Is San Nicolas the best dorm at UCSB?

Decent room, old building. Elevators had constant breakdowns so getting to your room was sometimes a hike if you lived in the upper part of the 8-floor tower. The building is L-shaped, with each floor having guys on one side and girls on the other. Bathrooms are communal style (1 per gender per floor) with 3 toilets and 4 shower stalls each. Bathroom traffic was manageable, it never got too busy. Laundry is a bit of a headache, there are about 500 people in the people and only a few washing machines, half of which were constantly broken. One machine in particular melted my clothes as well but I believe it was fixed. Rooms are pretty standard compared to the other freshman dorms, but San Nicolas has one of the best views. If you happen to live on one of the upper floors on the ocean-facing side, you’ll be waking up with a massive view of the Pacific every morning. Also, about 90-95% of residents participated in FSSP over the Summer, so I recommend looking elsewhere if you are arriving in the Fall as most people had established socials circles by the time the school year began. Otherwise, if you are doing FSSP then you’ll be stuck with San Nicolas for the year. My experience during FSSP definitely made living in the building worth it however, so don’t let this be the reason you decide to skip out on the program.

I had to dorm here because of FSSP and although I loved the program I didn’t enjoy living in the dorms. The building is really run down and some rooms get mold easily. We even had some rooms with bedbug problems. The triples are extremely cramped so don’t bring a lot of stuff if you live in one. If I could choose again I would try to go with Anacapa, Santa Cruz, or FT.

I don’t recommend this dorm. We frequently had ants even after vacuuming daily and securing food. I once fell from the fourth floor to the second floor in the elevator with a group of people from my hall. I never used the elevator for the rest of the year. Beach was close and that was the only plus.

The lounges/common areas have ovens, microwaves, and sinks. The front desk has cooking supplies available to borrow, as well as board games. The elevators break down often, which is a problem if you live on one of the higher floors. No air conditioning. If you live on the lagoon side of the building, you will get lagoon smell when algae growth is high.

I lived here because I did the summer program FSSP. It was nice because I stayed with my friends from the summer. The communal bathrooms were normal, not too dirty not too clean. The shower pressure could be a lot better tho. Pros - close to two dining halls, Cons - you need to take the elevator if you live on a really high floor?