Hey everyone, I’m a 4th year Economics and Accounting student and I’m here to answer any questions you might have about UCSB. To give some background, I entered UCSB as a Pre-Economics student, and then I later decided to major in Economics with an emphasis in Accounting. I have been at UCSB all 4 years and have not changed my major in that time period. I lived in Anacapa hall my first year, and then lived in Isla Vista (the community connected to the school and where most students live) for the next 3 years.
MODERATOR’S NOTE: Anyone is free to ask or answer questions in this thread.
My response to questions from another thread isn’t posting, so I’m going to try to post them here again and see if they work.
@thekimchiyuja Hey there, unfortunately I am an Econ and Accounting major so I can’t provide any great insight into physics. However, I would recommend for you to check the reputation of the physic departments of both schools through USNews or other similar ranking websites. You might also consider asking the same question on the UCSB and NYU subreddits.
@Barremian You should call the UCSB financial office and ask for information about your financial aid.
@Kynediv Not sure, but there is a UCSB subreddit. I also remember that was a facebook group for incoming freshmen when I was admitted to UCSB 4 years ago.
@JessicaF I have not taken FSSP and I do not know anyone who has. I think it will be a good opportunity to get a feel of the campus and some of the students, but I don’t think it will be necessary. If you are someone who requires a warm up period in order to adjust to a new setting, then FSSP may be for you. But if you want to enjoy your summer and you don’t think you need that warm up period, then I don’t think FSSP is necessary. I lived in Anacapa my freshman year and it was a blast, but that was mostly because of the friends I gained there. I can elaborate more on the housing aspect of it though. Anacapa’s dorms are not particularly big, and you will be sharing the room with 2 roommates. Your allocated space will likely consist of a closet, loft bed, and a table with chair. Each section of the dorm is one gender only, so your neighbors will all be girls, and on the opposite side of the dorm will be the boys. Upstairs it’s a similar situation. Anacapa is only like a minute away from the beach so you and your friends can go there whenever you want. It also has a study lounge (which is slightly louder and more social than the library) and a recreational room with a piano, pool (the one with sticks and balls, ping pong, and air hockey.
@Auracle My roommate switched from comp sci to comp engineering without too much trouble. I think switching majors within the engineering departments will be not too difficult as long as you make your intentions known early on and you maintain communication with the respective departments. However, engineering majors on the UCSB subreddit may be able to provide much better insight than I can
My response to questions from another thread isn’t posting, so I’m going to try to post them here again and see if they work.
@thekimchiyuja Hey there, unfortunately I am an Econ and Accounting major so I can’t provide any great insight into physics. However, I would recommend for you to check the reputation of the physic departments of both schools through USNews or other similar ranking websites. You might also consider asking the same question on the UCSB and NYU subreddits.
@Barremian You should call the UCSB financial office and ask for information about your financial aid.
@Kynediv Not sure, but there is a UCSB subreddit. I also remember that was a facebook group for incoming freshmen when I was admitted to UCSB 4 years ago.
@JessicaF I have not taken FSSP and I do not know anyone who has. I think it will be a good opportunity to get a feel of the campus and some of the students, but I don’t think it will be necessary. If you are someone who requires a warm up period in order to adjust to a new setting, then FSSP may be for you. But if you want to enjoy your summer and you don’t think you need that warm up period, then I don’t think FSSP is necessary. I lived in Anacapa my freshman year and it was a blast, but that was mostly because of the friends I gained there. I can elaborate more on the housing aspect of it though. Anacapa’s dorms are not particularly big, and you will be sharing the room with 2 roommates. Your allocated space will likely consist of a closet, loft bed, and a table with chair. Each section of the dorm is one gender only, so your neighbors will all be girls, and on the opposite side of the dorm will be the boys. Upstairs it’s a similar situation. Anacapa is only like a minute away from the beach so you and your friends can go there whenever you want. It also has a study lounge (which is slightly louder and more social than the library) and a recreational room with a piano, pool (the one with sticks and balls, ping pong, and air hockey.
@Auracle My roommate switched from comp sci to comp engineering without too much trouble. I think switching majors within the engineering departments will be not too difficult as long as you make your intentions known early on and you maintain communication with the respective departments. However, engineering majors on the UCSB subreddit may be able to provide much better insight than I can
My response to questions from another thread isn’t posting, so I’m going to try to post them here again and see if they work.
@thekimchiyuja Hey there, unfortunately I am an Econ and Accounting major so I can’t provide any great insight into physics. However, I would recommend for you to check the reputation of the physic departments of both schools through USNews or other similar ranking websites. You might also consider asking the same question on the UCSB and NYU subreddits.
@Barremian You should call the UCSB financial office and ask for information about your financial aid.
@Kynediv Not sure, but there is a UCSB subreddit. I also remember that was a facebook group for incoming freshmen when I was admitted to UCSB 4 years ago.
@JessicaF I have not taken FSSP and I do not know anyone who has. I think it will be a good opportunity to get a feel of the campus and some of the students, but I don’t think it will be necessary. If you are someone who requires a warm up period in order to adjust to a new setting, then FSSP may be for you. But if you want to enjoy your summer and you don’t think you need that warm up period, then I don’t think FSSP is necessary. I lived in Anacapa my freshman year and it was a blast, but that was mostly because of the friends I gained there. I can elaborate more on the housing aspect of it though. Anacapa’s dorms are not particularly big, and you will be sharing the room with 2 roommates. Your allocated space will likely consist of a closet, loft bed, and a table with chair. Each section of the dorm is one gender only, so your neighbors will all be girls, and on the opposite side of the dorm will be the boys. Upstairs it’s a similar situation. Anacapa is only like a minute away from the beach so you and your friends can go there whenever you want. It also has a study lounge (which is slightly louder and more social than the library) and a recreational room with a piano, pool (the one with sticks and balls, ping pong, and air hockey.
@Auracle My roommate switched from comp sci to comp engineering without too much trouble. I think switching majors within the engineering departments will be not too difficult as long as you make your intentions known early on and you maintain communication with the respective departments. However, engineering majors on the UCSB subreddit may be able to provide much better insight than I can
@Handwasher If you are an econ major, are all the classes in the same building?
@LockheedMartin no, they are in different buildings depending on what size lecture hall or classroom they need. I took Econ 1 in Lotte Lehmann which is in the music building. I also took Soc 152 (Human Sexuality) in the same lecture hall.
As an Economics and Accounting Major, what are the intern opportunities for you like before graduating and, likewise, job opportunities after graduating?
I would be matriculating with the same major if I choose to attend, but I’m worried about getting a decent business job post-graduation.
For financial aid, as an OOS student with a very low EFC (approx. 800), I currently have an unofficial financial aid as only 5,000. If I choose to attend, would this financial aid change? My EFC is very low and I am getting much more financial aid from private institutions (55-64k).
Also, do you know of anyone that has tried to transfer from UCSB to USC? If so, how did that work out?
Thank you!
@BeantownBoy: As an OOS applicant, expect to pay close to full fees at any UC since they give little to no financial aid. If you have better FA, go to those schools. Your FA will not be any better than the estimate.
I have some questions:
What’s campus life like?
If I choose to change my major later on, and it turns out to be impacted, can I still get into the major?
How forgiving are they with changing majors?
What the social life like at UCSB?
On a scale to 1-10(10 being the best) how was your college experience?
Thank you 
UCSB is extremely flexible with changing majors within your college as long as you can complete the pre-major requirements. They only have three colleges - Engineering, Letters & Science and CCS. The vast majority of majors are in L&S.
Campus life is one thing and the neighboring community (Isla Vista) where most students live, is another. The school has a “party school” reputation. There is partying at all schools but definitely more of a social scene at UCSB than at some of the other schools. UCSB does not have a football team but soccer and other sports are very good.
@Handwasher One more question. If I take the Greyhound to Santa Barbara, is there a bus service to take me from downtown to campus?
@LockheedMartin yes, there is a transit center on campus. It might be a bit of a walk from the transit center to your dorm, especially if you have luggage. Sometimes students share Uber to get from downtown to their dorm.
Look at http://sbmtd.gov/ and http://sbmtd.gov/maps-schedules/
@ikg4answers Can you bring an electric scooter on campus or do people only use bikes?
@LockheedMartin I don’t believe electric scooters are allowed.
My son has ADHD and plans to start at UCSB as a freshman this fall. He is coming from a 900-student HS and is not proactive (for example, won’t likely go to Advising for advice) and I am concerned about his executive functioning challenges (procrastination, disorganization, forgetfulness, etc) affecting his ability to manage his time as well as his non-academic life and that he will fall through the cracks with the lack of a single advisor and the large impersonal lectures (he prefers interactive learning environments and smaller classes where the teachers get to know him but UCSB with it beach location and social scene trumped the small LACs he got into). Do you have suggestions or do you know how we can know that he is not falling through the cracks? He will get accommodations approved from DSP but they are only for extra time. Thanks.
I accidentally applied under the comp sci major because I assumed it was in L&S. I was accepted and am attending this fall, and although I am open to trying comp sci, is it burdensome to switch from the college of engineering to L&S? How hard is it to double major? And are there carpooling opportunities for students to travel back home if they live relatively close (I’m about 1.5-2 hrs away)?
Oh and how do AP credits impact graduation if they have no GE compliment? I’m taking AP Comp sci this year and apparently that warrants 2 credits towards graduation, but there is no GE equivalent, so why do they matter?
@primacaterina You can try emailing the admissions office to change your major to L&S, I know my friend did so and got his major changed but I’m unsure if he was originally in CoE or L&S
No. It is easy to go from engineering to L&S, very difficult to go the other way. You can likely switch at orientation if not before; just call the engineering advisor and ask. https://engineering.ucsb.edu/undergraduate/academic-advising
in any event there is no urgency about this. When you go to orientation they are going to suggest you sign up for the standard engineering frosh classes (probably math, chem, etc) but tell your counselor you are instead going to L&S and sign up for the appropriate classes for your intended L&S major (or general ed classes if you haven’t picked one)
because you need 180 units to graduate and this counts as 2 of them 