Hey guys so I unfortunalty did not get into my top choice school which was USC. My stats were 3.3 GPA, 35 ACT, strong recommendations, essays, and extracurriculars, a LOT of demonstrated interest. As you can see I obviously didn’t get in because of my relatively low GPA (I had a rough freshman year which ruined my cumulative). I know for sure that I want to transfer next year but I do not know where I should go for my freshman year. I am deciding between Santa Clara and UCSB. Any suggestions on which school would be better if I’m planning to transfer?
Hi! I transferred from USC to UCSB after my freshman year. They’re very different schools! USC had more of a commuter school feel to it, with a large percentage of the student population being in a sorority/fraternity (which was helpful for housing and I was in a sorority myself). Loved the football games and school spirit and was proud to be a Trojan. I found the USC student body in general to be less friendly and the “university of spoiled children” stereotype was more true than I had hoped. I had some great professors and have remained friends with several of my friends from freshman year. UCSB is a very happy and friendly student body. Flips flops and beach cruisers, live music and picnics at the beach. It was an amazing 3 years! I thought I’d miss the football- rah-rah of USC but found that UCSB soccer/basketball games were a blast and the school spirit was incredibly strong. Most all students live on-campus freshman year, and then in the adjacent college town of Isla Vista the following three. The community feel of living in a college town like Isla Vista is unparalleled, and such a different experience than USC (where many Jr’s and Sr’s were living in Santa Monica, etc and are commuting by that point). I’m not sure your area of study, and certainly there are some majors, like Flim, etc where USC is especially strong. I live near Santa Clara now and it’s a great school. It’s small and more of a commuter school than UCSB for sure, but there is still a vibrant on-campus community (especially Freshman and Sophomore year). I still root for the Trojans, and my husband received his MBA from USC, so we’ve spent a lot of time on both campuses and I wanted to share my experience. Best of luck to you!
Probably whichever is cheaper.