UC Riverside or UC Santa Barbara?

[WatchMeRise]

Hey guys, I've been accepted into UC Merced, UC Riverside, and UC Santa Barbara so far. I haven't been to Santa Barbara before, and I was just wondering if you guys have any input. Is it a good school? Nice area?
Any SB folks on SDN?

Also, which school out of the three would you attend?

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[RySerr21]

Hey guys, I've been accepted into UC Merced, UC Riverside, and UC Santa Barbara so far. I haven't been to Santa Barbara before, and I was just wondering if you guys have any input. Is it a good school? Nice area?
Any SB folks on SDN?

Also, which school out of the three would you attend?

santa barbara and riverside are pretty comparable in terms of the question "is this a good school?" The cities are probaby complete and total polar opposites in that riverside is a boring ass place with nothin got do and santa barbar is.....santa barbara. You have the beach, you have many cool things to do....its very much a party town. Riverside is just flat out boring.

I say you visit each school and see which one you like best. You could make a horrible decision if you choose to go to SB and you just dont' fit in with the majority of the type of people that live in that city. So check it out.

I dunno much about merced except that its pretty and brand new and hasnt been able to establish a good rep for itself yet.

 

[Eisley]

SB is considered up near "mid-tier UC" with Davis and Irvine, while Riverside is considered "low-tier" with Merced and Santa Cruz.

SB is a huge party school since it's not a commuter school and the IV (Isla Vista) is full of parties all the time.

You will probably have more fun at SB.

 

[carbonfishbone]

Hey, I am a 3rd year at UCSB. I would definitely recommend it. While we have a relax/non-competitive atmosphere, there is still a good size "pre-med" population to keep the intro/weeder classes damn competitive.

Study hard on the weekdays, and if you get your work done go out and be social on the weekends. I was accepted to all the UCs and a few ivies but ultimately decided to come here. I was hesitant at first, but it was honestly the one of the best decision I have made. I am probably as close as you can get to the opposite of a typical IV/UCSB person, yet I am still having an amazing time.

Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[Darklord]

I wanted to visit SB this Spring Break, but I didn't get a chance. I grew up 15 miles away from UCR, so I went there occasionally to study.

Now for starters, I have this strange belief that it doesn't really matter which UC you go to, as long as you get a UC education. You could go to Riverside and study your but off, or you could go to SB and party. The university and education in general is just a school. It depends on what you make of it.

Also, this stuff about UCR being a low tier UC is just bull crapp. A UC is a UC, the undergraduate education is pretty much the same everywhere (of course with exceptions like Merced and Berkely). You are not going to a JC or Calstate. You just have to study and work hard, and you can do anything.

Like I said: a student with a better GPA and MCAT from UCR will beat the crappy student from Berkely.

By the way, UCR will have a medical school in a couple of years, SB won't. It was recently approved by the UC Regents.

Visit SB and Riverside, and see where you fit it, and where you will be in the next 4 years.

Best of luck.

 

[RySerr21]

I wanted to visit SB this Spring Break, but I didn't get a chance. I grew up 15 miles away from UCR, so I went there occasionally to study.

Now for starters, I have this strange belief that it doesn't really matter which UC you go to, as long as you get a UC education. You could go to Riverside and study your but off, or you could go to SB and party. The university and education in general is just a school. It depends on what you make of it.

Also, this stuff about UCR being a low tier UC is just bull crapp. A UC is a UC, the undergraduate education is pretty much the same everywhere (of course with exceptions like Merced and Berkely). You are not going to a JC or Calstate. You just have to study and work hard, and you can do anything.

Like I said: a student with a better GPA and MCAT from UCR will beat the crappy student from Berkely.

By the way, UCR will have a medical school in a couple of years, SB won't. It was recently approved by the UC Regents.

Visit SB and Riverside, and see where you fit it, and where you will be in the next 4 years.

Best of luck.

you are correct in saying that a top student at any school will do well in the app cycle, it doesnt really matter where you go...and that your education is what you make of it.....and you are correct that a top student from UCR will do better than a sh*tty student from Berkeley (or any other school) in the app cycle.....but you are out of your mind if you think those schools are on the same level.

 

[WatchMeRise]

Taking what you guys have said into consideration... SB sounds really nice.
Well if any UC education is the same, then I should just go where I will be most comfortable and happy so I can perform my best right?

Seriously... then what is up with all this hype about going to the most prestigious school? If it were true about all UC's having the same education, wouldn't everyone only select a campus based on a community and environment that makes them happy?

The thought of living near the beach makes me happy.

edit: so carbonfishbone, would you say that because of the relaxing and social environment, you are typically content and perform better academically at SB than you would at most other schools? (this is just regarding you. i realize that many people respond to different learning habitats.)

 

[Darklord]

Yeah, I guess it was an exaggeration to say that they are completely equal, but they are all on the same big public school level.

Santa Barbara really is a party school, and the environment suits it. Having outdoor recreation is cool, but you will probably be spending your life in the library anyway, if you actually get into medical school.

UCR's new medical school should be awesome. I believe it should be around by the time we apply (4 years down the road).

 

[Tots]

UCSB is a very nice school, had a tough choice deciding between SB and Irvine. Riverside is comparable to Santa Barbara but the environment at UCSB gives it a huge lead in my opinion. I would recommend visiting, its beautiful! It does have a reputation of being a party school though.

 

[Darklord]

It's probably more expensive too.

Anyway, I don't really care because I'm going to neither. MUAHAHAHHA

 

[WatchMeRise]

tatertots, did you end up attending irvine or SB?
I hear that irvine is a better school academically

 

[carbonfishbone]

Taking what you guys have said into consideration... SB sounds really nice.
Well if any UC education is the same, then I should just go where I will be most comfortable and happy so I can perform my best right?

Seriously... then what is up with all this hype about going to the most prestigious school? If it were true about all UC's having the same education, wouldn't everyone only select a campus based on a community and environment that makes them happy?

The thought of living near the beach makes me happy.

edit: so carbonfishbone, would you say that because of the relaxing and social environment, you are typically content and perform better academically at SB than you would at most other schools? (this is just regarding you. i realize that many people respond to different learning habitats.)

If your goal is to get into med school, as mine is: choosing a school based on prestigious is ridiculous. Typical, outside the top 10ish schools or so gpa's are all viewed the same [at least within the top 50] (even then you can get into arguments about grade inflation at the privates). Thus if your goal is to get into a professional school after college, it would make sense to choose a school based on where you can see yourself the best and what place could best able to help you reach your goal. For me, I knew I would be going to be in a competitive career for most of my life, so why burn my self out in the start?

In this case, actually I would argue that attending a very prestigious school could often hurt you in your attempt into getting into med school as you are competing against some of the very best students in the nation. Granted this should not be your sole reason, however its something very few high schoolers think about when going to college. They typically automatically assume prestigious school = better chance for med school, when in fact there is very little correlation (actually its the qualities of the individual that go X college that cause them to get places, not school X that causes students to go places).

So I would suggest to go to the place that would make your 4 years the most enjoyable and make YOU the most happiest. Don't take prestige into account.

 

[WatchMeRise]

If your goal is to get into med school, as mine is: choosing a school based on prestigious is ridiculous. Typical, outside the top 10ish schools or so gpa's are all viewed the same [at least within the top 50] (even then you can get into arguments about grade inflation at the privates). Thus if your goal is to get into a professional school after college, it would make sense to choose a school based on where you can see yourself the best and what place could best able to help you reach your goal. For me, I knew I would be going to be in a competitive career for most of my life, so why burn my self out in the start?

In this case, actually I would argue that attending a very prestigious school could often hurt you in your attempt into getting into med school as you are competing against some of the very best students in the nation. Granted this should not be your sole reason, however its something very few high schoolers think about when going to college. They typically automatically assume prestigious school = better chance for med school, when in fact there is very little correlation (actually its the qualities of the individual that go X college that cause them to get places, not school X that causes students to go places).

So I would suggest to go to the place that would make your 4 years the most enjoyable and make YOU the most happiest. Don't take prestige into account.

your advice definitely sounds great. i will take it into high consideration
thank you.

i may be joining the crowd at SB.
but there are also financial matters to consider. i heard it's expensive at SB, is that true?

 

[RySerr21]

your advice definitely sounds great. i will take it into high consideration
thank you.

i may be joining the crowd at SB.
but there are also financial matters to consider. i heard it's expensive at SB, is that true?

i cant see there being very much variation in the prices at the UC schools. As far as price of living and what not, SB is probably more expensive.

 

[WatchMeRise]

I know this is off subject, but GOD! I constantly look at your MDapp profile Ryserr. I seriously want a surplus of EC's like yours. but reading through it is daunting at the same time... how will i get all that done? are you a machine?

 

[RySerr21]

I know this is off subject, but GOD! I constantly look at your MDapp profile Ryserr. I seriously want a surplus of EC's like yours. but reading through it is daunting at the same time... how will i get all that done? are you a machine?

haha, thanks. its over a span of many years so its not that impressive if you look at it in that sense! All you gotta do is find things that you find interesting and itll all fall into place and youll end up making yourself an impressive resume by the time you are ready to apply

 

[WatchMeRise]

will do.

 

[DearSky]

Heheh, everyone pretty much took the words out of my mouth. Maybe you could also visit the campuses and talk with some of the students there? (;

 

[Tots]

I ended up attending Irvine because I wanted to study public health particularly epidemiology. If I was going to do Bio I don't know if I would choose Irvine(I love the school though) because the way they set up the Bio courses and labs is really annoying.

Labs are only upper-division none associated with the classes you have to take Freshman and Sophomore year(which include Biochem, genetics, and molecular bio). and you can't take anything like physio until after all those stupid classes. On that note, its hard to be anything other than a Science major and meet the pre-reqs. Despite that, I have had a great time at Irvine and love the classes and structure so far.

that was probably way more than you needed to know ahaha.

 

[Brent8927]

I'd go to UC Merced--it's only an hour from Yosemite I believe they're setting up a medical school as well.

But my real advice is the same as everyone else--go where you'll be the happiest. Definitely visit the campuses, and maybe even sit in on some courses.

I made my final decision by visiting my two top choices (UC Davis and Santa Clara University). I had actually planned on going to UC Davis at first, but my mom encouraged me to visit both programs, as I hadn't visited either. I did, and while I thought Davis was amazing (and the city much more fun and exciting), after visiting I thought overall I’d be happier at Santa Clara due to its size and its philosophy.

Congrats by the way on your acceptances!