Academics
The University of California—Santa Cruz offers one of the nation’s best combinations of “focus on scholastic endeavors in a beautiful forest setting” and is, by all accounts “a great place to live and study!” Students attribute their enthusiasm to “intelligent, eloquent, and easily accessible professors,” academics that are “impressive and challenging,” and fellow students who are “happy, open-minded, and a little bit crazy.” This school is best suited to those who can motivate themselves in a “chill” environment and the sort of student whose motto might be, “There’s no point in learning if you’re too stressed to enjoy it.” The sciences are “world-class” at UCSC, and the school also boasts “one of the finest engineering programs in the UCs” as well as “a great marine biology program.” While the “professors all do research,” what sets them apart from those at the typical research-driven university is that “they are very passionate about their subject even when teaching undergrads,” and they “also tend to be quite approachable despite having large class sizes and allow students to attend their office hours for extra help.” The school also offers undergrads “a lot of opportunities in terms of internships, research opportunities, job opportunities, and networking.” “There’s a focus on undergraduate study” here, one student contentedly reports.
Student Body
“The ‘stereotypical’ Santa Cruz student is a hippie,” and the school certainly has its fair share of those, but “there are many different types who attend UCSC.” ”The typical student is very hardworking,” and “it seems that almost every student here has a personal passion, whether it be an activism or cause of some sort, etc.,” one student writes. “Everyone is so…alive.” “Most are liberal,” and there’s a definite propensity for earnestness; it’s the sort of place where students declare without irony that they “not only possess a great respect for one another but the world and life in general. The world to an average UCSC student is a sacred and beautiful place to be shared and enjoyed by all its inhabitants.”
Campus Life
Undergrads rave about the “take-your-breath-away beauty” of the heavily wooded UCSC campus; one says it’s like “taking paths through the forest that resemble Endor only to find a lecture hall at the end.” Another adds, “Almost every time my friends and I walk around outside, someone comments on how lucky we are to be surrounded by such beauty. Whether the silvery ocean, the fog in the trees, the wind in the fields of green, the wildlife such as deer, raccoons, squirrels, newts, etc., it all comes together like a painting.” The school’s setting means “there is much to do recreationally, such as hiking, biking, swimming, trail running, tree climbing, or rock-climbing. You can walk in any direction and find some hiking trail that leads to some other part of the forest.” Students note that, “It is also nice to get off campus from time to time and enjoy the city of Santa Cruz. Downtown is lively and usually has something fun going on such as local farmer’s markets and cultural festivals.” Ambitious students “may head to San Jose or San Francisco on the weekend for a more rowdy bar or club scene.” Both cities are “readily accessible via public transportation.” The party scene on and off campus consists of “mostly decentralized, smaller parties, due to the near-absence of fraternities and sororities.”
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