University of California - Santa Barbara
Reviews

SB Is a Party School for a Reason

The police enforcement knows that there is underage drinking and it would be too hard to ticket every student on a Friday night. So, as long as you can walk & don't sit on the curbs, the cops will leave you alone. Underage drinking and drug use in the dorms is another story. If you are caught in the dorms multiple times you can be written up, then probation, then eventual expulsion.

Lots of Sexual Activity

People are having sexual intercourse on campus at all times

Great

Everyone is super friendly, open, and good hearted

Chemistry

Overall, the chemistry program in UCSB is rather straightforward. You do the work, you breeze, and if you don't, you suffer. Almost too straightforward. The professors are reasonable in their tests and grading.

Dining Halls Suck

The meal plan is the worst plan I have ever heard. You only get 11-19 meals a week and you can not allow anybody to use your meals if you dont use them and they dont roll over. The food is pretty mediocre but there is always a decent variety but more than a handful of times I've resorted to cereal.

Don't Have to If You Don't Want to

The Greek life at UCSB is prevalent but isn't completely necessary. It has a reputation for being a party school which means you don't have to go Greek to have a social life or go to parties. There is also no discrimination. Greeks don't look down on non-Greeks and vice versa. There are benefits to going Greek since it provides a sort of family away from home. But, it's still not necessary to have a group of friends.

Extra Help Is Always Available

UCSB has great programs for extra help needed for classes. All the professors and TAs have scheduled office hours and, in my experience, are always willing to help. There's also a CLAS program available free for all students. They provide smaller sized classes with a tutor to give more focused attention to material learned in lectures and they are also always open for drop in questions and appointments when you want one on one help.

Diversity

As an African American student, I notice that there are very few African Americans (maybe 3%). Yet the Black community on campus is very strong and united.

Soccer Is Huge.. Because We Don't Have a Football Team

Soccer is the biggest intercollegiate sport, Harder Stadium will fill up with 17,000 people for some games (the school is about 20,000), but basketball is big too. Intramurals are huge; the Rec Cen is an athlete's dream.

Some Dining Halls Are Better Than Others

The dining halls are pretty standard for a college campus, but the mexican food at DLG is above average, while the other dining commons (4 in total) have their own dishes that are good (and not so great), the food just gets old after awhile, but it's not bad. There are places on campus like the Arbor and the Hub to buy food if you don't want to eat in the dining commons.

Great Academics, Facilities Depend

UCSB has world-class academics, professors are easily accessible in their office hours. Facilities are experiencing upgrades, so some are state of the art, while others are still being worked on.. all are adequate though.

Satisfactory

There are various computer labs on campus and as long as you know where they are, you shouldn't have problems accessing them. And usually where there are computers, you should be able to print (the costs vary from $0.07-$0.12, but there's double-sided printing at the library--but most professors don't like that). Although it can be managed without a printer, it's nice to have it so you can print with no worries of going somewhere to print at the last minute (I think it costs less too). And there is usually a wireless connection on campus, but there are classrooms and on campus where connections are too weak to connect to. But the connection is good in the dining commons and dorms--there're also connection cables in some places (including your dorm) if you have an Ethernet cable.

i'd Rather Carry My Laptop

The computers are ok, but I would much rather bring my laptop to campus. It is faster and more convenient.

Great Looking Bunch!

Relatively speaking, the gal& guy population of UCSB is extremely attractive. They tend to be interested in a wide spectrum of things, but having fun is a very high priority along with hitting the books. Casual dress is most frequently embodied, though hitting the college town on weekends might require a bit more preparation.

Multifaceted

As a freshman, I have yet to fully experience Santa Barbara or Goleta. However, the area is aesthetically definitely the best. Dormitories overlook the ocean, hills with beautiful scenic hiking trails are less than 20 minutes away, and the weather is mild and refreshing. There is not much to do within walking distance of the university (but again, I am not the most reliable source), so there are a lot of parties for students to amuse themselves. Santa Barbara itself is fairly suburban and upper middle class, and a fairly calm ocean-side city.

Academic Assistance

I was shocked at the amount of out of class help that was available for us students on campus. First of all there are classes called CLAS which is a 50 minute class where you review material from lectures and are able to ask questions about anything in a small class environment of about 20 students or can schedule a 1 on 1 tutoring section for no cost. In addition, you have professors and teacher assisstants office hours, CLAS teachers hours, and individual "labs" such as math lab which is a drop in tutorial for math. To top it off you have fellow students who want to succeed just lke you do and are more than willing to form a study group to study together.

Guys and Girls

Guys, unless you're tall, handsome and athletic, don't come here. You're in for torture. Girls, anyhow you look, you're always welcome.

Too Many Unfocused Boys and Girls

There are far too many party people at our school. The majority of boys and girls care too much about having fun and going out than their actual classes. It's sad too see so many of them wasting their time and money like that.

UCSB Diversity

I feel like UCSB has more Caucasians than other races

Active Hotties

There's a wide range of different types of guys and girls at UCSB. A lot of students are athletic and adventurers. You see a lot of them doing some exercise on campus (such as running, biking, and the occasional person biking with a surf board implying that he's gonna surf).

Festivities Indoors and Outdoors

While the neighboring city to campus is a community of mainly college students, the location provides for more than just local parties and school functions. The downtown area of Santa Barbara offers many enriching and lively environments such as wineries, bars, lounges, restaurants, clubs and a shopping center. In addition, the mountains near Santa Barbara have exciting hiking trails, waterfalls and even a hidden tavern that hosts live bands in an intimate and vibrant setting. There are a lot of exciting and interesting activities and places to be found near the university.

Sleepy City, Crazy Town

Santa Barbara is a beautiful place, but lacks affordable options for college students. There are hundreds of shops and attractions, but the cost of everything is much higher than the average college student can afford. The best thing to do is to go to the beach because it's usually sunny and free! Isla Vista is the main source of entertainment for students. As long as your not paying for the drinks at the parties, it's free entertainment.

Friendly Neighborhood

Isla Vista is beautiful, located on the beach, very small so easy to get around and you get to know more people, and you are very close to campus no matter where you are. The houses are average in quality but you are paying for the beach front property so it is hard to complain. There are always tons of activities and people playing ball on the streets. Great atmosphere.

Girls at UC Santa Barbara are Hot But?

When going to UCSB I was talking with a roommate of mine about how hot the girls are in this campus and he told me that the city college has hotter girls. I had went there once and didn't see any, so I disregarded it but when I took a course in Film Production and Communication at the college it was like being hit by a freakin train. The Swedish Bikini team comes to school here, I actually lived in Sweden when I was a child, my cusin's wife is swedish so stayed with them at Uppsala which is like SLO Cal Poly very college town and the girls there are not as hot as these girls. I love UCSB but SBCC has much hotter girls than UCSB.

Computers Are No Problem Here at UCSB.

UC Santa Barbara's computer labs are very modern and are placed in great environments for students to focus and feel as comfortable as possible. They are up to date and are very beneficial to all students. With wireless internet accessible to all students, one does not really need to go to the computer lab. But, they are there if needed.