I’m an incoming freshmen for class of 2020. I’ve seen that people either hate it or love it. Is the distance that bad? And how much stuff will you miss out on like campus atmosphere if you live there? I’m debating whether or not I want to live there. If there are better choices (I’ve heard of Ancapa, Santa Cruz being really good) can you name reasons why? Thanks!
Went i Went in first year as a freshman I lived in Santa Catalina, It was a pain to take the bus to and from every single day especially when you have multiple classes in one day you would have to take the bus to campus the bus back then for your next class you would have to do it again. The fact that it was off campus also ended up not appealing to me. I chose it initially because the rooms are a bit bigger and you get a private bathroom but it isn’t worth it to be honest. You are not on campus so you miss the feel of being on campus, I actually ended up moving from Santa Catalina to Anacapa because an on campus dorm turned out to be so much better. Anacapa and Santa cruz are basically the same thing they are in the same area and the buildings and layouts are the same. I would recommend staying off Santa Catalina and picking on campus housing, I’ve lived in both and I prefer on campus, its much better, but that’s just my opinion, good luck.
I strongly believe that freshman should live as close to the social center of campus as possible. It’s really important, for a variety reasons. Many top schools require it.
Being off campus, and having to take a bus every day, just for slightly bigger rooms or bathroom arrangements is really, really bad thinking and a very bad tradeoff.