I have narrowed down my choices to Oberlin and UCSB. I am very confused about which school would be the better fit for me. I am planning to study something in the STEM field, maybe neuroscience or psychology. Initially I thought a small liberal arts college would be better, but upon my admission to UCSB, the concept of a big university on the beach has become appealing to me and has made my decision much more difficult. If anyone has any advice or insight, it would be much appreciated!
Wow, those two schools could not be more different! Are the costs the same? I am an Oberlin parent, and none of my kids would even remotely consider any California campus, so I am somewhat biased. Oberlin probably has the academic edge and depending upon your perspective, a much more connected and engaged student body. HOWEVER, it’s definitely not near the beach… it’s isolated, kinda gray and very cold for much of the academic year.
@mom2jgd it is only about 10 miles to the beach from Oberlin.
Agree with everything @mom2jgd said. I worked at Oberlin a while back, and also have attended large state universities (east coast), so I can speak from that perspective. I found Oberlin to be a little quirky (in both good and not-so-good ways) – the environment really suits some people, and they thrive there. I think that those for whom it is not a great fit could find it somewhat confining. It’s a small, tight-knit college community, in a very small, pleasant town in the middle of nowhere. There is always a lot happening on campus – but unless you have a car it is not easy to get anywhere, including Cleveland (40 minutes or so), shopping, or even Lake Erie – which, although a nice enough diversion in the summer, isn’t really a “beach” experience in my book.
UCSB is an excellent school, and while it may also be somewhat isolated geographically, it has a large enough student body that you will likely be able to find your niche there. A quick look at their website shows they offer a B.S. in “psychological & brain sciences” (and a graduate program in that as well), so that may give you opportunities to explore that area as an undergraduate. UCSB definitely has the edge on sun and beach. 
OCEAN vs. Great Lakes. Huge difference in climate.
Oberlin hands down for undergraduate education. Smaller classes, more opportunities, professors instead of TAs, etc. But if the small town isolation is a huge problem for you then the academic quality may not matter.
Wherever you will be able to graduate with the least debt and the most savings for your next chapter
As someone who goes to ucsb and is in the psychological and brain sciences program, I can gladly say that ucsb is fairly well rounded. If youre a california resident, you can also qualify for the blue and gold scholarship which definitely helped me decide on attending Santa Barbara. Parties are good, classes are pretty big but luckily the major isnt as impacted as the other stem majors like biology or chemistry so theyre easy to get into. My only drawback would be the amount of people at ucsb, which isnt really that big of a deal bc you can meet more people, but some classes can hold hundreds of students and sometimes youre waiting 20- 30 minutes just to ask the professor a question after class. Hope this helps
I also want to point out that I am currently on the pre med pathway and I plan to take the mcats next semester to become a anesthesiologist.