UCSC Admission
UCSC Undergraduate Program
UCSC Application

The Facts

UC Santa Cruz is located about 90 miles south of San Francisco, and combines a beautiful natural setting with an equally progressive academic environment. Unlike other more traditional universities, UC Santa Cruz is divided up into ten residential colleges, each with its own focus and atmosphere. The university as a whole offers over 50 majors in the areas of the arts, engineering, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. Some of the most popular majors include psychology, business management economics, biology, literature, and sociology. Like many other California schools, UCSC is also home to several research institutions which support unique majors such as science illustration, particle physics and tectonics. These unique qualities makes the school a major draw for many potential pre-med students.

Admission is quite competitive, a trait shared by all the schools in the UC system. The Class of 2004 had a combined average SAT score ranging from 1030 to 1260, and a combined ACT score ranging from 21 to 27. Over 90% of them were ranked in the top 10% of their graduating high school class with an average GPA of 3.48. Last year, over 21,525 students applied while only 17,284 were admitted. A mere 3,729 of those accepted actually matriculated. The university is quite large, and houses around 13,00 undergraduates and over 1,300 graduate students.

The university is on a quarter system, making for a rigorous schedule filled with a steady stream of papers and exams. Another unique and demanding aspect of the university’s overall curriculum is that all seniors must complete a comprehensive thesis or a comprehensive exam to graduate. However, students are offered the option of taking up to 25% of their classes on a pass/fail basis, which helps to ease the pressure.

The Social Scene

The liberalness and quirky diversity of the students is perhaps best illustrated by their chosen team mascot, the banana slug. Apparently, many students are quite outdoorsy and hippy intellectual wannabes. This diversity and individualism is also reflected in the fact that there isn’t really a cohesive party scene to speak of; most people would prefer to meet in small groups and hang out somewhere off-campus, at a beach or in the redwood forest parks that surround the campus. There really is no Greek life at the university, which also contributes to the lack of a real party scene.

A lot of students hang out in the nearby downtown Santa Cruz, which offers a variety of coffee shops and bookstores that students frequent. Perhaps one of the most popular activities is surfing; the famed Big Sur is less than two hours away by car.

The campus is extremely safe, and most students say they always feel comfortable walking around at any time of the day or night. On campus housing is only guaranteed for freshmen, but most upperclassman choose to move off-campus regardless.

If you like to smoke pot and have been longing for a significant other who will share the munchies with you, UCSC might just be the school for you.

What’s Good

“The campus is amazing. You look one way and you can see deep into an ancient redwood forest, you look the other way, and there’s Monteray Bay.”

“Everyone here is really laid back and accepting. There’s no such thing as ‘weird’ here.”

“The teachers are really liberal here, and teach you to unlearn the biases you were taught in high school.”

What’s Bad

“The party scene is pretty bland. No one cares enough to pull together for big bashes.”

“If you aren’t a raging liberal, you are generally looked down upon. No one will hear you out.”

“There is not an ounce of school spirit. Our mascot is a banana slug for god’s sake!”

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