You See San Diego

Introduction
If you're hoping for a constant party, this is not the place to go. People who go here will always describe it as "chill" - which is exactly what it is... just very laidback in all aspects. Personally, I love living in sunny San Diego! There are six different colleges in UCSD, which actually makes what would be a big and impersonal school feel more homey. Each college has its own Academic Advising office, cafeteria, dorms and apartments, etc. They actually do have their own "personalities" - Eleanor Roosevelt, for example, has more liberal arts/humanities type people, while Earl Warren is known for being less social with a lot of engineering majors.

Campus Life and Social Life
Sports are a minor thing, besides say, water polo. We don't have a football team, so that kills any hope for school spirit. Plus, Greek life is weak at best. A lot of SoCal people go home on the weekends, so it generally turns into a dead campus. The thing about the party scene is that you have to look to find it - there are always going to be some people down to party, it's just not campus-wide. The campus security officers are a pain to deal with, since they're very uptight about drinking. It's best to go off campus so you won't get caught. There are also pretty much weekly shuttles to Tijuana, which always makes a fun night. UCSD is by no means a wild campus, but trips to TJ almost always are. Among other things, I've passed out on the lawn at the border and walked back with no shoes. (BE SAFE!) Other things we do on the weekend include beach trips, bussing to Pacific Beach/downtown, going to the casino, etc. There's a mall and a movie theater, both about 10 minutes away. Usually we party on Friday, recover from all the damage done on Saturday, and do something mellow on Sunday. Academics
UCSD is a highly ranked and respected school. However, we're really considered a research school - there's a good amount of professors who are famous researchers but are mind-numbingly boring in the lecture hall. But there are a handful of simply amazing professors who make up for the rest. I had to seriously convince myself not to sign up for a Latin language class, for which I had absolutely zero interest in and no use for, but I more or less in love with Professor Charles Chamberlain, also known as Greek God. If only all professors were as wonderful/brilliant/humble/charming/wise, I think I would be in love with school. I've also had my fair share of good and bad TAs - so there's no way to really judge them as a whole. The workload is not bad at all; compared to my friends at other UCs, I get away with doing relatively little. Lectures can have anywhere from like 100-300ish people, and discussion sectinos usually 15-30.

Student Body
I'm not gonna lie; we aren't know for being an attractive student body. Thus they say that people develop "triton eye" - in which your standards are lowered the longer you're a student here. Kind of like beer goggles, but without the alcohol. It's a very friendly and inviting campus - people are always playing football or frisbee on the lawn, and on warm days people will study or tan on the grass. At night there'll sometimes be groups smoking hookah on the green. I'm personally not in any clubs because I find I have enough to do... but if you're interested in something there are pretty much clubs for everything from cars to community service to cultural associations.

In Closing...
Basically, you have to seek out fun to have it, but if you find the right people, you'll have a good time - so don't let those "UC Socially Dead" rumors scare you too much. La Jolla is a beautiful place to go to college, and overall it's been a positive experience.