Quick Take
Thursday marks the first day of classes for UC Santa Cruz students for the 2025-26 school year. UCSC officials previously told Lookout they expect overall undergraduate enrollment will be similar to the past two years, at around 17,600 to 17,790 students.
UC Santa Cruz welcomes its first-year and returning students to campus on Thursday, kicking off the start of the 2025-26 school year.
This fall, similar to recent years, UCSC is welcoming about 5,800 to 6,000 first-year and transfer students. UCSC officials previously told Lookout they expect overall undergraduate enrollment will also be similar to the past two years at around 17,600 to 17,790 students.
The school’s actual enrollment numbers won’t be finalized until its third-week census in October.
Lookout talked to five new students – one transfer student and four first-year students – on Wednesday about why they chose UC Santa Cruz and how their first few days on campus have been. From the Central Valley and Southern California, these five students said they were drawn to UC Santa Cruz primarily for its natural landscape and relaxed, outdoorsy lifestyle.
First-year Evelyn Sanchez, 18, biology major
From Hesperia, California; UCSC basketball team guard
Rachel Carson College
Evelyn Sanchez, who grew up in the high desert town of Hesperia in Southern California, said she didn’t know about UC Santa Cruz until a Banana Slugs basketball coach approached her during a tournament just before her senior year. She visited the school and was impressed by the radically different environment in Santa Cruz. Sanchez applied shortly after.
“I’m not a big ocean person, but I was like, it would be so fun and different if I went and did something spontaneous – or if I decided to live in the forest,” she said, adding she’s still getting used to being around more insects than were in her hometown.
She’s also getting used to being one.
Sanchez’s mascot at Oak Hills High School was a bulldog, and she said she’s had a laugh or two about having a less aggressive identity on the court.
“It’s a really weird transition,” she said, smiling. “I was a Bulldog – now I’m a Slug.”
First-year Priscilla Romero, 17, global and community health major
From Covina, California; UCSC basketball team guard
Rachel Carson College
After visiting the campus with her family earlier this year, Priscilla Romero, who plays on the UCSC basketball team, said she was attracted to the university’s redwoods, the city’s beaches and the basketball coaches.
“Once I talked to the coaches, I felt like I could see myself coming here and studying,” she said.
Since moving in last week, Romero said she’s enjoyed UCSC’s welcoming atmosphere, its open-mindedness and its emphasis on preserving the natural environment.
“They value their environment here. They value the nature around our campus” she said. “It’s just so chill, and I feel like it’s not as quick of a pace as it is back home.”
Transfer student Clyde Nocon, 25, literature and education major
Long Beach, California
Previous two years at City College of San Francisco
Clyde Nocon said he thinks he chose UC Santa Cruz for the same reasons as other people from Southern California – a change of scenery.
“I think everyone is just tired of buildings,” he said. “And I think this is a very romantic campus in the sense that it’s [surrounded by] nature. I think a lot of people wanted a change of pace from their normal life, or their city-oriented lives, and it’s kind of how I felt, too.”
Nocon visited other University of California campuses, including UC Berkeley and UCLA, before choosing UCSC, and said he found other schools to have more competitive atmospheres than UCSC. He said he likes the friendly Slug community and feels it’s easy for students to approach one another and make new friends.
“Here, I feel like it happens every day. No matter what you’re doing, you can find someone that wants to approach you,” he said. “Everyone’s very sweet here.”
First-year Samuel Green, 18, applied math and environmental science major
Davis, California; UCSC track and field athlete
Crown College
After growing up in Davis, Samuel Green said he was looking for a university that offered new opportunities in a new environment and that wasn’t too far or too close to his hometown. UC Santa Cruz fit the bill.
“There’s lots of outdoor opportunities … I’ve never gone mountain biking, never gone surfing,” he said. “And I’ve been interested in that.”
He added that in his first week or so on campus, he feels as though UCSC students are easy to connect with and strike up conversations with.
“Most people are really receptive — you can just walk up and talk to them,” he said. “People aren’t too closed off.”
First-year Tahna Chew, 19, environmental science major
Davis, California; Oakes College
Tahna Chew chose UCSC because it’s not too far from her family in Davis and because she felt like it’s a great area to spend a lot of time in nature.
“I love the outdoors,” she said. “This has a nice mix of forest and beach and all these new activities that I could do. And I like how it’s far enough from home, but, like, close enough that I can still see my family.”
Chew said she’s enjoyed learning about the different course offerings at UCSC as well. She was surprised to see the “Literature and Magic” class in the Literature Department, which focuses on the history of magic through the lens of the written word.
“For course options, it was fun seeing all the weird ones, like a [literature and magic] course,” she said.
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