Possibly for the last year, the sophomore class at High Tech High North County got the pleasure of going to the well known, College Road Trip. Me, being one of those sophomores, had a great time. The College Road Trip is meant to get students excited for college, exploring colleges, and seeing if any of them are the right fit. This year it consists UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, The University of Santa Clara, and Cal Poly Slo. All very beautiful campuses. Once we would arrive to each college we would all be put in a room and an alumni would good us a seminar speaking about the college. We would then be put into groups and a student ambassador would give us a tour of the school. The ambassadors would tell us about their personal experiences while also giving us more detailed information about the school.
The first college we visited was UC Santa Barbara. Not only did the college have an abundance of bicycles but also and abundance of welcoming students. That was one of the traits that the student giving us the tour told us. She talked about how UC Santa Barbara was her “home away from home”. All of the students treated her like family making it more enjoyable and comfortable for her to learn. We then went to The University of Santa Clara. The school was quite small but beautiful, there was a stunning church in the middle of the school. This school was my least favorite because of the size and everyone around me felt a little too preppy for my taste. We then went to UC Santa Cruz. This school was definitely my favorite. The ride up was extremely beautiful, almost as beautiful as the actual campus. The campus had a great balance between nature and beautiful architecture. There were trees everywhere you went and the atmosphere felt just as homey as UC Santa Barbara. The last college we went to was Cal Poly Slo. This college had a great atmosphere but wasn’t as beautiful as the others. But in the end it's the atmosphere that matters the most. We had a great tour and was the right school to end the trip with.
Before this trip I had a predominant feeling of leaving California for college. I just wanted to go somewhere new, somewhere that I could explore. Although that feeling hasn't completely vanished I am more open to staying in California for college, especially after seeing UC Santa Cruz. Seeing how different it was up there but it still being in California has showed me that I don't have to leave to go somewhere interesting and beautiful.