<p>Okay so I'm an incoming freshman and i'm soooo confused about which dorms to list as my preferences. So far I have San Nicolas as my first choice because I'm looking for the full "freshmen experience" and it seems like this offers it, am I right? Other than that I have NO idea. I don't really mind partying as long as I can sleep at night. I want to meet as many new people as possible and become as involved as possible so I'm pretty openminded. A view would be great, but not completely necessary. Any advice would help. Thanks so much!</p>
<p>Hey,</p>
<p>I’m an incoming freshman this fall too. I’ve been researching the dorms pretty much nonstop, mostly because of a friend who went to SB and said they didn’t like it because of their dorm.
But she was in Santa Catalina, so it doesn’t surprise me.</p>
<p>Personally, I chose Anacapa and Santa Cruz as my first and second choices. They’re only two floors, meaning that if I’m stuck on the second, it’d be better than the 7th in the other dorms. Which is entirely a personal choice, you may like being on a high floor. I don’t know enough about stairs vs. elevators so I’m not going to bother with those.
It seems that there are larger hallways in the two-story dorms as well, because they have to fit the same student body in two floors. So, I’d guess you’d meet more people that way. According to the UCSB housing site, there’s only 25 students per floor in San Miguel, San Nicholas is likely to be the same.</p>
<p>One other thing I noticed was the room layout.
[url=<a href=“http://www.housing.ucsb.edu/hchoices/reshalls-fp-smig-dbl.htm]Here[/url”>http://www.housing.ucsb.edu/hchoices/reshalls-fp-smig-dbl.htm]Here[/url</a>] is what they show the dorms to be in San Miguel/San Nicholas.</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://www.housing.ucsb.edu/hchoices/reshalls-fp-anacapa.htm]This[/url”>http://www.housing.ucsb.edu/hchoices/reshalls-fp-anacapa.htm]This[/url</a>] is the dorms of the rest of the East Campus dorms.</p>
<p>I think the first room looks like I’m living in a cruise ship bathroom. If they let you somehow change one of the bunk beds with a regular bed it would be fine, but I couldn’t stand the way they set up the room like that. Hardly room to stand in it.
Even if the rooms are the same size, I like the Anacapa/Santa Cruz layout much better. It gives the room a much spacier feel.</p>
<p>There are three east dorms with this layout, I went with Anacapa and Santa Cruz because it still has a chance to get the view. The view would be nice, yet I’ll be living in Santa Barbara for at least four years. It probably isn’t that big of a deal.</p>
<p>It’s entirely preference. The 8-floor dorms are likely to be quieter because of less people and somewhat off main campus.</p>
<p>I haven’t lived in any of the dorms, this is all what I’ve gathered from researching and such.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your help! Especially for pointing out the amount of space in san nicolas, I didn’t even think of that. What didn’t your friend like about Santa Catalina? I’ve gathered it’s like the major freshmen partying dorm, but I kind of want to bring my car so I was thinking of making it my first or second choice because I’ve heard it’s hard to get parking any other way…</p>
<p>I didn’t talk to her very much about it. The distance was one issue, I remember. Santa Catalina is a mile from campus and she didn’t have a car.</p>
<p>You should check if they allow freshman to bring cars. I know some colleges that don’t allow them too, Santa Barbara seems like they might not have the rule, it’s always better to check though.</p>
<p>Santa Catalina is definitely the party dorm. If you get a dorm on campus you won’t need a car. They have a bus system to get into town. A car or bike is definitely needed if you are planning to stay in Santa Catalina though.</p>
<p>Currently a first year living in Santa Cruz</p>
<p>-Freshman are allowed to bring cars, but it is “discouraged.” Parking is limited and I swear they try and make it as difficult as possible for you. I’ve already gotten two parking tickets.</p>
<p>-Santa Cruz and Anacapa are good dorms for meeting people, but when it comes to meeting people, it’s more on you than the dorm you live in and. After the first several weeks, the dorm you live in is pretty trivial (unless, apparently, you live in Manzanita, but even then…).</p>
<p>-I don’t think San Miguel/San Nicolas are quieter than the two-story dorms.</p>
<p>-I wouldn’t let the layout of the room phase you too much. Unless you’re in a triple, it’s very common for students to rearrange their rooms. We’ve already done it three times. Supposedly, rooms in San Miguel/Nicolos are smaller than the ones in Santa Cruz/Anacapa, but, having been in both, I honestly don’t see the difference.</p>
<p>-I have friends who live in Santa Catalina without bikes. There is a regular bus that goes back and forth between campus and there every half or so. I don’t know anyone who uses a car to travel that distance; it’s too impractical and expensive with all the parking restrictions/fees.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. I will probably end up getting a bike regardless so I’m not too concerned about the distance between santa catalina and campus I just want my car for security reasons so I can go home whenever I need to and have reliable transportation if I get a job etc. But is Santa Catalina as ‘bad’ as everyone says it is? I haven’t heard many positive things about it so far…</p>
<p>@WCF can we rearrange the bed scheme in the dorms? for example, ideally i’d like to live in anacapa with my roommate but on the website there’s a bunk bed and a normal bed. we both want the normal bed and she said that we can rearrange them. is that true? thanks.</p>
<p>Yes. When you first come into the room, the beds aren’t lofted. You can choose whether or not you’ll loft them after you move in.</p>
<p>what about TVs in dorms? i have a TV in my room right now and i’m afraid it’ll be too big for a dorm… is there a recommended size? also judging by the room layouts on the website, there doesn’t seem to be a counter top or anything of sorts to place the TV on…</p>
<p>Yes, rooms are easily rearranged.</p>
<p>Many people have TVs in dorms. I’ve seen some pretty big ones, up to 32 inches. Many people seem to set them on the dressers that can be removed from either closet. Otherwise, you bring your own “countertop;” I know many people just set them on top of mini-fridge they bring from home.</p>