Choosing a university to attend can be very overwhelming. There are so many things to consider when you visit UC Santa Barbara. Some are obvious such as the perfect warm and sunny weather, the large, spread out campus, the diversity of the student body, the proximity to the beach (we have our own private beach and bluffs), the high rate of involvements of students on campus, the tremendous resources such as the counseling and health center and student run tutoring for Math, Science and English classes, and how extremely physically active students are. Less obvious things to consider include how renowned the professors are and the high quality research that is conducted on campus. These are somethings you should be thinking about when you visit the UCSB campus.
1.) Location, location, location.
This is one of the most important things to consider when deciding between multiple campuses. I highly recommend actually visiting every campus you are interested in attending before applying. Location encompasses everything from proximity to home, city or country (or suburbs) and location of transportation portals such as airports or train stations (if you are far away from home and do not bring a car with you). The location of UCSB is right on the coast, which means unlimited access to the beach, surfing, rafting, running on the strand, etc. These things should be something to consider if you enjoy being outdoors and being active. Also, location includes weather, which is near perfect at UCSB. If you know you could never survive the frigid temperatures and snow of a Midwest school, UCSB might be just for you
2.) On-campus Resources.
The resources at UCSB are tremendously helpful and are often not utilized (or known about at all) by the students. I didn’t know about half of the incredible resources until my junior year. One helpful resource is the student-run tutoring sessions called They offer a variety of tutoring classes for different subjects. The classes are run by older students that have taken that class before and are typically majoring in the specific field. They are small classes and help to supplement a larger lecture where it can be impossible to ask questions. Students can bring their homework problems for review as well. The health center is also really convenient, and offers labs and a pharmacy right on campus so you don’t need to go to an off site doctor
3.) School size.
Size can refer to both campus size and how spread out or condensed it is and the size of the student body. Do you want a few thousand students or a school with 25,000 students? Both have advantages and disadvantages. Larger student bodies, such as UCSB, tend to offer more classes and diversity and allow you to be more independent. However, the lectures can sometimes seem impersonal. Most lectures for lower-division classes offer supplementary discussion “sections” where a TA runs a class of about 20 students. The lecture is discussed in further detail and the TA is usually better adept at answering questions and offering helpful advice when it comes to exams. In regards to campus size, UCSB is more spread out and segregated between the “colleges” within the school. For example, the Science buildings were on the farthest end of campus. The Humanities buildings were more in the center of campus and closer to dorms and off campus residences.
4.) Extracurricular activities.
Are you looking to get involved with campus activities (the answer should always be YES, pretty much all campuses, especially UCSB offer great things for students to do outside of class). Are you interested in playing intramural or Division 1 sports? Are you looking to join a club on campus, political organization or Greek Life? Not all campuses offer Greek Life and if this is something you think you might want to be a part of, make sure to ask when you visit the campus. UCSB has a thriving Greek Life. Other clubs are a great way to meet people with similar interests. UCSB also has a huge range of IM sports clubs, with lots of student involvement. Some clubs even have traveling tournaments!
5.) What majors is the school known for?
UC Santa Barbara has many very strong academic departments including Communication, Psychology, Sociology, Computer Science, Marine Biology and Engineering. While you might very well change your mind about your major and switch, if you have a general idea of what area of study you to want focus on, do your research about the programs the school has to offer.
Stephanie Grace is a Marketing and Events professional living in her hometown of Los Angeles. Stephanie enjoys going to the gym, traveling, wine tasting and writing about her life as a twenty something. She does not like sitting in LA traffic for countless hours each day. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2013 with a degree in Sociology and Communications.