<p>So basically I got rejected to every other UC and now im stuck between the two. The problem with UCSC is that i live only 45 minutes away from the campus, when I want to be far off to college. Oppsingly, UCR is in a perfect location for me, but it has such a bad reputation I dont want to be embarrassed of going to the college I go to. Please give me the best advice possible, thank you!</p>
<p>I heard UCR sucks</p>
<p>It was rated #13 for least happy students by the Princeton Review--something like that</p>
<p>I can almost guarantee you you will be not only much better off academically at UCSC, but you will be much happier there, regardless of how close you are to home</p>
<p>okay, no matter how many people try to convince you ucr isn't all that bad, they always focus on the tidbits of sunshine within the mammoth blackhole that is uc riverside. The atmosphere is absolutely depressing- a ghost town really - and the students don't care much for their school. Ugly buildings, boring place, and again no one really excited to be there. Students probably weren't interesting enough to woo other the uc's so what does that say about themselves.If college is what you make of it, this college actually fights back. Think about it, no one chooses to go to ucr so who are the people who actually go? these students had to settle for riverside.</p>
<p>You could always move to Santa Monica, go to Santa Monica City College, then transfer to UCLA.</p>
<p>That's harsh, Igiveineasily. I agree only to an extent. UCSC is academically superior to UCR. College isn't all about leaving home and being as far away as possible. Think about the long term.</p>
<p>escomatic, Riverside is not an interesting town. The students score significanly lower than those at UCSC, or Cal Poly SLO for that matter. If that is where you fit, that's great. But you can infer from your acceptance to UCSC that you fit in a higher bracket of academic performance. Take it!</p>
<p>I might even suggest San Diego St over UCR... they are similar academically, and San Diego St. has a very pretty campus, great weather, no smog (I'm coughing just <em>thinking</em> about UCR), and great athletics if that matters to you.</p>
<p>Puddly, the point of a site like this is to speak plainly.... the OP needs honest input.</p>
<p>I would choose UCSC definitely</p>
<p>UCR. forsure.</p>
<p>UCR isn't embarrassing at all! I have a few friends who go there and chose it over UCSC. They absolutely love it.
Going to school 45 minutes away from home is definitely not a big change, especially in the Bay Area...</p>
<p>UCRiverside 100%!!! Go! For sure!</p>
<p>you have a month to decide. Why not visit Riverside and see what you think?</p>
<p>please keep it comming, dont stop!</p>
<p>try and visit both schools and see what you like from each.
but if u want my two cents, id choose UCSC</p>
<p>If you don't mind me asking, where do you live? Going from the bay area to UCSC would still be a definite change, especially if you live in a major city, Similarly, if you live somewhere to the east, it could also be significant change for other reasons. If you live in Monterey or something, its true that it is a bit less of a change. Even that would be a lot different though. Santa Cruz really has its own unique vibe that is hard to come by elsewhere. The closest I've seen is in North Hampton Massachuesetts, but they don't have the whole surfer culture, so its still way different. I can't actually think of anywhere that is quite like Santa Cruz.</p>
<p>If you're concerned about having more contact with your family than you would like, remember that that is partly within your control. 45 minutes is still a significant drive, and you can always say that you have way too much homework to have time to make it that often. </p>
<p>I have never been to Riverside, but I have grown up in Santa Cruz (well technically in a little town near it, where there is very little to do without going to Santa Cruz), and it is a wonderful place to live. My current goal in life is to be a professor at UCSC (or maybe Stanford, if I end up being really succesful) so that I can live here. We have the ocean, beautiful forests, the boardwalk, political activism, and independent thinking all in a warm, relaxed atmosphere. I went to COSMOS at UCSC last summer, and it was great. The campus is absoloutley gourgeous, and the professors that taught our classes were extremley approachable and friendly. It even has fairly strong academic programs in Marine Biology, Theater, and Astronomy (and probably other subjects that I know less about). </p>
<p>I confess that I am probabky not even applying to UCSC for the same reason that you aren't sure you want to go there, but that's because I essentially live in Santa Cruz, so it would not be a change at all, and there would probably be people there from my high school, which is a definite negative (then again, there might not be - those people probably won't even go to college). Even so, if I ended up in a situation where I had to choose between UCSC and UCR it would be no contest in my mind. I would choose UCSC in a heartbeat. I'm probably in an entirely different situation than you, so that doesn't mean that it should be an easy choice for you, but, as irrelevant as my opinion really is, I would suggest UCSC.</p>
<p>Sorry that was so long, I just thought I'd get all of my thoughts out there.</p>
<p>First of all UCR does not "suck" I swear we californians are so spoiled we refer to a top 100 school in the nation (96 US News) as sucking. But of the two campuses, I think you should go with the best financial package. If all things are equal ask yourself where would you prefer to live the desert (with access to Palm Springs and Joshua Tree) OR the woods of Santa Cruz. I do not know what your major is but you might be surprised how high some departments are ranked at both schools. </p>
<p>I think it really depends on who you are and what you want from your campus. I mean, some people really like Riverside. My English teacher went there and loved it...but shes kinda dull and slightly cruel. But I know I wouldnt want to pay a lot of money to live in Riverside, even if it is near Joshua Tree and Palm Springs (...actually i hate palm springs except when Coachella rolls in town :))
Obviously I chose Santa Cruz. In my opinion, 45 minutes away is a good distance where if ya get tired smelly or just bored you can crash back home no sweat. </p>
<p>my sister had to make the decision of CSU long beach and UCR... she chose CSULB. </p>
<p>I like dunninla's answer. if Cal Poly is more interesting than UCR, I think your decision is clear hahaha. (btw, Cal Poly was one of my top schools. i chose UCSC over it because its b.o.r.i.n.g.)</p>
<p>wow this post makes no sense, so i hope yall can read it okay. and maybe it helped? </p>
<p>oh yeah and ditto to UCLA PHD- look up your majors ranking. maybe UCR is like super in (insert major here) and UCSC isnt. thats a lot more important than the town.</p>
<p>I go to UCR, and Riverside is just such a crappy city in comparison to what I hear about Santa Cruz. Really, I would recommend going to UCSC.</p>
<p>UCSC has a really nice campus, better academics, and just a great feeling. I have never been to UCR, but I have been to Riverside. Riverside is full of warehouses and smog. and that kind of sounds like what UCR is, based on what I have heard. I have no idea whats right for you, but UCSC is really nice, and really, what could beat the bay area? I have lived here all my life and love it</p>
<p>Kk lets clear up any misconceptions we have right now…</p>
<p>UCR ranks 89th and UCSC ranks 96th for USNWR National Universities…hello?</p>
<p>UCR is building a brand new medical school, which is supposed to happen in about 2012, but I think is experiencing some delays. Nevertheless, California’s first new medical school in 40 yeras. </p>
<p>UCR has something called the Thomas Haider program, for students interested in the medical career pathway. The program reserves 24 seats for entrance into UCLA medical school. The first 2 years are completed at UCR, and the last 2 are completed at UCLA. The diploma awarded is identical to a UCLA med school diploma…HELLO?</p>
<p>I got into CSULB, UCR, UC Merced, and UC Santa Cruz. I chose UCR for the above reasons, I’ll be a freshman this fall. I wasn’t too thrilled about any of the colleges I got into, as my dream school was UCLA. I guess I’m a bit biased, since I want to go to Med School in 4 years.</p>
<p>UCR and UCSC attract students with very similar intelligence levels. Or rather, students with very similar data (GPA and SAT). There are a few bright ones, a lot of average ones, and quite a few dull ones. The only difference is that UCSC is 50% white, wheras UCR is 18% white. Personally, I didn’t care about that, but I know it’s an issue to a lot of people, so maybe UCR isn’t for you…</p>
<p>P.S. to the girl who rejected UCR for CSULB, you are a fool.</p>
<p>Patrick_Bateman wrote:</p>
<h2>“UCR and UCSC attract students … very similar data (GPA and SAT).”</h2>
<p>Sort of. UCSC is enough higher that I made note of it in my review of the UCs. On 2006 data, UCSC is 1145 (25th/75th average) and UCR is 1040. HELLO… that is over 100 points difference on the SAT. UCR’s 1040 is lower than San Diego St. which is at 1050, and Cal Poly SLO which is 1185. (these scores do not allow Superscoring, which would typically add 40 or so points on the two part score).</p>
<p>If you think SAT scores matter at all, 100 points is a huge gap.</p>
<p>As to your decision to accept UCR’s offer because of a special program suited to your needs, that’s great. That’s the way everyone should approach this college choice process.</p>