<p>Ok, I was put on a waiting list to Irvine and basically told by the counselors to give up all hope of being accepted. So I sent my SIR to UCSB along with my best friend. We've filled out our housing and we planned on rooming together.</p>
<p>After visiting SB I realized the whole "you dont HAVE to party, it is what you make of it" thing, and it started looking much more appealing, I was actually excited. Now tonight I get a letter from Irvine saying Im accepted, and I have until tonight to decide....</p>
<p>Fact-wise, irvine will cost me $3500 more a year, and gives ONLY elective credits for my ap classes(Calculus aside) while SB gives me almost ALL general ed. course credits, hopefully slimming down my years quite a bit.</p>
<p>I am a socializer, I love hanging out and having fun with friends, but hate "parties" of just drinking and drugs. The idea of Isla Vistas is something I dont really want to experience, and I hear most people in SB are into that kind of thing. I get the impression the people at irvine are more like me, yes there are some partiers, but not the overwhelming majority which is the case at SB? At SB I'd have a great time, but it seems it would be harder for me to find people like me to hang with.</p>
<p>These are the next 4 years of my life, so college life and atmosphere is a HUGE part of my decision.</p>
<p>Please, any advice on if SB's ap credits towards general ed is really as good as it sounds, if I can really find many people like me in SB compared to irvine, or if irvine really isnt all I dreamed it to be, please comment, I have 3 hours to make my decision. =(</p>
<p>What i’ve heard from people who have gone to UCI is there there is no social scene. Apparently most of the kids tend to go home on the weekends making the campus incredibly boring. So for me the choice is easy haha, SB saves you a ton of time, money and is on the beach with a great social scene. What more could you ask for?</p>
<p>I’m not much of the party type, but I’d definitely go whenever I can and not going to get ****ed up every time. It seems like you’d be a perfect fit for Santa Catalina(FT) though, since you like to have a social scene, yet not so involved in IV/drug/alcohol scene(though there’s still going to be some just not as pressured). I think you should keep with your SIR. My cousin visited Irvine with friends and their general impression with the school is stuck-up people. I choose SB>Irvine, just like moocho said, who really gets to go to college for four years right on the beach privately owned by the school. If you asked me, 20,000+ people guarantees there are your type of people here. Irvine is up-and-coming fast, and UCSB is too, but consider the fact that its just an undergrad. degree. Go have fun, while it last dude.</p>
<p>Go with your gut instinct. If Irvine was your top choice initially and you successfully made it from the waitlist, go with that. If you were always unsure from the getgo, stick with SB since youve already sent in your SIR.</p>
<p>Whats your major (if you have one)?
Irvine was where I wanted to go and honestly if I would have gotten accepted I probably would be sending my SIR there.
I will be choosing UCSB over Davis mainly because of location. I’m majoring in biology and a lot of people have told me Davis is the place to go for bio (if UCSD and UCI arent an option) but seriously I grew up in a town like Davis and I want out. If youre from an inland area UCSB is nice because it is near the beach.
these 3 schools have 3 very different locations
UCD- rural, inland
UCSB - rural, beach
UCI, suburban, beach</p>