University of California-Santa Cruz Top Questions

Throughout highschool, my first choice college was USC. I wanted to be a film major, and live the fast-paced life that Los Angeles entails. However, after I developed bulimia everything went downhill. My health took priority over school, resulting in lower grades. I didn't beat myself up over it though, because the experience taught me more about myself than I had ever learned. I was in a treatment facility for young women with eating disorders when I got the rejection letter from USC.

Do not look at typical rankings, instead visit the school see if you like the atmosphere, research fascilities, and the specific programs of interest. Talk to as many students and staff as possible, sit in on a class and ask yourself ,if you can see yourself graduating from here? Explore the nearest town! Your success lies in how comfortable/happy you will be at this school. Afterall you are committing a huge investment in both time and money! Truthfully ignore the rankings that tell you to go to Cal or Stanford just because.... you should be going to these places only if it is truly your ideal learning environment that you feel you will benefit from! Message to parents, schools have changed, what you believe was UC Santa Cruz in the 1960's is no longer the case. I really do hope you open up your eyes to find that what matters most is the future of your student and their success! Afterall I can't tell you how many students end up at huge/popular campuses, depressed about the environment and too scared to tell their parents that this wasn't for them. Do as much research as possible!

College is very much a personal choice and it may not necessarily be the correct one, so it is important to figure out what suits the prospective student best before even choosing a college. I think that, while it is important to have ideas in mind as to what kind of career you would like after completing college, it is also just as important to keep an open mind about college, and to seek out and take any opportunities to help you.

Follow your instinct on what school you think is right for you. Visit all of the campuses that interest you and talk with the students, professors and counselors to get an idea of what the school is all about. Look through the course catalog...find the sections that look most intersting and see if the classes offered appear like classes you would want to take, or if they seem boring and unengaging. All schools have different academic atmospheres, so its important to find a school with an offering of classes that seem intersting to you. Lastly, dont consider the "merit" or "rank" of the school in the top determining factors. Whether or not you will be happy at a school doesnt correlate to what everyone else thinks about it's prestige. College is an amazing time where you will make some life long friends and learn life long lessons. If done right, an education in any major or subject should prepare you with enough critical thinking and analytical skills to succeed in any profession. Happy college searching!

I would advise students and their parents to visit the college campus and explore the pros and cons of attending that school. If a student is interested in a specific study area, they should investigate how good the study program for that college is and compare it to other colleges. A student should spend some time with another student attending that college and see how well they can fit into the environment around them. Parents should find a faculty member to talk to and see what the faculty staff member has to say about the campus.

I think the most important aspect of choosing a college is the availability of the students proposed major or, if their major is unknown, classes or subjects the college focuses on that the student finds interesting. I am not saying, however, that a school should be based on this alone. The success of a student depends on the social aspects too. A student is more likely to succeed if they feel comfortable in their new environment. Making friends cannot only benefit the student from being overwhelmed with the changes of moving to college but can also improve grades. Having friends that have interests and in the classes that are the same helps when it comes to school work by forming study groups. This allows for the student to not have to solely rely on the availability of the professors and TAs. However, that should be taken into consideration. This information is best from current students, but can usually be found on web sites and it varies from professor to professor. The best way to know if a college is the best fit is to go visit the campus, talk to students and see if the atmosphere is right for you.

I did not do much research before going to school, infact I did not even go down to see the campus until after I was accepted. I went into college like most people do not knowing what I was going to major in, however I wish I had done something more practical. To make the most out of college experience make sure to take advantage of the resorces in front of you, and make sure to participate in internships.... these will help you for the future and give you more credibility when you graduate. Make sure you enjoy the campus and surrounding area, you will be spending a large amount (years) here! Picking the right college is difficult, read about the programs offered that intrest you, this will be what you will be studying and this is what you really want to focus on. Take advantage of the college experience, there are many opportuinitys offered.

If you enjoy the city life, don't go to Santa Cruz.

If you want to make the most of your college experience, learn to balance your work time, because obviously your classes are the most important thing that you're doing, but you have to also be able to balance your play time too, or else life's no fun. College isnt only a place to recieve an education; Its also a place to find yourself and discover who you are and can be as an adult in the real world. Your parents arent around to take care of you anymore, its all about yourself. Learn to find the right balance between everything in your life and life happily as a person.

Your experience in college is entirely what you make of it. Mine is wildly different from "the typical college experience." Rather than the clusterfuckery of heavy bass I'd imagined 'partying' to be, it turns out that people with interesting thoughts often imerge. Additionally, you can study WHATEVER YOU WANT. I take classes in Linguistics, as well as studying Japanese and apply the skills I learn from them to help me write lyrics for my rock band, Bran (182 at house parties). I consider all of these things to be my studies and that is the point. You are in college to learn about everything you ever wanted to know. Remember that the reason that these scholarships exist is to ease some of what could be a potential lifetime of repayment for your tuition and descision to attend university. Your time, if wasted, could lead to you winding yourself into the system created by the prominence of the supposedly well-educated. But know that if you have anything that you want to do, and are serious about pursuing it, you will be able to at a school that you like the personality of.