I’m assuming I have a safe bet to get into all three of these schools (applications were sent in yesterday!)
If anyone knows about all three of these schools, I want to hear everything about them. And which one you like the best out of the three. Tell me everything: academics, reputation, student life, social life, the environment outside of the school, location, etc
Thank you!!
Hi! I can’t speak equally for all three, however I’m a UCSB grad and have spent time on each campus. Have you toured each of the campuses? Each of these schools has a very different “personality”, so I’d recommend spending time at all 3 to get a feel for where you see yourself. Keep in mind also that each campus has 12k+ students, so you could probably find your niche on any of the campuses.
A few notes about UCSB:
Rated in top 10 for happiest students (great weather, nice students…it’s a happy place!)
Many of the kids were involved in high school (sports, student government, volunteering, etc)
Many of the students are active-- hiking, biking, enjoying the outdoors, etc
UCSB is a very social campus-- there seems to always be something going on
UCSB students tend to live in Isla Vista (the college town directly adjacent to campus). I absolutely loved living in a college town, but it’s not for everyone.
UCSB is a great school academically, but tends to be the best fit for students that want an excellent education, but to enjoy their 4 years in college as well.
UCI has a reputation for being more of a commuter school, although I have friends that attended and they enjoyed their time there.
I’m happy to answer questions offline as well. Good luck!
If you end up picking UCSB don’t live in Isla Vista it’s a nightmare.
UCSC has a nice campus but in my opinion Santa Cruz itself is like a less nice version of Del Mar. Everybody that I know that went to UCSC loved the school though.
I don’t know anything about UCI though.
What kind of things draw you to a school/city though? Do you like to party? Are you a fan of the outdoors? Do you care about diversity? etc etc.
Some people who assume that UCSB or UCI have gotten surprised by finding out that they are more selective than they assume.
There’s a cool video on youtube called UC Stereotypes and it basically talks about what each uc is known for. It’s pretty funny but also insightful.
I am very aware of how selective these universities are 
Regarding the surrounding areas…Irvine is very suburban, part of the LA/OC metropolis. It’s near a lot of things, the beaches (1/2 hour most), the mountains (2 hours), LA (1 hour). I don’t think it’s anything special, but Orange County, especially that area, is very clean and “nice,” maybe preppy? The University brings a fair amount of diversity to an otherwise not super diverse area. Irvine is a very mild climate. The proximity to LA, and lots of other industry throughout Southern California could be a benefit. Many local companies recruit from UCI.
Santa Barbara, is very nice, a pretty area. It’s not a small town, but is more isolated than Irvine. It has beautiful beaches, and has some nearby coastal mountains (not snowy mountains) for hiking. Southern enough to still have a very mild climate.
Santa Cruz is a way more “hippy” area than the other two. It’s also cooler with more rain than the other two (but not like Pacific NNW rain), but still mild relative to most of the rest of the country. It has some beautiful beaches too, and the water is known for being colder than the southern beaches (which also have cold water relative to the East Coast.) Santa Cruz has very nearby mountains and forests with amazing beautiful redwoods. Forest meets beach is pretty epic. Santa Cruz is closer to the Bay Area than to LA, and so has more of a NorCal vibe, and might afford some Silicon Valley internships and connections.
By the way, my son applied to UCSC, and we live near UCI. Best wishes.