<p>i played varsity tennis also, and i want to keep playing on my own, let me kno if u decide to go to ucsb for sure!</p>
<p>*my question never got answered tho, is a car necessary for living on campus? *</p>
<p>If you're living on campus, I think going without a car is pretty easy. Food isn't a problem because you have meal plan, and any small things are pretty easy to pick up in Isla Vista. Once you move off campus, I thought my life was much easier having a car. In my opinion, outside of the 24x (an express bus between UCSB and downtown SB), the bus system was pretty horrible. Isla Vista doesn't have any large supermarkets or stores, so I made trips often to the Costco, K-Mart, and Albertsons in the Camino Real Marketplace (about 1.5 miles away), the Trader Joes in the Fairview Shopping Center (3.5 miles away), and the Macy's at La Cumbre Plaza (about 8 miles away). Also, it was a lot easier for me to make doctor's appointment, as I had private insurance and waived the UCSB insurance at Student Health. </p>
<p>There's talk that the owners of the bus system (Santa Barbara MTD) are going to introduce a new "Isla Vista Shuttle", featuring smaller buses with a frequency of 10-15 minutes between UCSB, Isla Vista, and Camino Real Marketplace, but until that happens, I wouldn't count on the bus system regularly...</p>
<p>yes i'm going to ucsb for sure vistashortie, are you?</p>
<p>and rc251 i am planning to do work study as well. In that case would a car be necesary? do a lot of freshmens drive cars there?</p>
<p>I found that most freshman did not have cars, but by the time I got to senior year most people managed to bring a car from home. I'm from the Bay Area so it also made my trips home easier, as Amtrak is pretty slow. If you're doing your work study on campus or in downtown Santa Barbara, I think transportation is pretty easy. The bus system will get you where you need to go, but with frequency often being 30 minutes for the various bus lines, it's not very efficient in my opinion.</p>
<p>hey my friend wants to know if theres good lookin guys there?? say hispanics</p>
<p>Since GRENerd is probably taking a well deserved break after finals week, let me answer some of the pending questions here, and he can chime in with his own thoughts when he recovers :)</p>
<p>About how accurate would you say this video is?</p>
<p>I'd give it a 5/10. There's certainly a lot of the typical OC rich blonde people. But one of the great things about UCSB is that it attracts a lot of people throughout the state, possibly more so than any other UC. For example, 35% of UCSB's population are from people north of Santa Barbara. I don't think you'll have trouble meeting people you were compatible with. And even from me, a shy NorCal'er, one of my best roommates was one of those "typical" people and he wasn't so bad :)</p>
<p>*so how's the political science program at sb? international affairs? *</p>
<p>I was a Political Science major/History minor and I can go more in-depth if you like... I liked the program a lot, as well as most of the professors. The best class I had was the Congress Simulation class (Poli Sci 155). </p>
<p>How much is off campus housing? Money is going to be my decision about whether or not I will go here.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, housing in Isla Vista is pretty expensive. I paid $700 to live in a 2 bedroom (with only 1 roommate, and we each had a small bedroom), and I thought that was a steal. Most people share bedrooms in IV, with prices ranging from $500-$650 for a shared room. That's the price you pay for the location, and in general an expensive housing market in the county.</p>
<p>Now, a lot of people brought up the party scene and being incompatible with it. I myself was a first generation American living in NorCal. I went to a high school that was one of the highest ranked in California (Lowell High School in San Francisco) where most people spent 90% of their time studying, and then for fun studied more. I did not drink a drop alcohol or know what weed smelled like before I came to UCSB. Also, as you can see here, most people from my school did not go to UCSB (I was class of 2003):</p>
<p>California</a> Postsecondary Education Commission - Freshmen Pathway Charts</p>
<p>However, the experience was well worth it. I was forced out of my comfort zone, I had to make new friends since I didn't know anyone in SB, and I got to explore a different part of the state. I definitely wasn't a "typical" person as the video showed, but I still had a lot of fun. Also, I did my fair share of partying and I didn't think the party scene got in the way of me succeeding in my classes. I actually had my highest GPA in the quarters where I "partied" more, because it helped me to unwind and I did not feel stressed :)</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
i played varsity tennis also, and i want to keep playing on my own, let me kno if u decide to go to ucsb for sure!
[/QUOTE]
</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm going for sure haha.</p>
<p>Can someone talk a little about the dorms? Like a small description about them and which ones are the most social, most parties, laid back, etc. Or your experience in them?</p>
<p>How long of a walk is it from Manzanita Village to the main campus, compared to the 5 main village east dorms?</p>
<p>and is it difficult for a freshman to get a room there (at manzanita)?</p>
<p>Thanks (:</p>
<p>Some buildings are closer, such as HSSB, the SRB and IV Theatre to name a few. However, I'd say most buildings are <em>slightly</em> closer to the freshman dorms, including the library and University Center. </p>
<p>Also, I highly suggest getting a bike. I hadn't biked in like 10 years before I moved in SB, but once I was there I realized that a bike is very useful there. I can maybe only name 1 or 2 friends that didn't eventually get a bike. You can take the bus to KMart, get a cruiser for $80 on sale, and then bike back to Isla Vista.</p>
<p>Do you HAVE to get a bike? I, embarassingly, never learned how to ride a bike so I don't know how I will be getting around campus. Also, is it unnecessary/unrecommended to bring a car up there?</p>
<p>See my post #122 for cars :)</p>
<p>For bikes, trust me, I sucked really bad too. When I bought my bike at K-Mart, I actually walked it to the bus stop and put it on the bus rack instead of riding it home myself. Once I got back to my dorm, I waited till midnight when the bike paths were empty and then attempted to circle around campus. I got the hang of it pretty quickly. It's not necessary to have one, but it makes life a lot easier to get around to class, Isla Vista, the library, the UCen, the soccer stadium or basketball arena to catch a game, etc.</p>
<p>
<p>For bikes, trust me, I sucked really bad too. When I bought my bike at K-Mart, I actually walked it to the bus stop and put it on the bus rack instead of riding it home myself. Once I got back to my dorm, I waited till midnight when the bike paths were empty and then attempted to circle around campus. I got the hang of it pretty quickly. It's not necessary to have one, but it makes life a lot easier to get around to class, Isla Vista, the library, the UCen, the soccer stadium or basketball arena to catch a game, etc.
</p>
<p>I know how to bike! Problem is, I'm scared that I'll accidentally run people over.. haha... if I end up biking to get around SB, I'd probably hit someone new every day.</p>
<p>Reason that I fear hitting people is, when I went on a campus tour of UCSD, a guy on a longboard nearly killed me... I jumped out of the way right when he passed me but I couldn't get my left leg out of the way.. so he rammed into my ankle, I got a huge bruise, he flew off his board and rolled some 20 feet away. Then he apologized and went along..</p>
<p>questions...</p>
<ol>
<li>is there badminton there and is it any good?</li>
<li>are there any dance programs/ places to learn to dance (not freaking but like bboying and popping, etc)</li>
<li>is there any Asian eateries? </li>
<li>any dorming info please that hasn't been said before. </li>
</ol>
<p>thanks ^^</p>
<p>Hey!
1. Is everyone a partier at UCSB? Is it ok if you don't like to party or drink? Are there other people who don't like to party or drink? I know the sterotype of the typical UCSB student is blonde, partier, drinker. I am none of these things.
2. How is the communication/journalism program for undergraduates?
thanks!</p>
<p>pepper, there are a lot of other forums discussing UCSB's party reputation. But in short, don't worry about it. I'm straightedge as well and am going there next year. Just stay out of IV at night. (and IV is not in UCSB but is a separate little town in itself, fyi.)</p>
<p>I have a ?</p>
<p>Are the grades mainly based on one midterm and one final? Orare there some hw assignments for credit, other quizzes, projects, etc?</p>
<p>pepper..I just posted here: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-general/674197-ucsb-not-party-school.html#post1062081558%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-general/674197-ucsb-not-party-school.html#post1062081558</a></p>
<p>explaining the party issue</p>
<p>I was just accepted into the physics program at ccs.</p>
<p>however, i do like to party a lot, can i manage the workload, the research involved with being in ccs, and rushing a frat?</p>
<p>also how hard is it to get into SAE</p>
<p>Err, where the hell do you buy shampoo? And, where is there nearby to shop?</p>