Deciding between UC Berkeley with Regent’s Scholarship and UCSB College of Creative Studies for undergraduate physics. Another factor is that I already live in Santa Barbara and know UCSB very well, but I’ve heard that you still get the college experience living on campus. I have also not decided if I want to go into graduate school or enter the industry afterwards.
I checked the Nobel prize winners of UCSB and almost all are in Physics. So I think the Physics department there is pretty good. Of course UCB ranks higher but I think UCSB and CCS is also excellent.
The college of creative studies at UCSB is very selective and quite good, though I honestly wouldn’t know how that works for a major like physics – I have always associated CCS with creative-type majors (yes, natural sciences often are creative at the very highest levels, but there’s much strenuous coursework to get there). I think for physics, I would go with the Regents at Berkeley. It is going to be challenging work, but it is also one of the best places in the world to be for physics.
The college of creative studies at UCSB is very selective and quite good, though I honestly wouldn’t know how that works for a major like physics – I have always associated CCS with creative-type majors (yes, natural sciences often are creative at the very highest levels, but there’s much strenuous coursework to get there). I think for physics, I would go with the Regents at Berkeley. It is going to be challenging work, but it is also one of the best places in the world to be for physics.
If you are Regents at Berkeley, I am surprised you are not Regents at UCSB. If you are interested in Condensed Matter physics, semiconductor growth, metamaterials, photonics, or solar, especially if you are interested in going to graduate school, you will really be the pearl in UCSB’s oyster.
Physics–> industry, if you are into white light or blue/green LEDs, UCSB would be good; otherwise Berkeley would give you access to a larger pond of employers, and has a better name. (going to grad school, I would do CCS- it arguably has a better reputation in graduate school admissions).
If you are driven and motivated, and would take advantage of the perks of CCS, it can give you a lot (WAAAY late add/drop date; virtually unlimited number of credits you can take per term, all pre-reqs waived for all UCSB classes, etc.). It is kind of a “guerrilla education” sandbox for those who are independent. If you want that “college experience” and want to then go to industry, UC Berkeley will give you that and a sterling “name”.
Basically, if you are into condensed matter physics and want to go to graduate school, I would go to CCS. If you are leaning towards industry and your interests are in some other branches of physics, consider Cal as well.
Apologies for the double post. @ItsJustSchool has more specific information than I can provide, and I would defer to that. I’m glad to see how CCS functions for physics.
Thanks everyone for your helpful replies!