Students may come to the University of California, Santa Barbara with many expectations: to be challenged academically, to enjoy the beautiful Pacific coast scenery and to party hard. From day one, students say, UCSB doesn't disappoint.
Lectures can be large, but professors expect students — of whom there are nearly 25,000 — to quickly catch on to the material. The school offers more than 90 bachelor’s degrees, and it's recognized for its innovation and research. The Koegel Autism Center at the Gervitz Graduate School of Education is a state-of-the-art treatment center. The school is also ranked among the top institutions in the U.S. for its scientific impact in the fields of engineering and physical sciences.
Despite its rigorous academics, UC Santa Barbara is regularly ranked as a top party school. The campus is constantly abuzz, with clubs tabling outside the University Center and vendors lined up along the miles of bike racks. The neighboring town of Isla Vista houses many students, plus local restaurants (one of the most famous being late-night burrito stop Freebirds), coffee and bagel shops, grocery co-ops and every other service a college student could need.
UCSB has a solid graduation rate of about 87%, and students go on to earn median salaries of nearly $75,000 in their early careers.
