**uc santa cruz class of 2025 discussion**

did anyone get the honors college invite?

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I’ve seen a lot of different answers regarding waitlist admissions-- are they sent out periodically as people deny the admissions offer, or in a big bunch in may or June?

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Cal Poly SLO is a great choice!! I am pretty sure my twins are both headed there even though one got in to UCSC and UCSB while the other was waitlisted at those two. And they don’t particularly want to go together.

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Send one twin to SLO & one to UCSB. The rivalry is fun & they are close enough to visit each other’s campus easily

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CS major. UCSC vs Cal poly slo. Where would you choose to go? (Assume don’t consider cost difference)

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Twin that got into SB is pretty set on Cal Poly.

I just did a while ago.

Well, I don’t want to tell you where to go because I feel like you should go wherever you feel happiest at, but I was accepted to Cal Poly SLO for CS and waitlisted to UCSC for CS. I personally would choose UCSC over Cal Poly SLO, and I plan on doing so if I get off the waitlist. You can’t go wrong with either school, they are both amazing for CS. But as of now, I’m heading to SLO.

Thanks for sharing. I heard a lot of good things about cs major in slo but not much for UCSC. But UCs are bigger research schools. I just don’t know much about cs at UCSC. Hope you get off the WLšŸ¤ž

Curious to know what sways you more towards UCSC as opposed to SLO? I often hear the opposite.

I’m a Florida alum. That’s a huge accomplishment! It’s unbelievably competitive to get in there now. Congrats!!

Thanks!

I visited both campuses back in 2019 and absolutely LOVED UCSC. I got really good vibes from it- everyone was smiling, deer would walk right next to you, and the foggy forest feeling pretty much sold me. Downtown Santa Cruz was just crazy to me… there’s a massive boardwalk right on the beach and the shops/restaurant area felt just like UCSB’s State Street (which I loved). I enjoyed SLO, but the campus and downtown were a downgrade from Santa Cruz in my eyes. Tech companies flood both UCSC and SLO so it’ll be easier to land internships at both schools compared to others. At UCSC, Microsoft and Amazon give interviews right on campus instead of just handing you a pamphlet saying to apply online like they do at most schools. If you compare both schools on LinkedIn, you’ll see that the top 5 companies that hire UCSC graduates are: Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Genentech. Top 5 at SLO are: Apple, Google, Amazon, Cisco, and Salesforce. UCSC and SLO seriously couldn’t be better schools when it comes to the opportunities you’re given as a CS major. I think the most important thing to base your decision off of is where you see yourself living for the next 4 years. Don’t choose SLO over UCSC just because they are considered to have a better CS, because they really don’t. This is just all my opinion. You may love SLO’s campus and downtown much more than Santa Cruz. But for me, I’m not going to lie and say I like SLO better just because UCSC didn’t accept me. Keep in mind, a happy student = a successful student.

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Hi, my S would love UCSC but the job placement on the rankings I saw was WAY below some of his other schools. That seemed really strange to me since it’s so close to Silicon Valley. I’ve seen a couple of students now posting that they would/will choose SC over other UCs or Cal Poly. Wondering if anyone can shed more light on this?

I did. Do a lot of people get this?

Thank you for a well thought out analysis of what makes it a bette match for you. I am also curious to know why UCSC over UCI? Any difference in the departments from your perspective? Looks like big tech companies actively recruit on campus at UCSC- do you know if they recruit as heavily on campus at UCI?

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I’m wondering too- not just placement but median initial salaries- one place says it’s around $62,000 which is below the average in the country and other places say it is more like $82,000. Where are they getting their data and what is the N, because that is such a huge spread.

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I was looking at Ivy Achievement rankings. It looked like the salaries were ok (maybe low for the Bay Area cost of living) but # placement was much, much lower than other schools my son has already been accepted to. At the same time, I’ve heard the SC CS program is good so it doesn’t add up.

This is why we are so up in the air about UCSC- the information out there doesn’t seem to add up.

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I’ve posted this article before. It’s a 4-year old article about Silicon Valley hiring:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/qz.com/967985/silicon-valley-companies-like-apple-aapl-hires-the-most-alumni-of-these-10-universities-and-none-of-them-are-in-the-ivy-league/amp/