My daughter was accepted into the biology major for both UCSB & UW Seattle. Could someone provide some insight on which school to choose? We will be out of state for both schools and there is no big difference on cost of attendance.
I cannot comment on UW but is it a direct admit or Pre-Science?
UCSB admits into the Pre-Biology major.
Students interested in graduating with a major in any area of the biological sciences enter UCSB as a pre-biology major and take a subset of this key preparatory coursework in introductory biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics. Once the pre-major requirements have been completed students may petition to declare one of the full majors. Note: Grades earned must meet the grade prerequisites for the full major.
For full instructions for declaring a major go to: Current Students.
Course Prerequisites
All Biology courses, with the exception of GE courses, build upon prerequisite or preparatory course work, and these prerequisites are strictly enforced by the departments. Students who have not successfully completed the prerequisites for a course will not be allowed to register. In addition, certain upper-division courses also have a grade requirement for their prerequisites, as discussed below. Specific course prerequisite information can be found on GOLD, in the UCSB Catalog, and on the annual departmental Proposed Course Lists.
Has she visited both campuses? What is her goal as a Biology major?
Grade Requirements for Prerequisite Courses
All upper-division MCDB courses and some upper-division EEMB courses require a “C” or better in their prerequisite courses. Students who pass a prerequisite course but with a grade lower than C must repeat the course and earn at least a C in order to advance to the next course.
Can you share a little more about her, her personality, and what she is looking for in a school?
Thank you so much for your reply. It is a pre-science. She has visited UW campus but not UCSB. She might want to pursue a medical or dental career after graduation.
She is outgoing and loves outdoor activities but have not surfed before. She also loves city life, so it is a hard choice for us. She might want to pursue a medical or dental career after graduation.
So OOS undergrad costs along with Medical or Dental school costs are affordable? What is her plan B if a Professional school does not happen? If she likes cities, UW sounds like the better option. Santa Barbara is close but the UCSB campus is not located in town and SB is not a large city in comparison to Seattle.
Since she is coming from OOS, Santa Barbara has a small airport nearby but depending upon your location, may not have direct flights available.
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Thank you so much for the advice!
Agree. Going to a UC wont give her priority, nor get her into a UC med school. It’s almost the opposite.
California graduates too many “premed” students in who are often denied admission to the few med schools available in the state. She shouldn’t pick the school because she is assuming that she’ll gain admission to a med school in California.
My daughter however was admitted to UW but was lucky to be admitted to a UC program which ran about $300K for 4 years. Assume the same graduate costs for med or dental school.
FWIW: You don’t have to learn to “surf” to go to school in California. It’s not a “thing” most Californians can do but the option is there. We have millions of California residents and I couldn’t imagine every able resident being able to surf the few, limited, surf breaks in the state.
Additionally, most of our UC’s are NOT near the water. The State is not a long, sandy, warm beach. The water temperatures are cold and a lot of the state’s coastal areas are inaccessible for surfing given the rough, rocky shores.
(Personally, I’ve never been “impressed” with the breaks and surf in Santa Barbara for beginners).
And the water has tar in it, as does the sand on the beach 
Every student has a bottle of baby oil by the door to remove it from their feet if they go for a walk on the beach. It’s not like stepping in a bucket of tar, but you’ll get several nickel-size spots of tar & sand on your feet.
UCSB is in a beautiful setting and a rarity among CA colleges, one where students live on/near campus in a college community. Perhaps Davis and Chico are similar, and a few others. I’ve never been to UW so no comments there.
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If beauty of scenery is a priority, UW can go toe to toe with any campus anywhere. It’s not on the beach … it’s not on the coast at all. But its setting is spectacular with million dollar views in many directions from many spots on campus. And Seattle is very close to amazing outdoor activities. We have a lot of water and we have a lot of mountains (not hills, which is what we in the west call the land bumps you find in the New England and upstate NY) and trees. And the campus itself is very pretty.