Hi! Our d has applied to UCSB but we are not from California. What are your thoughts about the value of the education of this state school for out of state costs?
It’s a fine school – and the UCs provide an excellent education – but NO, not at the OOS tuition price. Has your D toured UCSB? Is there a particular academic reason she wants to go there, or is she just fantasizing about a beach town in CA in February?
Thanks for your honesty! Her dad graduated from there and yes, there is some romanticizing going on. Other schools that she is applying to may have equal or better programs in her areas of interests, but she may not get into those. So, that is why I am asking.
As a California resident, the UC’s are very good schools, but I would never pay the $55K/year for either of my sons to attend any UC. I currently pay full price of $30K for one son at UCD and $20K for another son at a Cal State. I am glad I was able to start early and save, so they could go their choice of college, but it would be a bitter pill to swallow if the costs were any more than that. The school you attend for Undergrad is not worth going into debt. There are so many other schools out there that are comparable to UCSB and I am sure a much better bargain. If you have the money, then no problem but do not put yourself in debt since you will be picking up most of the tab, not your D.
Agree with the previous posters. The extra $100K in OOS over the 4 years (and they’re talking about raising it, BTW) changes the UCs from a decent value to overpriced IMHO. You can get the same large-public atmosphere for a lot less elsewhere, and $100K would pay for a lot of great vacations for the kid, a car, and still plenty left over.
My son is interested in studying Physics at UCSB and was accepted as a Regents Scholar. He has also applied to the College of Creative Studies (CCS) program. The CCS program offers small class sizes, individual attention and a wide range of research opportunities. Do you think out of state tuition is worth the price for the CCS or honors programs?
Well, there you go, @lmb123. The exception to the rule. UCSB is a mid-level UC with few graduate students. UC Berkeley and UCLA are “maybe” good value for OOS tuition. UCSD, UCD and maybe UCI, if you stretch? The other UCs generally fall off the page.
However, if you want to study condensed matter physics (in particular), look at the recent Nobel Prize in physics for the blue LED work, and the ongoing work in Pb-Se both out of UCSB. In the 1980’s when Bell Labs was broken apart by the government, many physics professionals moved to UCSB to be professors. Now, work in metamaterials and in solar energy conversion is world-class, the nanotechnology program and the semiconductor growth labs are stellar, and the opportunities for research as an undergraduate are sublime, since there are so few graduate students.
That in itself would recommend UCSB, even at OOS rates. When you add to the mix the special treatment and recognition of being a Regents Scholar, well, it’s pretty much a no-brainer if you can afford it.
The only thing to take if from no-brainer to absolute dream school would be the unlimited units, late drop date, lack of pre-requisites required to take a course, personal attention, and bias towards research that is incorporated in the CCS.
For your son, I think you will find it hard to match the value of UCSB, even at OOS rates, and I am including MIT, Stanford, etc. in that assessment. He has found the PERFECT home and it absolutely is worth the OOS tuition for your son! It’s almost as if the entirety of UCSB is focused on really, truly supporting a small cohort in a world-class way, and he is directly in the sweet spot of that cohort.
Depends for the CCS program, no for just Regents.
If your son wants to go on for a PhD in Physics then CCS is going to give him a great foundation and he’ll probably have his choice of the top programs in the country if he does well undergrad. The tradeoff is that the CCS physics major is more akin to an engineering program in terms of freedom to explore outside of physics than an ordinary BS in Physics. If you look at the recommended CCS physics program https://www.ccs.ucsb.edu/physics/curriculum you can see that over 4 years a student takes 8 courses outside of the science curriculum. The ordinary BS in Physics allows for 16+ outside classes (http://my.sa.ucsb.edu/Catalog/Current/CollegesDepartments/ls-intro/phys.aspx?DeptTab=Undergraduate) . For someone who knows they want to go to grad school and doesn’t mind narrowing their education so early, CCS may be worth it in order to get the advantages of the program. But you can probably get the same education the ordinary BS in Physics gives for much less at instate U’s. With only Regents but not CCS this is the only option, so I don’t see it as worth it.
If he is offered a place in CCS it may be worth a visit to UCSB or contacting them so he can talk to a current student. From what I’ve heard they really want to work with prospective students so they understand what they are getting into; they want it to be a good fit for both school and student. As they say on their website
This may not be a great fit for every kid just out of HS, even very bright ones.
Thanks for the quick responses – they are very helpful. We visited UCSB last summer and met with a professor. We were in California to visit UCLA and several other schools. We were very impressed with the CCS program. They reviewed the entire program with us and described the research opportunities. The small class sizes and individual attention seem hard to match at the large state schools. The campus was also beautiful. UCSB made a much stronger impression than UCLA in terms of a high quality education.
We are local to UCSB and have multiple connections to the physics department, so I have sent lmb123 a PM.
For the OP, I’d agree that unless there is a special major or program of interest to your DS (or you are made of money), the OOS price is steep. Materials engineering and nanoscience are other areas where UCSB may be worthwhile, though I may be extending the reputation of the grad programs in those areas to undergrad. I believe psychology is also highly regarded, though there are a lot of good undergrad psychology programs in other states.
My daughter has applied to UCSB, Economics - Accounting major, OOS. Could anyone shed light on worthiness of OOS steep tuition from the job prospects/salary range perspective after graduation?
It’s actually not bad.
It ranked 18th.
http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2014/best-schools-by-major/business-majors
@alechan If she decides on UCSB, she might look into also getting the undergrad certificate in Technology Management through the TMP (http://www.tmp.ucsb.edu/certificate-programs/undergraduate/requirements).
Thanks for the great info! Currently my daughter is contemplating to pick the best business program among Texas Christian University (TCU), Clemson University, University of Georgia, and UCSB (not accepted to UCSB yet). We live in Texas. Since we are out of state for most of the schools, and TCU is a private university, college cost will not be cheap anywhere she goes, and we (parents) want to make sure she gets a good job after graduation. ROI is important for us! Any inputs and insights will be helpful!
If it was then you would have chosen one of the many fine publics in TX that lead to a CPA. Going to UCSB is going to let your D live in a great location but provide no advantage in seeking employment as an accountant over any other decent school. Which may be moot, anyway, since in another thread you said she wants to become an engineer now.
Anyway, keep in mind that if she enters UCSB she is not promised admission to the major. She needs to earn a 2.85 or better in a set of pre-major courses. Furthermore, should she decide to stay in CA permanently then she will have difficulty earning enough units to qualify for the CPA exam in CA in 4 years because they now require 225 units (a BA degree takes around 180 units). Not to worry, they offer extra classes at extra cost; see http://ucsbecon.com/cpainformation/
The UC schools are under a budget crunch and are admitting more OOS students to bring in more money. Uf you decide to send your D to UCSB, as a CA resident let me be the first to thank you for your $100K+ after-tax donation to the school!!
bump