University of California-Santa Barbara Top Questions

Stereotypes are never fully accurate because there are all sorts of students at this school. I personally know a few of my friends who have never even been to a big party here. There are so many other activities that one can participate in other than parties. Yes, Isla Vista could be considered a party town, but that is because it is primarily all students. If students are all living together, of course there are going to be parties, but that does not make us any dumber or any less responsible than any other college. UCSB students are very smart and work hard in school, it just so happens that the town we live in is very compact with students and makes it very easy to socialize.

YES, we do have beautiful girl. and some of the coolest guys of course. There is always good parties at Isla Vista but they tend to be heavily concentrated at Del Playa (DP). If you have time off from studying why not party. But not everyone is a party animal.

With 80% of the student population actively drinking as much as or more than the average (3-5 drinks per night), the stereotype does appear to be true. However, for students who aren't into the party scene or just want to take a break from it, 20% of the student population does NOT drink, so there are students out there who don't drink. Furthermore, the campus has a program called "UCSB After Dark" specifically designed to provide alternative alcohol-free activities.

It is a Beach party School for sure but much much more happens here. Sure So Cal is the place to be.

For some people

Nope, you're going to act the same way whether you come to Santa Barbara, LMU, and Yale. The fact of the matter is you're moving away from home and making your own decisions, no matter what they are.

No, granted there is a lot of partying and there is a lot of drinking but I know a lot of people that dont party and dont drink. I also know people who do party and dont drink. As far as the STD stereotype, I think that it is an over exaggeration.

For the most part we do drink a lot but we also study hard.

We party a lot but study harder

true, but not as crazy as people make it seem. we just go out a lot.

mostly

mostly

I feel that every college has a fair amount of partying that takes place, only that Isla Vista is a small area so it is blown out of proportion.

While everyone loves to party here, everyone really cares about their grades too. We have had three Nobel prize winners in the sciences come out of UCSB.

Although sometimes it seems like these stereotypes are accurate, there is a lot more UCSB has to offer.

yes

yes

yes, but not everyone.

This is accurate for maybe about half of the students here, althought its true of most college students elsewhere also.

yes

no, the streotypes are not accurate. Although we do party, our school is incredibly difficult to get into and the classes are no less difficult than those at any other accredited 4 year university.

Not at all.

To some extent yes, but the students are all really diverse

To an extent there are both of these things, but every college you will find these things within the student population, we also have an amazing academic curriculum.

no, I know a lot of people here that still go to parties and dont drink and I know a lot of people that do drink and get straight A's

No more so than any other school, so no.

yes!

NO

the stereotypes are very inaccurate. as with any college, a person parties as much as he or she wants. We do care a lot about academics and there are a lot of smart students here. Also, people are not as promiscuous as portrayed

Absolutely not.

Yes, Somewhat

somewhat

no, i think it is okay to have a good time if you can balance it with school work

No, we know how to have fun and balance the rest of our lives.

no, if anything i just think our students are well rounded. we do party and have an active social life but we balance that well with our academics

No, neither of these are accurate. UCSB students care a lot about their academic lives and balance their social lives and their academic lives accordingly.

some, but it definitely does not describe everyone.

somewhat. the party portion is true, but that doesnt mean that our academics are less than other schools. we just know how to manage our time appropriately. STDs.. who knows. i think that just comes hand in hand with the inacurrate assumptions about our party style. hot girls, obviously! small amount of asains.. yea, that seems to be true too.

not at all

In my opinion, yes.

I don't have enough information to accurately answer this question. I'm also biased, given that I am in a sorority and only represent a portion of the UCSB students. In my opinion, the majority of UCSB students often takes part in the IV night scene, which includes a great deal of social networking and drinking alcohol, therefore confirming that particular stereotype. In addition, I am in a sorority and the major difference I would indicate is the ability to participate in added social events during the week and dress-up in themed clothes. As for promiscuity and substance usage, it depends on the individual, which wouldn't differ from the population outside the Greek community.

No, I believe that UCSB has a good balance between people who like to have fun and people who like to study.

To a certain degree. We do party hard, but people forget that we are also one of the country's top research institutions and we have an extremely impressive faculty.

Being in the greek system it is hard to tell, but talking to other students in greek systems at other schools, i believe it could be said that we do party a lot more than some other schools, however almost every school has students who party, and i believe that being a student here has forced me to learn how to balance my social life with my studies, a also believe that santa barbara has very intelligent students who for the most part have learned to do the same.

sometimes i feel like they are. there is a lot of emphasis on partying on this campus but there is plenty of other stuff too if you just look a little harder and lots of nice genuine people

As a matter of fact, UCSB is a party school, but it differs from other party schools because it is actually really hard to get accepted into UCSB. We are proud to say that we go to the most intelligent party school in the nation Everyone who goes here is extremely intelligent, but at the same time know how to balance their academic lives with their social lives. Every girl in my sorority seems to have had at least a 4.0 in highschool and was involved in sports, student government etc.

In my experience, the positives much more than the negatives-except yes a profuse amount of drinking. I mean it's college though c'mon.

No, i feel that students here take school seriously. They may go out a lot but they also work a lot. It goes both ways.

for some people yes, but there are plenty of students that do not drink or party.

nope, there are all sorts of different people here and different activities that allow everyone to find their niche. i am one of the beach lovers, however not remotely hippie-ish and am so happy with my choice to come here that even my mom is cared that i wil never come home!