UCSB Parking

I have been hearing from everyone that parking at UC Santa Barbara is terrible. Is it that bad? I’ll be an incoming freshman this fall and I want to bring my car, but a lot of people seem to advise against that. How difficult is it to attain a parking permit? How much does it cost? As I understand you can pay less to park farther away; conversely, you can pay more to park right by your dorm. Is it worth trying to bring my car?