Hello, I am having a tough time deciding between UC Santa Cruz Vs. UC Irvine. I have seen similar posts but they do not state most of the things that I wish they did. I have been accepted to both schools for Computer Engineering, and it seems like UC Irvine is the safer choice academically, but I love UC Santa Cruz’s campus and I feel like I would be at least a little bit happier there. However, I think both schools are great, and I believe that I would enjoy my overall experience at either one.
First let me start off with some of the statistics that I have gathered on both schools since this might be helpful to other students that are trying to decide between these two schools.
UC Irvine is higher ranked in pretty much every category according to US News
UC Irvine:
39 National Universities
9 Top Public Schools
31 Best Value Schools
Grad School
37 Best Engineering Schools
29 Computer Science
41 Math
29 Physics
61 Best Global Universities
UC Santa Cruz:
82 National Universities
34 Top Public Schools
29 Best Value Schools
Grad School
87 Best Engineering Schools
56 Computer Science
39 Physics
73 Math
Both UCI and UCSC were founded in 1965 but Irvine has excelled in rankings.
I also calculated the average professor rating on RateMyProfessor reported by students at the universities. Both universities had an overall professor rating of 3.7, but I calculated it specifically based on Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Electrical Engineering professors.
UC Santa Cruz Professor Ratings:
Average Computer Science Professor Rating: 3.48
Average Electrical Engineering Professor Rating: 3.18
Average Engineering Professor Rating: 3.11
Average Computer Engineering Professor Rating: 2.88
Combined Average: 3.16
UC Irvine Professor Ratings:
Average Computer Science Professor Rating: 3.20
Average Electrical Engineering Professor Rating: 3.96
Average Engineering Professor Rating: 3.44
Combined Average: 3.53
So overall, the computer science and engineering professors at UCI have a higher rating on RateMyProfessor.
Also, according to StudentReviews, more students suggested that they would be willing to return to UCI.
Percentage of students that would return to Santa Cruz: 57.6%
Percentage of students that would return to UC Irvine: 76.7%
Also, I calculated approximately how much each school would likely cost each year, which showed that UCI is cheaper.
UCSC’s tuition, fees, and cost of living on campus in a single for 9 months with 7-day meal plan: $37,475
UCI’s tuition, fees, and cost of living in nearby campus apartments for 12 months in a single for $820 a month, with 7-day meal plan: $32,139
So UCI was cheaper and covered the cost of the entire year, as oppose to UCSC, which only accounted for the 9 months in school.
With all the information that I’ve found, I feel like the smart and safe choice is to go to UCI, but a big part of me feels like I would be happier at UCSC.
Reasons:
- Social Life matters to me, and UCI seems to have a community college feel, since most of the students commute.
- I am from SoCal and would prefer to visit a different part of California at this point in my life.
- UCI seems to be run by Asian culture, and I am concerned that I will not fit in or adapt to this culture easily. UCI has approximately 54% Asians, 11% of them being international students. I am Black, and it seems like Asian culture isn’t usually as accepting of Black people, as they are of White people. I usually get along great with Asian Americans, but it’s often a different story when it comes to international students.
- I’ve never lived in Irvine before, but it seems like a pretty boring city, and since most students commute, I’m assuming the area is pretty boring on weekends. I take school serious, but I wouldn’t mind a party every now and then…
- UCI might be a more competitive and stressful environment, while I would prefer to learn the material without the added pressure of trying to be better than the rest of the students. I am concerned that I may get discouraged if I am not able to keep up with the other students academically.
- I love UCSC’s campus more than UCI’s campus.
Sooo…
I am basically split between going to a school that has a better reputation and likely better academics (UCI), or going to a school with a beautiful campus and most likely a more fitting social scene for me (UCSC).
I think I would choose UCI if, it has a good social scene even though its a commuter school, there are parties every now and then, and that I could still have an accepting group of friends even though the school it’s mostly Asian culture. I just don’t want to go to UCI and feel like I am not welcome, or an outsider. I’m confident that I will get along with the majority of the American students on campus… I am a very friendly, outgoing guy, and I do my best to avoid conflicts. Please don’t take this as me being racist or something either. My best friend right now is an American Asian and he understands my concern about Asian culture. I just have a feeling that Asian Culture isn’t as accepting to people like me… As an Engineering major, I am constantly surrounded by other Asian students and I am completely used to being the only Black student in the class, but I have never been at a school that is majority Asian culture outside of class like UCI is…
I would really appreciate any advice or additional information about UCI and UCSC. I may be completely overreacting with the whole “not fitting in with the Asian culture” thing, so please forgive me, but try to understand my perspective… I just wanted to voice my concerns as honest as possible.