Crosstown Univeristy vs Host University?

Jun0602

5-Year Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2014
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33
Hi all,

I applied to UCSB (Crosstown) and UCLA (Host) along with other colleges but the two are my top preferences. I really don't mind attending either, but I was wondering how different it is attending a crosstown university v. host university.

About crosstown university...
I'm worried about the transportation and being treated differently because you're not really from the host school.

Any advises or experiences?

Thank you.
 
UCSB and UCLA are quite a distance from each other, 100 miles, and a few hours of travel (when not in traffic). Not sure if you are from that part of the country or not, but just a heads up you are talking about a solid distance. I think that could be an impact as opposed to a situation like Georgetown and GW, who are probably 10 or less miles. Hopefully someone with experience from a crosstown vs. host situation with a significant distance can chime in. I think every battalion and school (host/crosstown) is different on how folks are treated and integrated. Alot of this is probably based upon distance. Have you visited either school and the battalions? The best answer will on this exact situation will come from those who live it daily.
 
I would visit the crosstown detachment and ask to talk to POC cadets (junior/senior). Many xtown cadets carpool.

That being said, I know from this site and via my DS and his friends some felt that they were not getting the FULL effect. Their college not having ROTC made them feel like a fish out of water on campus,and not being a student at the host college left them feeling the same way.
~ xtown cadets don't care about the host FB or BBall game. They dont have the same profs. They are less likely to hang in the detachments cadet lounge between classes or travel back to the unit for social reasons I (parties on the weekend)

To me the big negative is PT is held at O Dark thirty. 6 a.m. at the host unit means rolling out of bed at 5:30 to be there at 5:45. Xtown it may mean waking up at 5 a.m. Finish at 7:00 and you can get back to the dorm, take a shower and make the 8 a.m. class, not necessarily true for xtown.
 
I agree with Pima - talk to someone in authority at the cross-town school to get the real skinny for your particular situation. Things are going to vary from school to school based on both distance and how they run the program. In your case, with the distances involved, I would be surprised if the entire unit got together more than once per week. and they may even have van(s) for the commute. However, I'm just guessing, but I can also pretty much guarantee it's going to be different than most crosstown units... which is why you need to speak to someone there or even cadre at the host school.
 
UCSB and UCLA are quite a distance from each other, 100 miles, and a few hours of travel (when not in traffic).

I don't believe UCLA is the host for UCSB. He is just saying one is a host school and one is a cross-town school.
 
UCLA is host for UCSB for AFROTC....which would be absolutely crazy to do with the distance involved.
 
Similar situation in Northern California for NROTC.
UC Davis is 60+ miles away from host school UC Berkeley. UC Davis is a solid shot for DS. UC Berkeley, not so much. But driving 60 miles? Ugh!

Meanwhile DS's other choice San Diego State University is only 10 miles (15 minutes) from the very expensive Jesuit host school, University of San Diego
 
I'm not sure of the specific situation here, but if I may talk purely from experience (that being the University of Pittsburgh AROTC Battalion), some schools that are cross-town might just be so by name, and actually have their own Professor for instruction (or one that rotates between two or three schools of the Battalion). Aside from a required monthly or quarterly event where the entire battalion attends, they might not have much of any interaction with the host school at all. It all just depends on the distance involved really; some schools are close enough that attending class at the host school would actually be a somewhat sane idea (although I still know few college students who want to get up at 5 AM), while others are at a distance where it would be better to just have the Professor travel to them instead of doing things vice-versa.

Thinking about it now, I have one piece of advice which would serve you better than anything you could find here:
Get in contact with the Professors and/or Recruitment Officers of the ROTC program at these schools and ask to speak with cadets! They can tell you exactly what it's like!
 
Bruins (UCLA) Battalion vs. Surfriders (UCSB) Battalion? No contest, at least on which one has the cooler nickname.

Your post was a little unclear. It reads like you are applying to the crosstown affiliate of host UCSB. The GoArmy/Locate Schools does not indicate any affiliates for UCSB, though that site's reliability is not guaranteed (an Army website, who' da thunk it?).

Generally, the inconvenience of getting across town as well as the lower visibility and socialization opportunities are disadvantages which argue in favor of attending a host school. My son's dorm room was 30 seconds or so from the field where 6 a.m. PT occurred in contrast to the 15 or 20 minute shuttle van of his crosstown colleagues. When he was on the Ranger Challenge, practices began at 5 or 5:30, and there was no van. No cadets from the crosstown school did RC.

However, there are factors which could change the calculation. For example, UCLA is a huge campus, and many students are commuters. A few years ago there was a published report of a cadet whose commute via public transportation from his home in Brooklyn to his school, host St. John's University in Queens (i.e., the same city), took one hour and 40 minutes each way. Would you be living on campus or commuting? Is the cross town school three minutes or 30 minutes away?

By mentioning visibility, I am not talking about how many times you poke your head into the battalion offices. Rather, would your
location impede your ability to participate in battalion extracurricular activities or informal gatherings such as breakfast after morning PT.
As someone indicated above, there are large battalions with sizeable affiliates which offer their own PT and Military Science classes.
For the most part cadre doesn't care about which school cadets are attending. With some exceptions, cadre members don't stay at a school longer than three years before they are rotated into another job. Few of them have ties to the host school, which does not pay their salary. Many of the non-coms who serve in the battalion are not college grads and would have even less interest in school distinctions.

As suggested above, research would be worthwhile. Recruiting officers would be pleased to arrange for you to meet with cadets to get a flavor of cadet life. If there is a gold bar recruiter (a recently commissioned graduate who is helping until until his or her BOLC begins), that person could be a great source of info.
 
Edelahenty, he's talking about AFROTC (as Biker already mentioned). You do have great points though :) From everything I've been able to gather, my direct answer would be that if they're ranked the same to you, go UCLA. Transportation to and from would generally be a nightmare to you, and getting treated differently is a hit or miss at best. The thread at the bottom of this post is asking about the same exact situation; I'd recommend checking it out, as it might assist you further (I didn't read in-depth to it). What I strongly advocate for is that you ask the cadre at UCLA about it, and better yet, ask cadets from UCSB as well. They hold the correct answer; everyone here can only provide speculation and educated guesses at best. Hope this helps! :)

http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/ucla-afrotc.29563/
 
Yes, AFROTC.

That does sound like a lot of time is consumed just to PT...

And it seems like the best way is indeed talk to both schools about it. Where I'm from (Puerto Rico) is pretty far CAL actually, so maybe next month or so I'll fly a visit. I haven't heard yet whether I'm even accepted to the schools yet. I was just thinking ahead. Thank you for the replies.
 
Good Afternoon Jun0602,

Others have provided great answers but I can speak from personal experience. I am currently a crosstown AFROTC cadet and am going to transfer to the host school next semester. The reasons why I am doing so is because of the travel time and distance. Here are a couple examples...I wake up anywhere from 20-30 earlier than the other cadets just for PT. For LLAB I wake up at 0445 instead of 0515 like the other cadets. Added to this is the travel time of about 10-15 minutes that hurts the wallet when it comes to gas. You will be needed at the detachment more than just these times. Add to it flight meetings, various jobs, forms to fill out, cadre meetings, uniform problems, drill and ceremony, honor guard, AAS, and other things. If a cadet truly wants to succeed they really need to show dedication and involvement in the wing. This means volunteering for extra activities and that all involves more time at the wing. I travel only 3.1 miles and it still is a hindrance.

As far as being treated differently I have not came across that. Actually some express that I am lucky to be able to get away from AFROTC a little. The only thing you have to do is make time to hang out with the other cadets.

Personally I feel like you should almost always attend the host university. As you move from GMC to POC your responsibilities only increase and more time is spent on AFROTC. If you have any more questions about this or anything AFROTC related feel free to PM me!
 
I go to UCSD and my host university is University of San Diego. This is about a 20 minute commute. San Diego State University is also a cost host university and that is about 30-40 minutes away. Traveling is definitely a pain in the butt. We have to wake up earlier in order to make it to the same destination as everyone else. You aren't really outcast for being at a cross town. My unit consolidated a lot of our events in order to reduce traveling for those in cross town universities. Well at least for me it's that case since my battalion ensures we are integrated and mixed together. In my opinion, I would only go to a cross town if it is worth the extra pain and steps. I wish all the time that I went to a host university because it's that much less of a headache. I have to memorize three different campus layouts, parking situations, and I know the transportation system of San Diego like the back of my hand. It comes in handy but it's definitely overwhelming and EASY TO SLIP UP.
 
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