Santa Barbara City College — Local services in Santa Barbara

UPDATE AT THE BOTTOM - 09/20/23

Quite possibly the worst academic counseling staff I have ever had the displeasure of interacting with. I can't speak for all the counselors, but the person I talked to didn't even seem like she was trying to help me map out a plan for my academic career. The meeting felt very rushed, like she wanted to be doing literally anything else with her life. Find another job if you're that bothered by taking time to help students who need guidance. Also, she fought me on what I wanted to major in?? I told her my passions and goals, and she completely disregarded me and tried to get me to sign up for classes that didn't involve my passions. And then she argued with me about my choice in major. It was incredibly bizarre and extremely irritating. And then she had me go through a ton of trouble to find some information to send to her, but then never responded or used the information to help me like she said she would. That was months ago. So I sent her a follow-up email that was ignored and then sent another email after that to see what happened with the information, and I still have not received an answer to any of the emails as of yet. Also, I had a lot of trouble signing up for a class that SHE recommended, and when I reached out to her for help, I was completely ignored. Absolutely unacceptable. I don't know what the rest of the academic counseling staff are like, but my experience was horrendous and I would recommend to anyone looking to go to SBCC to think of another community college to go to, because I GUARANTEE you'll find better and more supportive staff than the person I had to interact with. Sure, it was only one awful interaction, but it was so incredibly aggravating and terrible that I am not even looking forward to attending this college anymore, like I was previously.

UPDATE - 9/20: Turns out this counselor REALLY screwed me over BIG TIME. She screwed me over so bad that I won't be able to transfer to the UC school I was planning on transferring to. I will not have enough credits by the time I'm supposed to transfer, and by the time I do have those credits, I will be a senior, which the UC will not accept. She screwed up the entire trajectory of my academic career, and I am devastated. I spoke to another counselor who was absolutely amazing, but they had to break the news to me that I would not be able to go to my dream UC. There are no words to describe how crestfallen and irate I am at the situation. This could have been completely avoided if the first counselor had communicated with me, but she didn't, so here we are.

Again, if you're planning on coming here as a stepping stone to transfer to a UC or a CSU, PLEASE do yourself a favor and go somewhere else, because I guarantee you'll get better communication and better help elsewhere. I don't know what to do with myself now.

To anyone reading this, if you still decide to go to SBCC, hopefully your experience is...

Top rated community college apparently, but it is still a community college. Amazing campus overlooking ocean is a big plus, but that doesn't really have anything to do with academics or organization. I think the student body is probably on the whole above average compared to many community colleges, and that the school attracts some very good profs as far as community colleges are concerned (largely due to location).

The reason for the three stars is that the administration is slow and rigid in certain ways and classes are sometimes labelled differently at time of sign-up and at time of taking the class. I signed up for a class that had one name on the course list and upon getting to the class it had a different name and slightly different focus.

Additionally, they have an extremely slow timeline to pay refunds for classes that have been dropped (6 weeks), even though they expect payment from the students very quickly during registration (within a week of adding classes--they automatically drop you if you don't pay on this prompt timeline, often regardless of when student aid is scheduled to come in).

From an organizational perspective this school strikes me as not particularly great, even if above...

So far I am LOVING my time here. So far all my professors & help staff have been utterly kind & approachable folks.

I currently work in the lifescape gardens, which is a large garden space at the back of the campus overlooking the stadium. I love walking through the tropical section of the garden most of all! There are always so many lizards, rabbits, butterflies & hummingbirds around.

I love being able to come to a great college with such a relaxing & friendly atmosphere. The views are great too! There is just so much plant life & nature throughout the campus & it really helps to calm the nerves. I will say though, you WILL get your daily steps in trying to get to all your classes & the cafeteria. But hey, that's alright, keeps me healthy. My only note is the cafeteria has great food, but it closes so early!

I absolutely would recommend this college for anyone who wants a great scenic...