Click here to go to the NEW College Discussion Forum

Anyone who is applying to UCSB, how is the school. I am out of state and and want to apply to there creative studies major of physics? Pretty good I hear, I am from NJ btw! How is the school, professors, students, social life, location, etc.. Anything you can add would be helpful! Thanks

By Marinakitchen (Marinakitchen) on Tuesday, December 09, 2003 - 09:06 pm: Edit

I have lived in Santa Barbara my entire life, so my perspective on UCSB students might be a little...arbitrary. But here it goes...
Everyone LOVES the campus and Santa Barbara (I personally am sick of it, but don't listen to me.) We have great weather and beautiful beaches. The temperature hardly goes below 60 degrees.
As for the students...the party. A LOT. Isla Vista, the small town outside of UCSB where most of the students live, is basically a place where drinking/smoking marijuana/having unprotected sex takes place 12 hours a day. Most students have the reputation for being very sexually active, and its said that 1 in 4 people in IV have a sexually transmitted disease. From the ones I know, I would say that most of them are laid-back surfer (tan, blonde) types who like to be nice and drink a lot.
All of my formerly-sober friends who go there are now alcoholics.
BUT, that's all I really know. Like I said, my info is pretty skewed. All in all, the students are very friendly, accepting, and nice. Just don't go there if you don't like to party.

By Tonyv (Tonyv) on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 04:46 pm: Edit

...

By Tonyv (Tonyv) on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 04:47 pm: Edit

...

By Tonyv (Tonyv) on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 04:54 pm: Edit

I'd agree with Marina. The students are friendly, and nice, but from what I've seen, it seems like the friendliness isn't really genuine. The campus is really beautiful and the Honors Program, I've heard is really great. However, it's really a party hearty school, for the typical abercrombie-fitch-striped-polos-and-capris kind. The kids I know who go there are generally the "preps" or the really smart kids who want to be "prep". Seems like a lot of the students are jaded and try to drink away their problems.

By Mulan (Mulan) on Monday, December 15, 2003 - 02:44 am: Edit

however, it also depends on what you're studying. i know very little about the college of creative studies, but i've studies and worked with students in physics and engineering/materials sciences, undergrads and grad students, and they say that although the party scene is undeniably strong, if you're a serious student you don't really get HEAVILY involved. of course you blow of steam once a week or whatever, but...

last week was finals week, and i went to the ucsb library at 11 on friday night. THE PLACE WAS PACKED WITH PEOPLE STUDYING. the local coffee place, espresso roma, was handing out free coffee. it was completely against everything i've ever heard in association with ucsb. apparently people do study, contrary to popular belief. just not... everybody... and just not... all the time. there are serious students, there are serious partyers. be prepared for a larger percentage of the latter.

and if you want to do physics, is there a reason you're sticking with the college of creative studies? i'm just curious since the college of letters and sciences physics faculty is world renowned.