empirescrumble

So, I got in, and I accepted their offer of admission! I'll be moving up there Christmas week to start in January! Now I have a couple of questions:

1) How do I get a CruzID so that I can get a CruzMail account?

2) As a current student, is there anything you wish you knew while you were getting ready to transfer and move up to SC (about UCSC, the town itself, off-campus housing, financial aid, and anything else remotely related)? Anything you've learned being at UCSC that you wish you knew while you were getting ready to move/transfer up there? For what it's worth, I'm a 26 year old "nontraditional" student.

Any information would be great help. If anyone cares, I won't be living on campus, but here are my college preferences:

1) College Ten
2) College Nine
3) Kresge College
4) Stevenson College
5) Cowell College

estrellatuya

1) you get the cruzid automatically when you enroll, it's probably your first initial and last name. but for some reason we can't activate them yet lol. i wouldn't worry about it until november when you get your college affiliation.

empirescrumble

Thanks. I figured out where to go for the CruzID. I was logged into AIS and not MyUCSC. Have you ranked your college preferences yet, estrellatuya?

Kender

I've avoided posting ever because I have nothing useful to say, but I have some info that might be beneficial to others in regards to the CruzID email.

I submitted my SIR last week, but a few days after my activation link appeared I still wasn't able to activate it, so I contacted ITS. The message I was given was that the system probably needs another day or two of overnight updates and to keep trying every day.

I'm not sure if this applies to others, but I was told if I was still unable to activate it after Thursday, then I should reopen on Friday the ticket I had submitted previously. Just keep trying and if you're still having issues, just use the contact email to submit a trouble ticket. Don't forget to include the code provided on the error page.

Also, although it's more for prospective students rather than those already admitted, there's a transfer specific preview day on October 17. There's going to be lots of information given out as well as one of the usual campus tours from what it sounds like. I signed up to go and indicated I was a Winter 2010 transfer and it went through no problems so I'm sure it'll be the same for others. There's a 9am, a 12pm, and a 2pm session.

There is Winter Orientation, of course, but that's not until December 11. But I'm also crazy and have a thousand questions to ask financial aid, housing, STARS, and my major's department and I don't want to wait that long. Personally, I'd start discussions with your intended major's department as soon as the winter schedule is up (November 2) or even sooner. Don't forget to make sure they will be attending Winter Orientation also!

stephahoe

College Ten is awesome! Everything is 10-15 minutes away, plus the dining hall is open till 12.

empirescrumble

Thanks for the tip, stephahoe! Which college are you in? It doesn't really matter too much which college you're assigned to if you're living off-campus, right?

Kender, My CruzID and @ucsc.edu email address started working today. I sent it a test email, and received it on my phone a second later. So, if you haven't checked it yet, you should!

By the way, anyone else going to winter orientation on 12/11? I'll be there. If you're going, make sure to have classes in mind to enroll in since we can choose classes that day. And try to get in touch with your department chairs to get the ball rolling on declaring your major. If you're not going to orientation, I think you can enroll in classes on 12/14.

Kender

I checked it all day yesterday, but it wasn't working until very late last night. I'm very happy I did not have to harass ITS again. Anywho, thanks, though I am very glad to see it's working for others as well!

And yes, for those not going to the December 11 orientation, you will be able to register for your classes on December 14. If one can either afford the $110 orientation fee or get lucky enough to get it waived (if the app fee was waived, then the SIR fee, housing down payment, and orientation fee will be waived as well), it is definitely beneficial to go. And to add to the recommendation of coming prepared with a schedule: come prepared with backup schedules in case you can't get your first choice classes.

Merrily

I, too, am a winter 2010 transfer and having trouble getting my CruzID...the people at ITS said that my account "isn't ready" and to check in a week or two... :/

empirescrumble

Okay, first of all, if you're on Facebook, join this group!

UCSC Winter 2010 Transfers | Facebook

Second of all, that's weird, Merrily. My CruzID started working on 10/8, pretty late at night, but I had tried to activate it since 10/7. I called ITS that day, and they told me the exact same thing back then, and it started working the next night. So, keep trying! You never know when it might start working! :]

Kender

Merrily: Just keep trying every day. I submitted my SIR on either 10/1 or 10/2 (I don't remember the exact date, I was waffling over what order to put my college preference in pretty late into the night so could have switched to the next day) and got my activation link the day after. It took until extremely late on 10/8 for mine to finally activate.

I recommend checking in the morning and in the evening every day. I'd say if yours hasn't activated within a week after the link appeared, then contact ITS again (unless they told you a specific day to contact them if there's still issues).

Merrily

Thanks for the tips, guys! Yeah, I figured it would be a waiting game so I'll be sure to check it throughout the week. So has anyone received any official correspondence yet?