<p>This might not be the right forum section, but I couldn't find a specific UCSB forum, so here goes.</p>
<p>I'm a swedish last-year secondary school student (I'm 18) and I recently set my mind on attending a college in the US. After looking around for some time I found UCSB. It looks like the perfect school for me: Fairly highly regarded in terms of academics, but also full of friendly people and good times to be had. Anyway, I had a few questions on the subject:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Like any swede looking to attend college after graduating, I'll be 19 when I start. Is that normal? I hear most american freshmen are 17-18 (High schoolers graduate one year earlier, right?).</p></li>
<li><p>What kind of stats do I need to get into UCSB? This is obviously a broad question, but any feedback is appreciated. I'll be ending up with a GPA of about 18-18.5 out of 20, which translates to about 3.65-3-7 in american standards. </p></li>
<li><p>Are international students who apply valued differently from americans? Is it harder/easier to get in?</p></li>
<li><p>What majors have a good reputation at UCSB? I.e. which ones are the school known for.</p></li>
<li><p>How does the housing work? I want to live in a dorm, with other students. Do I have to deal with this separately from my application, or is it included?</p></li>
<li><p>What possibilities are there for financial aid for internationals students like myself?</p></li>
<li><p>Last but not least; What's the average UCSB student's attitude towards foreigners? I really just want to be like any college kid going there, without being somehow distinguished or treated differently because of my nationality.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>/A.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Most US freshmen will be 18 so you will be a year older. One year shouldn’t make that much difference. It will be more important to find others with a similar personality and similar interests.</p></li>
<li><p>Your stats are in the right range for UCSB - take the SAT and see how you do. Your SAT will need to be near or above the 75th percentile. The lower SATs are for recruited athletes or 4.0 GPA students.</p></li>
<li><p>Economics with a lot of emphasis on accounting. Statistics and applied mathematics. Biology. Of course, it offers a variety of majors and many of the departments are quite good - for example philosophy and computer science are good. The CS dept is often overshadowed by Cal and Stanford, but it’s still a good program.</p></li>
<li><p>Freshman housing is on-campus. You won’t have to worry about it until you are admitted and then you will have to put down your dorm preference. After freshman year you will move to an apartment. There are a ton of apartments in the Isla Vista neighborhood, but it has a reputation for being party-central so don’t live there if you want a quieter place.</p></li>
<li><p>Californians are fairly tolerant of people from other countries. Half the population is from somewhere else - either out-of-state or out-of-country.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Can’t answer your other two questions.</p>
<p>Thanks! About being a foreigner, I just don’t want to be this guy ([YouTube</a> - Words of Encouragment](<a href=“Words of Encouragment - YouTube”>Words of Encouragment - YouTube)), i.e. I don’t want to get stuck in some exchange-student sterotype.</p>
<p>Anyway, I have two more questions, they aren’t really about UCSB but about college in general:</p>
<p>8) If I want to get another degree after I finish college, a medical or law degree for instance, does it matter much which major I pick in college?</p>
<p>9) I’m really into music (performing), and at first I was planning to attend a music college. However I’ve realised that it’s not the best of ideas, seeing as how it’s very unlikely to make it as a musician. My question is: If I want to pick music as a minor, how does that work? Does it impact the value of my degree? Will it take a lot of time away from my major? Is it even possible at UCSB or at other schools?</p>
<p>Thanks.
/A.</p>
<p>Bump! And another question:</p>
<p>10) What do UCSB students do during breaks? Summer/Winter etc. Do anyone of them still hang around Isla Vista?</p>
<p>*6. What possibilities are there for financial aid for internationals students like myself?
*</p>
<p>If you need aid, then do NOT apply to any UC. UC’s do not give any aid to int’l students. </p>
<p>How much will your family pay? If they won’t pay the $50k per year to go there, then this school won’t work for you. UCs are “int’l friendly” because they expect them to pay ALL costs. </p>
<p>Just so you know, most public univs will not give aid to int’ls students because much of their aid is from tax-payers. There are a few that will give merit scholarships to int’ls (not UCs). </p>
<p>Before you get too interested in any school, find out if they give aid/scholarships to int’ls. And, if they give aid, how much do they give. No point in having a list of questions about a school only to find out it won’t work because of money.</p>
<p>Many privates don’t give aid or much aid to int’ls either.</p>
<p>How much will your family pay?</p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
<p>For med school or law school, it doesn’t matter what your major is. However, very, very, very, very few non-Canadian int’l students will get accepted to US medical schools because their mission is to educate future American doctors…and they have limited seats.</p>
<p>I might be able to afford the tuition, I might not. And UCSB isn’t the only school I’m looking into, it’s just the on I’m most interested in atm.</p>
<p>Oh, and there are other ways to get help with the money than just approaching the college itself. A lot of people are supported by funds and separate organizations.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>If you’re from a country that will provide funds, then great. However, most int’ls are not able to find private sources for their school costs.</p>
<p>How much will your parents pay each year?</p>
<p>It’s fine to apply to a few schools when you have little idea of where the funding will come from “just to see” what might shake out later, but don’t waste your time applying to too many unaffordable schools. Spend some time finding and applying to some schools that will work for you. :)</p>
<p>Believe me…submitting apps, writing essays, and doing supplementals takes a lot of time. You will be very frustrated next spring if you spent hours and hours on such things only to have no affordable schools.</p>
<p>3) For full pay students, yes it is easier to be admitted.</p>
<p>6) See above. So no, little finaid available for internationals.</p>