<p>So I'm a transfer student coming from a california community college and thinking about transferring to either UCSB, UCSD, or UCSC to study physics this fall. I have a 3.7 college gpa so I believe I will be able to get into these three schools. UCSC and UCSD are my current two favorites. From pure rankings, UCSD and UCSB outrank UCSC, but I'm wondering if there will be much of a difference in the quality of the education and potnential to go on to grad school coming from UCSC or UCSD/UCSB. The reason I am asking is I much perfer the locale and environment of UCSC to the other two. Any thoughts on the physics department of UCSC? Would I have trouble getting into a good graduate program if I did well at UCSC? Thanks in advance :)</p>
<p>UCSD is a good school at any of the sciences. in general, any UC is a good school- if you do well at any of them, you can go to any graduate school you want.</p>
<p>that being said, UCSB is a powerhouse when it comes to physics (in particular, theoretical physics). something like 5-6 nobel prizes in the field (like 4 physics, 2 chemistry)</p>