Hello! I’ve narrowed my choices down to these three schools. I plan on majoring in English (writing and literature for UCSB CCS.) I do have a preference in mind but I wanted to get some second opinions before I put down my deposit.
First, none are bad. Second, my general feeling is that a LAC would generally be better for an English degree than a large public university, though UCSB looks interesting.
What is “CCS” ?
I am curious as to why you are asking as the choice is quite obvious ?
What are you concerned about ? Is there a significant cost difference among your options ?
@Publisher, that’s a very, very prestigious/selective College of Creative Studies at USCB.
OP, Tough choice: a top LAC vs a top program at a major university. You can’t go wrong, and I would go by gut and opportunities offered at each. Check out the kinds of writers/critics visit each school, who you could study with, what kind of writing (creative, criticism, journalism) is best supported on each campus. Congratulations.
Yes, I know. Thank you. And it would be very foolish to turn down UCSB-CCS.
I am trying to figure out why OP is even considering the other options.
@Publisher, well he/she did get into Grinnell, which also offers a lot to a prospective English major.
Agree, but CCS is very special. Just curious to know why OP is undecided. Is there a significant cost difference, for example ?
From my viewpoint, OP is asking for advice on the basis of insufficient information being shared.
@Publisher Hello! There are a couple reasons why I’m undecided, the first one being the cost difference. As an international student, UCSB CCS would cost me almost double Grinnell. Another is that I think Grinnell fits me very well — by the time March rolled around, it was my favorite school. My gut is telling me Grinnell, but my parents are encouraging me to look carefully at my options before deciding, and I’d be pretty open to going to UCSB CCS as well. So I’m mostly looking for more information on the school’s English programs.
@katliamom thank you for the suggestions! I was feeling a little lost on how to research and compare, so your reply was very helpful.
So Grinnell is the least expensive, and the difference is significant for affordability to you? Seems like it is the answer if the academic offerings are suitable.
Grinnell English courses: https://www.grinnell.edu/academics/majors-concentrations/english/course
@Vestarn: Have you visited Grinnell College and the Univ. of California at Santa Barbara ?
How much is the cost difference per year in US dollars ? If significant to you & your family, then Grinnell College is an outstanding option.
UCSB–College for Creative Studies offers 53 faculty members for just 385 students on the UCSB campus. Extraordinary opportunity for those wanting to create an original work. (Somewhat similar to a structured Hampshire College.)
@Vestarn: UCSB is one of the most beautiful beach locations in the US. Santa Barbara is a very wealthy & sophisticated community. UCSB has 22,000 undergraduate students. CCS is a very small college within the large university. Best of both worlds.
@publisher I live in California, so I have been to UCSB, but it was more passing through than an actual visit. I have not visited Grinnell. It’s about a 35k cost difference.
I think with both the cost difference and my personal preference, Grinnell is the way to go, but since my parents are OK with paying for a more expensive school, I wanted to take the time to seriously consider my options before deciding.
@Publisher oops, didn’t see your edit. Yes, having ccs being there as a small college/built in community is a pretty large reason as to why I could see myself at UCSB. Thank you for the reply!
“As an international student, UCSB CCS would cost me almost double Grinnell.”
Some parents have lots of money to toss around. Others don’t. If the difference is pocket change, then UCSB CCS can still be in the running. If the difference is not mere pocket change, then Grinnell would be a better choice.
Have you factored in any differences in travel expenses and winter wardrobe?
If you were in-state in CA and Grinnell were full-pay, then the cost difference would be reversed and UCSB-CCS would be the obvious choice. But given the great offer from Grinnell, which is also excellent for your interests, I would visit the school and give it every chance to win me over before I would consider paying more than double for UCSB.
@Publisher - We didn’t think that CCS was all that special, Perhaps for some majors it is (e.g., math, music composition), but for writing and literature?? Not so much. And I was singularly unimpressed with some of the visual artwork that I saw there. UCSB is an okay choice for a CA resident, but I’d never consider it for a full-pay OOS student.
As a CA resident, my D considered UCSB’s CCS program (she was more interested in literature than writing). For the record, the writing program had disappeared for several years and was brought back with some major curricular changes, none of which were to my D’s liking.
When my D visited CCS, she sat in on several classes and was underwhelmed with respect to the classroom discussions and the intellectual prowess (or lack thereof) of the cohort. She felt that Grinnell was a better fit on an intellectual level and she felt like it would be a decent social fit for her. (For the record, she had also been offered a full tuition merit scholarship to Grinnell).
Finances aside, if she were choosing between the Grinnell and CCS, she would have picked Grinnell. As it turned out, she ended up not selecting either school.
There is no way I’d pay OOS tuition to attend CCS, esp. if Grinnell were on the table and was the more affordable option! (That said, I personally would hate to be stuck in Iowa, so if I were basing it on lifestyle choices for myself, I’d go with Santa Barbara).
@happymomof1 yes, looking at costs grinnell does seem to be the better option. I haven’t factored in travel costs / winter wardrobe, but I think grinnell would still remain the more affordable choice.
@aquapt As Grinnell was my top choice, it doesn’t have to do much to win me over! I’m glad I took the opportunity to seriously consider CCS, however.
@LoveTheBard thank you for your insight about CCS! Personally, I wouldn’t mind the rural location and I’m looking forward to the Midwestern-Nuce
*nice atmosphere!
Thank you everyone for your helpful replies!!
Clearly the COA difference makes Grinnell College a more reasonable option.
UCSB–CCS offers multiple (8) majors:
- Art
- Chemistry & Biochemistry
- Computing
- Math
- Physics
- Music Composition
- Writing & Literature
- Biology
This small college within a large university is for creative, self-directed learners. Great faculty to student ratio–actually, outstanding faculty to student ratio for a UC.