My daughter got her first College acceptance letter! UC santa cruz! ** UPDATE: GO SLUGS!

[Fiendish Thingy]

34. Former Santa Cruzan here - congrats! Here's some tips:

UCSC, while known somewhat as a stoner/party school, has a lot to offer. Faculty ranges from Angela Davis to Tom Lehrer (now retired), and everything in between. The Greatful Dead’s archives are housed on campus.

As for housing, try to get something in Santa Cruz proper, preferably on the West Side, especially if she doesn’t have a car, or even if she does- traffic on highway 1 is a nightmare coming from the south in the morning, and returning south in the afternoon, so Capitola or Aptos might be difficult to get to class on time. Start looking for fall housing soon- it’s a cut throat market. I think UC prefers students to live on campus the first year or two anyway.

Santa Cruz is a very progressive town, although the city council is often filled with many local business owners. Certain parts of downtown can be risky at night. Other than that, it’s a vibrant town with lots of uniques shops and eateries, and of course beaches and redwoods, and the amusement park at the Boardwalk. It’s kind of like a smaller Portland near the ocean.

Hopefully, COVID restrictions will be relaxed somewhat as your daughter gets into her first year- Santa Cruz has/had an amazing live music and arts scene, especially for a town of its size and location away from big metro areas. Many great artists on tour who stop at Seattle, Portland, SF on their way down the coast, will add a Santa Cruz show before heading to LA.

Congrats again, and good luck to your daughter!