<p>I must admit - I can be a pretty bad existentialist. I'm finding it really difficult to find the college that's the best fit for me. While I'm absolutely in love with the University, I can't seem to narrow my residential college choice down. Insofar as I'm not able to make it down to visit the University until after the residential deadline, I'm in need of help discerning the feel for each of the schools, especially in relation to my interests. </p>
<ul>
<li>I'm highly interested in philosophy, politics and labor studies </li>
<li>I'm a very vocal member of the far left </li>
<li>I'm deeply interested in social activism, continental philosophy and projects concerning social justice</li>
<li>Diversity, both gender, and racial is very important</li>
<li>I love the redwoods </li>
<li>I'm on a tough budget </li>
<li>I must admit, i don't mind the Kresege drug culture. That's actually a plus for me </li>
<li>I'm very academically driven </li>
<li>I'm interested in networking with students interested in research in the aforementioned fields</li>
</ul>
<p>I’m in the same boat as you but from what I hear Cowell has a very liberal core course. Also Oakes is supposed to be very racially diverse. However where I’m drawn is Porter (which I hear has a somewhat drug culture, but not quite to the same extent, from what I hear 4/20 in porter field is supposed to be insane) because I want the typical dormitory experience and the courtyard quad thing is really awesome. </p>
<p>My main reasons are that it is decent proximity to the science buildings, I like artsy people (even though I’m not particularly artsy), it is near a bunch of mountain bike/walking trails that lead into the redwoods (then again the whole campus is surrounded by redwoods anyway).</p>
<p>Also with your interest in diversity you might like the pride day (which I believe is put on by porter and kresge but dont quote me)</p>
<p>But then again there are plenty of other colleges with a more humanities focus if that is more what your into.</p>
<p>I think you’d be a good match for Kresge, Porter too but not as much. I should note that I see a LOT of social justice events advertised as taking place at C9/10 though. I get bombarded with related posters every time I enter their dining hall. C10’s theme is Social Justice and Community, though I don’t know how much that influences the student body there.</p>
<p>Also, when it comes to research, it’s more important to network with graduate students and professors. If you want to pitch a project you usually need a professor to back it, if you want to take part then many graduate students have research projects.</p>