<p>I'm in it and I'm really nervous I made a bad choice. Anyone else in it? Anyone that can offer any advise?</p>
<p>Would it be REALLY difficult to switch to San Rafael or San Nic?? </p>
<p>:(</p>
<p>Try it out for two weeks, then you can request a change.
It was my first choice, don't really care. </p>
<p>Why do you think you made a bad choice?</p>
<p>you should give it a try at least. it can't be horrible.</p>
<p>Well, I feel like maybe I don't want to be so far off campus, for one. Another thing is I'm on the 10th floor! That's high, and a long and tiring climb up the stairs if I don't want to wait for an elevator. Three, I feel like everyone in the Santa Catalina dorms is going to be partying. Four I hate that it's setup so both people in the room can't have their bed by the window. And I don't like the bathroom situation...I actually like the one in Manzanita more, sounds weird I know.</p>
<p>I guess I'm just scared I'll be totally worn out from having to go so far every time I want to go to the library or to class or to the beach. I'm just feeling antsy and stressed. :(</p>
<p>Deep breath here! Seriously, you're making a mountain out of a molehill ;) I mean you beat out the hurdles to get admitted & you're going to a wonderful school right on the ocean. In the big picture you're not going to CSUN or Pierce or something. You're going to the school a lot of people dream of attending!!</p>
<p>And yes, its true, there are other people who might have it slightly better than you. Their dorm may be closer, they may have fewer stairs to climb. But so what? If you think about it, how close to the ideal are you? The worst is you're rejected from every college and kicked out of your house. Call that 0%. Yet you're going to UCSB, have a place to live, and an excellent adventure ahead of you! Where does that put you? at 90%? 95%? And yet you call yourself "antsy & depressed".</p>
<p>You're probably not going to be happy with me for saying this, but there is some advice I think you really need to hear and think about. Your problem is ENVY. If your standards/expectations are that nobody has it better, you're always going to be unhappy. Envy is insatiable. When you look around, no matter where you are in life, there is always going to be someone who has it better. You're going to face this every day of your life. So in college you can be jealous of those placed in better dorms, you can be unhappy that the TA for your section isn't as good as one of the others. Opportunities for envy will be endless, both in college and everyday life! </p>
<p>You face a BIG choice here, and its about a lot more than what dorm you live in. You're young and have a lot of years ahead of you. The choice is about your fundamental outlook on life. If you're going to be torn up inside by others that have things better than you, you're facing a life of unhappiness punctuated by streaks of bitterness. There are other approaches, it's your choice about which path to follow. </p>
<p>This may be a lot to bite off all at once, and there is help available. When you start school in a few weeks you will have the resources of the Counseling center available, much of which is already covered by your student fees. See Welcome</a> to Counseling Services</p>
<p>mikemac, I really appreciate your response. You touched on some interesting points, many of which are true. However, it really isn't envy. I'm not a spoiled brat who wants the best of everything. :) What I'm worried about here is whether the choice I made for housing is going to be very inconvenient for me. I'm not complaining really, so much as looking for some consolidation that I'm not going to be stuck amid people who party every night when I am trying to study. I'm worried and STRESSED (not depressed, as you said) because I am moving away from home and leaving everyone I know. I think that's relatively normal.</p>
<p>FT was my first choice, so it's not about "I got a worse dorm." If anything, I got my first choice. So I really can't complain about that. :)</p>
<p>So it's not at all about someone having it 'better.' Believe me, I am a very down to Earth person who has learned to deal with not having nice things since I was young. It's about "Crap did I totally mess up by putting FT as my first choice? And is there a way to change?"</p>
<p>But, I still appreciate the time you put into the response.
I honestly was just looking for some positive advise.</p>
<p>Dude, If you ever want to not party..I'm in</p>
<p>look for me in the 3rd floor</p>
<p>haha same.
im not here to party.
im in this to win...
straight A's...then pharm school for me baby</p>
<p>hahaha yeah i am def down not to party and if you need me i am on the 7th floor :) hahah</p>
<p>yeah FT is i great environment though. you get to meet lots of ppl and you will find that even thought sb has a party rep the ppl that go here really know when to study. seriously . just find your niche and be glad your living in FT everyone is friends with everyone here... trust me i am living here as a second year and a couple of my friends are RA's here it is going to rock!!</p>
<p>Right now I'm a sophomore at UCSB and I lived in FT last year, and believe me, you're going to love it. </p>
<p>Just to get it out of the way, in my opinion, the elevators were the worst thing about FT. So yeah, that might be a little bit annoying, but it's definitely not a legitimate reason to switch dorms. Plus, I'm pretty positive that they did some major work on them over this summer so it may have improved a little. And with living on the 10th floor, you'll definitely get a great view!</p>
<p>Secondly, FT really isn't THAT far from campus. It may seem like a ways away, but in reality, it took me 5-8 minutes to get to campus. Plus, it's a good way to combat the freshmen 15. When I came home from school and saw my friends, they had all put on some weight, and I hadn't...and I think the bike ride helped a lot. </p>
<p>Yes, there will be people partying. It's a fact of college life, and it's gonna be like that no matter which dorm you're in. The cool thing is that the students here are really laid back and if you don't want to party (like I didn't) they aren't going to pressure you into anything. It's all about finding a group of people that you click with, and with about 1400 students living in FT (and about 70 just on your floor), it won't be too hard. If people get too loud for you, there are multiple study rooms on the ground floor of FT that are perfect for getting your work done. </p>
<p>And as far as the bathroom situation goes, that's definitely something you should like about FT. You could be in another dorm where the whole floor has to share, and that wouldn't be too great in my opinion. </p>
<p>Honestly, don't stress. I had a really hard time at the beginning of the school year with leaving my friends and family and home and entering into a totally new and scary phase of life, but if you just give it some time, I know you're going to love it. At the beginning of my freshmen year, I was freaking out about how and where I would transfer because I didn't want to be at UCSB away from home any more, but I stuck it out, and now I am counting down the days til I can go back.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! Your replies have really helped to calm me down. Really, you have no idea. I'm definitely a little more relaxed and excited now. </p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>See man..already here you found like 3 people who aren't completely into the party debauchery.</p>
<p>And Jennaayy gave you an honest illustration of what it's like;</p>
<p>just enjoy the next two weeks at home and expect the best at ucsb</p>
<p>I am doing some research on FT…anyone know about how you can get up to the roof? Can you? Did they put a fence up around there some years ago and what is the view from up there? The ocean? The campus? Thanks…</p>
<p>i’d imagine you would get kicked out of the dorms if they find you up there…so you’re not gonna get much feedback</p>