University of California, Santa Cruz
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Majors: Biomolecular Engineering and Mathematics double major
Minor: Statistics
Student Self Identifies as: Southeast Asian-American Heterosexual Male
Summary
I [have a leadership position] in the Mathematics club and I’m associated with two on-campus research labs. I’m also part of the Asian American Christian Fellowship.
Background
Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Southeast Asian-American
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
High School Experience: Public high school in San Diego, CA with about 600 students in the graduating class. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Majors: Biomolecular Engineering and Mathematics double major
Minor: Statistics
Extracurricular Activities: I [have a leadership position] in the Mathematics club and I’m associated with two on-campus research labs. I’m also part of the Asian American Christian Fellowship.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
Part of the reason I decided to be a Mathematics major was meeting other students through the Mathematics club. Being associated with the research labs have taught me a lot academically, especially things you wouldn’t learn in the class.
How easy was it to get involved in the research?
It wasn’t too difficult to get involved with research. At UC-Santa Cruz, there are good opportunities and access to research. My major is a smaller department and the faculty are open to getting students involved.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
We don’t have mandatory homework, it’s all self-studying and putting in work outside of class. There’s a quiz every week, and in programming classes, we usually have take-home weekly assignments.
Is there anything you feel that your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
The Bioengineering department here is quite strong. There’s a possibility to do research, and we have a good number of lectures. A good thing about my major is we don’t have too many students, so there are classes with 12 students in them. Something the department doesn’t do well is required classes across departments. We take several Computer Science classes, but when we take Computer Science classes in the engineering departments, they often don’t recognize the classes and you have to retake prerequisites that are more basic.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It depends on who you hang out with. Sometimes people are less motivated, but if you surround yourself with the right people there is a good community.
How accessible are your professors?
Very accessible. Almost all of them have open office hours that are free for you to ask questions in. They stick around after class for questions and respond to emails.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
The breadth of my major. I’m taking classes in math, statistics, biology, and chemistry. When I first started, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do so I thought this major would expose me to a lot of subjects and I could take it from there.
How do you like the quarter system? How has that impacted your experience?
It’s fine in terms of scheduling. It’s pretty rigorous and easy to get behind. You have midterms and then you think you’re fine, but then two weeks later there are more midterms. The biggest complaint I have is when enrolling for classes you don’t have much time to decide on the classes.
Reasons to Attend
1) If you’re interested in and enjoy the forested campus here.
2) If you’re interested in STEM majors.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) If you’re looking social scene in town, I wouldn’t come here.
2) If you’re looking for a strong Computer Science department with good career resources toward building a technology career, that’s lacking here.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshmen: Merrill College with two roommates
Sophomore: Rachel Carson College apartment in a double bedroom with five total roommates
How was transitioning from your hometown to Santa Cruz, CA?
The transition wasn’t too bad for me. Coming from a great high school helped with that because I think it prepared me to start college. There was a period where it was difficult to find good friends, but I found like-minded people through classes and clubs.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
The campus is extremely safe. You’ll see and hear deer rustling in the bushes, but I feel comfortable walking around campus at night.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
Sometimes we’ll go up to San Jose and get dinner on a Friday or Saturday evening. There might also be kickbacks and activities on the weekends. There aren’t many activities directly in Santa Cruz, so, for the most part, you have to commute to San Jose which is about 45-minutes to an hour car ride north.
What have been some of your favorite times at Santa Cruz?
Some of the kickbacks I’ve had with my roommates. We’d order from a delivery service and watch a movie or something. Other fun events would be living and interacting with my roommates. There’s the Catalyst concert venue in town and it’s pretty accessible to students.
How happy are you with the weekend activities or nightlife at your school? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I’m satisfied enough with the options, but there are quite a number of people that think it’s quite poor. It would be better if there were more Asian food options and small group gathering places in town.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
Through an on-campus fellowship called Asian American Christian Fellowship and through my roommates.
How would you describe the overall social scene at UCSC?
Overall, it’s fairly relaxed and open. It’s not difficult to introduce yourself to someone. I think everyone here is laid back.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
Now that I’ve moved colleges from Merrill to Rachel Carson, I interact with my old friend group, which was quite mixed in terms of orientation and race. It’s not uncommon to see diverse friend groups. [The undergraduate population is 4% Africa American, 28% Asian, 27% Latino, 30% European American, and 8% International.]
How would you describe the South Asian community on campus? How strong is it?
There are fewer Asians here than in my high school. There also isn’t a lot of good Asian food in town. In terms of the community, it’s decently strong depending on which college you’re affiliated with.
How do you like the size of UCSC? How has that impacted your experience? [UCSC has about 18,000 undergraduates.]
I don’t quite feel the size because we have the college affiliation system. There are two majors within my department so the classes get small as you go into the upper-division classes. The introductory classes are the only ones with 300+ students.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
One big issue is they don’t give very good support to on-campus organizations and the career development organizations aren’t the best. The career fairs are pretty poor. It might not be that the school isn’t willing to help the students because they try, but the efforts are weak.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
They have walkthrough hours and you can get your resume and essays reviewed. I find the advising is too broad. You don’t have a specific major advisor, but we have general engineering advisors we can go to. Oftentimes they give broad advice, but nothing specific to your major.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
I’ve learned Python in school.
Financial Aid
Have you used financial aid? If so, accommodating was the office to your needs?
It’s pretty good. They’re pretty responsive, especially at the beginning of the year and quarters.