What's the marine biology program like at Cabrillo?

[Nicolas]

I'm at Cabrillo College for marine biology. A student review said: “The program is amazing. Small classes, hands-on learning, professors who actually teach.” Another said: “We go to the ocean. Like, regularly. It's not just textbooks.” Another student wrote: “The transfer rate to UCSC is high. They know what UCSC wants.” I'm excited but nervous about the competition. For current students, how hard is it to get into the upper-level classes? Do you get enough lab time?

 

[Linda]

The competition thing is real but it's not like cutthroat. It's more that everyone wants the same limited spots on the research boats and the specialized classes. What saved me was just... talking to professors. Like going to office hours. They're the ones who let you into waitlisted classes and remember you when they need an extra hand on a project. The hands-on stuff is genuinely incredible though. I've taken classes where we spent half the lab time at the beach collecting data. Not even kidding. If you want marine bio and you're okay being proactive about registration, Cabrillo is probably the best place to start on the central coast.