University of California - Santa Barbara
- 4 Year
- SANTA BARBARA, CA
CollegeGrad School
University of California - Santa Barbara
- grade A+Overall Grade
- 4 Year
- SANTA BARBARA, CA
- Rating 3.85 out of 5 4,727 reviews
University of California - Santa Barbara Reviews
Rating 3.85 out of 5 4,727 reviews
I think most of the professors are great and really know their stuff. My biggest complaint is just that the lecture sizes are very large.
The art department is horrible, but the campus, environment and student life make everything worthwhile. One of the best campuses in the world!
I really love the location of UCSB, as it is really beautiful and calming, with a relaxed beach-town atmosphere. However, I think that it could do with a more diverse student population, and a few more accessible food options.
I feel like so far my experience has been pretty good. It was a bit rough my first year transitioning to college, but then I found my close group of friends. I like the people here as I’ve found all my interactions with them nice. I would like to see more campus safety.
Avoid if you are a Person of Color. The administration is unresponsive to hate language and hate crimes.
I had a great time while studying at UC Santa Barbara. Being a latina and coming from a city, I was able to find a group of friends who made me feel welcomed and at home. The campus is beautiful, and you can see the beach from it. The sunsets there are some of the most amazing I have ever seen.
UCSB is a great school! It's sunny, by the ocean, with palm trees, and everyone riding bikes. The academics are solid, there is a lot of diversity and there is a lot of fun to be had if you put yourself out there. It can sometimes be challenging getting the classes you want but it generally works out. UCSB is on the quarter system which is a much faster pace than the semester system.
Being a first year at UCSB I am happy to be here and experience class right by the ocean! Truly amazing views that you can never get tired of and with sunny weather majority of the time. Some professors are bit difficult but so far I have had amazing TA's who help with any confusion there might be.
I think UCSB is just such a beautiful campus full of diversity. Any type of student has the opportunity to thrive here, there’s many clubs, organizations, sports, classes, and tons of activities. This school offers many ways to help you achieve your goals and thrive in life. One critique I have is non-specific to UCSB but the housing situation in most universities is unfortunate. You are guaranteed student housing for your freshman year but after that it’s a lottery system which is scary. And many people would probably not love the idea of having roommates in such a small space. I was lucky to come to UCSB with my friend and have a dorm with just the 2 of us.
I am enjoying my time at UC Santa Barbara. I love the environment and the college life. I love the fact that we are so close to the beach. I love being surrounded by nature and I feel there is plenty at the school. I like the campus overall and I feel the professors are great. They are very helpful and reach out to you. I am looking forward to my senior year at UCSB.
I love getting to experience a new atmosphere and my experience with all my professors have been great so far!
I have had the best experience upon my arrival at UCSB. I have met some of the kindest and most genuine people here. This institution exceeded my expectation of the "college experience". My favorite thing about my school is the tight knit community that you're surrounded by. It doesn't feel like people are in constant competition with one another, but instead rooting for each other. This was one of the main reasons why I chose to continue my education here at UCSB.
IWhen people say they didn't get what they paid for, believe them. UCSB has a professor problem: most of them don't care about the students. They often teach straight from the book and give tests with unfitting questions -- a clear sign they haven't done their research. Ironic considering that's all they want to do. I had one who talked about her divorce for entire classes. It was ridiculous.
To make up for this, many of the TAs are great and do actually care. They're young prospective teachers, so they have to, but still. Art classes are most often just "make a piece, we'll critique it," which teaches little except how to take critique. Valuable, but not 10k valuable. Film classes never taught technique, only history, which isn't useful afaic. It's a bio school first, clearly.
On housing: we always called Isla Vista "heaven and hell." Make of that what you will.
But if you want to self-extrovert, make friends, and learn how to thrive/manage time under pressure, you'll have fun here.
To make up for this, many of the TAs are great and do actually care. They're young prospective teachers, so they have to, but still. Art classes are most often just "make a piece, we'll critique it," which teaches little except how to take critique. Valuable, but not 10k valuable. Film classes never taught technique, only history, which isn't useful afaic. It's a bio school first, clearly.
On housing: we always called Isla Vista "heaven and hell." Make of that what you will.
But if you want to self-extrovert, make friends, and learn how to thrive/manage time under pressure, you'll have fun here.
I fully enjoyed attending UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) for four years. I majored in Cell and Developmental Biology and felt very lucky to be taught by renowned science researchers for many courses, who genuinely care about students well-being. UCSB offers a nice balance between social life and studies. It was amazing to live so close to the beach. The only thing that I would like to see change is the difficulty in finding housing. Because of Covid-19 and classes going online, many students from other colleges and community colleges moved to Goleta, making it very hard to find quality housing for an affordable price.
I have loved being a student at UC Santa Barbara since I arrived here. From the friends I've made to the classes I've taken everything has been great.
The University of California, Santa Barbara is a wonderful school for those who want a real community with very supportive staff and students.
UCSB is such an awesome place to go to school. The location and people provide a welcoming environment. Can be a little difficult to get to know professors considering the larger class size, but professors do give opportunities for office hours and other ways to get to know them.
The overall experience has been amazing. Santa Barbara fosters a community for everyone and it is very easy to find a place where you belong. The school offers so many resources for students to use for almost any need. My only big issue with this school is the university housing. In order to receive housing, students have to apply in a lottery. I believe all students should be guaranteed housing.
UCSB is an exceptional school that truly cares about their students. They have several resources which one thing I like. Only thing I would want to see change from is the housing crisis.
The Art Department has a Foundery that needs to be available for uses in classes.
Beautiful campus with lots of student resources.
Beautiful campus with lots of student resources.