<p>I live in upstate New York right now, and I’m looking for a big change in college. I am considering applying to some of the University of California schools, but I am not sure which one is right for me because I have never physically visited any of them. </p>
<p>Academic Information about me:
-I want to major in Biology/Pre-Med
-Top 5% of my class
-3.75+ GPA
-Tons of community service.
-Have been a member of student council all four years of high school.
-President of NHS.
-President of Key Club.
-I did sports grades 9-10, and one season in 11th.
-Bad SAT scores right now… I took them again yesterday and am waiting for my new scores. ACT’s are on Dec 6.
-Lots of AP and CAP classes. This year i have AP English, AP Biology, and AP World History. I also have CAP Government, CAP Economics, CAP psychology, and CAP Sociology. I have also taken CAP classes in 11th and 10th grade. </p>
<p>I grew up in a college town, so I definitely want a really good college town/city. Being in a nice location is important to me, frankly, I do not want to be living in the ghetto. I do smoke daily and party regularly. I’m really just looking for a brief synopsis of the universities from people who have experienced them first-hand. What characteristics make them stand apart from one another? Which one is most enjoyable to be at?</p>
<p>What do you want to major in? What type of “location” are you looking for? All the UCs are really different from each other so you’d need to give us more information on the type of school you’re looking for, not just your stats.</p>
Davis is the only true college town among the UCs, though I suspect Berkeley people would strenuously object. Good college towns in California are extremely difficult to find.</p>
<p>I would say Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara are the ones with the biggest “college town” feel. A lot of students, smaller cities, fairly liberal (more so Santa Cruz). Santa Barbara has higher prestige, but I personally like Santa Cruz better in almost all aspects. The cities are very similar, but Santa Cruz is better for a nature lover. It’s close to a city, San Francisco, yet you’re surrounded by beautiful trees. For more of a city feel I’d recommend Berkeley / UCLA. You won’t get as much of a “college town” feel there, but they are the top UCs. UC San Diego has a really amazing biology program, I would argue the best of the UCs, and is about two blocks from streets full of research centers full of internship opportunities. Beautiful campus, beautiful city, big city without feeling like one, a lot of college kids but also a lot of retired people/ families. UC Irvine is nice, holds more prestige than often realized, I would argue it is above Davis. Kind of “middle of nowhere” but at the same time not, close proximity to a lot of larger cities. Personally, I do not like UC Davis’ campus or location. It is also very HOT, nearly all the time. However, I do have a good friend there who loves it. The area is almost rural, I’m not sure what people even do for fun… It’s close to Sacramento but there’s not much to do there, and a few hours from San Francisco. Riverside and Merced are the least prestigious and I don’t know much about them. Merced is very new, therefor has I believe a 98% acceptance rate. Riverside I know literally nothing about. But feel free to PM me with any questions you have. I’ve lived in CA my whole life and have visited all campuses but Riverside and Merced.</p>
<p>I would like to disagree. I feel that UCLA has a pretty good college town. I did a summer program there, and West Wood was full of college students and has a pretty college feel IMO.</p>
UCLA student weighing in…I definitely wouldn’t consider Westwood a college town. It’s somewhat sheltered from LA, I suppose, but it doesn’t hold a candle to places like Ann Arbor, Ithaca, Athens, Chapel Hill, etc. You’re very much reminded of the fact that you’re in a city when you step off campus, and an expensive one at that. One reason the line for Diddy is always so long is because there’s few places geared for students like that in the area. </p>
<p>UCLA is going entirely smoke-free this year, which might prove irritating for the OP.</p>
<p>I can not figure out how to multi-quote posts on this forum. Strange. So I will just address everyone using their username.</p>
<p>bruno14: My mom’s financial situation is definitely not tight to say the least, but that does not mean I want her to dish out a ridiculous amount of money on undergrad school. Are you saying that they do not offer any financial aid whatsoever?</p>
<p>krcuschieri: Both of these things were stated in the OP. There’s no need to offer your advice if you don’t have the time to read my post in its entirety. But to add some more detail, I do not want an isolated campus. I want it in a town or city, with some sort of downtown area within walking distance or close by. Now this is obviously not a deal breaker or maker, just the ideal situation.</p>
<p>noobcake: My SAT score right now is not terrible, but it is by no means good enough for UCLA or Berkeley. I know that it would make sense to just tell you my scores, but I really think I did a lot better this time around…</p>
<p>gracieekinss: Your post was very informative, I appreciate it. What campus do you think is the nicest? And which one is in the best location? I really want a school is is NOT isolated from the surrounding town/city.</p>
<p>warblersrule: As a UCLA student, what is your overall impression of the school? And how can they go entirely smoke-free? Are they banning on campus tobacco use? I’m assuming marijuana is already considered “banned”.</p>
<p>The main things I want to know are what the campus is like and what surrounds it. As I’ve said, I do not want an isolated campus. If there are any details I am leaving out when it comes to the school characteristics most important to me please just ask.</p>
<p>I think Berkeley has the nicest campus. Location wise I would say Santa Barbara, San Diego, and Berkeley. I believe Berkeley is about a 20 minute ride via public transit to San Francisco, and Berkeley itself is a nice city. Santa Barbara is a nice city, fairly small but plenty to do and close enough to LA, and is on the beach. Santa Cruz is much like Santa Barbara as far as the city-feel /size but a little more isolated. The campus itself is located on a hill you have to drive up.</p>
<p>gracieekinss, I would PM you, but I do not have enough posts yet. What you’re telling me seems to coincide exactly with other things I have read. I really think that for me it will either be Santa Barbara or Santa Cruze, and I want to apply to UCLA and Berkeley as “reach” schools maybe. How is the San Diego campus? If you’re saying that the location is better than Santa Cruze I definitely want to consider that one also.</p>
<p>My SAT’s right now are a 1690, but I took them in June. I just took them again yesterday, and I know I did a lot better. I’m expecting at least an 1800. Probably around 650-700 in reading, 600-650 in writing, and anywhere between a 520 and 620 in math. Right now I have 630 in reading, 550 in writing, and 510 in math :[ yikes</p>
<p>No problem! I’ll keep checking up on this forum -
That sounds like a good idea for you. I just applied to UCSD, UC Santa Cruz, and UC Berkeley earlier today. UCSD is my match (but I also live in San Diego, So I’m not sure if I’d stay) UCSC is a back up, and Berkeley is my reach. The San Diego campus is very beautiful and fairly spread out. A lot of GREAT food too - they have a farmers market weekly I would consider San Diego as a better city than Santa Cruz, more balanced in almost all ways (politically, type of people, etc). And the research /internship opportunities here are hard to beat. There’s really a lot out there. As a junior in high school I scored a 4 month internship on genetic research, and a few of my friends worked on Alzheimers and Molecular Bio research stuff. They’re always recruiting interns from SD high schools and the UCSD campus. UCSD is best known for their sciences as well, and was ranked #1 school in the country by Forbes this year
([UC-San</a> Diego Voted Best College in America. Yale, Princeton Not Even in Top 30. - Forbes](<a href=“http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesmarshallcrotty/2011/08/30/uc-san-diego-voted-best-college-in-america-yale-princeton-not-even-in-top-30/]UC-San”>UC-San Diego Voted Best College in America. Yale, Princeton Not Even in Top 30.))
I would like to add just so you know that all of the UC schools “weed out” pre med applicants and are fairly competitive. (Berkeley and UCLA are the most “cut throat”, UCLA a little more… not nearly as bad as Johns Hopkins or anything though). I wouldn’t say this is a bad thing, as long as you stay strong to your academics and score well on MCATS, get internship experience, etc Just keep that in mind!
Once you apply, if you have the opportunity to come visit the ones you get into if you’re seriously considering them, it would really help. Otherwise watching tours on youtube and what not can get you a decent feel of the campus.
UC apps are due the 30th of this month if you didn’t already know, and the system is known for getting clogged up the last week because everyone waits until the end of the month to submit - I would start working on them!</p>
<p>I started working on mine today, congratulations on finishing. It really is a lot to think about, there’s so many options. I really don’t know if i can attend ANY of the UC schools though. The out of state cost is just ridiculous and it really does not seem like there is any way around it. I spent the last hour reading tons of PDF’s about California law hoping for a loophole, but there really aren’t any. At 55,000 a year there’s no way :/</p>
<p>What about California appeals to you? There are 49 other states, and almost all have flagships much cheaper than the UCs. If you like UC Santa Cruz, you might want to check out UNC Ashville, Western Washington University, or Evergreen State (which actually follows the hollistic evaluations that once defined UCSC)</p>
<p>If Santa Barbara sounds appealing, why not consider Cal Poly San Louis Obisbo (many UCSB/SLO cross applicants end up choosing SLO), Eckerd (not a big school, but has an enormous beach culture), or University of Colorado Boulder</p>
<p>If you want to go to a UCLA type school, University of Washington or Ohio State University might be just what you’re looking for. </p>
<p>For UC Davis like schools consider Iowa State, Colorado State University, or even some of the SUNYs</p>
<p>I’m not sure if UCI really has a state flagship equivalent, but then again, I never really understood why UCI was so appealing, and I used to work there.</p>
<p>whenhen, thanks for all the suggestions. I will check them all out. And as to why California, its really just because I want a big change. I’m not afraid to go far away, and I figured if I am going to go anywhere that requires a plane ride to get home, it doesn’t matter how far you go.</p>
I would consider San Diego as a better city than Santa Cruz, more balanced in almost all ways (politically, type of people, etc). And the research /internship opportunities here are hard to beat. There’s really a lot out there. As a junior in high school I scored a 4 month internship on genetic research, and a few of my friends worked on Alzheimers and Molecular Bio research stuff. They’re always recruiting interns from SD high schools and the UCSD campus. UCSD is best known for their sciences as well, and was ranked