I am a high school student as of now, and I might consider applying to UCSB when I have the opportunity. Both of my parents are alumni and I think I’d have a pretty good chance of getting in. But there are much more favorable options as alternatives. I want an unbiased review of the university, please don’t let your connections with the school make you over indulge it.
PS, I know a lot of people think of the beach and the “beauty of Santa Barbara” as upsides to it, but I am solely interested in the school and do not care about stuff like that
I’m not sure which areas are strongest. I would imagine that most programs are strong and that you would not exhaust the school’s academic resources.
As for whether it’s a party school, I think a school of that size probably has plenty of kids who party, but also plenty who don’t. You’d likely find people with interests and values similar to yours.
(I’ve never set foot on the campus, but I’ve done some reading…)
Their physics dept, marine biology, chemistry, computer science, earth sciences, etc. are pretty strong. In the humanities, Religious Studies (comparative study of religion, NOT theology) is VERY strong.
From Friday afternoon until Sunday, the entire Isla Vista turns into one big party town, but if you’re not a partier, nobody’s going to force you to party. The university was once regarded as a party school where the academically unprepared children of Hollywood stars would go (Michael Douglas went there), but not so anymore. It has gone up quite a bit in academic ranking and reputation in the last 3-4 decades.
Have you visited? If not, then I would definitely take a tour, see if you can sit in some classes and talk to the students to get a feel for the campus.
UCSB has strong engineering programs especially Chemical Engineering, outstanding Physics department, a Highly competitive Econ program but all their Undergrad programs are good. They also have the College of Creative Studies which requires an additional application which specializes in undergraduate research.
As for being a party school, yes it has that reputation but there are many like students if you are not into that scene. Remember, any school can be a party school if you make the effort to seek at the parties.
Yes, we visited and really liked it. We ate lunch in Isla Vista but didn’t really see the party scene. It’s older people that keep warning that it’s a “party school” but @TiggerDad 's explanation makes sense.
Yes, I forgot to mention their engineering programs, particularly Chemical Engineering. Strange that I forgot in spite of the fact that my uncle got his Chem Engineering degree from there and went onto a highly successful career with Kraft, Co.
It is a good academic school with a good focus on undergraduate education.
As much as you might need to consider winters on the east coast, you need to consider the party scene at UCSB. It is important to look into exactly what goes on so that you know if the school is a good social fit for you. If your parents are alumni, they probably have a good feel for what the party scene is like. Do you have friends who are going to UCSB now? If so, check out their social media. You might also follow the Daily Nexus http://dailynexus.com/ on Twitter, IG or FB.
I would add that a lot of how you deal with a party school as a non-partyier has to do with your roommate and close friends. Do you already know any more serious students with whom you could room? Are you very religious, so could seek out a religious group with whom to socialize? Do you have a history of drug and alcohol overuse that would make it easy to stray from your goals? It’s a party school, for sure. That doesn’t mean you have to party to go there, but there are factors that are going to make you personally more or less able to walk the line.
I’m about to be a junior at UCSB, and my mom went here too. When my mom went it was super crazy here and there was a lot of partying (it was the 80s lol). And I enjoy partying myself so I was excited to come here. But when I got here, it wasn’t really what I expected. UCSB’s party school scene is falling apart, everyone constantly says “IV(Isla Vista) is dead” and it’s happened within the last few years. It’s died down A LOT recently because the police and university are cracking down on it, and cuz people are just losing interest I think, especially because of how destructive and dirty it can be for IV as a city. However, it’s not completely dead, there are still lots of parties for people who want to do that, but it’s just not nearly as crazy and fun as it used to be. Also most upperclassmen or anyone that’s 21 go clubbing instead of partying in IV.
90% of the parties are located on the one street along the ocean, DP. So if you’re not into partying, it’s really easy to avoid all of the parties, just avoid that street. It’s also easy to avoid cuz people don’t start partying until 9-10 PM on friday and saturday so if you go out after that it might be a little rowdy in IV but just cuz drunk people will be getting food lol. Also, I personally think that the party school atmosphere makes the whole UCSB experience better because every single person will learn how to balance work and fun, which might not be true at other selective, hard schools. You still get to have a fun college experience, while enjoying the great academics.
Academically, UCSB is great. It has great rankings (#8 public school in the country, #37 national university) and it has a ton of super cool interesting professors, and it has some really great challenging programs. In terms of rankings it is the best UC after UCLA. It definitely helps to go to UCSB when you’re trying to get a good job in the future. They have a career center and tons of recruitment events for different majors that help a lot of people out after graduation.
So this may not be totally unbiased since I go to UCSB, but I tried my best lol.
Not some, but many serious students would have UCSD at #3 for UC’s and then UCSB #4 or maybe UCD #4. Some of that is based on perception and not the latest USNews rankings.
Tbh I don’t pay too much attention to the rankings, I feel like UCSD UCSB and UCD are all pretty equal overall in a broader sense but they’re strong in different areas. I just thought it could be useful information cuz I know a lot of people really care about rankings
Late responding, but that figure can be misleading in this case because many of the standard undergrad courses at UCLA will be smaller because they don’t have as big of lecture halls as UCSB. Class sizes at UCLA are surprisingly good and better than several other UCs I checked against for first year classes. I have a kid at each and both enjoy their school.