<p>Hello, our son was offered a Regents Scholarship at UCSB and was admitted into the College of Creative Studies for Physics. He also got into UCB but not as a Regent Scholar, I was wondering if there were any opinions on which would be the better choice for Physics?</p>
<p>UC Berkeley has a world-class physics department. So if your S plans to stay with physics as a major, and beyond, then UC Berkeley is the better choice.</p>
<p>To the OP: Be aware that most people aren’t aware of what the College of Creative Studies, which is a world class college within UCSB. There are some comments about the benefits from UCSB CCS students (including a few physics majors) here:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/456028-ucsb-college-creative-studies.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/456028-ucsb-college-creative-studies.html</a></p>
<p>In terms of grad school rankings on US News (which aren’t indicative of undergrad, but may suggest the prestige of a department), UC Berkeley is ranked #3, while UCSB is #10, so UCSB is also very well regarded for physics. With a Regent’s scholarship to CCS, you should consider UCSB as a very good option.</p>
<p>Thanks, so when you say “most people”, that means outside of the physics academic community , as our son is focused to go to grad school.</p>
<p>I just meant on this forum… people tend to recommend whatever school has the higher US News ranking. I wasn’t in CCS, but my roommate was a Computer Science CCS major and he loved the research opportunities that he had compared to students at the Letters & Sciences CS. Do a search for “college of creative studies” on the UCSB forum and you’ll find a lot of great comments about the department, as well as physics CCS.</p>
<p>A friend who is a UC (but not UCSB) physical sciences professor repeatedly tells us that the physics program at UCSB is one of the best in the nation, and one of the most undervalued. Cal of course has a stellar physics department, but the opportunities for an undergrad in the CCS program are outstanding. One of last year’s Nobel laureates in medicine was a CCS Bio graduate. </p>
<p>If your son has a strong preference for the atmosphere and lifestyle in Berkeley, that’s a fine option. If he’s completely set on physics, I’d recommend the SB option. However, there are no bad choices here :)</p>
<p>Thx for your input!</p>
<p>Ucsb ,…</p>
<p>Hi…</p>
<p>I have admission in UCSB Creative Studies as well as UCB, both in Physics, and both with Regents’ & Chancellor’s Scholarship. Which should I accept?</p>
<p>Berkeley has more to offer in a total college experience.</p>
<p>NOTE: The OP is almost 2 years old.</p>
<p>My advice above hasn’t changed, but rambo, the vibe of the two places is very very different. If you strongly prefer the feel of one or the other, take that into account, too.</p>
<p>at UCSB you can have a top 10 physics department and then this:</p>
<p>[FLOATOPIA</a> 2009 - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>
<p>^ Hehe! They don’t call it University of Casual Sex and Beer for nothing!</p>
<p>UCB = University of Competitive Bastards.</p>
<p>the UCSB Creative Studies program is like having a Williams/Amherst within a large research university…</p>