University of California-Santa Cruz

Imagine going to school on a 2,000-acre ranch. It might be a lot like attending UC Santa Cruz, where the campus was once a timber ranch and limestone mine. Students take classes among redwood trees and party on the sprawling meadows overlooking Monterey Bay. The more than 17,000 undergrads at this public research university live in a veritable nature bubble an hour and a half from San Francisco. Although the campus is huge, all UC Santa Cruz undergrads belong to one of 10 residential colleges, fostering a smaller community feel. They can pick from about 60 majors, including feminist studies, network and digital technology, and theater arts. Sports don't play a major role on campus, although there are plenty of intramural and varsity teams, including ones for inner-tube water polo and wallyball (similar to volleyball). The school's unusual but beloved mascot is the Banana Slug. Greek life exists, but fraternities and sororities don't have campus houses. The very diverse student body has about 150 organizations to choose from, among them Slugs for Solar and the Slugs Fund Investment Group.