Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2015 - (Page 42)

students review The Students Review series is intended to aid prospective college students in their search by offering insiders' views of selected colleges and universities, as expressed by current undergraduates or recent graduates who have high academic ability. Note that the number of reviewers is small. Consider their personal perspectives as only one factor as you gather information and impressions from many sources. Our reviewers include 29 alumni, who major(ed) in: applied math (1), bioengineering (2), biology (1), chemical engineering (1), chemistry (1), cognitive science (3), communications (1), economics (1), electrical engineering (1), English literature (2), human development (1), math (3), mechanical engineering (1), nanoengineering (1), philosophy (1), physics (2), political science (5), psychology (2), structural engineering (1), and studio art (1). (The number of majors exceeds 29 because three reviewers had double majors.) Reviewers' comments appear within quotation marks. Quality of Academic Instruction for Undergraduates The University of California at San Diego (UCSD) has an unusual undergraduate structure: six colleges defined not by academic discipline but by educational philosophy. All colleges share the same campus, facilities, and departmental majors; but each has its own distribution or General Education (GE) requirements. Reviewers were very enthusiastic about UCSD's academic strengths. "Overall, the quality of instruction is very high. UCSD has a wealth of world-class resources, with outstanding faculty and facilities in many departments. It is primarily a research university, which is a bit of a double-edged sword for undergraduates. On one hand, it can be intimidating to be in a place where professors are constantly asking 'big' questions; on the other hand, it is thrilling to work with people making cutting-edge discoveries. A little initiative can take you very far; professors are typically 42 imagine University of California at San Diego very receptive to taking on undergraduate research assistants. It's an excellent place for motivated students." "Class size at UCSD can be daunting at first. Many of the GE classes have up to 400 students. However, once you get into your major courses and electives, class sizes shrink dramatically-to 50 in popular majors like biology and as low as 10 or 12 in some less populous majors. Academic resources are really state-of-the-art." "All UCSD undergraduates are associated with one of six colleges, which offer different academic philosophies. I attended Muir College, which is very liberal and focuses on independence in crafting your own education, and it was perfect for me. Other colleges are more structured in the curriculum students are required to cover." "UCSD's Cognitive Science department is truly amazing-one of the top cog sci departments in the world, and one of the few that offers an undergraduate degree in the subject. I had the privilege of working personally with outstanding professors and building strong academic relationships with them." "UCSD undergrads have the unique opportunity to learn at one of the world's premier marine science research centers, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which is part of UCSD. Scripps offers majors in both marine biology and earth sciences, classes for non-majors, and research opportunities for undergrads from a wide variety of majors. Every UCSD undergrad should take at least one course at Scripps-after all, everyone who comes to UCSD loves the ocean!" "While UCSD is best known for its science and engineering departments, it also has some stellar humanities departments and faculty. UCSD's Political Science and Theater & Dance departments are among the best in the country." "UCSD has an excellent career center that makes it easy to find a great job on campus while you are in school and easy to interview with major corporations for jobs after graduation." Social Life Like UCSD's college system, UCSD undergraduate social life is unusual. "UCSD's location is exceptional, in a beautiful area with warm, sunny weather most of the year. Quality of life is great! You can walk to a wonderful beach from campus, and there is plenty to do in the San Diego area. The downside is that there isn't a lot in the way of a traditional campus life." "UCSD has plenty of sociable people, but the things that unite students on many college campuses-sporting events, fraternity parties-are not big here. There is an outstanding athletic facility and a great intramural sports program, but there are few sporting events that students are interested in attending as spectators. About 10% of students join Greek organizations, but those function more as social and service outlets than as party hosts. The university organizes numerous campus-wide events, the most popular of which is the spring Sun God festival. But in general, if you want an undergraduate experience where campus activities force you to meet everyone, UCSD is not the place for you." Jan/Feb 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2015

Big Picture
In My Own Words
Land & Sea
Going Full Circle with Ocean Conservation
At Home in the Water
Diving into Marine Science
Ocean Views
Becoming a Steward of the Seas
Engineering for Ocean Health
Selected Opportunities and Resources
The Wonderful World of MOOCs
Super
Off the Shelf
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options
One Step Ahead
Planning Ahead for College
Students Review: UC San Diego
Creative Minds Imagine
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - January/February 2015