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Posted

Anyone know anything about it or have any experience with it? I don’t know much about it. It’s the one school she applied to that we didn’t visit.
 
She applied as kind of a flyer and got accepted. Fortunate enough to have a couple of school to choose from it seems.
 
Looks like not the worst place to visit as a parent.

Posted
39 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

Anyone know anything about it or have any experience with it? I don’t know much about it. It’s the one school she applied to that we didn’t visit.
 
She applied as kind of a flyer and got accepted. Fortunate enough to have a couple of school to choose from it seems.
 
Looks like not the worst place to visit as a parent.

All of the UCs are fantastic schools, but with two exceptions, they're somewhat infamous for ugly coeds.

UCSB ... is one of those exceptions. Nicknamed Santa Babe-ra.

Yeah this is probably not the info you wanted to hear.

Nobody around here cares about football.

Posted

Dream school, open your wallet and take out loans on top of that but hard to say no to it. Full disclosure it’s our second choice for out of state schools. 

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Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, Celery Man said:

racist comedy central GIF

Lulz I was there 2 weeks ago for work

Definitely yes, amazing place and good school. Seems like a great accomplish to raise a kiddo that gets this chance on a flyer school. Great job 

Edited by Zepol87
Posted

AA has a few flights a day from Phx and the SB airport is very easy.  I’d love it if my daughter ended up there, she’s got 7 years to go though.  I think you are close to me if I remember correctly, is she at Chap or DM?

Posted

Having the option of going to college at a place like UCSB and not even applying to schools outside the state of Texas just reminds me how dumb I was when I was 17 years old.

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Posted
8 minutes ago, royiv said:

Having the option of going to college at a place like UCSB and not even applying to schools outside the state of Texas just reminds me how dumb I was when I was 17 years old.

I never considered going to college in some state other than where my parents lived, and a lot of my contemporaries in high school were the same way.  

My daughter didn't apply to a single school in Texas, and only applied to schools in California, Oregon, and Washington.  Seems like her generation is way more adventurous than mine.

Posted

I hear you. I applied to one school.

She applied to the AZ schools too. Her main criteria was I don’t want to go anywhere cold. And I don’t want go to college in the slave states. I’m like well that pretty much leaves So Cal and AZ.

I suspect she’ll fit right in in Santa Barbara if I decide to fork over the cash so she can go to school in a beach paradise vs going to U of A for basically free.

That said, she has worked her ass off on grades and it shows. I would like to reward that. But got damn that’s a lot of money.

Appreciate all the responses.

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Posted (edited)
55 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

That said, she has worked her ass off on grades and it shows. I would like to reward that. But got damn that’s a lot of money.

Hell yeah it is.  My daughter passed on UCSB (not sure why), but got in to UC-Santa Cruz and UC-Davis, and actually got wait-listed at UCLA (sort of surprising because that was one of her "reach" schools. and knowing admissions criteria have gotten tougher she expected an outright denial).  She also worked her ass off, was inside the top 5% had a strong SAT, but the UC schools didn't give her a dime, and I've heard plenty of other Texas parents say the same thing about their kiddos' UC application experiences.  

Say what you want about California, but the state university system takes good care of their own, and I think you need to be awesome at sports or find a cure for cancer if you're a nonresident looking for a tuition break.

If my girl really wanted to go to one of the California schools, I'm sure I would've found a way to make it work.  But I'm also glad she opted for Oregon, where they gave her a pretty generous scholarship.  And she loves it there.

Good luck to your daughter.  Whatever path she choses, it's an exciting time for a parent.

Edited by South Austin
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Posted

My oldest was at UCSB for a summer STEM internship funded by an academic fellowship and had a wonderful experience. Perhaps not the same as enrolling and attending (oldest at a different uni for undergrad), but had a lot of compliments for the facilities (labs, etc) and the overall vibe of the place. IOW, there to study and focus but also having a lot of options to de-stress was a plus.

Posted
On 3/18/2025 at 5:57 PM, tbone_ said:

Anyone know anything about it or have any experience with it? I don’t know much about it. It’s the one school she applied to that we didn’t visit.
 
She applied as kind of a flyer and got accepted. Fortunate enough to have a couple of school to choose from it seems.
 
Looks like not the worst place to visit as a parent.

Do It Conan Obrien GIF by Team Coco

 

Posted

Massive, massive party school...seriously. Not uncommon to get too F'dup and fall off the bluff down to the beach below. And the others around you are to phased to notice. Seriously.

Posted
On 3/25/2025 at 1:58 PM, otisdog said:

Massive, massive party school...seriously. Not uncommon to get too F'dup and fall off the bluff down to the beach below. And the others around you are to phased to notice. Seriously.

Thx dad

Posted
On 3/18/2025 at 5:57 PM, tbone_ said:

Anyone know anything about it or have any experience with it? I don’t know much about it. It’s the one school she applied to that we didn’t visit.
 
She applied as kind of a flyer and got accepted. Fortunate enough to have a couple of school to choose from it seems.
 
Looks like not the worst place to visit as a parent.

It's a better academic school than UT, in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Don't think, just accept and be happy. 

On 3/19/2025 at 9:48 AM, tbone_ said:

I hear you. I applied to one school.

She applied to the AZ schools too. Her main criteria was I don’t want to go anywhere cold. And I don’t want go to college in the slave states. I’m like well that pretty much leaves So Cal and AZ.

I suspect she’ll fit right in in Santa Barbara if I decide to fork over the cash so she can go to school in a beach paradise vs going to U of A for basically free.

That said, she has worked her ass off on grades and it shows. I would like to reward that. But got damn that’s a lot of money.

Appreciate all the responses.

Assuming dorms are a thing there, and she wants to live in one to meet people, you should at least be able to apply for in state tuition by year 3. Keep that in mind. 

Posted

Appreciate all the feedback.

 

For those of you helping plan out our family future, you should probably also factor in that UCSB tuition is literally 10x the alternative. Her scholarship offer results in net annual tuition at U of A of $5k. UCSB is $50k.

 

I could literally pay for U of A and a Harvard or Stanford MBA for less than the cost of UCSB alone. If she slummed it and went to Michigan or Texas I’d come out $70k ahead.

 

Or we could use some of the $180k difference to buy a house, start a business or just invest.

 

It’s a crazy comparison. 

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Posted
6 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

Appreciate all the feedback.

 

For those of you helping plan out our family future, you should probably also factor in that UCSB tuition is literally 10x the alternative. Her scholarship offer results in net annual tuition at U of A of $5k. UCSB is $50k.

 

I could literally pay for U of A and a Harvard or Stanford MBA for less than the cost of UCSB alone. If she slummed it and went to Michigan or Texas I’d come out $70k ahead.

 

Or we could use some of the $180k difference to buy a house, start a business or just invest.

 

It’s a crazy comparison. 

Oof, that's a big delta.  Maybe have her take out some loans so she has skin in the game?  Not a ton, but enough that you know that she REALLY wants to go there?

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Posted

If she were a grown up adult that might be an idea. I’m not sure an 18yo enamored with Santa Barbara possesses the proper judgement to make that call. I kinda think that’s my job.   

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Posted
2 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

If she were a grown up adult that might be an idea. I’m not sure an 18yo enamored with Santa Barbara possesses the proper judgement to make that call. I kinda think that’s my job.   

Maybe the deal is if she does UCSB it's undergrad only and if she goes to U of A you will pay for a master's as well?  I dunno.  Hard choices gonna be made at la casa de tbone. Hard to say no to a school like that (if you're her and not paying), but are the outcomes from UCSB substantially better than U of A? I don't know anything about it other than Santa Barbara is great.

Posted (edited)

I flat out told my kids that it was in state for an undergraduate degree unless they managed to get a full ride somewhere they wanted to go more (or wanted to go to Arky, which will give Texas the equivalent of in-state tuition).  No cloak room, but until recently, I would have told them they teach the same history in history classes at UT as they do at any out-of-state school.  So far, so good on that assumption.

Edited by dcbc
Posted (edited)
On 3/27/2025 at 6:24 PM, tbone_ said:

Appreciate all the feedback.

 

For those of you helping plan out our family future, you should probably also factor in that UCSB tuition is literally 10x the alternative. Her scholarship offer results in net annual tuition at U of A of $5k. UCSB is $50k.

 

I could literally pay for U of A and a Harvard or Stanford MBA for less than the cost of UCSB alone. If she slummed it and went to Michigan or Texas I’d come out $70k ahead.

 

Or we could use some of the $180k difference to buy a house, start a business or just invest.

 

It’s a crazy comparison. 

Something to think about re: U of A $5k, UCSB $50k

If you can swing it and you aren't mortgaging the house to do it there might be a hard-to-quanitfy value in the network and relationships kiddo can make at UCSB that U of A won't offer. Having the network effects of your "betters" and leveling up the caste of folks in terms of education, money, class, etc. can only help in a world where connections are going to be all the more important.

I'm not saying being a nepo baby is worth aspiring for or getting a Mr./Mrs. degree, but I know for me, half of my success and opportunities I can draw a direct line from some of the "betters" I met at UT and my fraternity. Assuming UCSB has a bunch of big wigs from VC's and Tech firms and the Entertainment industry and BioTech/Pharma, etc. whose kids probably see UCSB as a safety school.

That said, how do you put a dollar value to a hypothetical? Just throwing out another consideration besides "awesome beach and weather".

Edited by Vegas64
Posted
15 minutes ago, Vegas64 said:

Something to think about re: U of A $5k, UCSB $50k

If you can swing it and you aren't mortgaging the house to do it there might be a hard-to-quanitfy value in the network and relationships kiddo can make at UCSB that U of A won't offer. Having the network effects of your "betters" and leveling up the caste of folks in terms of education, money, class, etc. can only help in a world where connections are going to be all the more important.

I'm not saying being a nepo baby is worth aspiring for or getting a Mr./Mrs. degree, but I know for me, half of my success and opportunities I can draw a direct line from some of the "betters" I met at UT and my fraternity. Assuming UCSB has a bunch of big wigs from VC's and Tech firms and the Entertainment industry and BioTech/Pharma, etc. whose kids probably see UCSB as a safety school.

That said, how do you put a dollar value to a hypothetical? Just throwing out another consideration besides "awesome beach and weather".

Counterpoint:  use the money saved and put it toward grad school at Stanford, MIT, etc.

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Posted

My daughter is a senior at UCSB right now.  

Pretty much what everyone on here has said, great school in paradise.  

Only drawbacks are 1) it's expensive as hell if you're out of state and 2) there's no football team.  If your daughter is like mine, she gives zero shits about either of those.

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Posted
On 3/27/2025 at 2:44 PM, SydneyCarton said:

It's a better academic school than UT, in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Don't think, just accept and be happy. 

Assuming dorms are a thing there, and she wants to live in one to meet people, you should at least be able to apply for in state tuition by year 3. Keep that in mind. 

Yeah, about that, California don't play around with in state tuition.  For an undergrad with both parents out of state, the student has to prove they are completely independent (jobs, loans, etc) and have lived in state.  There's none of this "pinky swear I promise I'm independent", you need documents.  Ask me how I know this ...

UCSB has dorms but there are a few that are off campus.  Try to get one of the ones on campus because the off campus ones suck (according to daughter).

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Posted
On 3/27/2025 at 3:44 PM, SydneyCarton said:

It's a better academic school than UT, in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Don't think, just accept and be happy. 

No doubt that the UC system is great. But UCSB is probably best described as a peer to UT in overall quality. They're both plenty to aspire to, and obviously most of the value is going to come from the specific program a student chooses.

On 3/31/2025 at 2:45 PM, Vegas64 said:

Something to think about re: U of A $5k, UCSB $50k

If you can swing it and you aren't mortgaging the house to do it there might be a hard-to-quanitfy value in the network and relationships kiddo can make at UCSB that U of A won't offer. Having the network effects of your "betters" and leveling up the caste of folks in terms of education, money, class, etc. can only help in a world where connections are going to be all the more important.

I'd respond pretty much the same way to this one. Arizona has some things going for it. A lesser reputation for sure, but some good programs and in an area that has its own advantages, including networking.

I'm a university faculty member at a second-tier state school in the Midwest that at least until recently was considered a top-10 regional school for its size. We've got a very small number of national-class programs here and one or maybe two world-class programs. Most of the rest is just average. Also dad to a U. of Minnesota senior and a high school junior, so I've got my own observations and beliefs.

I've seen plenty of students wander all over, heard many debt stories, worried about changes eroding our education system, and fretted for my students and my kids because of the job market. Also talked to a few faculty who wished they or their kids had been plumbers or electricians instead.

We (and my wife mostly defers to me on this stuff) have mainly told our kids to avoid debt above all and try to pick a place that has what they think they want, but also options. Because most kids -- like most Surly denizens, probably -- are likely to switch directions, and that's increasingly likely to happen multiple times.

Never would have imagined our son's course, which involves ROTC and the reserves. Obviously not for everybody, but if he can last one more year in his habits, he will be able to roll over his entire college investment account into an IRA. He's done some really cool stuff but also has a regular college life (non-military orgs and activities) and still hangs in the Twin Cities with two of his best friends from growing up.

We mostly buy him stuff -- a bed, a plane ticket, lots of food, clothing -- but have never paid a tuition or rent bill. One thing that helps is he still has no car and we strongly encourage him not to get one unless he really needs it. He came close this spring but backed off, which we believe wise (even though my wife says she would pay for it, a used one from a relative). During breaks, we drive him to school/back or he gets rides from friends. Lately he's done some bus trips and we drive to a nearby city to pick him up.

Our daughter is a youth apprentice in a top 600 or so Fortune company, and they, like many other organizations, are a corporate equivalent of the reserves in that they'll offer substantial educational help in return for a post-college commitment. We're not entirely certain of how that works and she's been reluctant to check into it as much as we're pushing her to. Definitely not going to force it on her, but it does give her limited options, near some decent to good schools, to work through college in a professional career. We highlight the advantages of that.

The car is a different matter with her, and we're not sure how that will go. Probably some kind of deal regarding work. She saves a lot more than our son did, and if we get lucky, she could have the same situation at the end because of her grades and maybe other options. But we preach that a standard college path (4-5 years, including 1-2 living on campus) can be a real trap for any family that has to sacrifice for its children. But even debt is an option, a risk that can pay off.  We encourage our daughter to see this as a more flexible path, and we're fortunate our son is modeling that for her.

 

 

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