<p>Hi everyone!</p>
<p>First of all, congrats to the new admits. I was admitted in 2009 and graduated last spring. I doubled in Computer Science (College of Engineering) and Mathematics (College of Letters and Science), so I know a decent amount about both colleges. I had friends in CCS so can try to speak to that as well. </p>
<p>Let me know if you guys have any questions about UCSB, or Santa Barbara in general!</p>
<ol>
<li>What is the environment like? ( did you party, what kind of friends,social life, )</li>
<li>Did you have any jobs during your studies</li>
<li>Is it possible to change majors into engineering, how hard is it ? What kind of gpa/activities do you need to be able to transfer</li>
<li>Do you have a job right now?
5.How did you like your experience</li>
<li>How are the classes/projects?</li>
</ol>
<p>I just got accepted and I just recently learned about the CCS program. Should I apply now for fall 2014? Also is it difficult to get into CCS Math?</p>
<p>@GreatExperience:</p>
<p>1) Environment is great, and is my favorite part of the school. The academics are top notch so having a beach-y, laid back environment really helps. I personally was never really a partier. It is true what everyone says: the party scene is what you make of it. A nice thing about it is that it’s off campus in neighboring IV, so if you want to rage it’s easy to find parties, but if you want to stay on campus and study, you won’t be distracted.</p>
<p>2) I worked a couple different part time jobs, mostly on campus. I worked for the computer labs, as a homework grader and with the marketing department of the College of Engineering. It’s super easy to find on campus jobs as long as you’re flexible with what you want to do, and apply early in the year.</p>
<p>3) It’s possible, but difficult. More important than extra curriculars, make sure you take the classes they require the engineering students to take as per the suggested schedules. If you fall behind that, they will be very unlikely to transfer you in. Also, if you’re serious about it, talk to the advisor for the major you’re interested in ASAP so they can help you out. Oh, and you have to have good grades. </p>
<p>4) Right now I’m in grad school, so am working part time in a tutor/teaching assistant position. </p>
<p>5) Loved it, but wish I had been more social earlier. Join the clubs early on to meet people, study with the smart people in your major, etc.</p>
<p>6) Honestly, the quarter system is rough. You really hit the ground running. That being said, as I double major I often took 16+ major units per quarter, and was still able to manage everything. Just start everything early. You never know if you’ll get sick or something comes up.</p>
<p>@diffgeo:
Honestly, if you’re interested in CCS, apply now. The math students in CCS were the best and the brightest, and if you want to excel it’s a good idea to get in that group early. That being said, you can always apply after a year or so, if you wanna see if you like math enough to do that. When you apply CCS, you apply to the major, specifically. You really have to be passionate about it. The perks are great, though, and part of me wishes I had done CCS. </p>
<p>Housing suggestions?? </p>
<p>That depends a lot on the experience you want. FT (San Cat) houses most of the freshmen. It’s on the outskirts of IV, so if you’re into partying that’s a popular pick. They have a neat bathroom set up where you share a bathroom with just a few people rather than a whole floor. </p>
<p>San Nic and San Miguel are the tall freshman dorms on campus (San Nic is much nicer). You share a large bathroom with everyone of the same sex on your floor. </p>
<p>The shorties on campus are right next to the towers (San Nic and San Miguel). I hear Anacapa is the best out of them, I dunno how accurate that is (or why).</p>
<p>I lived in Manzanita freshman year. I liked it. It’s the newest freshman dorm and I think is a bit quieter. It’s also right next to (arguably) the best dining commons (Carillo).</p>
<p>But like I said, it depends on what you want. I’d also recommend looking into the various learning living communities. If you put one down, they prioritize those first so you have a better chance of getting what you want (at least this is how it was in 2009). I lived in the Women in Science and Tech dorm, for example. They have a bunch, like Scholars, International, LBQT, etc.</p>
<p>Do you have to learn about the actual living communities? or what is that all about?</p>
<p>You don’t have to do anything extra to be the the living learning communities (except I think scholars are limited to those in the Chancellors or Regents or honors program, and women in sci in tech is only female). It just puts you on a floor with other people who have that interest. I think the housing website lists all of them somewhere. </p>