It’s that time of the year when high school seniors have heard back from just about all the colleges they’ve applied to, and many have probably submitted their SIRs by now. Around this time, one year ago, I already knew that I wanted to go to school at UC Santa Barbara, but I didn’t know what to expect. Was I going to be the only non-partier? Was I going to be super homesick? Was I going to fail my classes?
I’m still asking a lot of questions now, but I can safely say that now that we’re well into Spring Quarter, I’ve got a few answers that I think might help out anyone interested in coming to UCSB.
1. Bike Lanes Are No Joke
If you’re bringing a bike to campus, I recommend not riding it at all the first one or two weeks. Why? Hordes of freshmen are going to be walking around, not noticing that they’re walking on a bike lane until it’s too late. Save yourself the crash and walk. And if you are, keep one eye on the ground at all times – if a cyclist crashes because a pedestrian was in the bike lane, it’s the pedestrian who’s legally at fault.
Of course, the rest of campus can still be perilous at times what with all the cyclists on the sidewalks and no-bike zones, but at least if you see them crash there, it’s entirely their fault. (Not even sorry.)
2. Get to Lunch 15 Minutes Before the Hour
If you arrive at Ortega ten minutes before the hour, you might just make it in time since most of the classes are barely getting out now.
If it’s five minutes before the hour, you’ll be arriving just at the same time as dozens of other students, which means: lonnnnng lines.
If it’s on the hour or just after, you might as well give up hope now. Long lines will get you into a dining hall with no seating and longer lines to the food.
3. Sign up for the Fun Classes Fall Quarter
Now see, in my first quarter at UCSB, I signed up for classes I thought would be super interesting: Greek Mythology, History of Philosophy, and Dinosaurs (s/o to Dan a.k.a. Dr. Luna for being a generally awesome professor), whereas many of my friends signed up for the most general classes ever, like Writing 1 and Econ.
I understand why you want to get the fundamental introductory classes out of the way first, but look: when you register for classes during orientation, you’re more likely to get into the good classes because spots are reserved and all freshmen are prioritized equally. But after that, your pass time is based on Honors standing, number of units, and a few other factors. You know what that means? Unless you have a phenomenal standing, all the good seats are going to get filled by students that aren’t you, and you’re going to end up filling your GE requirements with boring classes you have no vested interest in. It’s going to be a while before you have the upper hand during registration, and by then you might have already taken all or most of your GEs. So don’t wait. Just take the fun classes now.
4. You Don’t Have to Party
Well, probably. I was never pressured into partying or drinking, but then I also chose to hang out with people who didn’t want to pressure others. Look, whether or not you party hard is up to you, but choose your friends and clubs wisely. If you’re like me and don’t really want to party, find people who either also don’t want to party or do but are totally against peer pressure. You’ll find plenty of both types here at UCSB.
And if you do want to party…well, you came to the right school. (Or will come. You will, right?)
5. Your Major Probably Isn’t as Important as You Think
When I applied to UCSB, I wanted to be a Pre-Comm major, but I changed it to Global Studies as soon as I was accepted. I was about to change it to Philosophy when I eventually decided to change it back to Pre-Comm.
If you already know exactly what you want to do with your life career-wise, this probably won’t be an issue. Future doctors can feel comfortable in their Bio majors, and future Women’s Rights Advocates will grow a lot in the Feminist Studies department.
But if you’re not entirely sure what you want to be, then chances are that you’re overthinking your major, too.
In the end, I had to learn to choose a major based on what I wanted to study, not what I wanted to be, simply for the fact that I didn’t know what I wanted to be, and if I focused my major on pursuing a career I, later on, decided not to take, that would be a waste. And now that I do know what I want to be, I can go ahead and just do it. Sure, it’s not directly related to my major, but unless you’re in STEM, divorcing your academic from your professional life is surprisingly simple, and can help you enjoy your college life a lot more.
Image credits: Rawpixel.com, The Simpsons, Monsters University, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Pride and Prejudice, Darren Criss