UCSB was not my dream school. It is for a lot of my friends here, but during my senior year I had my sights set on another competitive school in California that ended up rejecting me. After assessing my options, I was between UCSB and an out-of-state school that a lot of my family members had gone to. It was a tough decision at the time, but now I simply cannot imagine myself anywhere other than UCSB for the last almost three years. With one year left, I am already nostalgic for the place that has given me a phenomenal education, the best of friends, and the perfect environment to grow into a young adult.Â
Academics
Currently, I am a Communication and History of Public Policy and Law double major at UCSB. In my freshman year I was a Pre-Comm major only, but since I had so many credits transferred from my high school (in California as well), I was going to graduate early if I had stayed on a one-major track. Realizing this, I decided I could either graduate in three years or add on another major that could help me in my future career. After debating an English or History major, I added my History of Public Policy and Law major and cemented my goals for going to law school. Not all schools allow such flexibility when it comes to committing to a major, so for an indecisive 18-year-old me, this aspect of UCSB was very appealing. Since UCSB has such strong programs across all of our majors, I knew I could not go wrong.Â
Studying abroad was another important factor for me when deciding where I wanted to go to school. I always knew this was an adventure I wanted as part of my college experience, so learning about how popular this is at UCSB caught my eye. According to a UCEAP survey, UCSB ranks among the top UC campuses in UCEAP participation. I ended up going to London this past fall and loved it!Â
Social life
I simply cannot imagine going to any other school and not knowing my college best friends. As soon as I stepped on campus, I knew that I was surrounding myself with the right people. I have always been a “work hard, play hard” girl, and that is completely the vibe of the students at UCSB. We value doing well in school and setting up a strong future, while also enjoying living in the present in our beautiful beach town.Â
My freshman year I rushed and joined a sorority which became my main social life. The Greek community at UCSB is so great because we are all super close. Currently, there are about 13% of undergraduates involved in Greek life so after rushing, I was always able to recognize someone to sit with during class or in the dining halls from being part of this community.
I lived in my sorority house my sophomore year and am now on my Chapter’s executive board, so it has just been a great experience for me. Of course, Greek life is just one of the many organizations you can become involved in at UCSB, from intramural sports, professional clubs, and more. UCSB has over 500 student organizations, so there is truly something for everyone.Â
Of course, UCSB is consistently ranked as one of the top party schools in the nation. As a high school senior, this was super intimidating to me and one of the reasons why I was on the fence about committing. However, I soon realized that every college has parties — UCSB just has the best ones. So my rationale became, if every college was going to have a vibrant social scene, why not go to the best of the best? Also, no one is ever peer-pressuring me to go out if I don’t want to. You can ask some of my best friends who will attest to the fact that I love a night in. On that note, there is always an event to attend if I want to go out!Â
Lifestyle
Finally, the lifestyle of UCSB is what solidified my commitment to the school three years ago. Going into a completely new chapter of my life starting college, I knew I had put myself in an environment that would support me and give me space to grow. Being able to go on beach walks after class or walk around the lagoon on campus has kept me so grounded throughout my time here. Having such a great college town in Isla Vista makes me feel so safe being surrounded by college students and has just been the perfect transition into adulthood. In all, I am so grateful everyday that I came to UCSB and wholeheartedly believe it is the best school ever. Go Gauchos!