A few questions for those at UCSB

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Santa Barbara
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<p>I have a few questions I would like to get cleared up before I make my college decision.</p>

<p>1) Is the Santa Babara Bowl the only concert venue nearby? Are there any other smaller venues where lesser known (but still known) acts play?</p>

<p>2) At UCSB, is there a bike path along the beach?</p>

<p>3) Does the food get old? I saw that you guys have panda express, wendys, and jamba juice. Anything else good?</p>

<p>4) Would you reccomend a car freshman year?</p>

<p>5) If staying at Santa Catalina/FT, the bike ride to campus isn't that bad is it? Any hills etc.? Is a bike with speeds necessary?</p>

<p>6) How common is theft? (ie-bike gets stolen from parking lot)</p>

<p>7) Is there a lot of spirit at the sporting events like basketball and volleyball? Do people get into it and have parties and whatnot celebrating victories or pre-game parties?</p>

<p>8) In Santa Catalina/FT, is there wireless internet? How is the bathroom situation where 4 share one bathroom?</p>

<p>I guess this ended up being more than a few questions, but if anyone can answer any of these, I would be extremely appreciative. Thank You!</p>

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<p>1.) No. It's just the only major one. Theres the Biko co-op and pink mailbox in IV. caza de la rasa, muddy waters downtown. thats not all of them tho. also theres some at the UCSB hub. depends what you're into really</p>

<p>2.)Most of the pike baths on campus or well on campus. Tho there is one next to campus that passes through Goleta Beach, and on westcampus you can ride your bike on the cliffs overlooking the beach.</p>

<p>3.) Dorm food gets old , but Santa Barbara is know for food. Just in IV theres good places to eat Silvergreens, eclectic IV, freebirds, woodstock's pizza.</p>

<p>4.) Yeah i'd recommend a car, only if you don't mind being bugged to drive your friends around. it's really convenient, but not necissary at all.</p>

<p>5.)I live in FT right now (don't call it SC it's not cool) the bike ride can be a real ***** at first, but it keeps you fit. Most people use beach cruisers without speeds, though my bike has them and they're kinda of convenient. theres only like two up hill bumps that suck when it's windy, but most people avoid the bike path later into the year and just cut through IV cause it's faster.</p>

<p>6)Bike theft isn't as common as you would think as long as you get a U-lock. they're tough. don't get chains or like those plastic wire locks they can be broken in less than a minute.</p>

<p>7.)Hmm im not a big partier/sports person so I can't answer this completely. There is a lot of spirit at soccer games though. people where ponchos and big hats. they do this thing where they wiggle their fingers, and throw tortillas onto the field. and theres the "ole ole ole ole gauchos!" chant.</p>

<p>8.)There is wireless internet in FT. but based on my experience if you buy an ethernet cable the internet is faster. The bathroom situation isn't bad at all bad, it's a lot better than the communal bathrooms in the on campus dorms(i lived there for a while). It's alot easier to go to the bathroom ajacent to your room rather than walking down the hall to go. theres no sinks in the bathroom, every room in FT comes with it's own sink/mirror.</p>

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<p>so the sink is in the room itself and not in the bathroom?</p>

<p>Thanks for the help! It is much appreciated. If I come up with any other questions, I will let you know!</p>

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<p>yes thats the sink situation. it's really convenient.
no problem i'll be happy to answer anything else.</p>

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<p>1) Is the Santa Babara Bowl the only concert venue nearby? Are there any other smaller venues where lesser known (but still known) acts play?</p>

<p>Hmm.. I'm not sure what you mean by concert venues, but performances are the norm at: Santa Barbara Bowl (as mentioned), UCSB Campbell Hall (see UCSB's Arts and Lectures), Arlington Theatre (downtown), Granada Theatre (I think it just reopened), Lobero Theatre, Majorie Luke Theatre (Rufus Wainwright recently played here), Stateside Bar and Restaurant (not sure about this one), Velvet Jones, and more.</p>

<p>2) At UCSB, is there a bike path along the beach?</p>

<p>I don't think you can take your bike on the beach, but there are trails overlooking the beach.</p>

<p>3) Does the food get old? I saw that you guys have panda express, wendys, and jamba juice. Anything else good? </p>

<p>We have a ton of food places in Isla Vista. You'll hear about Freebirds (open 24/7), undoubtedly, if you go to orientation. Supercucas, Silvergreen's, Woodstock's Pizza, and much more. There are more restaurants within driving distance.</p>

<p>If you're referring to dorm food: I thought (and still think) it's good. I know some can't get used to it and/or get sick of eating it for a whole year.. that's when it comes time to move off-campus :-P</p>

<p>4) Would you reccomend a car freshman year?</p>

<p>No, I doubt you will need it, unless you plan on going home every weekend (not suggested because your hallmates will never get to hang out with you). Plus, if you are in a group on campus and they're planning an event, I can't imagine they won't be accommodating/provide rides for freshmen.</p>

<p>6) How common is theft? (ie-bike gets stolen from parking lot)</p>

<p>Bike theft is pretty common. Sometimes bike seats get stolen.</p>

<p>Hope this helps with your decision!</p>

6

<p>1) That's the main one for bigger acts, though there are others which the previous posters mentioned.</p>

<p>2) Not on the beach but plenty on the bluffs above.</p>

<p>3) There's lots of options in IV, and many fast food places about 3 miles away near the Farview shopping area.</p>

<p>4) Not freshman year, because you have the meal plan, but I do recommend it afterward. While there are many great things about Isla Vista, for a town of 20,000, it has a complete lack of services like a real grocery store (IV Market doesn't count), pharmacy, full service post office, etc. This means you'll need a car to get basic things done, and in my opinion the bus system is pretty crappy. </p>

<p>5) It sucks but it's also great exercise if you manage to do it every day.</p>

<p>6) Happens occasionally, try to lock your bike to something instead of itself and use a U-lock.</p>

<p>7) This is true for pretty much only men's soccer. The Big West Conference that UCSB is part of is a pretty crappy conference with poor fan support. One of the anomalies to this is UCSB men's soccer, which actually had the highest average attendance for all division I programs in 2007. There's a lot of partying that goes on around the soccer games.</p>

7

<p>Are the panda express, wendys, and jamba juice actually on campus? Also, where do the buses go? Is there by any chance a bus that goes to LA?</p>

8

<p>How much can you work while taking a normal courseload?</p>

9

<p>thanks you guys for all your answers so far! I just came up with a couple more questions.</p>

<p>1) Are there any good shops/malls around campus? Stores such as urban outiffters, h&m etc. (basically trendy good priced stores).</p>

<p>2) How often does the bus leave from FT to the campus? Is that a pain to catch also or is it convenient daily? Is a car ride to campus to much from FT? Walk? Approximately how long does it exactly take by each method?</p>

<p>Sorry for all the hassle, I'm just trying to get as much info as I can!</p>

10

<p>Q: Are the panda express, wendys, and jamba juice actually on campus? Also, where do the buses go? Is there by any chance a bus that goes to LA?</p>

<p>A: All three are located at the University Center (UCEN) which is right on campus.</p>

<p>We have multiple buses. The most important one is the 24X, which takes you from downtown to the Camino Real Marketplace, with a stop at North Hall (UCSB on-campus stop) in-between.</p>

<p>The buses I'm referring to are the local ones, that is, running in Santa Barbara/Goleta/Ellwood, etc. For transportation to LA, you would have to consider the Amtrak...</p>

<p>who8me2k7, you might want to do a store locator search for urban outfitters and h&m. I believe there is an Urban Outfitters along state st. in downtown SB, but no H&M nearby.</p>