University of California - Santa Barbara
Reviews

Boys Boys Boys!

There are quite a few boys that are really hot. We tend to have a lot of baseball boys, soccer boys, and surfer boys. Which means they have hot hair and hot bods.

Expensive, but Amazing

Anywhere in IV is a great place to stay, although oceanside DP obviously has its perks.

Isla Vista

UCSB is located in the county of Santa Barbara but it more known to be in Isla Vista, a small beach town made up of only college students and a few random families. All the students (except freshman) live in the compact town. Everyone bikes from place to place and the atmosphere is about as laid-back as it gets. There are tons of places to eat, and even a bar or two. After dark IV (isle vista) turns into a big party, everyone walking in the streets, going from house party to house party. Most of the partying happens on Del Playa (dp) which the street that lines the oceans. These houses are the most amazing places to live but have the price-tag to prove it, with balconies overlooking the ocean it doesn't get much better. UCSB is an amazing school, with its own little town included.

Global Studies

The Global Studies program is one of the best because of the great faculty and the ever growing variety of topics that they cover. We're encouraged to study abroad and required to learn languages. In the future I plan on becoming an international humanitarian relief project manager. The classes I took opened my eyes to this field and set me on the right path.

Location

I can walk from my room, across the street, and be on the beach.

Typical Greek Life

Greek life, like any other, consists of joining a body of students and living under the same roof or meeting regularly throughout the quarter. In SB at least, there are procedures you must fulfill to rush and to cross. Pros of joining is that your house will always be full of people eager to party. Cons would be that you have to deal with all those people, many who are strangers, entering your house and most likely making a mess. Greek Life can be fun for entering the social scene and being guaranteed a group of friends, but it can also be a job considering that one of the requirements of joining is that you devote set amount of hours during the quarter (otherwise you incur a fee).

Access Granted

You can pretty much try anything in Isla Vista. If you want to go out, get drunk, get laid, get high, you can find someone or someplace to make it happen. It's a lot people and a laid back attitude and people really just want to have a good time. There is some pressure to get out there and try things, but if you stick to your guns about what you will and will not do, no one holds it against you in the long run. If I tell people I have to stay in on a Friday night to study, they are always understanding and supportive. People here are ambitious, but they need to unwind sometimes.

Bikes and Buses

Most people on campus bike everywhere. UCSB is really good with its bike paths. The local place around UCSB has really good bike paths. Buses are also pretty convenient because there's several buses that go to UCSB and most come every 15 to 30 mins. The buses fee is paid for by the University so its free for all students. You can pretty much get around Santa Barbara with a bus.

Good

UCSB has great facilities on campus, there can definitely be some improvements but overall its good.

Bikes and Buses

It is definitely easy to get just about anywhere you want to go. Fees with tuition go toward a free bus sticker for every student on the MTD bus system, which goes all over Goleta and Santa Barbara. There are several lines running through Goleta alone. Most people rely on bicycles to get everywhere on campus / in IV / in Goleta. Many also use skateboards / longboards.

Not Bad, Fair Variety

The dorm food gets old pretty quickly, but there are several other on-campus dining options. There are little food places run by the UCEN all over campus, once you learn to look for them. I find it's often easy to get food between classes. Overall, it could be a lot worse, and after 4 years of living here, I'm pretty happy with it.

On the other hand, the dining commons are pretty expensive, and you will probably want to avoid them after your freshman year (or just entirely - you won't miss much).

Not Enough Computers

There are computer labs dispersed around the campus, but probably not enough for a school this size. It is not unusual to have to wait for an open machine, and quite difficult to get one during finals. The campus ostensibly has full wifi if you bring a laptop, but the signal is slow, and sketchy in many auditoriums.

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 and not 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.

Living Off Campus in IV

Isla Vista has many different housing options (studios, apartments, townhouses, duplexes). The problem with living in IV is the cost, most apartments are expensive just because of location. Parking on the street is also hard to find and not safe on the weekends because many party-goers can mess up your car.

UCSB: School of Champions

Santa Barbara is a coastal town with various options for entertainment. Beautiful weather,incredible beach scenery/activity, excellent shopping and dining are among the primary attributes for which Santa Barbara is known for. UC Santa Barbara, although known infamously as a "party school", is highly acclaimed for its science department, and ranks #7 out of 500 universities (both private and public). The people are friendly, the view is breath-taking, and the campus offers a variety of ways to get involved, including 400+ clubs and extracurriculars.

Strict Substance Abuse While Living on Campus

There are relatively strict rules about underage drinking and drug abuse while living on campus. As for off-campus, rules and regulations, besides following the law, are unseen.

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.

Crowded but Nice

On average rent is between $750-$900 a month and you will most likely be sharing a room with someone. The college village is right next to the campus and it is compacted into one square mile, which makes everything cramped but walking to and from friends' houses is no big deal (even after a couple of shots ;D). Everything is walking distance, though most students ride their bikes. The only con is that there are quite a few homeless people and many poor people living in the community.

Very Diverse

As i walk around campus the groups of people have all races involved and the entire campus is very open to people of any race.

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.

Gorgeous People Everywhere

No matter what team you bat for you will that almost everyone is hott here! Unfortunately there are a lot of jerks but everyone cares about their appearance here and many times I've been caught drooling over my fellow classmates in class, at the beach, and everywhere at IV. Its hookup central but you if you tried hard you can maintain a relationship. Dress during the daytime is casual and you can see somebody in shorts almost every single day.

Pretty Lenient

UCSB has a huge reputation for being a party school. Because of this, campus police has been cracking down harder over the past few years and our big drinking holidays (Halloween, Floatopia, etc.) have died down a little. But, they also understand that a large majority of the student body participates so they don't arrest people out of nowhere and the punishments aren't too harsh. If you get caught, you probably did something stupid.

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.

A Place You Can Call Home

The community next to UCSB is convenient for students because it is near campus, which allows most students to use bikes rather than cars. The town is quite populated and it may be difficult to find the right place to live. In order to get a good location, students have to begin looking for housing about a year in advance. The town is right next to the beach and is primarily occupied by university students. Rent is pretty expensive around the small town and the high demand allows management companies to spike up prices. There are many parks and the social network is unique.