All in all, I can say that one of the best decisions of my life to study or live in Santa Barbara was. Because I wish everyone else to have the same experience, I will summarize as briefly as possible why you absolutely should go to UCSB if you get the chance.

1. The university is still in the respectable places in international rankings, which means you don’t have to justify yourself later why you chose this university – because actually a semester there is just a lot of fun, parties, action and unforgettable experiences .
2. In my opinion, the university has a rather unique constellation in terms of the structure of the “student quarter” on campus – and this difference cannot be emphasized clearly enough. Unlike many other universities, this university is not in town itself, but about 12 miles outside of Santa Barbara. Next to the campus there used to be a “normal” small town with small single-family houses, a few restaurants / bars / cafes and a small “mini market”. The name of this nest is “Isla Vista” (pronounced “eila ​​vista”, abbreviated IV). Over the years, however, the students have displaced almost all of the “locals”, normal people like families and so on, by renting one of the houses in town with 4-12 friends after their first year at university. Now ONLY students live there, around 15-20 thousand! How it goes in a city where there are no longer any “adults” can be imagined, right? Nobody should make the mistake of moving to downtown Santa Barbara or Goleta for cost reasons. Otherwise you miss everything. Films like “ProjectX” or “American Pie” are not a bit exaggerated if you look at the weekends in IV for comparison. Instead of discos, the houses near the beach are simply transformed into “party locations” at the weekend. In addition, the rich kids who live there organize a DJ for the balcony, a lighting system like in a club and a keg of beer with red cups. Check ehuacom to see more reviews from current students. Just quickly create a public event on Facebook and invite 1000 people – the house party is finished, just like in the film. And that’s not just in a house in the city but in practically every house close to the beach. Anyone who lives there is almost obliged to hold house demolition parties on a regular basis. As in a club, you don’t need an invitation to go to such a party! The disadvantage one has to say that of course nobody cleans up afterwards – the people who live in these houses – live in the garbage – and move to another house next year … Broken walls or windows, dried up puke in the hall above … oh there is nothing that does not exist: D
   Quote from an invitation:
   “Rage: The act of drinking excessively, spending lots of money, causing destruction, and fucking your life up in the course of a single night. Consequences of a rage typically consist of loss of memory, STD’s, unwanted children with fat chicks, depleted bank accounts, fights, break ups, drunken calling and texts, and next day facebook posts of FML! “
3. The university is right on the beach. If you want to start or continue surfing, you should definitely stop by the excursion club at the beginning. This is a kind of “service club” on campus, where students volunteer for surfing, climbing, kayaking, yoga and outdoor training. In addition, they offer lots of other activities and excursions every week. The club has between 500 and 1000 members, so register for the individual activities in good time to secure a place. Costs are just $ 30 per quarter. As a club member, you can borrow all club equipment free of charge. That means, you just walk past the clubhouse during the “service time” and get a surfboard and a wetsuit without having to buy the stuff yourself.
4. There is a lot of blatant nature nearby. In my semester abroad, I started really intensively with outdoor activities in addition to all the parties. So I spent several weekends hiking with backpack and tent in the various national parks and even with a canoe for several days on the Colorado River. Incomparable experiences! The university’s “Adventure Program” is the perfect introduction to this type of sport and experiences (flyers are available in the university’s sports center and also on the website -> google: Recreation Center UCSB). The Excursion Club also offers similar trips, so be sure to go to the meetings and register for the trips.
5. The university’s sports center: Large pool area with a wirpool. Even a dedicated climbing hall! In addition, there are halls and courts for pretty much every sport there is!
6. Campus: right on the beach! Beautiful. Skateboard and bicycle are the main means of transport. You even see people in suits riding to work on skateboards (longboards). All totally cool people in Cali.
7. California is full of super personable people. If you don’t make the mistake of just hanging out with Germans, but also dare to do things on your own (without your German friends, whom you get to know at the introductory event), you will meet a lot of wonderful people! There are various ways to get to know people:1st place is shared by the roommates of the new flat share and the wonderful excursion club.
   2. The excursions from the “Adventure Program” of the university (sports center)
   3. Festivals
   4. Parties – it should be said here that most of the numbers that you get one evening have no meaning the next day. But only most of them. You always meet Americans who are totally interested in getting to know our culture and who call the next day if you don’t want to come over.
8. As mentioned at the beginning, the university is also internationally known for its achievements on the academic side. There are even some Nobel Prize winners teaching as Profs! The level of my courses that I had was much easier than at home and was still a lot of fun. The courses are less suitable for getting to know people, but they are also not completely unsuitable. Got good grades with little effort. But it always depends a bit on the course. Cannot always be generalized.

I have attached some video links to this report that will really help you decide for or against UCSB;)

“Deltopia”: Biggest party of the semester (and probably in your life)
http://www.youtube.com/ watch? v = bC-ORHRQpyI

“UCSB Undie Run”: (run naked through the library and across campus every semester!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TOwjcGu44M

In addition, I can go to the “neutral” Reporting also in the little booklet “College Prowler – UC Santa Barbara – Off the Record”
recommend. It is sold in the university’s official bookstore and is intended to be a “real” decision-making aid for future students. Written by students and everything that’s in there is true – highly recommended – only costs a handful of dollars.