<p>Hi, I was wondering if someone can tell me more about Manzanita Village and how the dorms are generally (preferrably from someone that lives there or has lived there). So far all I know is that they are the newest dorms and you share a bathroom with about 4 people. I also hear they are known to be "antisocial". Can someone explain this more? Is it still easy to make friends and is there a good amount of freshmen or is it mainly upperclassmen? I also want to know if it really far from most buildings, because i will be walking to my classes. lol. If someone can put in their opinions that would be great!</p>
<p>I don’t live there… but the only reason it is considered anti social is that there isnt alot of people in ur floor. There are houses, that hold around 45 people seperated into 3-4 floors.</p>
<p>is there alot of freshman that choose to live there?</p>
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It’s hardly “antisocial,” but I’ll admit that I don’t interact with as many of my neighbors as I did when I lived in San Nicolas for FSSP - that might just be because FSSP was almost like speed-dating with friends, seeing as we had six weeks to create relationships with others. It could just be me, though (and I mean that).</p>
<p>It’s not in as convenient of a location as the Chi-5 dorms (Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, San Nicolas, San Miguel), but at least it’s not way off campus like Santa Catalina. You’d be closer to some buildings like Humanities and Social Sciences, Theater and Dance, the Student Resource Building, and the Thunderdome, but it’s a good walk to most classes. If I want to get to a class exactly when it starts, I have to leave 10 minutes before the class, and I walk fairly fast. Of course, bikes get around that, but I don’t ride mine too much - mostly because other people don’t seem to know how to ride theirs too well.</p>
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I think that in the last year, Manzanita Village has been turned into a generally freshman area. I believe there’s only one house in Manzanita Village that is exclusively upperclassmen (a few others are mixed - mostly Living Learning Communities, I think). For that reason, Manzanita probably isn’t as “antisocial” as its reputation on CC, since that really just reflects hearsay (most of the time) from past years.</p>
<p>Thanks that really helped! speaking of FSSP, how was that? because i am thinking of doing it.</p>
<p>At the time, it didn’t seem like anything special, but I did get the opportunity to pick up 9 extra units and get involved with the residence halls’ student government (which actually saves appointed positions specifically for FSSP students).</p>
<p>There was some FSSP-sponsored activity almost every other day - my FSSP RA described it as “socializing on steroids,” and it kind of was. I liked doing stuff with the Wellness center on Fridays, since they would plan a hike along the beach, a visit to the top of Storke tower, or a sailing trip (and other stuff like that). You’re practically overwhelmed with stuff to do, so I’d say there are a lot of opportunities to meet new people. After FSSP, you and all the other FSSP people will kind of have an odd kind of camaraderie - it’s like, “Hey! I remember you from FSSP!” It’s hard to explain, but you’ll probably have a few good friends that don’t just disappear from your life completely after the program.</p>
<p>The FSSP staff did mention that FSSP students kind of have a reputation as being a bit immature. There’s some truth to that. At times it did feel like, “God, I’m at UCSB with a bunch of high schoolers,” but it wasn’t that bad. During the normal school year, I haven’t smelled as much weed in the dorms, or heard as many people bragging about how messed up they got the last night. It wasn’t all that much to start with, but it’s less now.</p>
<p>oh ok. what classes did you take? I am thinking of taking 2 or 3 and i want them to be general ed classes that i wouldnt want to deal with during the first quarter. do you recommend anything? the main reason i want to go, is to get some units out of the way and to make friends ofcourse because University is a HUGE step for me (especially because my graduating class is around 200 and something seniors).</p>
<p>Well, all FSSP students have to take the INT 95 course, a 1-unit class that requires an easy, short essay every week (which will have to do with whatever speaker comes in to talk to you). Aside from that, I took Religious Studies 1 and Writing 2. </p>
<p>I was pretty satisfied with my classes, and since they’re set up differently than the actual school year, it’s more of a transition from high school than you might think. From Monday to Thursday, I was in class from 12:30 to 3:40. I’m not sure how I would have handled a third class (not counting INT 95), to be honest.</p>
<p>As for what you might not want to take, I remember a good number of people complaining about their Anthropology class while I was in the lounge one time (during FSSP)… they said it was a lot of reading, but I don’t know how it compared to what I had to do.</p>
<p>I think an easy way to make friends is to get involved with the San Nicolas Hall Council - you can run for a position or serve as a hall representative. Since you’d be involved in planning some of the events that go on there (and presumably attend them, too), it slightly forces you to go out and meet people at the social events you’d put on.</p>
<p>“oh ok. what classes did you take? I am thinking of taking 2 or 3 and i want them to be general ed classes that i wouldnt want to deal with during the first quarter. do you recommend anything? the main reason i want to go, is to get some units out of the way and to make friends ofcourse because University is a HUGE step for me (especially because my graduating class is around 200 and something seniors).”</p>
<p>I’m doing it for the same reasons…and am going to take two classes other than INT 95 for a total of 9 units.
My graduating senior class size=62.
BIG transition for me.</p>