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University of California - Santa Barbara
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Inside Scoop

Quick Stats

School Slang
  • ACCESS Card: Your student ID card. You can put money on it and use it as a debit card on campus.
  • The Alternative: A copy shop in Isla Vista where students will have to buy many readers (see definition).
  • Arbor: The area outside Girvetz Hall that has coffee, a little convenience store, and food stands.
  • AS: Associated Students, the student government on-campus.
  • AS Notes: Class notes (sometimes taken by the teaching assistant) for sale.
  • BARC: Billing Accounts/Receivable Collections, the cashier’s office that takes student tuition checks.
  • CAB: Community Affairs Board, the student-run community service group.
  • Campus Point: A student publication and the end of campus that juts out into a point with ocean on both sides.
  • CLAS: Campus Learning Assistance Services, where students drop-in to get help on papers or weekly tutoring for science and math classes.
  • CSO: Campus Security Officer, a student who will escort other students home, or give you a ticket for biking in a walkway.
  • Devereux: The beach right below the Del Playa cliffs.
  • DLG: De La Guerra, a cafeteria on campus.
  • FT: Francisco Torres dormitory, located off campus at the end of Isla Vista.
  • Gaucho: The UCSB mascot, an Argentinian cowboy.
  • GOLD: Gaucho On-Line Data, current student secure site used to sign-up for classes, check grades, request transcripts, etc.
  • HSSB: The Humanities and Social Sciences Building.
  • The Hub: The bottom floor of the University Center, which has fast food and sometimes hosts concerts.
  • IV: Isla Vista, the square-mile town next to UCSB.
  • IVFP: The Isla Vista Foot Patrol.
  • KCSB: The student-run radio station located under Storke Tower.
  • MCC: The MultiCultural Center.
  • Nexus: The student-run daily newspaper.
  • Perm Number: Student ID number; located on student ACCESS cards.
  • RBR: The Reserve Book Room, a part of the library open 24 hours which checks out books/articles that professors have put on reserve.
  • Reader: A booklet of all the handouts for a class that students buy at one of the copy shops at the beginning of the quarter (professors will specify which copy shop).
  • SAASB: The Student Affairs and Administrative Services Building.
  • Sands: An Isla Vista beach.
  • SBCC: The Santa Barbara City College.
  • Storke Tower: You’ll see it!
  • Thunderdome : The Events Center.
  • Trop: Tropicana Gardens, an off-campus dorm with suite-style living.
Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming To School
  • A quarter is short—it takes awhile to get used to the fact that professors discuss midterms the second week of class.
  • AS Bike Shop on campus will lend you tools and tell you how to fix your bike for free.
  • Dead Week, the period before finals, is actually only one or two days
  • Each dorm has a computer network, so your files can be shared with everyone else, and vice versa.
  • Easy Mac and microwave popcorn are really good at midnight when the cafeteria is closed.
  • Expect to get made fun of as a freshman if you are walking with your entire floor down Del Playa, all wearing black pants—it’s just part of being a freshman.
  • Freshman Seminar classes are fun and a great way to make friends.
  • If you are an undecided major, do not take your General Education requirements as Pass/No Pass because then they cannot count for the major you eventually choose.
  • If you go to Student Health, they charge your BARC account, so if your parents pay your student bills, plan on them knowing that you went. (Get your STD test at Planned Parenthood if you’re paranoid.)
  • Lock your tire to your bike frame and the rack, otherwise you will just have a frame or a tire left.
  • Student Health is less expensive than anywhere else in town.
  • The beaches have natural tar on them sometimes (use baby oil to remove).
  • Videotape your apartment before you move in to save yourself from losing your entire security deposit when you move out.
  • You can access the library database from home.
  • You will be dropped if you miss the first two days of a class.
Tips to Succeed
  • Attempt to understand how to schedule classes—and make sure to find out when your pass time is so you do not miss out on registering as soon as you can. Classes will fill up!
  • Don’t try to study in your dorm room—go to the library.
  • Go to office hours.
  • Learn how to “crash” a class (which means to add a class that you didn’t sign up for ahead of time).
See how you stack up against students who were accepted to this school . . .And calculate your chances!Register to get started

UC Santa Barbara Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Inside Scoop at University of California - Santa Barbara

dtroop

'13

Biology and Biological Sciences

4.6
A

Right on the Beach!

It takes only ten minutes to walk from one end of campus to the other. Everything is so easy to get to and doesn't require much walking. Plus the campus is right next to the beach! The beach can be seen from some classrooms and from the dorms. The dining halls have excellent vegetarian choices and they are very eco-friendly as are the dorms and multiple buildings on campus.

Dec 30, 2011

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Inside Scoop at University of California - Santa Barbara

veronicakd7

'13

Sociology

4.2
A-

Beach Fun and Science

Great science programs and the beach allows for tons of fun activities. The #1 school with most bicycles in California

Dec 28, 2011

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Inside Scoop at University of California - Santa Barbara

dangarcia22

'13

Accounting

4.6
A

Social Scene

The town of Isla Vista is right next to UCSB. The primary population is students from UCSB of SBCC. This brings a unique community full of temporary residents that look to party and socialize after a long weeks work. An area full of your peers that have similar interest allows for great potential for an exciting social life.

Dec 18, 2011

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Facts

Traditions
  • : Extravaganza, a yearly outdoor concert
  • : 4/20 and Earth Day celebration in the park
  • : Varsity Sport Streaking on Del Playa
  • : Halloween
  • : Throwing tortillas and wearing leis at graduation
  • : Completing “The Loop” (drinking a beer at every establishment in Isla Vista) before you graduate
  • : Getting on the wall at the Study Hall
  • : The Chancellor attends a Del Playa party every year
  • : Burning couches in Isla Vista
Urban Legends
  • Aldous Huxley, who wrote Brave New World, hung out in Isla Vista.
  • Francisco Torres was a Holiday Inn before it was a dorm.
  • Isla Vista has more bikes than anywhere but China.
  • Someone jumped off Storke Tower and fell into the Reflection Pool.
  • The campus is on Chumash Indian burial grounds.
  • The ocean oil rigs off the coast are really casinos.

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