Hello my fellow College Confidential members.
I am a transfer student currently enrolled at a California community college. In a few months I will have completed my second and final year at my CC and I’ll be transferring to a four year institution to earn my bachelor’s degree (essentially a given but for the purpose of a proper introduction I thought I would mention my educational plan). So far I have been accepted into UCI, UCSB, UCSC, Ohio State, Cal Poly Pomona, CSU Long Beach, and CSU Northridge. Unfortunately, the out of state and private schools I applied to are going to be too expensive to attend due to the fact that I haven’t received/won’t receive any scholarships (this pertains to Ohio State, University of Washington, and USC). I am still awaiting a decision from UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, and UC Davis, but my major is Accounting or Economics & Accounting at the majority of schools I applied to so I am essentially just waiting for UCLA and UC Berkeley’s decisions (Davis, SD, and SC don’t offer majors that suit my interests). The Cal state schools I applied to were simply insurance schools in case every UC school rejected me, so I have narrowed my choices down to UCLA, Berkeley, Irvine, and Santa Barbara. For the sake of argument, though, I am assuming that I won’t be admitted into either of the top tier UC schools, so my decision will most likely be between Irvine and Santa Barbara. For any students who have attended either of these schools, any input regarding them would be extremely helpful in my decision.
I have visited both UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara, and while I will admit that both schools were appealing to me for a variety of reasons, I thought that the entire vibe of UCSB was more appealing to me. I am a huge fan of beach weather which makes both schools extremely attractive, but I don’t necessarily need to attend school on the beach. I enjoyed the social aspect of UCSB and the perceived friendliness of the staff and student body during my visit. I found the people at UCI to be extremely friendly as well, but there was an overall sense of reservedness when compared to UCSB’s environment. Both school’s appear to be enjoyable locations but from my limited knowledge of the two I would give an edge to UCSB. Again, my knowledge is understandably limited so I would definitely appreciate more advice regarding the social scene and lifestyle factors at both institutions.
As I mentioned previously, my major at most schools is Accounting or Economics and Accounting; I plan to pursue a master’s degree in Accounting as well as CPA certification after earning my bachelor’s. I was admitted to UCI as a Business Administration major (I plan to emphasize in Accounting), and I was admitted as a Pre-Economics and Accounting major at UCSB. However, UCI accepted me as a Regent Scholar and provided me with a scholarship that would make attending there about $10,000 cheaper than UCSB over the course of my remaining two years. Additionally, I will receive priority registration for class enrollment and housing at UCI, which could be an extremely significant advantage. Essentially, my decision comes down to UCI being cheaper than UCSB because of the scholarship, as the 10K in student loan debt will amount to a significant difference when the time comes to repay it. So I guess my question to any students familiar with either university would be this: is UCSB a more enjoyable school overall than UCI? I know that isn’t a fair question given that most people have attended one school or the other, but from students who have done extensive research on both schools is it a safe assumption that UCSB is a much more fun environment than UCI, given the latter’s reputation for being a commuter school? And as a second question, would the $10,000 difference between the two schools be enough reason to choose UCI over UCSB? I sincerely enjoyed my visits to both schools but I simply felt more at home at UCSB. I know I would be happy at either school which is why I’m having such a tough time making this decision, especially because I know it will affect my life for the next two years at the very least. Any input at all regarding my dilemma would be extremely appreciated! 
