r/UCSantaBarbara

Hi! I will be starting my PhD here at UCSB in the fall, and am having some decision paralysis about how to rank my housing preferences.

For people who live there: does anyone happen to know the square footage of the different rooms? Specifically, I am trying to get a rough idea of the size of the bedrooms to determine which furniture I will actually be able to bring with me. Mainly wondering about the dimensions of the Storke and West Campus 2 bedrooms.

Two bonus questions… I have absolutely horrific environmental and food allergies and am very worried about the apartments having carpet. How many of you live on carpeted vs uncarpeted places? If there is carpet, how likely do you think it would be to get it removed prior to move-in (and would housing let me do it myself, or is it something that they would get mad at me for)?

Thanks in advance for any perspectives or feedback you can provide :)

I’m trying to score an apt at sierra madre and wanted to know the pros/ cons. Also what is the social vibe there?

I am an incoming transfer student to UCSB and I have been curious about people's experiences with roommates. Most of the experiences I tend to hear are negatives, so it does leave me a little concerned, especially considering special sleep circumstances.

Would you consider it a better idea to look for a roommate or let it be automatically matched to you?

I would love to hear about people's experiences.

Im on WL at BOTH ucsb and ucsd as a bio major and I’m still waiting although there have been waves of WL they haven’t been for my specific major, so it gives me a little hope but I’m not too sure what’s going to happen next. I’m mainly worried about getting off the WL late and I don’t get a good registration date and I fall behind or something like that. What are your guys’ thoughts on this? Do we think there’s going to be movement at all because I do know they close the wl in like couple of weeks.

Hi! I will be attending UCSB in the fall. I am currently part of my family's insurance plan but am unsure if I should look into getting UC SHIP, GAP, or just opting out.

I am more concerned with how each insurance plan would work with finding mental health resources on campus. I am hoping to start some kind of long-term therapy when I get to campus. I haven't been able to do so yet due to the costs and being a minor. I would also want these sessions to be totally separated from my parents (I'm not sure what they'd have access to when I'm over 18 but still under their insurance).

Either way, I am thinking I will need more serious help, not just a place to vent on occasion about school stress or anything. I don't want costs for these things to add up because I don't have the school insurance. I've also suspected I might be neurodivergent for a while, is there any way to get diagnosed more easily/does anyone recommend anything?

I've never done anything like this on my own before, and now that I have the chance, I really want to get help for myself and be more independent. Thanks!

Any advice is helpful, since I'm pretty in the dark about all of this.

UCSB was one of my top choices when I was admitted, and when I browsed the CO2030 Instagram page looking for possible friends/roomies, I was thrown way off.

Firstly, a ton of people follow requested me that were incoming freshmen at UCSB, then immediately unfollowed me after I followed them back? Like why are you even following people from your school if you’re not actively looking for people to connect with. Pissed me off a little and I had ~70 more following than I did followers at one point.

Secondly, the whole vibe of the Instagram felt extremely homogenous and I hated that the most popular accounts made you pay to post.

I also found some potential roomies and chatted with them for a bit, but the second I posted a screenshot of an award I won because I was a little shocked (pres scholars semi), they unfollowed me, ghosted me, and then kept me as their followers lol.

I’m sure the actual vibe on the campus is much different and I’m not one to care about instagram followers (also a biased population, probably). I just got an ick and decided to commit to another UC.

Did I make a stupid choice? It’s too late to change now ig.

Very crazy

Hey all, looking for some real talk before I commit to a decision I can’t undo.
Quick context: I’m currently at UCSB, double majoring in Econ and a quant/stats-adjacent major. I’ve only completed 3 classes toward the major and still have 5 GE requirements left. The double major hasn’t been formally approved yet. I got admitted to UCSD as a transfer and would have all my GEs done already, with a cleaner path to finishing both majors.
Things pulling me toward staying at UCSB:
I have a small group of close friends (3-4 people) who are staying

I know the campus, the social scene, how things work

Some bad social experiences this year made we want a fresh start somewhere new, but I also don’t want to make an emotional decision I regret

Things pulling me toward UCSD:
GEs already done, less academic backlog

Stronger academic reputation overall

More diversity, bigger city, more to do outside campus

A genuine fresh start away from some negative experiences

Biggest unknown for me: social life. I’ve heard things at UCSB are very spontaneous/social (parties, going out, things always happening), and I’m worried UCSD might be quieter or harder to break into socially, especially coming in as a transfer student.
For people who’ve either transferred from UCSB to UCSD, or attend UCSD now — what’s the social scene actually like, especially for transfers? Is it actually quieter, or is that a stereotype? And for current UCSB people — if you were in my shoes (early in the major, not deeply rooted yet, weighing academics/fresh start vs. a few close friendships) what would you do?
Trying to decide very soon, so honest answers appreciated either way.

I am entering UCSB as a mechanical engineer this year, but i am afraid of scoring a one or two in the Math Placement Exam. What would happen if I did and would It affect my progress. Edit: I have not taken ap calc, or the equivalent. Ive taken and passed regular PreCalc

Hi!
I’m looking for salon/hairdresser recommendations. I typically just get a hair wash, trim and blow dry and I don’t have a lot of hair so I am out of the chair in a hour. I understand that SB is expensive but paying $120 plus tip is a lot sometimes. If anyone has any recommendations for someone charging under $100 plus tip I’d appreciate it !

Thoughts and options on what I should do regarding getting research on campus while having a low Gpa (like less than 3.0). I’m currently working to get it higher but this past year was hard and I only have one more year to possibly join something before I graduate. I’m looking for something bio/psych but most labs have ghosted me.

Are there any thrift store recs in sb? Have a car and willing to drive :)

so the deadline to send transcripts is july 1st and i still need to send in my transcripts from elac since i did dual enrollment courses while i was in high school. would there be an issue if the transcripts are sent and verified after the deadline or should i be fine as long as i send the transcripts right now? im so confused and very worried about this 🥲

I‘m going into my senior year of high school and college apps are coming up pretty soon so i’ve started looking at a couple colleges but so far UCSB is the only one that’s like REALLY caught my eye. Is there anything that I would like desperately need to know abt the school that would maybe break that allure? I kinda feel like im wearing rose colored glasses right now because everything about the school just seems so beautiful so I kinda just wanted a reality check.

might be a stupid question. i’m an incoming freshman and on my financial aid package, it says im eligible for $7k in loans. includes a subsidized loan, unsubsidized loan, and the ucsb loan. (i am not planning to take out all $7k btw, with my aid i would only need $2k-3k😭)

do i need to do something to get the loans?? like do i need to apply to anything? my assumption has been that i just have them/would get more information when it’s actually time to pay for school. basically is there anything i need to do right now or am i worrying for no reason😭

Sorry it’s my second post on here in a fairly short span of time but i’m really trying to narrow down my options for what college I wanna go to. I’m gay and I was just curious about the lgbtq population on campus and anything specific to ucsb that would be good to know about in terms of parties, dorms, and other extracurricular stuff.