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College Prowler

Academics

I came to Santa Cruz because the marine biology program here is one of the top in the country. The Long Marine Lab is 15 minutes away from campus, and this is where they run all labs and experiments, as well as do field research. The teachers I have had so far for the general requirements like chem and bio are honestly boring. They read directly off the slides, and they all put their slides online anyway—everything comes directly from the book. However, the TAs are great! I had a really good TA who was always available for extra help and any questions about class. They are the ones you will end up going to for help, not the actual teachers.

Athletics

UC Santa Cruz doesn't have the largest focus on sports. We have sports such as swimming, tennis, basketball and volleyball, but no football and baseball, which kind of makes us lack spirit. There are club teams such as track and lacrosse. Intramural sports are a good way to meet people on campus, and you can choose different leagues depending on how competitive you are. We have volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball, touch football, and some others.

Facilities

There are two athletic facilities on campus, and one of them has a 1.5-mile jogging track, three soccer fields, tennis courts, pools, indoor and outdoor basketball courts, racquetball courts, a full-sized gym, and martial arts rooms. The other athletic facility is smaller but you can find basketball, tennis, soccer and, I think, racquetball there, too. The campus is not laid out in straight roads, so in the beginning it might not make sense, but you will get used to it and learn all the secret paths through the middle. The layout has a very organic feel because they made sure that when they built it, they would disrupt the landscape as little as possible.

Greek Life

Fraternity life at UCSC is about as lame and tasteless as my grandmother’s tupperware collection. There really is no Greek scene in comparison to other schools like SDSU, Chico, or UCLA.

Guys & Girls

You’ll find a lot of natural beauty and many a dreadlocked boy and girl here. Hemp and patchouli can sometimes be overwhelming around campus, as Santa Cruz is home to a lot of new-age hippies.

Local Atmosphere

The atmosphere in Santa Cruz is, in a word, ‘mellow.’ People here are mostly educated and conscious of the world and the environment. Students from places like Santa Clara and Stanford (where it sucks) come to Santa Cruz to unwind and see the ocean and forests. Stay away from the big co-op houses, where it is dirty and run in a communist fashion. Definitely visit the beaches, namely Lighthouse Point, and watch the sunset, and see the monarchs at Natural Bridges. Also, the Pogonip on campus is unbelievable.

Nightlife

A cool bar to go to is the Red Room. Everything is red! The Blue Lagoon is a bar and dance club. Technically it’s a gay bar, as Santa Cruz is a gay-friendly place, but I went there many times and, to be quite honest, it’s more straight than gay. It was really the only place to go dancing.

Off-Campus Dining

Off campus, there are a ton of good pizza places and practically any other type of food you could want. I love Woodstock's Pizza, Kianti's, Pizza My Heart, Saturn Café, and Noah's Bagels. Since it's so easy to get off campus with the buses, it's not hard at all to get away from the dining hall.

Off-Campus Housing

It can be pretty tricky to find good off-campus housing. There is a huge demand because Santa Cruz is such a wonderful place to live. If you’re willing to thoroughly search though, I think it’s completely worth it. When I lived on campus, I tended to feel isolated because it is situated on such a big hill. On the weekends, the bus system isn’t that great. When you’re a freshman, it’s no big deal because your social scene is on campus. As you get older, though, you start to head to off-campus parties and the bars when you are 21. Santa Cruz is a really great city, and you don’t get the overall urban feel when you live on campus.

Overall Experience

I love this campus. It's a big change from everything I'm used to, being from San Diego. To be honest, it was my last choice of college, but after not getting into a lot of places and doing some more research about it, I found that this place is better than you may initially think. The air is fresh from all the beautiful tall trees, there is barely any pollution since we aren't in a big city, and it's an eco-friendly campus. It has a relaxed atmosphere, which makes it a lot easier to learn and progress at what speed you choose, and it's not as competitive as other universities. There is less pressure and more help available than I think other universities can offer.

Parking

I think if you live far from campus and you have a car, it is worth it to buy a permit. My advice is to apply for the permit as soon as you can because the best ones go fast. If you are able to get a C permit, which allows you to park at certain colleges and East Field House, you’ll be better off. Otherwise, you usually get stuck with a remote permit and you have to hike up from the East and West Lots everyday. There are also carpool permits, which are possibly your best bet if you can find someone to share the permit with.

Safety & Security

Security is pretty good, and I always feel safe on campus. I think the biggest crime here would be theft, but that's easily avoided if you're good about taking care of your stuff. There are security guards manning the entrances to campus every night starting at 8 p.m., and you have to show an ID card to get in after that. We have a blue-light system that makes you feel safer if you're walking around at night, and you can often find police officers just making rounds. Other than that, common sense is pretty much a given.

Transportation

Public transportation is great. Not only are there UCSC campus buses running pretty much 24/7 to most parts of campus, there are also Santa Cruz Metro buses that can take you from any of the dorms to tons of places around Santa Cruz. This includes the downtown Metro station, which will connect you to a bus that can take you almost anywhere else in the area! Sometimes they're late, but with all the hills here, it's better than nothing.

Weather

I'm from SoCal, so Santa Cruz is a little colder than what I'm used to, but it's not too bad. During the winter it can rain quite a bit, but since the campus is in a Redwood forest you kind of need the rain to support it. The coldest night I can remember was something like 37 degrees in the dead of winter, but in the spring and summer, it will hit the 80s and be perfect beach weather.

Campus Dining

The food is pretty good for dining hall food, but it could be better. I wish that College 9's dining hall had a smoothie station like Crown and Merrill's dining hall. It doesn't even have to have fresh fruit, just as long as there is a pretty good selection of frozen fruits to make a smoothie out of. It would also be nice if there was real ice cream, rather than just the self-serve frozen yogurt. We should have a better variety of main dishes each day, as well. I like the salad bar, all the breads and sandwich stations, the cappuccino, and cereal. Also, we should have chocolate chip cookies more often—warm, soft, and chewy cookies are the best. Tacos Moreno is the best place ever!

Campus Housing

The reaon why people avoid Crown and Merril is because to you have to climb up a very steep hill to get home. Stevenson and Cowell have views with the gym hella close. Kresge and Porter are hippie regions with artists and musicians. College 9 and College 10 are in the middle of campus, so it's easy to get around, and they are the newest. College 8 looks like one of those inn hotels or something. Oakes is in the forest and on the edge of campus, but i'ts faster to get downtown on the bus that way. the doubles are big, the triples can be big or small, the quads are a fantasticly cheap luxury with private balcony, and the singles are cool. Apartments here are also nice. Views offered are trees, a path, meadow, Monterey Bay, or a road.

Campus Strictness

If you get caught with drugs, you are in big trouble. Drinking is definitely not allowed, but you’d be much better off getting busted with alcohol than with narcotics. Usually if you get caught drinking by an RA or proctor they won’t call the police right away, unless it’s a very serious situation.

Computers

The computer labs are hardly ever crowded—you are almost guaranteed that a computer will be available. The labs always have someone there to help you, and getting what you need finished is always easy. UCSC uses a very useful system that bills directly to your account if you need stuff printed. And, although it's pretty expensive to print a page, I've been happy with my experiences at a lab. Most students bring a computer—mostly laptops, but there are some students who prefer desktops. Overall, I'd recommend everyone bring their own computer, mainly for convenience.

Diversity

There is not much diversity on campus, except maybe sexually. All are welcome here. Sadly, the student body is mostly white students, most of whom come from somewhat wealthy backgrounds. With tuition rates constantly rising, it's no surprise that many poorer students transfer to the local community college for lower prices. Politically, this is a very liberal campus. Students do come from various religious backgrounds, but religion does not a play a role on the social or academic environments.

Drug Scene

Every drug imaginable can be found somewhere in Santa Cruz. Without doubt, weed and mushrooms dominate the drug scene, but coke is around. Opium, LSD, and other stuff is fairly easy to get, as well. There was even some heroin going around Kresge for a while last year, and Porter is a regular chemical smorgasbord.