Ask a current UCSB student anything :)

<p>I’ll be attending UCSB in the fall. As far as housing goes, I’m pretty set on either Anacapa or Santa Cruz. how likely is it that I will get an ocean view? And I’m aware that these two dorms are practically identical but which one (if you had to choose) has the upperhand?</p>

<p>@iwantanswers
Only the east side has ocean views so the 1100s 1200s 2100s and 2200s and only some of the rooms. You can look on the housing page at the hall layout to see which ones have views. Anacapa and Santa Cruz are pretty much the same. Anacapa is a little closer to classes and there’s a small chance you’ll get the room im in which is a lot bigger than most rooms but other than that there’s really no difference.</p>

<p>I’m going to UCSB this fall as a freshman. I originally never thought I’d be going there so I never really looked into it…</p>

<p>Could someone tell me the reputations of the residence halls? which ones party a lot? which ones are more quieter? which ones have better food? and views?</p>

<p>Any info would help because I’m really in the dark here haha. Thanks everyone</p>

<p>Just a quick question about the timetabling, how many hours are people generally in throughout the week? I’m coming for exchange from the UK and i only have 6 hours worth of lectures per week (it’s a nice easy life) Is the American system any different? Or will i have plenty of time to drink/sunbathe and generally make my friends back home jealous?</p>

<p>@hillsofchino
All of the halls party at least some. You can choose quiet and substance free floors if you’re worried about it but I’ve never had too much of a problem. If you want to party it’s easy. If you don’t there’s really no pressure. Portola is the only really bad dining commons (by ft) the other ones are decent but you’re going to get tired of them no matter how good they are.</p>

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<p>Nah, I somewhat beg to differ. Dinner and the occasional lunch was much left to be desired at Portola,yes, but I felt that Portola had actually the best breakfast of all dining commons.</p>

<p>Lived in FT my freshman year. . .</p>

<p>@ft1992
No matter what your friends are gonna be jealous that you get to spend time at a school on the beach in california. It really depends on how many units and what classes your taking. For example, this last quarter I took 18 units and was in class about 23 hours a week (including CLAS). But I’m a premed bio major so that’s a lot more than most people. But even with that much class I still have time to go out or tan</p>

<p>@hairylemon
Breakfast at portola is decent but no better than the other dining commons in my experience.</p>

<p>Hi Fred. I applied to UCSB and was put on the waitlist, and am appealing the decision. Could you tell me anything you know about appeals? Anything you know about what the best way to get in is, what’s worked and what hasn’t, etc.<br>
Also, I’m planning on majoring in English if I get admitted. Do you know anything about the English program, and if so what’s it like? Thanks!</p>

<p>Are single dorms better? If I had a single dorm would my gf be able to spend the night with me?</p>

<p>Also, in order to be an English major do I have to be fluent in a foregin language? the website is confusing</p>

<p>Is it worth it to bring your car? Or should I just bring my fixie?</p>

<p>I’m transferring this fall and kind of tweaking out about where to live, so I’m hoping someone can help me. My two options are Manzanita and San Raf. Manzanita seems nicest; it’s the newest, there’s a laundry room in every house and some have kitchens. But I’ve also heard that it is super antisocial, which is definitely not a plus. San Raf looks alright and I like the idea of suite style living, but it just doesn’t seem as nice as Manzanita. So I’m wondering: is Manzanita actually antisocial or is it just a stereotype? And what do you think about San Raf?</p>

<p>Fred11 have a question for you</p>

<p>I also intend on doing pre bio withan aim at pre med or pre dental. Does it really matter where i do my undergrad? would i look better(more competitive) if i went to davis?</p>

<p>Thanks fred, I just asked a friend of mine who’s a current Gaucho (she’s also in Anapaca) and from what she told me I think I’m favoring Anapaca too, haha.</p>

<p>@Goldenstate123 I attended a med school conference at UC Davis in september because I’m interested in premed as well. At the conference, there were admissions people from Stanford, John Hopkins, and many other well known med schools. Every single one of them said that they don’t care/look at where you do your undergrad. As long as you get good MCAT scores and a high GPA, you’ll be fine. Trust me, they really emphasized this</p>

<p>@tpcheerleader
All I know about appeals is that they review your application again by different people and a lot of times appeals don’t go through. You have a better chance since you’re already on the waitlist. It really depends on your individual appeal.</p>

<p>@frankie51
You can bring a car but it’s about 600 a year to park it. I have done just fine without my car and I love having a bike. I actually miss it when I go home for break. The only reason you might need a car is if you go home a lot during the quarter. You can always decide to bring your car later too once you get a feel for how much you would use it.</p>

<p>@helpmepuhlease
I’m actually living in San raf next year in an 8 person suite. I really like San raf because you get the suite style which includes a living room and the RAs are on the other side of the building so they don’t know what goes down on your side;) I wouldn’t call manzanita antisocial but ya definitely a lot harder to get to know lots of people. Manzi is basically just a group of houses with about 30 or 40 people in each. Your key does not work in other houses. Personally I wouldn’t live in manzanita cuz a lot of my friends hate it. That’s also where all the foreign students are put.</p>

<p>@goldenstate
I’m a premed bio major here and I’m definitely glad I chose this over Davis. Santa Barbara is actually a better science school than davis is, we just dont have a med school attached to us. Sb also has premed advising which I’m pretty sure Davis doesn’t and you’re going tohave a much easier time getting research positions here because we have so few undergrads.</p>