University of California at Santa Cruz - 2014 Semester 2 - Computer Science
I hope that if you’re reading this you are already set on going on an exchange. The fact you’re
thinking of doing an exchange programme is already awesome. Naturally there are going to be
certain factors that might cause you to hesitate over an exchange. Costs, making new friends or
missing your family, just to name a few, are the most common worries. If you’re still on the fence
about whether or not to go on an exchange, please take my advice and just do it, and do it or as long
as possible. My exchange lasted for one period of study, which at UCSC means one quarter, and it
wasn’t nearly long enough.
Getting to Santa Cruz
Getting to Santa Cruz is seemingly easy. You get on a plane, change over a couple of times and after
about 12h you’ve arrived. I booked my flight through STA Travel and it was a good option. The costs
are around 1500-2000NZD, depending on when you book. However, not everything was that easy.
My insurance was also booked through STA. Despite my coverage being comprehensive I still had to
pay another 600USD upon arrival for the University of California’s campus insurance, more
commonly known as USHIP. There are ways of getting out of USHIP, but your insurance provider has
to be based in the US and your policy must be expressed in USD. Unfortunately STA’s insurance
partner is not based in the US, and getting your policy expressed in USD is often quite difficult. This
means that you will have to get insurance in the US, as well as travel insurance to cover your travels
to and from the US.
Besides flights and insurances it is also essential to apply for a visa. I was going to Santa Cruz from
England, so I didn’t apply for the visa at my local consulate in Auckland. Instead I applied in London.
Even though you will be told that you are obliged to apply from your local consulate, it is not strictly
necessary. Though it is highly advisable unless you have no other option. Fortunately I had no
problems regarding my visa, however dealing with the American Embassy was a hassle - there are no
phones, keys, electronic devices, or watches allowed in the Embassy. It is of great importance that
you apply for you visa as soon as possible because it can take time to get it all sorted. This set aside,
bear in mind that it is almost impossible to speak to someone from the Embassy over the phone, as
it’s all automated now. Finally it is important to always have your visa within reach while traveling,
both to and from the US.
Accommodation
At the UCSC you can stay at any of the 10 residential colleges or in the International Living Centre
(ILC), all of which are on campus. I stayed at one of the residential colleges: the Crown College, a
science themed residential college. I shared my room with two other roommates, both of whom
were first years. Commonly there are 3 options regarding accommodation: the ILC, residential
colleges, or living off-campus.
Staying at the LC will make you lots of friends from around the world, which enables you to travel
and do lots of typical exchange or touristy things. A residential college might not offer these
opportunities as most locals have already done these. In the ILC you will have access to a kitchen so
you can cook your own food, as well as having the option to dine in one of the campus dining halls.
Staying at a residential college or hall will probably involve rooming with Americans. Having
roommates is a great opportunity to get to know people and learn more about living with people.
Besides that, staying at a residential college also means that you will be spending the vast majority of
your time around Americans. Unfortunately this might mean that you won’t get to do typical
exchange or touristy things, but you will do more American college style related things. For example,
one of my roommates and I joined a fraternity (TKE). This is something I probably wouldn’t have
done had I been in the ILC.
Living off-campus is slightly cheaper, but due to sorting your own place, finding housemates and the
daily hassle of getting to university and back it is also a lot more difficult to arrange.
All in all, the ILC and residential colleges, or halls, are both great places and you’ll have an amazing
time at both. Which one you choose depends on what you’re looking to get out of the exchange. If
you’re looking for the exchange experience and lots of travel, then go for the ILC. If you’re looking for
the American college experience of freshmen, dinging hall food, and yelling ‘Murica’ at inopportune
moments, then go for a residential hall.
Food
As I was staying in a residential college my room came with a meal plan. This means you can make a
choice as to which one you want. There is a 5 day or a 7 day available, but you can also choose
nothing. I chose the 7 day meal plan which meant I could eat anything at a dining hall on campus as
much as I wanted all week long. The 5 day meal plan offers the same, but only on weekdays. The
costs of the meal plans are combined with the costs of the room you choose.
If you have access to a kitchen it is advisable to get a 55 meals plan. This means that you can enter
the dining hall 55 times.
Dining hall food can get repetitive after a while, but luckily there are plenty of good places to eat
downtown. I am personally a fan of Betty’s Burgers on the main street, Pacific Avenue. Santa Cruz is
also known for its many vegetarian and vegan restaurants.
Money
Money is important, and America is expensive. I paid 4000USD for my room, and a dining hall pass.
Room prices may vary depending on how many people share it. On top of your room rate, which in
my case was almost 5000NZD, you have to add your flights and spending money. The only advice I
can give you towards that is to start saving now. This will enable you to do all the things you would
like to do on your exchange. Many people open US bank accounts, I didn’t because I could use my Air
New Zealand OneSmart card without problems. Bear in mind that you will be charged a small
amount to withdraw cash from ATM’s. It is also handy to carry cash at all times.
Academics
At the UCSC the minimum number of credit you can take is 12. General courses, not papers, are
around 5 units, lab courses around 2. This means that if you plan your courses and cross crediting
well you might end up only taking 2 courses, plus their labs. This is wise to keep in mind as taking less
courses will allow you to spend more time with friends and to take full advantage of the exchange
experience. Courses are divided into lower division and upper division. Lower division courses have a
number below 100 and tend to be for the first and second years. Upper division courses have a
number above 100 and are for third and fourth year students.
The biggest academic differences to Otago University are that lecturers at the UCSC tend to assign
compulsory homework every week, and that lectures are often longer than 50 minutes. Another
difference is that some lecturers require attendance for each lecture.
Transportation
Because the university campus is big they provide loop busses that travel constantly in a loop around
the campus. These are useful if you are in a rush to get to a lecture on the other side of the campus.
However, I would recommend walking to and from your lectures if you can as the UCSC is a beautiful
place and has amazing grounds. If you are looking to travel outside of the UCSC, take the city buses
that come up through campus. These are free for students as the university pays for the fares.
Travelling to places further out from Santa Cruz can be a hassle at times. If you are looking to visit
San Francisco you will have to change buses 3 times, all in all the journey will take you a few hours,
so it is recommended you book a hostel or hotel and make a weekend-trip out of it. If you aren’t
keen on the idea of travelling by bus, then look out for rideshares from campus heading that way. It’s
a great way to make new friends, and see new places.
Things to do
In Santa Cruz there is the beautiful Natural Bridges beach, the Garden of Eden, a nice watering hole
in a local river which is about a 40 minute walk from Campus into the bush. Besides that there is also
the Boardwalk: an old amusement park on the beach which includes an arcade. Santa Cruz is widely
known as Surf City, so try to catch a surfing competition, or even participate in some surfing classes if
you have the opportunity. The campus itself backs onto a state park where there are lots of nice
walks and biking trails.
Outside of Santa Cruz there are endless things you can do and see. First of all there is San Francisco,
it’s relatively easy to get to and is an amazing city. It often holds free music festivals and other
events. Berkeley University is also worth a visit. If you were to travel in southern direction Monterey
is beautiful and has a world famous aquarium. Further south there is Bug Sur, one of my favourite
places of the exchange and home to parts of the most amazing coastlines in the world.
If you are into the outdoors then I highly recommend you visit Yosemite National Park. It’s a 5 hour
drive east from Santa Cruz, and is worth every mile. My number one recommendation, as it is simply
incredible.
Tips
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The UCSC gym and recreation department, known as OPERS, offers many courses worth
credits. They are a good opportunity to learn new things you’ve always wanted to do whilst
contributing to your studies at the same time.
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OPERS also runs many kinds of trips such as backpacking, kayaking, rock climbing, as well as
city trips to San Francisco and more. They put out a booklet on their website at the start of
each quarter so it is wise to have a look at that in advance. Book quickly as time goes fast on
an exchange and the best trips will be fully booked before you know.
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If you are in America during Halloween it is wise to work on, or buy, a decent costume as
Halloween is a big deal.
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If you are looking to travel out of state book and plan it well in advance as it can be quite
difficult.
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Have a look into Fraternities and Sororities. At the start of every quarter they have a rush
week in which they put on lots of fun events to recruit new members. For the best American
experience I would recommend joining one as they organize a lot of great parties and trips.
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The .edu email address that the University gives you is useful for student discounts on many
online stores.
Finally, try to do as much as possible. You’ll only be an American college student once, so don’t turn
anything down. You’ll never regret the things you did, but you will regret the things you wanted to do
but didn’t.
Yosemite National Park