I'm a high school senior applying to UC San Diego as a freshman. It
has six colleges independent from each other: Roosevelt, Marshall,
Warren, Revelle, Muir, and Sixth College. I'm interested in
engineering majors, so I don't think I want to go to Warren college
because people majoring business like to go there. But after reading
the introduction of each college I still don't know which one is
better. I want to find out which one is best for engineering, which
one is more demanding(difficult) or popular, which one's atmosphere is
not for study, and things like that so I can make a comparison. Also I
would like to learn about each college's strength or special/popular
field (e.g. Warren in business major). Thank you very much!

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Clarification of Question by iworms-ga on 23 Nov 2002 23:10 PST

I'd really appreciate it if I can get an answer before Nov.30. Because
the deadline for the application is 12/02/2002.

Hello iworms-ga,

I’m not surprised that you were confused about the prospect of
choosing and ranking among the six colleges for your application to UC
San Diego. You’re very wise to investigate further as your choice will
seem to make a very big difference to your college experience.

The UC San Diego system of six colleges is modeled after Oxford and
Cambridge where students are enrolled in small colleges under the
umbrella of the large university. Let me clarify the relationships
involved in your choice of college and major.

The six colleges are semi-autonomous and provide you the foundation
for your college experience. “Each has its own residence facilities,
staff, traditions, general requirements, and distinctive educational
philosophy.” You have to decide for yourself which of these elements
are important to you before you evaluate your preference for each
college.

You can choose any major from any of the colleges. The choice of major
determines which school or program will dictate fulfilling your major
requirements. The general requirements vary greatly among the six
colleges. You should study each to see how it fits with you plans for
an engineering degree.

There are also differences in the emphasis on style of learning,
general subject matter to master, intellectual rigor and social
involvement among the six colleges. Again, you should study in detail
each college’s programs and requirements. Be sure to pay attention to
the philosophy and expectations for personal behavior for each.
Reviewing their Web sites definitely helps with this since each seems
to have a different approach, look and feel.

Since you’re planning to become an engineer, reviewing the
requirements for the school of engineering should be your top
priority. You should become very familiar with the New Student Guide
for Engineering Students. Pay special attention to the explanation of
choosing your major. Because of capacity limitations, some majors will
only accept students on initial applications and will not let anyone
transfer in.

The Irwin and Joan Jacobs School of Engineering
Jacobs School of Engineering
http://www.jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/students/prospective_undergrads/ug_handbook.pdf
New Student Guide for Engineering Students Fall 2002
Very important to pick your preference – Some majors do not allow
transfer in. Must be admitted right off.

I’ve collected some resources that should help you review your options
so you can make the best choice. I wish you well for your future at UC
San Diego.

czh

==================================
UC SAN DIEGO AND THE SIX COLLEGES
==================================

http://www.ucsd.edu/college.html
UCSD Colleges
There are six undergraduate colleges at UCSD, all sharing facilities
and resources on one campus. Each college maintains its own set of
General Education requirements, while sharing the Departmental Majors.

http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/pdfs/choose.pdf
Choosing a College
This is an excellent four page document that gives you a good review
of the colleges. The tables for the Graduation Requirements in the
UCSD Colleges give you a very clear picture of the variations in the
general requirements and will help you figure out which will best fit
with your goals for an engineering degree.

http://www.ucsdguardian.org/cgi-bin/opinion?art=2002_11_21_01
UCSD should teach more about six colleges

http://revelle.ucsd.edu/new/
Revelle College
This college seems to be the most intellectually rigorous and
academically challenging.

http://provost.ucsd.edu/muir/
John Muir College
This college emphasized individual responsibility and is flexible in
helping students develop individual programs of study. It’s very
strong in the fine arts, humanities and languages.
each one of these houses attracts students specifically interested in
their particular theme. Students apply to live in these specific
houses during room selection for continuing students and during June
orientation for first year students.

http://provost.ucsd.edu/marshall/
Thurgood Marshall College
This college is dedicated to the development of social responsibility
and cultural awareness. It has a core program in Dimensions of Culture
– Diversity, Justice, Imagination.

http://provost.ucsd.edu/warren/
Earl Warren College 
This college seems to have the least distinct program. It seems to be
the least academically challenging.

http://provost.ucsd.edu/roosevelt/
Eleanor Roosevelt College (ERC)
This is probably the second toughest of the colleges. It’s The Making
of the Modern World program emphasis learning history and gaining an
understanding of community. Graduates from this college tend to work
in socially oriented jobs.

http://www-sixth.ucsd.edu/
Culture, Art, Technology
This is the newest college and still has only a number because a name
hasn’t been chosen yet. The aim of this school is to create a learning
community with emphasis on team-based and cross-disciplinary learning.
They also have the most up-to-date technologies.
http://www-sixth.ucsd.edu/modules.php?op=modload&name=Top_List&file=index
Browse the BBS discussions to get a feel for this college
http://www.calit2.net/education/
Cal-(IT)² -- Innovative technology at 6th


=======================================
COLLEGE PROFILES AND PERSONAL REVIEWS
=======================================

http://www.xap.com/gotocollege/campustour/undergraduate/1128/UC_San_Diego/UC_San_Diego1.html
Go to College – Campus Tours – UC San Diego

http://www.collegexpress.com/collegesearch/collegeDetail.asp?profile=No&Name=California,%20University%20of,%20San%20Diego&scid=1100866
College Express Profile

http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Lounge/2226/ucsd.html
2nd year student description

http://www.broaderminds.com/Profiles/Uc_san_diego/reviews/985103905684.jsp
Student reviews

http://www.parent-teen.com/colleges/ucsandiego.html
Reminders on how to pick colleges

http://www.calculusfairy.com/UCSD.html
Student’s Web page

http://sd.dailyjolt.com/forum/
UC San Diego Forum

---

Clarification of Answer by czh-ga on 24 Nov 2002 13:55 PST

Thanks iworms-ga for the tip and the affirmation. I'm very glad that
blader-ga was able to add a personal perspective. Good luck with
making your decision about prioritizing your choices.
czh

Very detailed and thorough. It definitely helped me, and I appreciate
both czh-ga and blader-ga very much. I think the answer is worth my
$30.

Dear iworms:

I'd like to add a few things to researcher czh's excellent answer
above. I'm a second year at Revelle College right now.

If you're an engineering major, I would recommend Warren for you. They
have relatively lax general education requirements, which believe me,
you will need if you are an engineering major. In addition, they are
located right next to the engineering department buildings, so you'll
be pretty close for most of your classes. (Most science classes have
lectures in the Warren Lecture Halls). They are known as the
engineering school on campus.

If you're looking for the easiest GE requirements, Muir would have to
be first. They usually also have the most laid back student body
academically, so perhaps the academic environment isn't as demanding
as say, Revelle College, which has the most difficult GE requirements.
I go to Revelle, and let me tell you, I do so regret randomly ranking
my colleges when I applied to UCSD. Revelle college is basically known
as the "nerd" and the other "engineering" college.

If you're a CSE major, then Sixth College would also be a good choice.
Especially since they're giving a free PDA to all incoming freshmen of
that college. Not a bad deal, if you ask me. It's the college to go if
you're interested in computer related general education courses.

Roosevelt College is known as the "girl" college. That's where you'll
find all the girls on campus. I have no idea why. Beware if you're
applying there though. They don't have enough res halls, so you might
end up being stuck on the fourth floor of the Argo halls in Revelle
with a building full of Revelle students.

Other than the differing general education requirements (get to know
them well before you make your decision), there's no real difference
between the schools, other than probably where you live your first
year. Most likely you will be living off campus for the next three
years after than anyway. So what matters is knowing what the GE
requirements for each college is and see which interests you the most
(or which has the least workload: Muir. *wink* *wink*).

Please don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions. I would be
happy to assist you further.

Best Regards,
blader-ga