UCSC is a stunning campus high above the town of Santa Cruz and is
so large that it is barely visible in it’s entirety from any point. Both meadowland and deep redwood
forests sprawl on the 6,088 acre sloped and naturally contoured site. It is one
of the youngest UC schools.
Construction began in 1965 and the building code has limited campus
construction to stay within 2/3 of adjacent redwood tree heights. The effect is of college buildings
respectfully distanced throughout a national park! Our campus tour took almost two hours and we were surprised several
times with substantial footbridges through tree filled canyons and long and
peaceful walkways between dorms and colleges. Because sight lines are entirely obscured with the gentle
redwood giants, the architecture varies greatly from building to building and
with pleasing effect.
There is a tangible vitality on campus that most likely
stems from UCSC’s hippie roots.
There was a political rally in full swing in front of the student
center. Environmental
research opportunities are plentiful, a few of which are: UCSC’s Cowell Beach research facility,
alum Julie Packard takes a select number of interns each year at her famed
Monterey Bay Aquarium she founded, and many research opportunities for research
in nearby Monterey Bay . There is
great pride in UCSC’s banana slug school mascot, regarded by many as one of the
best imaginable mascots ever! The
campus seems to present a small liberal arts type environment but also offer
the richness of a large powerful institution.
There are ten residential dorms known as colleges. Each college has a different theme and
students select and apply to a specific college of their choice. There are six eating halls with some
colleges sharing eating facilities with a neighboring college. All freshmen are required to live on
campus and there is a freshman core course taken within each residential college. This and the beautiful setting likely
contributed to the easy social atmosphere everywhere we visited in our tour.
There was an error in UCSC fees cited in Princeton Review’s The
Best 377 Colleges, 2013 Edition. In the sidebar under the heading “Financial Facts”,
they correctly quote in-state tuition of $13,417 and room and board of $14871
(actually UCSC’s website quotes $14861), but incorrectly quote additional fees
of $13,538. Do not be
alarmed--this is an error by Princeton Review because the tuition they quote
already includes fees as well. So
additional fees = $0!
This piece was contributed by the Larsen family - thank you!
