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University of California - Santa Barbara

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UC Santa Barbara at a Glance

Kohn Hall

Kohn Hall Houses the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics
Link to this photo
Photo by JonathanPfeiffer under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 | Source
Location:
Santa Barbara, CA
Setting:
Suburban
Control:
Public
In-State Tuition:
$11,686
Out-of-State Tuition:
$31,746
Room & Board:
$13,113
Full-Time Undergrads:
19,310
Part-Time Undergrads:
495
More statistics . . .
School Website:
www.ucsb.edu
Admissions Website:
www.admissions.ucsb.edu
Financial Aid Website:
www.finaid.ucsb.edu
Application Deadline:
November 30
Acceptance Rate:
48 %
Admission Difficulty:
Average
Average SAT Scores:
1620–1980
Average ACT Scores:
23–29

Best Things

  • The laid-back beach atmosphere.
  • Lots of opportunities to get involved in different things.
  • There are concerts at the Santa Barbara Bowl, the Hub on campus, and all of the student bands performing for free in Isla Vista on the weekends.
  • There are lots of good food options.
  • More best things . . .

Worst Things

  • There is no football team.
  • The administrative staff is really impersonal - nobody really makes an effort to help students, and they have to be responsible for double-checking their own credits. It takes a lot of effort to figure out where to go and what to do.
  • You don't finish the school year until mid-June.
  • Isla Vista has bad parking and loud partying.
  • More worst things . . .

Most Popular Majors

  • Social Sciences & Liberal Arts
  • Social Sciences
  • International Studies and Government
  • Business
  • More majors . . .
Tags: Traditional Colleges and Universities, Tuition: $30K-40K, Student Body: 10000-20000, California, Suburban, Bachelor's (4-year), Master's, Doctoral, Certificate

Overall ExperienceWhat's This?

UCSB students can’t say enough good things about this place, and most never want to leave. Whether it’s the academics, the weather, the social scene, or the laid-back atmosphere, practically all students fall in love with something here. And, if you do get the urge to leave, LA is an hour and a half south, the wine country is a half-hour inland, San Francisco is five hours north, and San Diego is four hours south. Or you can spend your entire four years exploring Isla Vista and Santa Barbara. Tourists pay money to hang out here for a vacation, and UCSB students get to live here full time!

Give yourself a chance to get to know the school and the town. It can take a year to find your type of friends, your major, or your favorite club, but if you are actively searching, you will be able to find what you are looking for at UCSB. The students who excel at UCSB are independent and able to take care of themselves. Students have to be able to resist the social temptations a party school presents and plan their own schedules, while still keeping their well-being in mind—the school is too big to hold everyone’s hand. Overall, UCSB is the true college experience that many high school students have been anxiously awaiting. Sure, it doesn’t have a football team, but who needs that when students can spend Saturdays surfing or playing football game with friends right on the beach?

UC Santa Barbara Student Reviews

Overall Experience at University of California - Santa Barbara

sherriilynn

Communications '14

5.0
A+

Only a Sophomore

As a freshman I absolutely loved everything about my school. It was a completely new experience from what I had in high school. Living in the dorms I was able to meet many new wonderful people. Everything interesting to do was within walking distance or a short bus ride from campus. What most impressed me was the view of the ocean I had from my dorm room. UCSB stands on a cliff right off the ocean. Some of the best running paths line the coast, encouraging students to get out and be active. Many students live right off campus in Isla Vista. This is what makes UCSB so amazing. The whole student population is within one square mile. It makes for a wonderful community. There are signs everywhere with sayings such as "Love Thy Neighbor". It really is a wonderful place and I'm looking forward to living in an apartment there next year with some of my close girlfriends.

Aug 13, 2011

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Overall Experience at University of California - Santa Barbara

jade2431

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology '12

3.5
B

It's Alright...

Everyone's really tolerant and more or less friendly. but it's very hard to meet people if you're not really into going out and getting ridiculously drunk every night. This school is beautiful and the atmosphere is great but it is very cliquey and it takes a while to find a niche if you only party moderately or want to make friends on a deeper level than just drinking buddies. I would most likely choose a school without a huge reputation for partying if I could choose again. At first I thought I could avoid it but that only made me feel isolated and made it difficult to make friends.

Jul 27, 2011

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Overall Experience at University of California - Santa Barbara

dazythenerd

Psychology '14

5.0
A+

Super Experience

My experience at UCSB has been amazing. Yes it is true that Santa Barbara is big on partying, but with hard work and determination you can have it all: a social life, good grades, and sleep. Dorming was the best option. I got to meet some awesome funny people and a not so nice roommate. Any problems I encountered, I was able to solve with the help of the school/dorm staff. UCSB is a great school academically and socially. It is right by the beach and there are so many fun things to do. UCSB offers a wide range of majors and school activities too.

Jul 25, 2011

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