Like many freshmen Gauchos, I came to UCSB with preconceived ideas about what my experience here would be like. Not only had my parents—two UCSB alumni—told me about their misadventures burning couches and celebrating Halloween, but I perused countless Reddit posts searching for a glimpse of what a normal day would be like in the life of a UCSB student. From my findings, I developed an image in my head of how my own four years at UCSB would unfold.
But like most stereotypes, a lot of these ideas turned out to be at least partly, if not completely untrue. For better or for worse, my own experiences so far at UCSB have differed greatly from what I thought they would be. Here are four of the biggest myths about UCSB, debunked.
Stereotype #1: UCSB is a huge party school
Unigo, a website that helps match college applicants with appropriate schools and scholarships, features pages that ask students to describe the stereotypes of students at their universities. On the page for UCSB stereotypes, all but one response mentioned that UCSB is known as a “party school.”
Certainly, we’ve all heard this before accepting our admission to UCSB. But is it true?
Well, it’s partly true. Weather permitting, you could walk down Del Playa Drive on any weekend (besides the one before finals week) and find a party. But there is a large contingency of students who never go out, or who only do so occasionally. In my experience, partying is not an integral part of attending UCSB. It’s easy to find groups of people who share your same values, whether you choose to go out every weekend or not. In conclusion, parties are available if you want to find them, but you won’t lose your social life if you’re not interested in them.
Stereotype #2: UCSB is not academically rigorous
UCSB tends to fall in the shadow of UC Berkeley and UCLA, both of which are considered more prestigious than it. Therefore, it may be easy to think that UCSB is not academically challenging for its students. However, this couldn’t be more wrong. UCSB is ranked 7 of the best public universities in the nation and ranked 32 of the best colleges in the U.S., among both private and public schools. Evidently, UCSB is a highly-regarded university that demands top-quality coursework from its students.
Furthermore, several of the majors at UCSB do not allow immediate acceptance for freshman or transfer students; rather, students must complete “pre-major” courses and achieve a certain GPA before submitting another application to be accepted into the “full major.” This setup allows for another level of academic competition that isn’t typically seen at other colleges and universities.
Stereotype #3: UCSB is full of beach bums and surfers
Fact: UCSB is located right next to the beach.
Fact: Lots of people at UCSB enjoy surfing and do so frequently.
But contrary to popular belief, UCSB is not overflowing with “airhead surfers.” Surfing is certainly a common hobby here in Isla Vista, but like partying, it is not necessarily a central part of UCSB culture. In fact, going to the beach is somewhat rare for UCSB students during the winter months due to the high tides and tar, which affect many local beaches.
Stereotype #4: UCSB has a huge “Hookup Culture”
This myth goes hand-in-hand with the partying stereotype discussed above—surely if UCSB students are going out every weekend and drinking copious amounts of alcohol, they’re all hooking up with each other, right?
Yes and no. It’s not difficult to find other Isla Vista residents who are single and ready to mingle, but I have found that the notion of “hookup culture” at UCSB is greatly exaggerated. A sociology course taught by Drs. John and Janice Baldwin actually addresses popular misconceptions about students’ sex lives at UCSB (if you or a Gaucho you know is interested in taking it). During one lecture, the Baldwins specifically discussed survey data showing how students’ ideas about the frequency of hookups here in Isla Vista can differ from reality.
Like everything at UCSB, one’s degree of sexual promiscuity is a choice that students make for themselves. If you’re interested in participating in hookup culture, it will be available to you, but choosing not to engage in it doesn’t automatically qualify you as a misfit.
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is that UCSB is an enormous school. Total enrollment for the 2020-2021 school year was 26,179 students, meaning that the “stereotypes” described above don’t describe all UCSB students—not even close. No matter your values, hobbies, or lifestyle, you will find people with whom you have things in common. Don’t let any stereotypes, negative or positive, change your opinion of what it means to be a Gaucho.