I’m pretty sure @blossom means…get out WITHOUT a boatload of debt from undergrad. She is so right about working in DC in entry level political positions. Very low pay, long hours, lots of evenings and weekends (so really getting a second job to pay off loans is not possible). And unless you win the lottery, you will be sharing a living space with a few others…or commuting a long way AND sharing a living space with others.
You have an opportunity to graduate with no debt. And that isa gift considering the field you want to enter.
@Blossom is spot on. My D has a few good friends who worked at the White House during the last administration.
One worked there for 6 years, his last position at the WH was press secretary of his division (now works as a communication consultant). Guess what his major was? Government, with an emphasis on politics and Women’s Gender Studies (another friend who now works DNC after leaving the WH was a government and sociology major). Majors that are pretty much given in some form or another at every college in the country (including UCSB, who also has a Washington DC internship program http://www.duels.ucsb.edu/academics/ucdc ).
He had a couple of years work experience and internship experience at the local government internship experience and semester internships in DC before he went to work at the White House as an Intern. Then he got a job as an assistant and moved up from there.
You know what his saving grace was? No debt. He was able to save money in order to cover his bills when he worked 5 months in an unpaid position. You should really work on making UCSB work save some money where you can subsidized a few internships.