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
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