money at a jc that has dorms? what do you want to study? Do you even like the SC campus? (some love it and others hate it)</p>
<p>If I choose to take the JC route, I don't see the point of spending more money, cause the point of the JC route, for me, is to save it. </p>
<p>I really don't know what exactly I want to study...as of this moment, I'm leaning towards biological sciences...which exact field, I dunno. From what I hear, UCSC has a decent research department.</p>
<p>That's the thing, I'm going to visit the campus sometime during spring break to check it out...I've been to Santa Cruz city several times before, it's a nice lookin' town...but I haven't visited the campus. From what I hear, it's very nature-y. I think I will like that, but then again...I'm the kind of person that could adapt to anything pretty quickly.</p>
<p>College should be about more than just getting a piece of paper. The experiences along the way, friends you meet, activities you take part in, and so on are all an integral part of the experience. At least this is how many people (but not everyone) looks at it.</p>
<p>Going to a JC and living at home deprives you of a lot of this, unless you put effort into getting involved and doing more than just going to class a few hours a day. That's why BB made a good suggestion about a JC that has dorms, or at least attending one away from home (my suggestion). One plus of a JC is that you can get into a program that guarantees admission to Davis or any other UC except Cal & UCLA.</p>
<p>As for UCSC, visit and make sure you are comfortable with the people there. Its very left-leaning, and if that's a fit then you might love it; but if not, you can feel very out of place. The students enrolled there matter much more than the look of the campus to whether you'll like it there!</p>
<p>Yeah, I totally agree with what everyone is saying. </p>
<p>From what I'm hearing about UCSC(via posts on this site)...it's starting to sound more and more a fit for me. But still I need to actually visit it.</p>
<p>I mean, I'm all for liberal-ness and the laid-back attitude...in fact, I've gotten through High School with that Laid-back attitude (perhaps that's why I was rejected to all schools but UCSC).</p>
<p>That stuff is all good...so I'm gonna switch the topic up a bit and ask if anyone knows about the undergraduate education quality at UCSC. That, right now is the biggest obstacle that is keeping me from diving head first into the campus. The reputation of the school is among the bottom rungs of the UC system and that is a turn-off for me. </p>
<p>How is the academics at that school? It would be great to hear from current students or alumni.</p>