Any thoughts about UC Merced?

I can’t speak to UCM other than I’ve heard similar sentiments about it. For what it’s worth, I wanted to give my two cents about your son’s scenario. If he’s not all that excited/inspired by the school, maybe he should reconsider his other options. Just because it’s a UC, doesn’t mean it’s any better than other schools he was accepted to. Also, if he thinks he might want to transfer, he’s much more likely to do that successfully from a community college — and you’ll save a lot of money. Of course, he could grow to love all that UCM has to offer so maybe it’s worth another visit and make sure to talk to current students about their life there. Best wishes to your son!

Your child could think about how much of a priority the off-campus art and music scene is to him. If such things are high (and there's nothing wrong with that) then perhaps he won't be happy there no matter what the program or people are like. If they are relatively lower on the list then the factors that others have already written about come more into play. Prioritizing one's own needs can be hard but it's a big part of growing up. 

My neurodiverse son attended UC Merced as a freshman and sophomore.  Having graduated with straight "A's" from Albany High School, he had a lot of options including several Ivy League schools but he chose to go here.   Our family moved to Merced and from the very beginning absolutely loved it.  Real small-town feel, so different from the congestion and craziness of Berkeley and San Francisco.. You could go into town on any given day and always see someone you knew who would come over to chat.  (try chat in San Francisco).   It was an incredibly welcoming and inclusive place and we all made lifelong friends there too .  We loved how the university was located out in the country - so serene and beautiful.  None of Berkeley or San Francisco's parking problems!    Loved the wildlife, the birds, the cows (not so much  the snake we saw on the campus grounds).  The professors were really interested in the students and spent a lot of office hours with them and showed great concern --- unlike UC Berkeley (my alma mater) where it was always clear that they could have cared less. When I took classes at Boalt Hall (the former name of the law school) the situation was the same -- total indifference to students and a very cold and sterile atmosphere in my opinion. I hated it there. As for there not being much to do in Merced, my son always thought it was what you decided to make it.  He was active in the community theatre downtown and several campus clubs (there are hundreds of them there) and we took a lot of little day trips to surrounding cities.  We had a religious community that we enjoyed being a part of every week. We loved the farmers' markets and the small downtown.   The Gallo Center for the Performing Arts is particularly good in Modesto and lots to do there and in Turlock (another university there) as well. Plenty of parks in Merced and we loved the lake on the campus.  Both of us made so many friends, easier to do than in the pretentious Bay Area where my son was born and I spent over 30 years.  People in Merced were really kind and down-to-earth and we loved being able to speak Spanish all the time too because there was a large Hispanic community there.  Our biggest issue was the heat in the summer - we never did well with that.  My son eventually transferred to UC Berkeley for his junior and senior years for non-academic reasons but really missed the warm and intimate feeling of the UC Merced campus and how much his professors cared about his academic progress and his personal development. Admittedly UC Berkeley has the greater prestige but it was also a place where my son faced plenty of discrimination and on numerous occasions walked into buildings (including the law school) where swastikas were painted on the wall -- all of which he duly reported right away to campus police. Students were cut-throat competitive and plenty of them committing plagiarism in their papers (I know, three of my friends are professors there).   Hope this helps, my boy had a terrific experience where he was always treated with love and respect. 

It’s true UC Merced is isolated and quiet and so  wouldn’t be the first choice for a kid who wants an action-packed campus life. Lots of more introverted kids love it for that reason though. 

But it’s still a UC and beats out any CSU (except for Cal Poly SLO—if your kid got in there absolutely do that, especially for engineering majors). Also, most aerospace engineer majors go on to graduate school and any UC undergrad degree will make that easier than a CSU undergrad degree (except for SLO.)

A lot of kids have to choose between preferred campus vibe and preferred career options. It sounds like that’s what your kid might need to think about. 

If he has other options that are affordable and he likes better then you have your answer. One thing I would say about the 'nothing to do' is it depends on your kids. Our student is at a small college with not a lot around and spends more of their time with friends and doing things via an activity they joined on campus - it's not like they really care what is close by to them in town. But your kid might be different, and someone who likes to see what is out there for fun. I would also recommend you post to the parents board on College Confidential if you haven't already - there aren't a ton of UCM parents there but there are definitely some who can give you a good idea. Agree with the other poster who said grad school might be the end goal and if so a UC education will be good to have under his belt. Whatever happens, congratulations to you all and remind him it's not the where you go but who you are that makes all the difference! Good luck!