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Living on campus is mandatory for your freshman year, and I highly recommend it for your sophomore year as well. It includes a meal plan at our amazing dining commons, as well as maid service, cleaning, and so many more amenities. I made so many friends living on campus and having friends just next door was a LIFESAVER more times than I could count. My only challenge was picking a random roommate freshman year, but you have the option to choose using the Facebook Schools App. Off-campus is difficult to find housing and is a lot more expensive.

I originally applied to UCSB because I wanted to attend UC Berkeley. When I realized the applications were the same, I decided to apply to both! The fees are normally $80 I think but I was in the free/ reduced lunch program at school so I had a few waivers for applications. I applied to eight schools all on the west coast, including UCSB, UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, SDSU, Cal Poly SLO, University of Washington, and University of Oregon. I was accepted to all except UCLA. When it came down to choosing a college, UCSB was the clear choice. They offered me significant financial aid, it's located on a beach, only a train ride away from home, and academically prestigious! We were ranked the 5th best public school in the nation and the happiest college students in California by Princeton Review! While cost is very important, I needed to choose somewhere I felt like I could be happy. The social, athletic, and academic aspects of the school were very appealing to my extroverted side. I had a 4.2 GPA overall in high school, played varsity women's lacrosse, and competed in the academic league. While I did take several AP classes, I would consider myself a medium, to the above-average student in high school. I got a 1420 on my SAT and a 30 on my ACT. The university seems to prioritize outside commitments and personal statements much higher than test scores through the admissions process in my opinion

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During my first year at UC Santa Barbara, I stayed on the off-campus dorms which were Santa Catalina North which was a good experience because they were not on campus and they were an easy commute to campus by bus or bike. My second year I stayed in Manzanita village which was pretty cool too and my final year my friends and I shared expenses on an apartment.

One of the reasons I chose UC Santa Barbara as a college to go to is because of its close proximity to the ocean and because I wanted to experience the social life on campus which I heard was pretty good at UC Santa Barbara. My experience was amazing because there were tons of things to do like go out for dinner, party on the weekend or going to town for great food. Also, I chose UCSB as my college because before I came here I visited the campus just once and fell in love with the scenery.

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I lived in the dorms my freshman year, as everyone is required to do that. I lived in an apartment my sophomore year and a house my junior year. I prefer the dorms the most because it's a great way to make friends and there?s a meal plan so you don't have to cook for yourself. A lot of students in Greek life end up living in their sorority or fraternity house.

UCSB has a great reputation and a diverse student body. Its campus is located right on the beach and students are friendly and fun. There is a good party scene as well as great academics and there is always something to do around campus.

The financial aid, the location, and the reputation of the school. I didn't expect to be admitted into UCSB but after I did, I jumped at the chance to attend because they also gave me pretty decent financial aid. I also liked the college and the fact that it had the majors I wanted to study (English and Chicano Studies).

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I'm currently in the school residence halls, which are really convenient, but ridiculously overpriced. Whereas the off-campus living is a lot cheaper, but more of a hassle, since it does require most of the time full year leases.

It was a good fit considering my major, career path, and overall personality. The economics program is one of the best out of the UCs, plus it was the best Econ program I got into. Since I want to work on Wall Street, I thought networking at UC was a vital part of my education. My personality is not only academic but outgoing so when I visited and saw that the atmosphere fit my personality perfectly, I knew it was going to be a good fit.

They offered the best financial aid package. Also, the beachside location of Isla Vista, the college town adjacent to the school, was very appealing. Academics were also important when choosing school.