<p>Where should I go?</p>
<p>UC Santa Cruz
CSU Northridge
or a local community college</p>
<p>I would like to major in something biology-related as pre-pharmacy.</p>
<p>mvstudent...lots of variables here. UCSC would be the top choice if there are no financial considerations. The CSUs are more affordable and obviously the CCs even more. If you did the CC route, would you mind living at home for two more years? If you were to go to a CSU, why Northridge? There are other CSUs that are probably better. And why only UCSC? Would you not consider the others. Are you a senior and these are the three options you have after acceptances?</p>
<p>i only applied to UCSC, CSUN (i love LA), UCSB (rejected), and UCLA (rejected). UCSC, I don't have my financial aid package yet.</p>
<p>it depends what you want your college experience to be like. </p>
<p>UCSC is very liberal and attracts a certain crowd; if it fits you it can be great, if not you can feel very unwelcome and uncomfortable. Be sure to visit before enrolling.</p>
<p>CSUN is a commuter school; you'll either live at home if you're from the LA area, in their tiny dorms or in an apartment if you're not. Not much of a college feel; people drive in, attend classes, leave. Also a lot of older students going back to school, or taking a class per semester on the "forever" plan. Highlight of the school is Tommy's is in easy driving distance ;)</p>
<p>At a CC you'll need to attend for 2 years before being able to tranfer to a UC. On the plus side, classes will be smaller than at the other two. An even bigger plus is that most UCs offer guaranteed admission from a CC if you meet certain requirements; if you got into UCSC you ought to be able to meet these without too much trouble. On the downside CC's typically don't have much of a college feel to them unless you attend one in a college town and live where the students live (such as SBCC in Santa Barbara; see my post about this in the UCSB forum). Another downside is many students never get a 2-year degree, let alone a 4-year one. So your peers aren't the same as you'd find in a 4-year school.</p>
<p>CC then transfer to UCLA, UCSD, or UCB.</p>