School Spotlight: University of California Santa Cruz

There are over 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. And while the media tends to focus on just a handful of schools, we at College Coach encourage students to think outside the box during their college selection process and explore a wide range of colleges. As such, we are highlighting a new college each week in our School Spotlight series. Check out the college below, along with the other posts in our series, and you may just stumble upon your dream school! School Spotlight: University of California Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA Located on a 2,000-acre campus overlooking Monterey Bay, the University of California Santa Cruz combines characteristics of a supportive liberal arts college with a major research university. All undergraduate students are affiliated with one of the University’s 10 residential colleges, which provide an intimate college community through shared academic and social experiences. College themes such as International & Global Perspectives and Self & Society attract students from a broad range of majors, creating diverse and lively living environments. As a thriving research university, UCSC offers students the opportunity to work closely with professors on research topics ranging from artificial intelligence to visual and performance studies. And how cool is it – literally! – that a team of UCSC astronomers recently discovered evidence of water clouds on the “coldest known object outside of our solar system?” Popular majors among the University’s 16,200 undergraduates include psychology, biology, and economics. When students need a break from their studies, they can take advantage of over 25 miles of hiking and jogging trails, as well as two nearby sandy beaches. Fun fact: the school’s mascot is none other than that slimy, yellow mollusk – the banana slug. Image credit: Top, courtesy of University of California Santa Cruz