<p>We visited both campuses last summer. I cracked up when I read your comment "I was slightly horrified by Isla Vista and my daughter thought it was great." That was exactly our experience too! Santa Barbara definitely seemed to have more of a party scene, which I think was a big attraction for my daughter. But I worry a bit about her fitting in. She is not the stereotypical So Cal girl -- no bleached blonde hair, no piercings, no $300 designer purses. She's a die hard Democrat, down to earth and more Midwestern like me. Do you think there are many kids like this at Santa Barbara? I thought Santa Cruz was beautiful too and my daughter liked it as well, but I wonder if there's much of a social life. My daughter studied soooo much in High School, she really wants to have fun in college. My daughter just found out she's getting into Berkeley -- which she loved and which I think is soooo big and impersonal. Did you visit Berkeley? What did you think? Where does your daughter want to go? None of my friends have kids considering these schools so I really appreciate the opportunity to talk with you about this!</p>
<p>Fiske --</p>
<p>Having just visited UCSC again today with my son, I think based on what you said about your daughter, and obviously I don't know her or you and could be dead wrong, she'd prefer SB over SC. UNLESS, and this is a big unless, she is a unique soul. If she's a kid just trying to fit in, or if she fits in well in her environment, SB is the place. If you characterize her as a square peg, meaning an individualist, unique, follows the beat of a different drum, all those kind of cliches, then Santa Cruz would be perfect for her.</p>
<p>Everyone I encountered at Santa Cruz was friendly and unique. So unique that notwithstanding that a mere 2% (I think that was the tour guide's quote) of those in Greek, this year they started one of the first in the nation's "fraroity" (I'm guessing that's the spelling) -- yes, a coed fraternity/sorority. That is what makes Santa Cruz so unique -- it just seems to embrace all the indvidualist, weirdness that are the Einsteins, the Dylan Thomas's, and the Rimbauds of the world. And with such heart and joy. The quiet and the shy will do well here. The experimenters and the thinkers will do well here. The people that just want to fit in to the norm will not, I think, do well here.</p>
<p>Hope these snippets help.</p>
<p>well
i think SB si the better school academically (unless ur intending on astronomy)</p>
<p>but
i also always hear rumors about lieke 1/4 of the UCSB students having herpes :(</p>
<p>fiskelove,</p>
<p>We didn't officially visit Berkeley because it's way too close to home. While my daughter wants to stay on the west coast, the actual bay area wasn't an option she considered. Having said that, the local kids I know who have gone there in recent years love it and I've never heard them complain that it's too big. It may be that they've simply developed a small group of friends just as they would at a smaller school. The social side of Berkeley wouldn't worry me so much as class size and how easy it is to get into classes (and thus how long it takes to graduate). That is something that would be a big adjustment at any UC for my daughter who has gone to a very small high school.</p>
<p>My daughter did apply to UCs and small LACs but now she is leaning toward USC. I asked her college counselor why I would want to pay private school tuition for a public-sized university and he said that she would likely receive more personal attention, be in somewhat smaller classes, etc. I do know that she wants out of the fishbowl - she wants to be a little bit anonymous and free to re-invent herself in a new place. She really likes the rah-rah school spirit at USC - something that cracks me up because football and sororities/fraternities are like, well, Greek to me. She's also is a crazed movie fan and thinks she might minor in film. Beyond any specifics, it seems to come down to that elusive question of "fit." I know my two older kids made their decisions (both northeast LACS) on that basis and and I've come to trust in a teenager's sense of it.</p>
<p>To that end, can your daughter revisit Berkeley, UCSB and the other schools on her final list and perhaps spend a night with a student, attend classes, etc? Mine went to a math class in an amphitheater-type class room and hung out in a dorm with a friend at UCSB and that made more of an impression on her than any tour or info session. She's not bleached or pierced either (and I'm way too cheap to buy her designer anything) but I'm fairly sure that SB is at the top of her UC list. I am indeed Puzzled.</p>