While sprinting between mile-apart morning classes may make
you want to shoot yourself in the face, there are a few perks that come with
living on an enormous campus, smack in the middle of sunny San Diego — namely,
the views.

One such noteworthy view is a place worth the price of your
yearly tuition (or at least a couple breakfast burritos). Oceanview Terrace,
Thurgood Marshall College’s dining hall, is first up for stunning on-campus
sightseeing. Its name is pretty self-explanatory: grab some finger-lickin’ grub
and relax on the balcony, which overlooks — you guessed it — the ocean. In the
same junk-food genre is Earl Warren College’s Canyon Vista Cafeteria, occupying
prime real estate on miles of stunning canyon slopes.

Want to escape the swarms of suitemates (not to mention
Rihanna stuck on replay) for a couple hours’ solo time? Take the Geisel
elevator up to its notorious dead-silent top floor, and get a bird’s eye look
at UCSD from its spaceship-shaped nucleus. Be aware that your first time
surveying the campus in antlike dimensions may come close to an out-of-body
experience.

But the clear winner is a secluded spot that, frankly, never
gets old. The view of ocean cliffs from Scripps Coastal Reserve is worth a trek
across North Torrey Pines Road. Take your significant other, secret lover or a
few willing strangers — the span of La Jolla’s grandeur is fitting for any
occasion. The hypnotic crash of waves, framed by vivid gliders overhead, is the
perfect accompaniment to make-out sessions or much-needed doses of herbal
therapy. Go during sunset: The surreal colors saturating outrageous mansions
will undoubtedly be a highlight of your college stay.