For the Incoming Freshmen- Dorm Pros and Cons

Incoming freshmen, UCSB HerCampus knows it’s hard picking Freshmen dorms.  Not only are you deciding where you are going to live for an entire year, but the dorm you choose to live in also affects your roommate, people you will meet, location on campus- the list goes on and on.  This week, a UCSB HerCampus team member wrote a short Pros and Cons piece on the dorms tat  lived in as freshmen- hopefully our insight will be helpful!
 
Santa Rosa Dorms by Rachel Miller:
Pros:
Santa Rosa is the only on-campus dorm with its own fitness room.
Santa Rosa has a great location–close proximity to the beach, DLG, the other on-campus dorms, and the university center
Santa Rosa is one of the only dorms with co-ed floors
Attention Ladies: Santa Rosa has a perfect view of the basketball court and volleyball courts…Boys playing sports shirtless? Yes, please.
Santa Rosa is more of a “college experience” because of its long halls and shared restrooms–it provides a good way to meet people
Cons:
Dependent on who you are the, Santa Rosa’s co-ed floors could possibly be “con” for you
Santa Rosa does not have ovens in its lounges
Santa Rosa is the oldest dorm so it is not as new (therefore not as nice) as the other dorms
Santa Rosa is only two stories, so it is very long–creating a bit of a walk to get to other dorms in Santa Rosa
Because Santa Rosa provides the “college experience,” it tends to get a little loud
 
Manzanita Dorms by Rebeca Velasco:
Pros: 
Location- Manzanita is located in the most beautiful part of campus. The dorms overlook the lagoon and have a clear view of the ocean. Also, Manzanita Village is located right next to DP, the main party street in Isla Vista, and to all the delicious food spots. All of your friends in other dorms will be jealous that you do not need to walk 15 minutes or bike to go out or get a late night snack.
Room Size- Manzanita’s dorms are incredibly bigger than other dorm rooms at UCSB. Each room has more than enough room for two beds, two closets, two desks, two dressers and a spacious area in the middle of the room. In addition, the ceilings are extremely high, which makes your room look even bigger than it already is. 
Individual Bathrooms- Each Manzanita room has a bathroom in between each or every other bed room.This is a big plus compared to the other dorms because other dorms on campus have communal bathrooms, where you share a bathroom with 5-6 people. The Manzanita bathrooms consist of two sinks, one toilet and a shower. Since it is mainly your own bathroom, you have the option to leave all your shower necessities in the cabinets of the bathroom.
Carrillo- Manzanita houses Carrillo, the best dining common on campus. Carrillo is seconds from the Manzanita dorms. Everyone loves this dining common so much that Freshman will come from all over to eat at Carrillo. Carrillo has a great breakfast, which consists of eggs, waffles, cereal and fresh fruit. The lunch and dinner menus are always changing from one delectable item to another. Being able to enjoy Carrillo on a daily basis is one of the many perks of living in Manzanita. 
Cons:
“Anti-Social Dorm”- A downside of living in Manzanita is the fact that you are considered to be living in an “anti-social dorm.” This term orientated because Manzanita is split up into a handful of different houses, which make it very difficult to socialize with people in different houses. Each house requires a particular entrance key, which causes people to solely hang out in their own house. Although this may be the case, many people strongly disagree with this idea.
Far- Manzanita is far from the rest of campus. It is located on the outskirts of UCSB, close to Isla Vista. No matter where your class is on campus, it will always seem far from Manzanita. It can get very tedious going to meet your friends in the other dorms or biking to Harold Frank Hall for class. If you are living in Manzanita, get ready to become extremely skilled on your bicycle. 
Quiet- Manzanita should be your first choice of dorm if you enjoy a quiet environment. Being located right by the ocean, Manzanita is a great place to relax on the balcony or read by the ocean. If you enjoy a louder, more social environment, you may want to choose a different dorm. 
 
Santa Cruz Dorms by Kelli Wong
Pros:
Great on-campus location! Waking up at 7:40 am will definitely get you to that dreaded 8 am at Campbell with plenty of time..
It’s usually a pretty quiet hall and the corner lounges are great for studying. I never even had to go to the library!
Practically on the beach. Just a walk across a road and a staircase away from the ocean!
Cons:
It’s usually a pretty quiet hall and we never had crazy pregames in the rooms. BUT if you are looking for huge and rowdy pregame, Anacapa is super close and always raging!
The boys and girls are separated into different, adjoining hallways. There’s definitely still opportunity for mingling, but if you’re looking for a more integrated experience you might want to check out FT.
 
Santa Catalina (“FT”) by Michelle Tokunaga
Pros:
Pool!- Between the two ten story towers, there is a multi-laned and newly renovated pool!  Besides the obvious tanning benefits, the female rooms in each tower face into the pool so that the ladies can ‘supervise’ the swimmers.
Suite-Style Rooms: In contrast to the on-campus dorms, all of the rooms in Santa Catalina are set up in suite style.  Every room is connected to another through a bathroom, complete with a shower, toilet, and sinks in each room. 
Co-Ed Dorms:  Not only was I able to meet TONS of freshmen in FT (1/3 of the Freshmen class lives in the towers) but I was also able to experience what it was like sharing space with the opposite sex.  Each hall in Santa Catalina is separated by boys on one side, and girls on the other.
Fiesta Room and Espacios: Although FT can get pretty rowdy at any given time throughout the week, students are always able to escape to the Fiesta Room, or one of the many espacios for some quality study time. If you’re feeling academic, FT residents are able to access these rooms at any time (yes, even 4 AM during finals).
Cons:
The Distance: Many incoming freshman are often turned off by the off-campus aspect of Santa Catalina.  Yes, its pretty far off campus, a distance from DP, and biking to an 8AM at Campbell isn’t pleasant when you’re coming from far away- but look on the bright side, all that biking might help curb the infamous “Freshman 15”.
Portola:  Portola, Santa Catalina’s Dining Commons are famous for having consistently bad food.  Although I will agree that Portola’s food isn’t the best, it’s definitely not as bad as it’s reputation leads on, just give it a chance!
 
San Nicolas by Maddie Stack:
Pros:
Great ocean views for most rooms (above the third floor)
Only option is to live in doubles so there’s no chance you will be in a triple
Very close to two dinning halls
Great staff!
Nice DVD collection
Close to campus so you can sleep for the maximum amount
Clean bathrooms
Cons:
There are eight floors so if you above the second chances are you will be taking the elevator… a lot
The laundry room is on the first floor kind of a long way to carry your stuff
The floors can be kind of segregated into groups making it a bit awkward to meet people that aren’t on your floor
The themed floors don’t work out as well as you would think
Common bathrooms
 
Anacapa by Lauren Daniels:
Pros:
First off, Anacapa is the most social dorm (in my opinion) out of all the dorms on campus. Although it may not have the 20 floors that FT does or the modern-look of Manzanita, the two floors of Anacapa are constantly raging and half the rooms have a beautiful ocean view.
If you are looking for a good time then you need to choose Anacapa. It seems as if everyone from the surrounding dorms would always start in Anacapa before beginning the long, and freezing hike out to DP. Where’s a better place to start the fun than in one of the many rooms jam-packed with people who are looking to pre-game?
The Anacapa lawn is the known as the best place to tan, play volleyball, watch cute guys play soccer, or construct the largest slip-in-slide known to mankind. Enough said.
If you are ever bored on a random Tuesday night, the Anacapa lounge has got you covered. No matter what the occasion there is always a group of people playing a game of catch phrase, watching Gossip Girl, or simply lounging around on the filthy, but somewhat comfortable couches.
Cons:
Since Anacapa is known for it’s social reputation, this can play to your disadvantage at times, especially when you need to wash a load of laundry and you just don’t feel like taking off your glasses or putting on something appropriate. Nevertheless, if you don’t, your chances of seeing that cute guy down the hall or a group of people hanging out is quite likely. 
Those nights when you have a paper due at midnight and the room next to you and below you are blasting Ke$ha, I recommend you head to the library. Anacapa is not the place to be when you need to cram for a class.
 
San Miguel by Dana Bass:
Pros:
You are REALLY close to Ortega dining commons
You have your own gym!
Views of Ocean & Lagoon
Spacious lounges (not so crowded/large as others)
Cons:
Janky elevators!!! (tons of rumors)
Some floors were really weird, others were really cool…
Some of the special interest floors went against the goals of the university – diversity (don’t think you should be allowed to have special interest floor based on race– self segregation)