1. University of California - Santa Barbara

    • 4 Year
    • Santa Barbara, CA
    • 4,440 reviews
    #84 Best Colleges in America

    Senior : UCSB is an excellent research school with a beautiful environment. Most of the courses have to be self-study but there are a lot of friendly instructors. Some of the departments are very competitive and those employees are icy-colds, such as Economic, Math and Biology. The College of Engineering is very popular. The mood of this school is not as relax as others described. Definitely a party school, there are so many parties and bars around the campus. Study hard, Play hard. UC Santa Barbara has rich natural resources. If you're learning Geography, Environmental Studies, or Earth Sciences, you'll own many learning opportunities. Security is good. Campus Point is a super nice place, you need to visit there!
    Read 4,440 Reviews

    • A+
      Overall Niche Grade
    • 32% Acceptance Rate
    • $16,912 Net Price
    • 1230-1460 SAT Range
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  2. Scripps College

    • 4 Year
    • Claremont, CA
    • 444 reviews
    #85 Best Colleges in America

    Alum : Your experience at Scripps will be what you make of it to some extent. If you become more involved on campus and fully integrate yourself within the community it'll likely be more enjoyable. I personally felt the people at Scripps were the best part of the experience. I loved being surrounded by such intelligent and thoughtful individuals. My peers were hard workers, but I personally never felt a pressure to compete with them, per se. I also loved a lot of my Scripps professors and enjoyed the classes where we were able to have discussions in small groups. The campus itself is probably the prettiest of the 5Cs and has one of the best dining halls. The bad parts: bureaucracy and the administration over looking student needs. I felt a lot of the times students would voice their opinions only to be shut down by those in the admin. It can also be a high stress environment, and the school itself lacks resources to fully assist all students, leading to greater inequity.
    Read 444 Reviews

    • A+
      Overall Niche Grade
    • 24% Acceptance Rate
    • $39,070 Net Price
    • 1300-1480 SAT Range
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