University of California-Santa Barbara Top Questions

What are the most popular student activities/groups?

Devin

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.

kristen

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.

Cris

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

Emily

Read "The Big Picture"

Tristan

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.

Margarita

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

Ericka

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

Alexa

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

Kristin

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.

Andy

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.

Alex

The most popular athletic team is probably soccer. They are REALLY attractive. I am in a sorority and I love it. It's a great way to meet people and have a great time outside of school. Athletic events are pretty popular but not necessary. The dance program here is very good. The dating scene is a little iffy. I have plenty of friends who have found attractive, smart boyfriends/ girlfriends here but for some reason I just feel like all anyone wants to do is get really drunk and hook up. I havnt found anyone too interested in dating.

Alex

people hangout mostly with the people who they live with/near.

courtney

i am in a sorority, however i make a huge point of keeping friends outside of greek life alone. therefore i have many friends not in the greek scene and they all always have things to do, drinking or not. if im awake at 2AM i am usually out. if i dont go out i like to go to bed on the earlier side. i dont go off campus very often because i dont have a car, but my roommate has a car and she goes downtown a lot to see ballets or movies or etc...

Alex

The greek system is pretty prevalent on campus. it is definitely not necessary to be in the greek system but for me it has been a very fun and rewarding experience. Athletic events are popular, but sometimes I do wish we had a football team to boost the school spirit a little more. tailgating would be really fun. i met my best friends in the dorms and in my pledge class in my sorority. the dorms are so much fun and i was so sad to leave them freshman year. you form great relationships because you do everything with your dorm friends - eat every meal together, bike to class, play frisbee or beach volleyball, go to parties, etc. it is important to try to maintain your dorm relationships because everyone may live apart sophomore year. everyone still has their "freshman year friends." floatopia is one of the greatest events at our school! everyone goes down to the beach and takes out dozens of rafts and water trampolines into the middle of the ocean. i've never seen the beach so packed except for maybe 4th of july. events like these that attract the whole isla vista community are so much fun and great ways to meet people you have never seen before!

Christine

Some of the best things after partying: Food- Super Cucas, Rosaritos and in the day Sam to-go is the best drinking spot. Frats are almost always having some sort of event, big or small they are always a place to hang. Del Playa is awesome and strolling down the street can be an adventure in itself on a Friday night. Fun things to see are the philanthropy sporting competitions, going to catch a movie at the IV theatre, venturing to the beach on any warm day and heading to State street for a good selection of shops and food.

lydia

The greek system has grown immensely in the past couple of years. There are many different houses so it's easy to find one that fits with you. On saturday night most people drink. They show free movies at the campus theater. People party a few times a week i would say. Dating scene is sketchy...too many good looking people.

Corey

Soccer is big at our school, since we have a strong program and were recently national champions. Basketball is also prominent in the Big West league. I work at the Daily Nexus, the student newspaper, and it's a great way to network. On any given night, there is probably a raging party somewhere in Isla Vista, Monday thru Sunday. On Friday and Saturday night on Del Playa, there is a solid mile of people crowding the streets transitting to the next party, you see a lot of crazy shit. The streets are blasting with music, issuing from every few residences, but recently the police have cracked down and have become more stringent about noise violations after midnight. For 21+, there is a service called Bill's Bus that shuttles people from Isla Vista to State St. in downtown Santa Barbara where many choose to hit the bars. This is a big drinking school, so it tends to dominate most of the social life. There are free movie nights and performances offered by the school as well.

Katherine

Being involved in the greek system is incredible, and I've developed some of my best friends through my sorority. I always left my door open in the dorms when I lived in FT, and i gained so many friends and fun experiences.

Amy

I am on the UCSB crew team but we don't get much recognition because we are a club sport and practice at Lake Cachuma which is about 30 miles from campus. We don't have a football team which is nice because I don't need anymore jocks getting priority registration in front of me just because my sport (rowing) isn't officially recognized by the school. Soccer is definitely the most popular sport/team on campus, especially since the team won the national championship last year. Fraternities and sororities are as popular as ever. Hooray.

Jennifer

Being that I'm in the greek system, I would say the greek system in general is a prominent organization on campus. I absolutely love the greek system. It makes such a large campus seem smaller, which I really enjoy since I went to a very small all girls school for high school. It's nice to walk around campus and see several familiar faces.