<p>I'm transferring next fall. And I need some farther advice. I'm not sure if UCSC or UCR is the best school for me and I have never visited the campuses. I have a sibling who visited UCR, and she liked it very much.</p>
<p>Here are a few things about me.</p>
<p>-Art (photography) major and Pre-Med.
-Environmentalist
-Not a Party Person.
-I would prefer an ethnically diverse atmosphere.
-I hate crowded anything.
-Not into hot depressing weather.</p>
<p>I hear that UCSC has a great art department, but UCR has better laboratories and internships/programs for photography. UCR seems like it would have better Pre-Med courses. Any advice would surely help.</p>
<p>I live in Santa Cruz. UCSC is a a great school. I live about 15 minutes away from campus. UCSC is about 15 minutes from the beach. So you can expect the weather not to be too warm. The weather over the summer is about 70’s and can get up to the 80’s but most of the days it is about 60’s. The school is gorgeous. Surrounded by huge trees and trails. UCSC is very green friendly. Very liberal school and most of the students are enviromentalist. Some ucsc students have been living on some of the trees on campus so the school won’t cut them down. Santa Cruz is an awesome town too. we have the beach! and the boardwalk!. ucsc is not a party school but everone is nice and you can probably find some parties if you wanted too. ucsc is pretty diverse. most ucsc students are either white or asian and i see a lot of Hispanic students too. ucsc is def not crowded, so many trails to walk around, nature is beatiful here. i would highly encourage to visit ucsc.</p>
<p>there are a lot of threads like this on CC already. I bet if you google you will find a bunch.</p>
<p>Anyway, if you are aiming for Pre-Med I would say UCR. You might have heard about the Thomas Haider program, right? Well, if you haven’t, then you might want to look into it because from what I know UCR sends kids over to UCLA med school every year through that cool program…Could be you one day. Well, good luck!</p>
<p>I have friends who attend both schools. UCR is really big on partying with a very dominant Greek life on campus… however they do have a stronger Pre-Med Program… actually overall there entire science dept. is better. However UCSC has a better arts program… and while Greek isn’t as dominant they still do have their parties.</p>
<p>So I went to UCR and left because I hated it that much. So granted, I’m biased. But this is my opinon…</p>
<p>If you’re an environmentalist, UCSC is definitely for you. UCR is UGLY. Seriously. It’s smoggy, disgusting, there’s no greenery anywhere. UCSC is amazingly gorgeous, forrests, trees, animals, etc.</p>
<p>Second, UCR is not social, at all. Partying or not. Most people are commuters, or they go home every weekend. The campus literally shuts down every weekend because no one even ventures on campus. Theres no good housing on or off campus, and especially not for transfers. </p>
<p>I didn’t like UCSC either and still am not planning on going there, but it sounds like UCSC is a better fit for you.</p>
<p>Also, the weather at UCR is dismal at best. Super hot in summer, it’s dry and gross. </p>
<p>And if you hate crowded anything, good luck driving anywhere near Riverside. Inland empire is a trafficky nightmare due to commuting students and tons of people work in the Inland empire but commute because of the ****ty houses and neighborhoods.</p>
<p>UCR is also really ghetto, not collegey at all.</p>
<p>I’m sure you could find your niche there, but do you want to struggle to find it?</p>
<p>From someone who transferred from UCR, I would recommend UCSC. I haven’t been to UCSC, but it seems like everybody who went there speaks positively of it. Definitely can’t say the same about Riverside.</p>
<p>-Art (photography) major and Pre-Med: Art at UCSC is really great. Their pre-med (health sciences) is decent, but mostly geared to give students a strong foundation. Haven’t really heard anything about UCR art, but their med program is actually pretty good.</p>
<p>-Environmentalist: That should really be an easy one.</p>
<p>-Not a Party Person: You can go to UCSC and not go to a party in all 4 years if you really wanted to. UCR - Their greek like has higher participation rates and also more parties, but this really shouldn’t be a big deal. You can go to nearly any UC and stay away from parties (maybe with the exception of SB?)</p>
<p>-I would prefer an ethnically diverse atmosphere: Both schools are kind of the same, but UCR would have more Asian students.</p>
<p>-I hate crowded anything: UCSC is as “open” and “free” as it gets in terms of traffic/campus/etc (maybe with the exception of the board walk on weekends). I hated driving to UCR when I had to drop off my friend there.</p>
<p>-Not into hot depressing weather: UCSC has extreme bay weather effect and usually stays in the 70’s range and it rains quite a bit(some people find it depressing). UCR is in socal… enough said.</p>
<p>I go to UCR, and it really isnt as bad as people say it is. Most are bitter about their rejections, as was I. But you learn to get past it, and if you really give it a chance, youll enjoy it. I hear a lot of good stuff about UCSC as well, but I dont know much about it. I do know, though, that UCR is the #1 most diverse college in California, and #4 in the NATION. Also, its ‘green’ rating is 96 on a scale of 99, and it is ranked #44 overall amongst public universities. Trust you heart, and remember you can always do transfer to another UC if you do not like it. Good luck and if you have any other questions let me know :)</p>
<p>My boyfriend started at UCR this fall, and I have been to the campus frequently with him. I personally thought it was really nice campus. I liked their dining area and a lot of the buildings (the psych building specifically) is updated and really, really nice. There is an obvious presence of Greek life, but who cares? Just ignore it.
Also, he is in the Media and Culture major (film) and the classes and professors he tells me about, are amazing. I’m sure UCR has nothing on the scenerey or commuting of UCSC, but that doesn’t make them a bad school.
Also, it is waaaaay cheaper to live there, than UCSC. I have looked for apartments around both. </p>
<p>And finally, UCR is still in the top 100 schools in the country, and they are included in the “prestegious UC system” so it’s not like you’re exactly going to some no-name school in the middle of nowhere.</p>
<p>UCSC seems to be the best fit, but UCR seems to fit me academically and its closer to home (east of San Diego). The types of courses and professors are more important to me than the campus. I researched UCSC art program and its more concerned with the fine arts than with a strong emphasis on photography. Its the total opposite at UCR. Ill get to choose from a wider selection of courses. I found that both UCs would be a decent choice for pre-med, but UCSC does not have any med school programs like UCR.</p>
<p>I have really thought about it, and thanks to everyone who took the time to respond to this post. I think Im going to go for UCR not totally sure, but its just for two years. It might not kill me. The biggest problem is the crowdedness, extremely uncomfortable for me. But hey, thats California.</p>
<p>jennyjen, its good to hear from someone who goes to UCR. Do you feel safe there on campus? Is the community urban, suburban? I have also heard that UCR is environmental and conservative, which is good.</p>
<p>UCSC is so beautiful! My little sister is a freshman going there and she loves it there. She says the food sucks though. My mum and I recently went up there to visit, and it was amazing. Its right in the middle of a forest and all the wild animals roam free around the campus. So well, UCSC is great and beautiful and I’m sure if you go there you won’t regret it.
P.S don’t touch the baby deer though, because the moms tend to get *****y about it; I almost got attacked by one and all I wanted to do was touch Bambi :(.</p>
<p>HeatherBecca: What on earth possessed you to attempt to touch a wild animal? You shouldn’t even touch a domesticated animal that you do not know without permission from the owner first. It’s just common sense. You are incredibly lucky you were not hurt. Those deer will attack you if you even get between them and their baby, let alone attempt to touch their baby. I hope you wouldn’t attempt to pet the “big kitties” on campus…</p>
<p>That said, the animals on campus are actually quite docile as long as you leave them alone. They add to the wonderful atmosphere on campus and are a joy to observe. The first baby deer of the season are always such a treat to see. The baby raccoons and their antics are hilarious to watch. The campus is very much alive and a good place to be if you learn to respect that nature is dangerous. This is not a petting zoo. None of these animals are tame.</p>
<p>wolfcat: I would highly recommend visiting both campuses instead of only listening to the opinions of others regarding them. They are both wonderful in terms of academics, but they both have incredibly different feels to them. It might be that one could provide better opportunities for your specific needs, however, what if you don’t like the campus? What if it isn’t a “fit”? Only you can decide what your fit is.</p>