<p>I am looking at UCSB, however, I am from West Virginia and therefore, feel as if I have no idea what people or the campus is like. I was wondering how liberal the students were and if they were very open minded? Are people really pressuring about partying? Are people more down to earth or more superficial? is the town and college artsy?
I also come from a prep school and was wondering how challenging the academics were? Also, If I am not that into sciences or math, should I toss UCSB out the window?</p>
<p>Hi, Hannah</p>
<p>I’m an incoming freshman, and was so worried about the party scene at UCSB. I still am to be quite honest. I was also accepted to UCSD, UCLA, and UC Berkeley, but chose UCSB because I get priority registration and I received good merit money from them, making it really cheap for me to attend. They also have my major. </p>
<p>From what I HEARD, the students at UCSB come from the richest families, in comparison to the other UCs. They’re not liberal to the extent of Berkeley students (unfortunate for me since I love all those protests at Cal), but I don’t believe they’re hardcore conservatives either. They are very laid-back, and not snobbish. The students have a reputation for being happy and friendly. Though I also heard that UCSB students are more superficial in the sense that they worry about outward appearances more so than the average college students. But, hey, UCSB is known for it’s beautiful people, which could be a bad or good thing. </p>
<p>As for the partying, most of it takes place off campus in Isla Vista. The majority of the student population does go out on weekends, but I heard that no one pressures you to go. Your college experience is entirely up to you.</p>
<p>I don’t know about artsy, but the town is very quaint and beautiful, though expensive to live in. Further, in comparison to the top-tier UCs, UCSB’s academics aren’t as rigorous, not that they aren’t challenging. </p>
<p>Again, I haven’t attended just yet, so I’m only speaking from the information I’ve gathered from others. But, hope this helps!</p>
<p>I am also an incoming Freshman and I’ll tell you this:</p>
<p>I don’t care about partying. This school is perfect for me. People are laid-back and interesting. The nature all around Santa Barbara is beautiful and there are many organizations I look forward to joining. UCSB has people who are interested in all the sports I want to do (Snowboarding, Long-boarding, Climbing and Paintball) and want to get together to do them. I am taking a double major in Economics and Financial Maths & Stats and I have no doubt that with a good GPA and internship any door in Investment will open.</p>
<p>I don’t think this answers your questions but for someone might find this useful.</p>
<p>you dont have to party if you dont want to. UCSB is no more a party school than, say, WVU</p>
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pretty liberal. pretty open-minded. there is a place for more conservative types too</p>
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depends on who you hang out with. if the people you hang out with are the people you like, then there will be no pressure.</p>
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to be honest, a bit superficial</p>
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yes. the campus is weird looking though, not quite a concrete CC-style mess, but not harvard either…</p>
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it’ll be higher-level obviously. whether it’s harder depends on a lot of things</p>
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no. top 10 programs in humanities are a good sign.</p>
<p>Two words to describe UCSB:</p>
<p>LAID-BACK.</p>
<p>That is all.</p>