<p>… that’d be Isla Vista becuause he probably wouldn’t get the rest if he’s a sleep-intensive person, rahter than a party-intensive type. It’s about a square mile of apts, with hard-partying types, many, most(?), of whom are not UCSB students, and for which Jim Rome (UCSB alumnus) calls, “the ghetto by the sea.” </p>
<p>There are undoubtedly serious students at UCSB; he’ll find his niche, scratch that previous word, don’t really like to use it, put in “coterie.”</p>
<p>*rc251: Can you tell me more about College of Creative Studies? *</p>
<p>Check out this post for some comments from CCS students:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/456028-ucsb-college-creative-studies.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/456028-ucsb-college-creative-studies.html</a></p>
<p>There’s more if you search around the UCSB forum. CCS is really quite different from the College of Letters & Sciences and has it’s own culture. CCS has their own complex on campus and their own dorm building in Manzanita Village for CCS kids that want to live among other students of the college. </p>
<p>As a former resident of Isla Vista, I also do not agree with the comments above.</p>
<p>… tell the OP and his bro about your living experiences in IV. </p>
<p>I’d like to hear the good, too, if you would…</p>
<p>There’s plenty of good about it… it’s a very unique living experience that you won’t find almost anywhere else in the country. You’re a short bike ride away from campus as well as your fellow students, so it’s easy to hang out with friends and there’s a strong feeling of community there. Not having a car for my first few years there wasn’t a problem because there’s so much to do and so many events going on right in IV that you didn’t really even have to go to Goleta or Santa Barbara to entertain yourself (except to Camino Real Marketplace to get some shopping done). Now that I’m an alum and in the “real world”, </p>
<p>I’d say the worst part about it is the high rent prices of the generally crummy apartments, because most people don’t want to live outside IV for convenience reasons. Hopefully with the recent construction of San Clemente, the pending sale and conversion of Friendship Manor to student housing, and other housing developments will ease the market there. I lived at the end of the 6550 block of Picasso most of my time in IV (two blocks from the Greek “row”) but noise was never an issue for me. Yeah, I’d never live on DP because it’s a loud party till 3am but the farther northwest you move into IV the quieter it gets.</p>
<p>Now that I’m an alum (graduated '08) and in the so called “real world”, I miss the community experience of IV. It’s one of those things that you can only do as an undergrad, and I’m glad I went through it, because I’ll be living in less exciting places for the rest of my life now 
I know it’s not for everyone, but I’m presuming that TheSaiyans666’s brother toured Isla Vista as part of his campus visits, and wasn’t turned off by some of the more “colorful” aspects of the town.</p>
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<p>Me too ! Generally speaking, I tend to favor research universities (like UCSB) over LAC’s (like Reed). And, on the bright side, by going to UCSB, your brother will have the opportunity to pursue healthy sports-related hobbies in his free time, like surfing for example !</p>
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<p>Did you really mean to write that? :)</p>
<p>UCSB is a school with many great attributes. On top, what’s there not to like about a “LAC atmosphere” by the beach! Surely beats battling the rain in the NW or the overcrowding and the “housing challenged” in the Bay area! </p>
<p>Given his choices, his decision seems to be very wise. After all, he "eliminated USC and Berkeley because he didn’t like them when he visited. Should he listen to the “prestige sirens” and pick a school he does not like? Fwiw, he is pretty balanced in his “rejections” as Cal and USC could not be more different. </p>
<p>Regarding Reed, I think that it is a school one needs to really want to be there to fully enjoy.</p>
<p>I think he made a good choice, and it would be nice if you were supportive of him. It is a good school. You can go anywhere from UCSB. I know grad students in very selective programs in grad school at Berkeley who were selected alongside kids from Yale, Brown etc. Any school will have all the different types. A beach school like that may attract more partying types, but it doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of sympatico people.</p>
<p>If it were my kid, I might like her to choose Reed, but Reed is known as a bit of a pressure cooker and it is certainly not for everyone. From the personality you describe, it sounds like UCSB is a better fit. Also, the financial aspect is compelling. He will certainly find sympatico people. Don’t worry.</p>
<p>I forgot that UCSB is one of those designated "bicycle universites,’ along with UC Davis and Stanford. Sprawling campuses, mainly flat, with what > 1,000 acres or so?</p>
<p>I think UCSB may be a little denser than the other two campuses, but IV and campus are flat so that is the preferred method of transportation. Here’s the bike rack at the Santa Catalina dorms:</p>
<p><a href=“http://farm4.static.■■■■■■■■■■/3015/2513781891_831b58153e_b.jpg[/url]”>http://farm4.static.■■■■■■■■■■/3015/2513781891_831b58153e_b.jpg</a></p>
<p>Although Davis claims the top spot for bicycling, I lived there for 3 months and I still think Isla Vista has more student bikers than Davis, which is more sprawled out and a large portion of students take the Unitrans bus system instead of biking.</p>
<p>I see a lot of female bikes in the racks. As so many people have noted, I don’t know why they put the bar across for guys; there should be a switch as to what gender rides what. Nice view in the background too. </p>
<p>I know UCSB is doing the perpetual construction thing like UCLA. But unlike UCSB, UCLA has only slightly > 400 acres to build things and is really dense.</p>
<p>Since they have Ronald Reagan Med Center, I’m just wondering if they’ll implode the old med center eventually and make room for something else. If so, I’m there to watch it.</p>
<p>There’s enough brick in the old med center to rebuild the Wall of China.</p>
<p>I think you are doing your brother a disservice if you are expressing these sentiments to him at all. I’m guessing this is probably the first big, important decision he has had to make in his life. To inject doubt into his mind after the decision has been made is not helpful in any way.</p>
<p>Next February while you are freezing at MIT, think of your brother spending the morning in class and the afternoon surfing…and you will come to realize that he’s a lot smarter than you thought he was.</p>
<p>I have to agree with many posters that you are wrong on this one. My D is at SB and neither of us is crazy about the party aspect, but there is so much more there. My D, like many, many others at SB, chose it over more prestigious UCs.I know many brilliant kids there who just don’t want to go anywhere else. The feeling that everyone wants to be there permeates the place. My D has also found that it is easy to be serious about academics, and there are plenty of people there who are, and when you want to it is easy to have access to profs and TAs. Unlike Berkeley, the atmosphere is laid back rather than competitive and its easier to go as far as you want. </p>
<p>Personally Reed has always seemed dismal and pretentious to me, though I know others differ. I just think your brother is 100% making the right decision, and hopefully you can support him.</p>
<p>i’ll read through this whole thing after i respond to the OP. i’m simply amused by the OP’s thinking UCSB isn’t a good fit because the brother’s laid back and isn’t into drugs or anything, but thinks reed would be a fantastic match. reed is drug country, and anything i’ve ever heard from anyone i’ve ever talked to about it says it’s a pressure cooker of a place as well.</p>
<p>Alright, I see. I haven’t confronted my brother directly or anything. I was just insistent that he should consider his choices.
He initially turned down USC because it was expensive.
He didn’t like Berkeley at all…he didn’t like the campus, the classes, and he felt the students were fast-paced. </p>
<p>ANYWAYS,
I guess from what I hear in this thread, I should feel happy he chose UCSB. I’ll send him off with good luck. But I’ll still be worrying about him.</p>
<p>The feeling that everyone wants to be there permeates the place.</p>
<p>That’s definitely true, and it’s reflected in the fact that UCSB has the highest alumni giving rate in the UC system:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-general/766285-2010-usnwr-rankings-3.html#post1063133009[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-general/766285-2010-usnwr-rankings-3.html#post1063133009</a></p>
<p>If my son had been accepted to UCB and UCSB, I think I would have encouraged him to go to UCSB. UCB seems like it is full of students who will do anything for a grade. I wouldn’t want that kind of competition. Your brother sounds like someone who wants to learn. He will do well at UCSB and will be able to go to a great grad school. UCSB is big enough that he will find other students like himself. Plus, if he is at the top of his class all the professors will like him and will want him to do research for them.</p>
<p>rc251: How much does UCSB pull in a year from alumni and non=alumni contributions? Approximately…</p>
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<p>Funny that people argue on CC for undergrad you learn more from your peers and you should surround yourself with the best academic talent (i.e. higher SAT scores). But when it comes to Berkeley people say, “oh, it’s too competitive…I could never handle the pressure cooker environment so I’m going to the University of Casual Sex and Beer instead”. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>i dont think the point of this thread was to bicker? about UCB/UCSB. It was to encourage the OP to let his brother make his own decisions and be supportive.</p>
<p>just what I got out of it</p>
![http://farm4.static.■■■■■■■■■■/3015/2513781891_831b58153e_b.jpg[/url]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/2513781891_831b58153e_b.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
