Hi everyone,
I am a high school senior that committed to Cal Poly, but was just accepted (yesterday) off the waitlist to my dream school, UCSB. At first I was of course going to go to UCSB, but after committing to Cal Poly, I really started to love it, and now I am conflicted, and would love any advice/guidance I can get. (I am from San Francisco, CA)
From what I understand, the party scene (Greek life), the weather, location, and student population is pretty similar at both. Cal Poly is a bit cheaper, but I am not too concerned with this as I am paying in-state tuition at both.
The biggest difference is my majors. My major at Cal Poly would be Business Administration, which is ideal. Since UCSB does not have undergraduate business, I’ll be majoring in Pre-Econ, which is alright, but I’m not super excited about. I heard it’s not too difficult to switch majors though?
My concerns with Cal Poly are:
Lack of diversity
Lack of sports culture
My concerns with UCSB are:
My major
I’d love to hear more about the student culture at both, and also the differences in living (in both the dorms first-year and also off-campus). Any help is fantastic.
Thank you!
Go for your major! College is there to prepare you for your future. UCSB does have a major in Economics and Accounting if being an accountant is a goal, otherwise SLO sounds like the better choice.
Most of the other stuff is fluff; you can live for 4 years without a strong sports culture, although I don’t know how you decided that. They play Division I sports. I’d bet that Cal Poly has all the same rec leagues as any other college, and if it’s big-time college athletics you want then UCSB isn’t exactly in the front of the pack either.
As for diversity, that’s a real concern. Only you can make the decision about whether you’d be comfortable at SLO. The trend at SLO seems to be towards more diversity, according to https://mustangnews.net/cal-polys-incoming-2019-20-class-to-be-the-most-diverse-yet/
SLO and UCSB are roughly the same IMO. UCSB may have a national reputation, but both are considered excellent schools. Both are located near or around nice cities and beaches.
Both are great campuses, UCSB may have edge, since it’s located actually on the beach, but then the actual town is closer at SLO, since I’m not counting IV or Goleta. 
Neither has big-time athletics, although there’s a great buzz for the UCSB soccer program. But it’s not a Power 5 school.
Seriously, the Orfalea College of Business is excellent. My recommendation is SLO.