Live off Campus at U of Utah vs Take another year off, get California instate tuition...

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I messed up registering for housing at Utah. I know the place is a commuter school, and living off campus just doesn't sound fun at all, but now I'd have to. Seems like it would be hard to meet people and get a new little group of friends to do stuff.

My other option is move in with either the G-ma or my cousins that live literally across the street from a community college in LongBeach. If I get a job, get my California drivers license, register to vote, register my car, etc, I'd be able to get instate tuition at any California school. I'm thinking Santa Barbra, and a buch of my friends are getting a house in Tahoe so if I want to take a week end and go up there that doesn't sound bad. Or move in with them and work and go to the CC up there in Tahoe.

The one thing is I've been out of school for 2 years already, I'm 20, I sort of think that taking another year off of school not be smart, and the fact that I'll be 3 years older then everyone else I might become "that weird older guy"

Long term Goals are study Biology, either save the environment (or somehow make a step in the right direction) or become a family practice doctor in a small-medium size mountain town with skiing, mountain biking, and backpacking, maybe surfing near by, hopefully not over working myself and having plenty of time to enjoy the things I like doing even if it means not making $300,000 a year. I'd rather make half that and enjoy my life.

Okay, what would you guys do in my situation?
 
Well, if you want to study science/medicine then I would just suck it up for a semester or a year, and live off campus at the U of U. Though there are better medical schools out there, the U isn't half bad. Also, don't worry about the fact that you're 20 because there are plenty of kids up there that are in your same situation.
 
Just want to throw out there that UCSB is one of the best biology programs in the nation. Also, California can't even be compared to Utah.
 
Last year I commuted to college to save money since Im trying to stay debt free. Saving all that money was awesome, but thats about where it stopped. I had a good amount of friends, but not nearly the amount that my friends living on campus had. Dorm life is ok, but the social aspect of it is amazing. You meet so many people and theres always something going on. Looking back on it Id say the decision for me was 50/50on whether Id do it again. No student debt is awesome, but not really getting in the groove of college social life was a huge toll I took to save that money. Youll really break out of your shell living in the dorms, or in a university affiliated apartment for that matter. If I were you, Id go for it, the longer you wait to go to college the less likely you will be to start. Im not sure how U of U's dorms are set up, but here at the University of Cincinnati we have Sophomore and up dorms. They dont have RA's and are wet (you can drink in them if youre of age), much more like an apartment on campus. This coming fall semester I will be turning 20 and living in one, and I dont see that as weird at all.
 
i would say go to CC in cali for 2 years get decent grades then transfer to USC or stay at CC for 2 years and transfer to Santa Barbra. UCSB only accepts transfer students entering as a junior as do the rest of the UC's
 
Your sig goes awesome with this.

I think long beach or Tahoe would be really cool, obviously not alot of skiing in LongBeach but you could learn to surf and hit up on cute Cali girls.
 
It is a different world.

But no, I don't climb the matterhorn (I wish!) I work on the jungle cruise.

And no, the people who are in costume do not have orgies.
 
California would definitely be an awesome option, but since I went to the U I'll throw in my $.02 on the dorm/friends situation:

Yes, it's a commuter school and that can be intimidating. People do kinda tend to just show up for class and then leave right away again; not too many people hang out on campus for no reason like they do at other schools. But there's also a huge percentage of skiers at the U which should help you make friends more easily (having things in common and all that). In my experience it wasn't very hard to meet new people and make more friends post dorm-life, and to be honest, of the friends I made in the dorms my freshman year I only still talk to maybe one or two of them. My friend group now is totally different and I met them mostly through skiing, not the dorms. Everyone in the dorms is so desperate for friends that they kinda glob onto anyone, which makes it easy initially, but most of those friendships don't last very long. If you go to the U just talk to people, go to the parties, meet more people, get a group of friends...you'll most likely be fine after a while.

Plus living in the dorms isn't that cool anyway, especially on a dry campus.
 
If you're looking to be a physician, don't take any more years off. And what college you come from doesn't really matter, grades/test scores/extracurriculars are far more important.

UCSB has a better biology faculty no doubt, but the U is not a bad place to get your B.S. and set yourself up for an MD.
 
Like that's ever stopped anyone hahaha

But kristen is right, you meet a ton of new people outside of the dorms, i definitely still have some good friends i met in the dorms for sure but a ton of other friends who i met afterwords.
 
As somebody who left California for school... because California schools were overpriced as fuck, for the quality of education, massive class sizes, lack of helpful administration, and near-impossibility of getting your classes in some cases...

I recommend against it, unless you can downright guarantee yourself a spot in a high end UC system program, and actually afford it (even with in-state tuition, the UC system is stupid pricy)

Going to CC up in Tahoe is okay, but honestly, you won't get access to a lot of the same classes you'd get if you were going to a school in a larger area (i spent a couple years part-time at some junior colleges with 20k person student populations - some even had dorms... shit was insane in the Bay Area) Also, you'd probably have to go to South Tahoe for junior college, as the school in Truckee has maybe 1000 students, and sends you 2 hours down the road to Rocklin for like half of the classes you'd need anyways...

Also, UCSB? have fun driving nearly forever for skiing. I guess you can bro-out on the beach, but honestly, you won't get more than a handful of days skiing, due to the 8 hour mammoth trip... that is if you're serious about your education there (which, if you're paying UCSB tuition? you really should be.

And on that note... why go to a UC for your undergrad? Don't spend a lot of money on your undergrad... get into a decent program at a solid, affordable school (UofU sounds appropriate), get awesome grades, and get in to a big name school for a graduate degree. That's how you set up a good career path, without having insane student debt...

and if you want to party at a California school? Skip UCSB, and go to Chico State. Cheaper, solid education (highest job likelyhood for 4 year program graduates out of all CA universities), 2 hours from Tahoe, and it's nickname is "Party State" for a reason. The only bad thing about it is that it's not on the beach... but it has way better beer.

 
Also, if you're looking at the UC system, AND skiing? go to Davis.

10 minutes from Sacramento. An hour to San Francisco. 2 hours from Tahoe, and one of the best medical programs in the whole damn country (if you're serious about being a physician, holy shit you'd get instacred if you got into Davis, because everyone in the medical industry knows somebody who went to Davis). Plus the town is pretty damn sweet.
 
I live just next to Long Beach in Orange County. Long Beach City College has 2 campuses. One is more in central Long Beach (not a nice area) and the other is on Carson kind of by the airport. Although they aren't far from each other, just know that you might have to drive to the "other" campus for classes. I'm going to assume your relative lives by the campus on Carson. It's a good feeder school with plentiful transfer options and a nice student vibe (my mother was a professor there). It is really close to CSULB and you could always hang out with that "scene" and go to their parties, etc.

I disagree that UC is a waste of money. I completed my undergrad at a UC school as did my brother. I never had trouble getting classes and neither did my brother. That is far, FAR more common among the CSU schools who faced worse budget cuts while also facing growing enrollment. I do agree that UC Davis is the better "skiing" school. Especially if you want to do something in the sciences UC is the way to go, as there are more research opportunities (medical schools look for this in applicants) and typically a broader offering of science type classes. Chico State is great if you want to party every night then get an entry level job, which it doesn't seem like you want to do. As for cost, the difference between UC and CSU isn't that stark and considering you'll be living cheaply for the first 2 year while you wait to transfer you'll have saved a bunch already.

Medical School is a huge commitment. To gain admittance you need: good grades (especially in the core: GenChem, OChem, Bio, Physics, BioChem, Calc), a good MCAT score, volunteer experience (ideally in a patient care role or medical role), work experience, and research experience. Managing these while still being "normal" can be really difficult, but not impossible. One of the guys in my fraternity who actually got into Davis Med and turned it down for UCR med was one of the biggest party people I knew, but he spent all rest of his spare time studying or working in a lab or volunteering at a hospital so that he had the chance to still party often.

Message me if you have any other questions, I'm well versed in a lot of the topics you have questions about.
 
at UCSB you can surf, and fuck lots of hot girls and do high quality drugs. it's a cocktail of awesome waiting to happen.
 
Perhaps it's the rich boy in me, but UC schools are not expensive. Obviously way more than they used to be but still far less expensive than comparable private universities.
 
It's 30k + per year for the UC's... and that doesn't count the high cost of living in California...

That's over twice as much as I paid per year... for out of state with WUE... My student loans in total are about as much as one year at A UC system school... for 3 years... and I took a lot of extra classes I didn't need to (like photography, kayaking, and mountaineering -- stuff that didn't go towards my major at all haha)

Yeah, it's cheaper than a prestigious private school... It's still going to kill you with loans unless you're in some program that's near-destined to land you a killer gig, or put you in an incredible Post-grad position... or you are lucky enough to snag some awesome grants and scholarships.

Perhaps I'm not really speaking to somebody who's looking to be a physician, (in which case, you're going to need great schooling from point A to point Z if you're going to get into that field - and you might as well go to a UCDavis or UCSF, because like I said - that's insta-cred upon graduation), but if you're going to a UC just to go to a UC (or in UCSB's case, to fuck hot girls and take drugs), then it would be wise to look elsewhere if you're going to be taking out any significant loans to cover the cost.

(also, if you want to go to Santa Barbara and NOT shell out crazy loan costs - check out Santa Barbara City College - that mother fucker is literally on the ocean)

city_college_calif_coastal_proj_480h.jpg
 
^once again, for med school nobody gives a rats ass where you get your undergrad as long as its a somewhat credible university. The only time that schools prestige really weighs in at all is where you did your residency.
 
I have to agree with you here. I have a friend that went to Yale for undergrad and all of the possible employers couldn't have cared less that he went there. All they wanted was a highly regarded Graduate school
 
Utah has rad skiing but has a lot of fucking weirdos. California also has rad skiing but is full of fucking weirdos. I'd choose California though because in Utah there's mormons and EHeath.
 
This is the biggest thing that makes me go "ssaaaaaahhhh(inhale deeply), I don't want to go to utah.."

Like the place is cool, good skiing close by, relatively nice weather (kinda fucking hot and dry in the summer though with no good spots to swim close by), but the people and general vibe are kind of weird. You can feel the repressed mormon influence almost.

And its not like theres a lot of attractive women that are like "I'm going to go to school in UTAAHHH!!!"

I don't know. Way rather be in the PNW or california or colorado or something. But I guess I need to get this school thing over with.
 
I know I wrote weekend but yeah. Long weekends and during breaks and holidays, if I lived in Santa Barbra on a normal weekend I'd probably just go the beach and stuff.
 
Right on man! Just an idea I go to cal poly in Slo it's an awesome school and gets ranked higher than most uc schools aside from ucla and cal. It's also cheaper than most uc's and has one of the most awesome fuckkng ski clubs in the state. (I'd say it's the absolute best but I'm biased but for real we the best) just a thought Slo is fuckig way doper than sb in my opinion and I grew up in sb. Look into it if your interested
 
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