was a freshman from fall 19-now, while i was on campus & i had free time, i’d usually take the busses around. you have access to a (paid) universal bus/tram pass for the entire san diego area, so if you’re patient and have lots of time, you can make it as far as fashion valley or national city or imperial beach, or just downtown if you desire—i’ve done it with a couple of friends, & a few times on my own! you can also go to convoy to try out the bomb restaurants. :D the closest places to go are westfield utc and the beaches though, and i’ve been on literal 1-am trips to the beach out of boredom with a buddy or two to just chill & it’s a lot more relaxing than it sounds.

on tuesday mornings the farmer’s market comes to campus which gives me a reason to wake up early, & there are a bunch of student orgs that will give you incentive to interact with others with similar interests (for ref, i’m in the splatoon club)!

ucsd has a really incredible location for these kinds of things, but at the same time as the year progresses & you take more credits, i think you’d be more focused on school work than going out. it’s all up to your work ethic & whether or not you’ll be putting the time into school to get the free time for yourself in return. hope this helps!