It was word of mouth for our kids. They knew not to even bother to apply because of the housing mess that has gone on at the school for years.
They said that the residents don’t want to “change the community” and go out, in force to deny any new dorm buildings considered by the school to develop in the area.
They don’t rent out rooms to students because they don’t want extra cars or college-related issues in their neighborhoods. (Even though they have extra rooms!)
The daughter of my hairdresser, received a full scholarship to Santa Cruz and when I asked my hairdresser, what will she do about housing in her 2nd year? That’s when she called her daughter, and the daughter spoke to current students attending from her high school. They all told her that the housing situation was ridiculous, stressful and not worth the effort. Most of the students she spoke to were planning on transferring out.
They can’t afford the gas, rent, and the time it takes to commute to the school.