the majority of my friends go to ucsd and a lot of them are actually disappointed with the environment, saying that it’s pretty overrated??? they told me it’s pretty cliquey and it’s kinda hard to interact with people, and i also noticed that the most people they interact with are their suitemates or people they already new in high school. as for the campus, they say that there’s some parts that are pretty, but it’s pretty disappointing for the most part since they expected more lmao they also told me the beaches aren’t like the typical beaches, it’s just cliffs and rocks LOL but the education there is good though and also the mexican food and kbbq are legit haha btw im not trying to bash on ucsd since it’s probably my dream school rn, but im just relaying what my friends said
@friedchips I’ve heard it isn’t a socially active school (UC of the Socially Dead haha), but I’ve been to the campus several times and it’s beautiful. Also it’s not exactly in San Diego, it’s i La Jolla, so if you want awesome beaches just go 10 miles up the freeway and you hit the huge tourist spots. But I know people who go there and surf all the time, but not at the rocky beaches obviously haha. It’s an awesome area! Don’t listen to your friends haha.
I know people say UCSD is boring, but its really what you make it. You’ll find events if you want them.
Plus, Sun God is fricken amazing :-bd
People always tend to overhype stuff so just see for yourself and make your own judgment. Too many times I’ve encountered the opposite of what people tell me.
Hi everyone. I was born and raised about 5 minutes from UCSD so I think I can add some insight (my older sister also went there and she gave me an idea of how it is). First, UCSD is technically in La Jolla, but just barely on the border, and if you live off campus you are probably living in the University City/UTC/Clairemont areas unless you want to spend $6k (and upwards) a month to live in the heart of La Jolla. Most people live right around UTC and it’s still a little pricey. It’s definitely not a prototypical “college town” - it’s surrounded by a bunch of tall apartment complexes, businesses, chain restaurants, and a really big Westfield mall accompanied by a bunch of traffic at rush hours. There are also a lot of commuters from the city and finding parking is really hard, so most people off campus walk, bike, or take the bus to their classes.
In terms of social life, I honestly really rank it really low compared to the other schools in CA and it’s one of the reasons why I am not considering UCSD as much as some of the other schools I applied to. UC Socially Dead, UC Stressed and Depressed, it has gained a bunch of similar acronyms across the city. Greek life is not a factor, the sports programs aren’t very good, and (from my experiences) there isn’t much of the school spirit you see at the other UCs or even SDSU. Don’t expect to party much if that’s something you’re looking forward to as a transfer. My sister told me that a lot of the students tend to keep to themselves and just focus on their studies. I am not sure if this has to do with the difficulty of UCSD’s academics, since other good schools like UCSB, UCLA, and UCB do not have this problem (again, just my opinion).
Someone above mentioned the fact that there are KBBQ spots and Mexican food surrounding campus. I can vouch that there are about a dozen good KBBQ restaurants in Clairemont (maybe a 10 minute drive south of campus). IMO, there is no good Mexican food in La Jolla (I consider myself a foodie when it comes to Mexican food). Someone also mentioned that the environment is cliquey. It’s true that a lot of the student body are CC kids from around the area, and a big number of them went to the same high school (name retracted). A lot of these kids come from my CC, and yes they are all very cliquey and keep their friend groups from high school and are very hesitant to socialize with people outside of their little group.
These are just my thoughts on the subject, from growing up in La Jolla and having a sister that went to UCSD, from my experiences at CCs in San Diego. I’ve also been on campus many times and used to work right in the area where UCSD is. Not everyone will agree with me on some of these things. If anyone has any questions about the area or anything let me know!
Edit: I forgot there are actually some good Mexican places in La Jolla, but they are nowhere near the campus. La Jolla is pretty large and some are either way down near the beach or on the border of La Jolla and neighboring communities.
Edit 2: Sorry I have been looking through the previous comments and realized I forgot to add stuff. The beaches near UCSD aren’t the best, but I am a surfer and can confirm there are some really nice beaches in La Jolla (and all of SD for that matter). Most people will tell you to go to La Jolla shores because it’s great for tourists, but a lot of locals won’t tell you about the really nice beaches as they want to “keep them local.”
@Nediac oh! that’s interesting, i think my friends just meant the beaches that are like the closest to the campus though! if i get into ucsd, i’ll def try to check out those awesome beaches you said hehe
@i20hndc that was really helpful! idk man i think me and my friends just have no low standards when it comes to mexican food because we’re from the bay area and the best places we have here are chipotle and la vic’s~ anyway, do you know how the food is within walking distance from/at campus? you should recommend some hype places so i can tell my friends 
@friedchips Last time I was on campus there was an area where they had a bunch of fast food places so that’s within walking distance. If you want to walk there is the aforementioned UTC mall (which is pretty upscale) and they have a lot of places to eat, from food court fast food to nicer sit-down places. You probably need to drive to all the KBBQ places and most of the Mexican places. If you’re into really nice dining there is downtown La Jolla (about 8 minute drive from campus) and they have a bunch of fancy, 5 star restaurants right near the beach. It’s all preference
I live very near to campus and my D has grown up by UCSD and worked there in the summer. She will be the first to admit that it is pretty dead in terms of social things going on, but that isn’t what a lot of kids are looking for anyway. She has her own friend group and as a transfer student she wants to work hard and get finished with her undergrad. My D knows what UCSD is like and she would love to attend if she gets in. D has been to Sun god many times and thinks it is awesome.
Parking is expensive and difficult to come by on campus. Many kids opt to park out in neighborhoods and ride bikes or take the bus in. Clariemont is an affordable area to live off campus and is only about a 10 minute drive from school. You can get a bus from campus down to the beaches in La Jolla. Not much good mexican food near campus, but there are a couple of places in downtown La Jolla that are good and cheap. Taco Stand. Don Carlos, Wahoo’s and Rigobertto’s are a few of them. Most of the local kids don’t surf La Jolla Shores, but go north of there to Black’s Beach or down to Marine Street and Windandsea.
My housing message changed to the ‘good’ one.
@anikom15 When did it change? today?
I have no idea.
For those of you who have the good housing message, did the additonal links for contact information disappear? Like the parent contact email and all of those extra links there?
cries im still sad that i have the bad housing message… gg dream school
@tintinucd Yes, the links for parent information are no longer there in my portal.
@frIedchips Me too
I don’t know if the housing “trick” is accurate. If it’s not, I wonder why there appears to be two messages? It is weird! Maybe they think it’s fun to torture us :-w
So, decisions on 17th will be the last decision of this year???
I have the “bad” housing message, never thought about rejected by SD… all of my low GPA friends went to UCSD in last two years though… 3.3, 3.2, 3.4
@wlasm15 No, Berkeley’s decisions come out on the 24
@FUTUREUCLABRUIN1 oh may bad I actually was asking it will be the last batch from UCSD??
@wlasm15 No, UCSD will come out with batches until the end of the month.