UCI vs UCSB (family problem involved)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - GENERAL
1

Hey guys, which one is a better fit for me and my situation?

Major depends on college, UCI: Spanish and Literary Journalism, UCSB: Spanish and Communications.

Both are giving me similar amounts of aid, so that really isn’t a problem.

UCI is 30 minutes from home (living on campus anyways since I won’t have my license til September) and UCSB is 3 hours away.

Here is where the problem kicks in. My dad has cancer (2nd time diagnosed) and we don’t know if one day an emergency will happen. Recently we had an emergency with my dad and almost lost him so it’s fresh in our minds. My parents want me to go to UCI really badly since I could go home in case of an emergency and it would be a quick drive (which is sort of irrelevant since I won’t have a car anyways). If I went to SB, I would get home on the train since there’s a train station in my hometown and I would only go home on breaks, maybe once every month, and in case of emergencies. If I go to UCI, I would go home more often. My parents have been guilt tripping me about this every single time college comes up and to be honest it ANGERS me. My parents have always made decisions for me and I’m sick of it and I hate how I can’t even make this life changing one on my own.

I went to UCI this Wednesday and I liked it. The campus is nice and I enjoyed it BUT UCI intimidates the crap out of me. I feel like it’s too competitive, people seemed unhappy and it’s too science-based for my tastes.

I haven’t been to SB and I will be there tomorrow but it just gives me a better vibe. On the FB pages for both schools’ Class of 2019, UCI people are really hostile and seem snobby. I actually got insulted on their page for asking them to convince me about the school since I wasn’t really crazy about it. On UCSB’s mobile app everyone is really friendly and supportive, I have even made friends on there and it just seems so much more laid back. This may be a little superficial, but it’s what I feel.

If you’re wondering what I want to do after college, I either want to be a journalist for a Hispanic media outlet or a Spanish teacher.

Plz help and tell me if I’m basing my decision on the wrong things.

2

I am a parent, so my answer should be viewed through that lens. I think you will enjoy either campus. Perhaps you are viewing the UCI vibe negatively because of the pressure from your parents. I think you should choose UCI because of your father’s situation. If you choose UCSB and something happens and you are stuck there, your regret will be terrible.