University of California-Santa Barbara Top Questions

UCSB does not have a football team, so it is not like other colleges where football games are a big deal. But, our soccer team is very good and soccer games are highly attended by students. Basketball games also have big turnouts as well. Greek life at UCSB is not big. I believe only 9{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students ate involved in Greek life, in comparison to 20-30{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} at most other universities. There are many things to do at UCSB. There are hundreds of clubs that one can join. Excursion club and adventure club are two clubs that provide entertainment on the weekends that do not involve drinking. Outdoor activities and adventures every day of the week are possible at UCSB. There are also clubs like Salsa club, tango club, and other dance clubs that one can join. Finding something to do is never an issue. The beach is just steps away so going to the beach Is always an option. Santa Barbara also has great hiking trails! There is also the option of taking the bus downtown (just 20 min) and spending the day in downtown Santa Barbara where there is the main street "State Street" full of shops, stores, bars and restaurants. Also has a beautiful pier and wide beach

Soccer is big at UCSB, a lot of students attend soccer games and show their appreciation for the team and sport. I lived in a campus owned apt. and we just had friends walking in and out all day, it was almost too social. but we get things done when we need to. If i am awake 2 am on a Tuesday i am probably drinking with friends, studying, or writing a paper. Frats and sororities are almost pointless at ucsb. A lot of people join them because of the party and social life, but at ucsb everyone is part of that scene.

Here at UCSB, almost every acitivity revolves around the outdoors in some way or another. Whether students are surfing, cycling, skateboarding, playing volleyball, or anything else, you can bet they're outside in the warm weather. If you don't play sports (like me) there are still plenty of student activities. There are clubs for every single ethnicity, belief, lifestyle, or hobby here. There are two student-run newspapers on campus. There is a radio channel. There are fraternities and sororities for the pre-med, the Latino or Latina, or the philanthropy-inclined. And if it doesn't exist, you will find someone else who's interested in the same thing you are. It's just a matter of reaching out and taking the initiative.

Without a football team, UCSB students have taken a keen interest in the school's soccer and basketball teams in particular. In the "Thunderdome," students roar for their basketball team, and at Harder Stadium Gauchos throw tortillas onto the field with every UCSB goal scored. UCSB has repeatedly illustrated that we do not need a pigskin to enjoy ourselves.

Many people are in the Excursion Club. They go hiking, kayaking, etc around Santa Barbara. There are many active people at this school, so this is a popular club. I am in NSCS, which is an honors society. I am currently an officer and we recently made holiday cards for a retirement home in our area. We do a lot of community service to try and better the community. The students in dorms always locked their doors at the beginning of the year but by the end of the year no one locked their doors because we all trusted one another. Soccer and basketball games are very popular. They are always well advertised and everyone enjoy's cheering our teams on. I met my closest friend at orientation before my freshman year. She was my roommate for a day at orientation and we hit it off great. Now, over a year later, we live together and are still good friends. Every year, UCSB has Floatopia in our Spring quarter where we go to the beach and have an all day party. Another tradition at our school is the crazy Halloween weekend. Our staff at UCSB is very good about trying to make these events safe, so they have many restrictions about guests. People party pretty much every weekend and it seems to be a new trend to have "Wine Wednesday" and "Thirsty Thursdays". I think pretty soon they will start partying every day of the week , but not everyone parties. I live with 3 other people and none of us party, so although it is a big thing at our school, we find other ways to have fun. For example, on Saturday we are going to take a break from studying for finals and make snowflakes to decorate our room and bake cookies. We watch movies a lot or go to downtown State Street. There are many things to do without partying.

UCSB's population is very diverse. There are many environmentally conscious people, surfers, artsy people, and more. The LGBTQ community is also represented and welcomed to the UCSB campus. Gauchos work hard to play harder!

We have to major student events in Isla Vista each year, they used to be Halloween week and Floatopia. While Halloween has been calming down in recent years, it is still a massive event where thousands of students arrive into our tiny one square mile town basically to drink and go nuts. Floatopia used to be something similar on one of our campus owned beaches, but in recent years the police have cracked down heavily on this party and it's been forced to move into Isla Vista and become a smaller, spring daytime Halloween (minus the costumes of course). While these are our biggest parties, there are a number of more common activities students engage in such as heading to the beach, cycling, slacklining, martial arts, frisbee, club participation, a number of student organized events, speeches and concerts, Athletic events can get pretty huge here at UCSB, and while we don't have a football team, our soccer games draw pretty massive crowds.

At UCSB, the most popular sports events are our Soccer games. This is because we don't have a football team, but its also because the soccer games attract a lot of students who go just to have a good time. It also attracts a lot of the members from the community who love soccer. At soccer games, its a tradition to throw tortillas during the game as a way to rally support for our team. There is also Halloween, which is basically a festival that happens on the weekend right before (or on) Halloween. This involves several thousand people going outside in their costumes in the collegetown of Isla Vista. It attracts a lot of young people who are not from around the area and it cost Santa Barbara county $500,000 this year to pay for all the police that were out there keeping people safe.

UCSB is commonly known as one of the most social campuses in the nation. Some students accepted to Berkeley and UCLA choose UCSB over these two campuses because they report that UCSB has a much friendlier atmosphere. As such, students have a LOT of pride for this school. One chant we cheer at soccer games is, "Gaucho 'til I die!" This pride can also be seen in our Chancellor, who is not only committed to providing the best college experience possible to his students, but also genuinely loves UCSB in general. With over 300 student organizations and easy access to creating new ones, students can ALWAYS find extracurricular activities to broaden their academic career. This provides a college experience that is not only fun, but also career-boosting and enriching because employers tend to hire more well-rounded graduates than the ones who got straight A's and didn't do anything else with their time but study.

Chilla Vista, sponsored by Associated Students Recycling Board.

Students and IV resident dancing to the music at Chilla Vista, an annual festival.

Third year student Justin Ratowsky spreads the musical love by playing guitar and the harmonica while biking hands-free.

People like to party. DP and Sabado are never quite. It's very entertaining to be able to walk down the street and meet interesting people (or d-bags)

-always something to do, someone to hang out with, someone to meet, etc. -Greek life keeps you busy -Gaucho Locos is another way to go

My social life basically comes from being in the greek system. I think our greek system is a good size because it doesnt dominate the social scene or our school. In some schools- you dont have a social life if you arent greek. As far a dating scene, most guys here are not looking for a relationship.

sports teams are a plus so is greek life

The social life is great at ucsb-there are a lot of clubs and activities to choose from. Greek life is big, but doesn't dominate the campus.

Athletic events are really fun and the parties are great

greek like is great here

The scoial life here is for you to take part in or not. There are a lot of fun events that you can go to or not.

Pi Beta Phi

Sororities and fraternities are getting larger, but you don't need to be n one to have a social life. Everyone who IS in Greek life absolutely loves it though. Floatopia is great--a bunch of people floating on rafts in the ocean.

soroities fraternities snow club surf club not too much dating

im involved in pi beta phi sorority. and i love it.

not much of a dating scene

Because I am fairly shy, I felt it was necessary to rush a sorority because it really got me out in the open socially. Being part of the Greek system has forced me to interact with so many people from different backgrounds and has taught me to be less shy.

I am in a sorority, Pi Beta Phi, which takes up alot of time. I like the Greek life at santa barbara because it is not too big.

"We party harder than you pre-game" is a common phrase amongst UCSB students, and yes we do have a very thriving social life. However, there is something for everyone here, so if you do not want to be partying all the time you do not have to be.

The social life here is amazing and so is the greek life.

Social like at UCSB is whatever you want it to be. You can have a fun crazy time or mellow.

The greek system isn't very big, but its very influential to the party scene. this is definitely a party school, but the week isn't full of drunks. overall, we're classy partiers.

best organizations are sports teams and greek life. Athletic events are HUGE. My closest friends are from my dorm and from m sorority. On Saturday night I am always with my friends.

The most popular group on campus to me is the Greek System. I am in Pi Beta Phi and i love it. I always leave my door in my dorm open.

As a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority, we are actively involved in our community. The social aspect of the campus is very rewarding, and there are always activities to take part in. Not all students party, which is a stereotype we can't escape, so there are groups and organizations that appeal to all types of students.

The greek life is very big, and there are always people out. It's always nice and always a party. Its really fun.

most popular organizations are sororities/ fraternities.

UCSB is really friendly, social and everyone likes to have fun.

greek life is strong and laid back here. really chill and helps interract but not neccesary for your social life here

I am involved in the greek system. I have met amazing friends that I know I will have for the rest of my life. Many students leave their dorm doors open. We have some amazing traditions, such as the undie run, floatopia, etc.

isla vista is infested with college aged students with no parents around. So the obvious will inevitably occur. Im in a sorority so I mostly exposed to all the greek partys in IV. Most houses in IV are pretty welcoming especially if you know at least one person living there. Most people dont really date because things get complicated when there are so many young people to choose from.

greek life and sports teams are very popular on campus. I am in Pi Phi and I love it. I feel that we are very well rounded and dont focus on one aspect of our experience here more than the others. we have girls from all across america who have all different religious beliefs and socio-economic levels. the dating scene at UCSB is rediculous. you cant find a good guy, and if you do they are already taken. There will always be some girl who is willing to put herself out there more than you are. so even if you have a decent guy, how can they resist? and on another hand, everyone is friends with everyone so if you date one guy, where is the line between dating one of his friends and dating one of yours. it gets very complicated and I think that guys assume a lot of girls want to have boyfriends when it actuality we just want to have a good time too.

I really don't know how to answer this question because i really only know the greek life-- which i love. I dont go to that many athletic events but when i do there is a solid number of support- not enough- but a good amount.

Greek Life is incredible and very involved on campus. Partying is a popular past time in Isla Vista and occurs almost nightly.

Read "The Big Picture"

It think the GREEK life is a very desired group of people here and that non-Greeks envy our social lives as well as our grades. I think on average people party 2-3 times a week. You can do lots of things that do not involve drinking such as; go bowling, go to the movies, shopping, dinner, walk on the beach, hang out with friends ect.

i am a member of alpha phi sorority where i have met almost all of my best friends. if you are someone that constantly needs to have an agenda and something to do--GO GREEK! it is one of the best decisions that i have made here at ucsb. i am also a member of the ucsb mock trial time (not just a stupid sorority girl) and mock trial has given me probably the most useful skills in terms of public speaking, keeping cool under pressure, and other things that are useful for a future lawyer. there are so many clubs and organizations on campus that everyone will find something. i loved living in the dorms. i lived in francisco torres and had the best time of my life. i am still friends with all of my dorm friends and i would not take that experience for anything in the world, no matter how far away it is from campus. it is definitely the most social dorm. people party all of the time...if they want to. my freshman year i drank probably 4 to 5 times a week, but i still maintained a high gpa and was able to participate in social and academic organizations

i believe social life is very big at UCSB, with so many people it is hard not to meet a lot of different friends.

Greek life is amazing at ucsb! i have made all my close friends from joining a sorority and it is a great way to meet people early on. yes there is a lot of drinking but thats not all that greek life is about. we've really tried to devote a lot of time to philanthropies and sisterhood this year and it has been a great experience. i also really like living on campus as a freshman instead of at ft because it gives you the opportunity to visit other dorms and meet new people. like i am not that close with anyone in santa rosa (my dorm) but i have made great friends in dorms like santa cruz from living on campus

While there is a Greek system on campus, the maority of the student body is non-greek, which is nice. As a member of a sorority, I love being able to participate in both greek and non-greek events. The dating scene is like most other colleges, aka very casual, and it usually consists more of 'hooking up' and less of dating. It is safe to say you can find a party at UCSB any night of the week, or at least a game of beer pong.

Trustworthy town, great shows in IV theater, always somewhere to go and party or chill. Volleyball tourneys, Floatopia, concerts, Del Playa-doesn't get much better. Oh and did I mention the enormous amount of good-looking clever people? Love my life.