<p>I have been accepted to both universities as a political science major. I am unsure of what school to chose. I live in Orange County, CA so both schools have the weather I would enjoy. I am going to go see both schools in a few weeks. I got full financial aid at both schools (22K in grants/7K in loans/2K in work study at SB and $12K in grants/$12K in loans at SLO) </p>
<p>Which school is better (in liberal arts program, in social scene, in general)? Help!!</p>
<p>2nd year UCSB student here, and I’m not a liberal arts major so I can’t really say, but if you’re a political science major I CAN tell you this is an extremely politically active campus. It won a national competition for college voter turnout, with about 95% of students voting. In general there are a lot of opportunities to stay active with what you’re interested in here. Of course the social scene is also very active, I personally am not a big partier so I feel slightly out of place, but to be honest from my visit at Cal Poly, the social atmosphere seems about the same its just they don’t have Isla Vista. </p>
<p>Just visit the campuses, look at the programs, and really, go where you think makes you happy. That’s probably the most important aspect to your college career success.</p>
<p>Go to UCSB if you want to wake up to the waves crashing along the shore</p>
<p>haha well I live in Orange County so having the beach so close as SB is very enticing 
however, I still can’t make up my mind. I need to see the campuses, I guess. I’ve researched both universities, and they seem almost equal academically (for my major.) I want to know more about campus life and various opportunities at the schools. Which school would look better when applying for grad school and jobs?</p>
<p>i’m kind of in the same position as you, I was accepted to both schools. i’ve visited both campuses, but that was a while ago so i think i’m going to visit again. right now i think i’m leaning toward UCSB a bit more, but i think they both have their pros and cons haha. anyway, i’d also like to know which school looks better to potential grad schools/employers.</p>
<p>i think it depends on your major. I’ve heard UCSB has a better Liberal Arts program, but SLO definitely has a better engineering program…so it really depends I’m leaning more towards SB as well…but idk, I might change my mind after spending the weekend at PolyCultural at SLO</p>
<p>yeah that’s what i’ve heard as well, i’m majoring in biology so i think they’re probably around equal. my main concern with UCSB is its reputation of being a party school, because i do want to go to parties from time to time but i also want to focus on academics and stuff haha, do you know anything more about this?</p>
<p>yes, that was a HUGE concern of mine. Check out the threads below and you’ll see that partying isn’t everything at UCSB. The people I’ve met on the first link are so nice, and a lot of them don’t drink. </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/1111479-getting-know-class-2015-a.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/1111479-getting-know-class-2015-a.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/1111332-scholars-floor.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/1111332-scholars-floor.html</a></p>
<p>And someone sent me this message, which really reassured me about UCSB.</p>
<p>Hay Tsilva11. I just want to say that whoever told you those statements most likely don’t go to UCSB. I’m going to speak to you as someone who DOESN’T party and DOESN’T smoke or drink, so this is a perspective from someone that most people who stereotype schools wouldn’t expect. The party scene is easy to avoid, in fact WAY too easy to avoid. All it takes is a tiny bit of will power. You won’t get physically pulled by the arm and dragged in and forced to party. It’s usually a “hey do you want to go out” and that’s it. The majority of students DON’T put partying over academics. If they did then there wouldn’t be a reason why we are ranked higher than irvine and davis and tied with SD But really though, you shouldn’t worry about the parties, it’s not the school that changes someone. College will always have temptations, it’s how you react to those temptations. Partying, like with every college, is just an optional supplement, not a major requirement. It’s the same for other UCs as well. The reason why people have this “party school” image of us only because IV, is right next to us. Kids at UCLA have to look for parties scattered across LA. UCSD kids have to look for parties scattered across La Jolla. The whole “party” thing is way too over exaggerated, which everyone agrees. People say it’s a party school only because other people do, who don’t goto UCSB. The majority of the students are really motivated, if they weren’t, then again we wouldn’t even compare to the other UCs. But of course we rank higher than all of them except LA and Berk. That’s the best I can refute those claims really. What you hear are STEREOTYPES. All asians are really good at math, and they only focus on math and school and nothing else. I know you would disagree with that stereotype, ahaha. But yeah, this is the best I can do, especially since I don’t party, smoke, or drink, and I attend UCSB, with MANY friends who are the same.</p>
<p>awesome thanks that just convinced me further that ucsb is perfect haha.</p>
<p>yayy that’s so great! you should come chat with the rest of up on the “getting to know the class of 2015” forum…it’s really nice to know people before school starts and it makes it a little stress stressful!</p>