<p>I was pretty upset when I started out at CC because all my friends were going to their 4year schools. I had to forgo my admission to UCSB because I wasn't going to be able to pay tuition, dorms, etc (I'm an AB540 student).</p>
<p>So I started out at my local CC disappointed and ****ed because all my classmates were off at their 4 year schools having fun in the dorms and getting involved at their schools while I stayed behind.</p>
<p>So I feel that I missed out on that college experience. We transfer and then it's only two years and we graduate. Also, most of the kids in our graduating class will know each other since they've been at the school since their freshmen year. So us transfers will be like the outsiders coming into the picture.</p>
<p>Do we really miss out on that experience?
What can we do once we transfer to be involved and get to know other people?</p>
<p>I'm planning on transferring to UCLA (I'll basically be alone with no friends or family -- I'll be starting from scratch)</p>
<p>Even though I was involved in my community college in terms of activities and extra curricular, at times I still feel like I missed out. I know the “college experience” is different for everyone. I guess in my mind, I have these certain expectations on what a college experience is and I was not able to full fill some of them because a community college didn’t provide them. For example, living in a dorm. </p>
<p>Like you, I will be starting from scratch. I plan to transferring to UCI. I don’t know anyone going there or anyone around the area. But hopefully that will change soon. :)</p>
<p>will the best way to start meeting people in the beginning is to talk to classmates and do school social events. Meet friends there who will invite you to other social events where you can meet others. You cannot have the whole college experience, but you can certainly still have fun. Live in a dorm if you really want to meet people.</p>
<p>you can always join a frat or something. It’s not that big of a deal. I’ve made a ton of friends with people at school. i’m not sure exactly on what the ‘college experience’ is, but you won’t miss out on it if you don’t want to.</p>
<p>It depends on your CC. I went to SBCC and it has a vibrant student body. Plus it is basically an extension of UCSB so the two communities are intertwined. Once you transfer you have two years left… That is more than enough time to experience anything you feel you have missed. Join a frat, participate in clubs, or study abroad. You have to take the initiative.</p>
<p>Hey SBdude,
I’ll be attending SBCC in the fall and was wondering if you could tell me about your experience at SBCC…the people, the teachers, the parties, how hard it is to get classes, etc.
Also, where do you suggest living? I was thinking about Tropicana Gardens, but I’m not entirely sure.</p>
<p>^ That’s what I really don’t want to miss out on. There’s no time like college to study abroad. And I would’ve liked to double major, but I can’t meet all of the lower div. requirements in time.</p>
<p>That being said, I think the freshman experience is over-glorified. Most traditional students I’ve talked to find it so.</p>
<p>SBCC is an amazing school. I almost wish it offered four year degrees. It is located on the cliffs right on the beach. The school itself has great academics, and very qualified professors. A lot of which have taught at or still teach at UCSB. The class sizes are relatively small compared to four years; on average you will have about 35-50 students per class. It is somewhat difficult to get classes, but if you plan your schedule ahead of time and add classes as soon as registration opens you will be fine. As far as living goes you have a myriad of options. You can live in downtown Santa Barbara which is basically right next to SBCC or you can live in Isla Vista which is about 10 minutes north of Santa Barbara. Isla Vista is the infamous party town bordering UCSB. If you want the full college experience, I would recommend living in IV. Although there are plenty of parties and opportunities to have fun downtown, it is just more suited towards 21+. If you choose to live in IV, you can either live in freshman dorms or a house. That is all personal preference, if you live in the dorms you will be surrounded by students in the same boat as you, and everything will be hand fed to you. The down side is that they aren’t very nice and they are located on the outskirts of IV. If you choose to live in a house in IV you will be right in the middle of things, and have all the freedom in the world. The key is to find the right house with the right people. You just have to use craigslist and see what is out there. The parties are definitely one of a kind, but you still have to work at being social. If you are outgoing you will thrive. There’s also a lot of other stuff to do in SB as well. Some of the premier surf spots in California are within driving distance. The beaches are absolutely amazing, and the mountains are just minutes away. Don’t think you can breeze through SBCC though, it is one of the top ranked CCC’s academically.</p>
<p>SBDUDE --Wow Santa Barbara sounds great. I’ll go there if I don’t get into UCLA.</p>
<p>do you know what are my housing options s a transfer student to UCSB(i.e. are there dorms available)?
I’ve never been to SB, so idk how things are over there.So, I need to find a place to live. It’s way far from where I live. LA is only two hours away and SB is 5 hours, but I’ll go just cause all the things you’ve described. Also I heard that it’s beautiful town and that UCSB has its own beach, etc</p>
<p>There are freshman dorms on campus, and then off-campus dorms in IV. The off campus dorms host a lot of transfer students. I would say that most transfer students live in houses throughout IV though. IV is composed of hundreds of houses bunched together filled with college students. UCSB’s campus runs along the California coast. There is an ocean view from quite a few buildings on campus. And it’s only 10 minutes away from downtown Santa Barbara which has everything under the sun. Also SB is only about an hour and a half North of Los Angeles.</p>
<p>SBdude- everything sounds so amazing. I’m gonna have a hard time choosing if I get into both.</p>
<p>The reason why I want to transfer to UCLA is cause i’m trying to pursue a film/acting career. My college major is psychology, but if I want to do film/acting I have to live in LA since that’s where all that stuff is happening. But I want to go to UCSB cause it’s a college town with beautiful beaches and great social life (which i think it’d help me since i’m kinda shy).</p>
<p>I’ve never gone up to visit UCLA or UCSB
Idk, whwat advice would you give me?</p>
<p>Let’s just pretend CC is like a box, where people go in and out. Quite frankly, the social life at CC sucks. Most students attend classes, talk to no one, unless needed in discussions, then go home. Most of the time they’re too busy with school work and job, so their social life is never better.</p>
<p>Anyway, I’m not complaining; I’m just summing up the experiences that most students have at CC. Yours might be different, but let’s face it-- it’s a community college, so there’s a huge age difference among its students.</p>
<p>@banhbaochien i agree 100% with what you said. from my experience also people just go to CC take classes and leave. It would be nice to meet people from CC but its not THAT big of a deal to me. i think when transfering you will get this same exact experience if you commute to school, of course im not 100% sure though because i haven’t transferred yet. I also think that you will get out of CC what you put into it. if your joining clubs/sports/ other things im sue the CC social experience will be completely different.</p>
<p>Anyone care to define “college experience?” It means so many different things to so many different people. So I’ll start and maybe we can come up with a top-16 list. I’ll throw out two things that we generally think of as the “college experience” and when we reach 16 – I reserve the right to delete or add something – then we’ll decide whether we really did miss out. For me I don’t really care. I don’t think I would have been anywhere nearly as successful as I have been at my CC. Now I feel even more ready to tackle the four-year universities. </p>
<p>And we’re off…</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Moving away from home at 18 </p></li>
<li><p>Dorm food</p></li>
</ol>
<p><em>The next poster should follow up with three and four while having incorporated mine.</em></p>