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College Prowler

Local Atmosphere

San Francisco has a fun and funky atmosphere where often anything goes! With this said, keep an open mind. A wide array of cultural influences allows students to explore world cuisine, languages, music, and even religion. Some students might take longer to adjust to such diversity, but they should be encouraged to broaden their cultural and philosophical horizons. Other universities are present but of little importance. SF State is sometimes good for the student in need of additional library resources, if nothing else. Fun attractions include classic streetcar and cable car rides, Alamo Square for all you Olsen twin fans, Ocean Beach for twilight bonfires, and Baker Beach for the exhibitionist in us all.

Nightlife

There aren’t really a lot of parties on campus that I know of, other than mostly a few people just hanging out. There are some good bars, depending on what you like. Yancy’s Saloon on Irving is a really cool bar. For clubs, you could go to Union Street or you could go to bars on Geary.

Off-Campus Dining

San Francisco has a reputation for some of the best food in the world, so off-campus restaurants are excellent. From Russian to Thai and even Spanish cuisine, the city has it all! A variety of local haunts are available to settle your exotic craving for papusas, pelmeni, and paella. Near-campus dining includes Taqueria Balazo (Mexican food on Haight Street for spicy south-of-the-border delights), Mel’s Drive-In (traditional 1950s American fare—an experience you’ll never forget), Arguello Market (fresh salads and hand-carved sandwiches), and Cinderella’s Bakery (Russian dinners and pastries that keep the local ‘comrades’ coming back for more). Restaurants in the Richmond District offer more options. Pacific Café is a ‘city secret’ that serves up the freshest, most delicious seafood the bay has to offer. Golden Gate Park’s famous Beach Chalet dishes up California cuisine and microbrews with great views of Ocean Beach and the roaring Pacific. Clement Street, the city’s unofficial ‘second Chinatown,’ is lined with Asian, French, and Russian selections all within walking distance to USF.

Off-Campus Housing

Off-campus housing is very convenient and is about the same price as dorms and a lot more comfortable. It is definitely worth it, and the student bus pass makes for easy travel to and from off-campus housing.

Overall Experience

I am so unbelievably glad I transferred here. The tuition is extremely high, but part of that can be expected from a city like San Francisco. I love this school, though, and the city. The size is small, but not so small you can’t meet anyone new. I also enjoy the faculty and the aesthetics of the campus. It’s absolutely beautiful! Especially Saint Ignatius Church, when it’s lit up at night and shrouded in fog, it’s absolutely beautiful. I’m also glad USF is making so many renovations because they were long overdue. The renovations will make the school even better for years to come.

Parking

Parking is horrible. Sometimes it may take half an hour to find a spot, and even then, you’d have to move your car in two hours’ time, or the DPT (Department of Parking and Traffic) will ‘reward’ you with a ticket. You can park on Lone Mountain for six dollars, but even that parking lot has limited spaces. USF has very few all-day parking spots available, and it really angers me. How can you possibly move your car to another spot without getting a ticket when you have a three-hour class?

Safety & Security

Security hasn’t been too good this semester. There have been quite a few robberies, particularly people being threatened in the dark corners of the campus. If you’re going to be walking around in the dark, make sure you’re accompanied by a large group of friends or call for an escort.

Transportation

San Francisco’s public transportation system, called the MUNI, can get you just about anywhere on the peninsula. The student bus pass included in tuition gets you unlimited access to any bus, streetcar, and cable car in town, so take advantage and enjoy! BART stations along Market Street are great for east bay escapes like Berkeley, Lake Merrit, or the Oakland Coliseum.

Weather

When you first come to school in the fall, expect to be in shorts until around Halloween. Then it gets foggy, cold, and rainy well past winter break. If you’re lucky, by spring break, you’ll get a beach weekend in. I haven’t experienced the city in May, though, but spring is a beautiful time of year here. Basically, fall and spring are the best, and the summer and winter are almost the same.

Academics

The professors are mixed in terms of professionalism and skill. The core classes are generally boring and useless, which should be expected to a certain extent, but not in some instances. The honors program is highly recommended in terms of the valuable skills of analysis and contextualization it promotes, as well as the broad socio-historical dialogue it produces. I wouldn’t suggest the Saint Ignatius Institute because they can seem overbearing at times.

Athletics

I don’t think the varsity sports are very big, and we really don’t have a lot of school spirit. I think one of the reasons why is because we don’t have a band; all great sports schools have a great band, and it really does help. I think the intramurals have a lot of options and are above average.

Campus Dining

Food on campus isn’t too bad, but just like anything else, too much of it can get old really quickly. There aren’t any real differences in the food venues because they’re all catered by one big mega-company. If you want less picked-over food, go to Lone Mountain.

Campus Housing

Dorms are cool, but get old after the second year. While they are good for social networking, it’s difficult to deal with no privacy and minimal personal space constantly. It’s very much like living in the public eye. Here’s the breakdown: Gillson is a refurbished freshman dorm, and Hayes-Healy is also a freshmen dorm, but it’s still pretty clean and, like Gillson, it can be very loud and social. Phelan is loud and in the middle of everything, but it is also really big and impersonal. Lone Mountain is older and much quieter because it’s secluded. Fromm is all girls, Pedro is too far and too cruddy, and Loyola Village is cool but also very impersonal.

Campus Strictness

They can be pretty strict and unwavering. I once got caught just having a bottle of alcohol in my room, unopened. They took it away, even though it was decorative, and made me go to counseling. It’s best not to leave any alcohol paraphernalia in view.

Computers

I brought my own computer, so I’ve never had a problem, but I have noticed that the library computers are usually taken, and the computer lab is always full. If you know where to go and explore, there are open computers, like on the second floor of the library. They have Internet access and Microsoft Word, so if a research paper is due, you have all you need.

Diversity

The University’s diversity is average, but in a city like San Francisco, which offers the cultures of the world, finding your own cultural or racial niche shouldn’t be too difficult. On campus, the more diverse students tend to be drawn to subjects that reflect their own respective cultures.

Drug Scene

It depends on who you hang out with, just like anywhere else. There are crowds that are heavily into everything, one drug, or just heavily into drinking. There are people that are even strictly sober. Pick the one that fits you best.

Facilities

The facilities are good, for the most part. Some of the buildings are getting pretty old, and a few of the elevators get stuck at times. However, it seems that a lot of renovating is being done, so hopefully that all will be taken care of soon. As for the athletic facilities—the student gym (Koret) is very nice, up-to-date, and well-kept. The library is a good building, though some books have to be sent from other libraries because the amount of books is lacking. A lot of work has been done to the University Center in the last couple years, though I’m not sure that it is worth it, because students don’t seem to be in there a ton. Perhaps more of that money could go to renovating the dorms and some of the older buildings.

Greek Life

It is not dominant at all, unless you decide you want it to be, I guess. You will not have a problem being social without associating with Greek life, if you don’t want to, which is nice. That way, you can make the choice and do what you want to do.

Guys & Girls

I’ve noticed more ladies than guys on campus, which isn’t too bad, considering in San Francisco, there’s less competition (if you know what I mean). If you run out of options for a weekend date, there are plenty of other fine ladies at the various neighboring universities. Note: the UCSF med-students, especially the guys, are always looking for girls.