The University of California - Santa Cruz

Date: Feb 04 2004
Major: Physics (This Major's Salary over time)
In terms of it's scholastic aspects, I feel that UCSC is an often overlooked gem of a school. While not every program here is superior, in my experience and from the experiences of my friends, the programs offered here are quite learning-intensive and enjoyable. As a physics major, I am incredibly pleased with my education here and feel confident that I will be able to go to most any graduate school.

As for its social aspects, the school makes quite an effort to have events going on -all the time-. While they aren't always great events, there's almost always something to do or someone to go see here. The community social scene however is a bit scattered, but for a person who enjoys smaller gatherings as opposed to raging parties, the social scene is great.

Aesthetically, I love this school, but then again I'm a bit of a tree hugger (perhaps why I fit in well). There are miles and miles of beautiful forst behind campus, some awesome mountain biking terrain (as well as extensive street biking paths), accesible beach, and architecture that attempts harmony with its surroundings.

There is a prominent population of hippie students (hippie stands for hypocritical I guess?) here, but the population is fairly small. Aside from that there is an amazing diversity of students who go unnoticed because they do not stand out so much as the hippie population. As for racial diversity however, this campus is definitely lacking but growing. In general the campus population is a very liberal, and at worst tolerant group. As a gay student who has been out for nearly two and a half years here, my experience has been nothing short of great.

The campus also offers a plethora of student jobs and has a general policy to put student's academics first.