I recently got into Conn College (a small liberal arts school) off the waitlist and am currently committed to UCSB. I’ve never visited Conn College and have lived in California my whole life so any input you have about the school and even how the East Coast culture is different from California (Bay Area) would be appreciated. My major is currently Undeclared but I’m most interested in Environmental Studies, Economics, and Political Science. Most people that I have talked to about my decision in my area have never heard of Conn College, so they aren’t the biggest help. Conn College gave me a good financial aid package, so it’s still a few thousand more than UCSB but it’s not a huge difference. I like the idea of small classes at Conn College, but I’m unsure if it would be too small as I love socializing with different groups of people. I also noticed that Conn College isn’t very ethnically diverse and wonder how that would be for me since I’m half Asian and grew up in a diverse area. What worries me about UCSB is that it be might too big as I love discussions in class and may not get that in the huge lecture classes. I also worry a bit about the party school reputation as I’m not the biggest partier.
Any advice on my decision would be appreciated!
I’m a 1974 UCSB grad and I visited Conn. College with my son five years ago after he was accepted there. My son ended up at Emory University’s Oxford College due to financial aide Emory offered.
Conn. College consists of a lot of gray stone buildings on a bluff above the Thames River, just off the coast of Long Island Sound. It is pretty attractive visually. As a private liberal arts college (LAC), it will have smaller classes than UCSB, at least in lower division classes. At UCSB, lower division courses will commonly be large lecture hall oriented classes combined with a discussion lead by a graduate student. Upper division classes will be smaller, i.e. 20 - 45 students.
College is really what you make of it. Thus, professors at both schools have office hours and my recollection is that they were not heavily used by students thus making the professor available to a surprising number of students at even a large school such as UCSB. The environmental studies Dept. at UCSB was particularly close, but particularly for those students that sought out interaction with professors. My son found lots of opportunities for campus involvement at Emory’s Oxford College which operates like a LAC.
I’d look closely at the College Confidential discussions and college review books (College Prowler) on Conn College. From what I’ve read and from what I saw, Conn College is somewhat preppy. It gets a fairly large number of upper middle class students from the east coast that did not get into more highly ranked Ivies. Perhaps this is reflected in the fact Conn. College is one of the few schools with a sailing team. You should check the Commons Data Set on Conn College which provides some data on smaller liberal arts schools concerning their student body and academic requirements. Compare it to similar data you might find on UCSB from the UC website. UCSB has a student body consisting of a middle/upper middle class kids from suburban public high schools.
UCSB definitely has those who party very hard. They tend to live on Del Playa, i.e. close to the beach. But, it is a large school with something for just about everybody, including those more focused on studying, cultural offerings, engagement in school sponsored extra curriculars and socializing in a quieter way. UCSB has Div. 1 sports and has a fair following for men’s soccer and basketball. Conn. College has Div. 11 sports that will never be on TV, but may have some players you might know personally. I learned to sail at UCSB in recreation classes, attended drama department plays and went to lectures by visiting luminaries.
Whether you are at a LAC or larger university, a student has to actively engage to benefit from all the school offers. I think UCSB might be problematic only if a student is very introverted and unable to actively engage in the least. Otherwise, it offers just about anything for anyone.
One last thing, my son wanted to try something new. Hence, Emory was a draw for him. If Conn. College offers aide making it similar in cost to a UC, you might consider it an adventure to try the east coast, and its proximity to Boston, N.Y. etc. But your parents may wish to factor in the cost of transportation b/t the coasts as you commute back and forth b/t home and school, and as they try to visit you occasionally.
Good luck.