<p>As a UCSB alum, allow me to respond to your post :)</p>
<p>-The mention of professional schools as far as undergrad education goes is an apples/oranges comparison. UCSB has and always will be dedicated to undergrads. UCSB was actually a LAC until it was converted to a research university between 1970-1980. That’s why UCSB lacks professional schools (and why it’s research budget is smaller).</p>
<p>-The party school reputation is often brought up on CC but I’ve found that most of the time this is done by people who are only applying to college and don’t have job seeking experience. I’ve had a number of jobs since graduating, and this was never an issue in my interviews, as everyone hiring understood how strong the school was academically. </p>
<p>-You mention Davis’s strong program, but you don’t mention UCSB’s powerhouse grad programs, such as physics (where it outranks every UC except Berkeley) and it’s College of Engineering.</p>
<p>PS: I really love Davis! I lived in Davis briefly and the school is great, and I defend it on this forum where people bring up reputation issues as well, such as Davis being a cow town or having nothing to do. However, I don’t think your characterization of UCSB’s social atmosphere is accurate.</p>