Santa Catalina Reviews

If you're in a double, the space is nice and comfortable, but if you're in a triple it feels more crammed than the triples in other dorms like manzi or so. Something I personally didn't like is that two rooms (a triple and a double) share restrooms, and the restrooms are only accessible through the inside of the room, so it's not like you can use another if your restroom is occupied. Other than that, San Cat is pretty nice, the pool is great, and portola is imo better than the other dining halls (except ortega god i love ortega)

Overall San Cat is NICEE. Only thing is that is too far and the room is bit small if you are in a triple. The bus is always not on time, I recommend you to get a bike for those who doesn’t like to wait at the bus stop!! Nice of San cat is that is high chance that people move out their dorm during the quarter. One of roommates move out, so it was nice living in triple with only two people.

Thoroughly enjoyed my time at FT. Most of my close friends to this day at UCSB I met on my floor at FT. I enjoyed the fact that it was a suite and could interact with suite mates as well as roommates. Having a sink in room and a bathroom for only 5 people was very nice. However, the triples are very brutal. Had a triple and very loud roommate which made the situation difficult. Lack of space in a triple is challenging, although FT rooms are generally larger than on-campus dorms. Location is far from campus but if you ride your bike it’s manageable. Pool was nice amenity and dining hall portola is probably one of the better.

One of the only dorms at UCSB that still have double rooms, as far as I know. The location is significantly further from campus, so I wouldn't recommend living here unless you plan on biking (which I highly recommend in general at UCSB). The bike ride from the edge of campus where you would exit is only about 6 minutes and is an isolated bike lane. There are plenty of buses that will take you from the dorm to campus, but it's not always reliable and you would probably have to leave for class an hour or so in advance which is just not ideal if you have morning classes. One of the best pros about Santa Catalina is having a private bathroom that you share with only your roommate and next-door neighbors, and is cleaned for you once a week. The ... See more

Santa Catalina was not my first choice, but at the end of the day I am happy I got to live here. The room itself isn't that big but still management. I like that there is no communal bathroom as you have a shared on in between your suitemate's room. Santa Catalina is UCSB's largest dorm and you will meet a lot of new people here. Overall conditions of the building is great, with a huge plus of being right next to Portola, a dining hall. The location is a bit of a downside as you are just so far away from campus. You can either bus or bike, but can be a bit annoying at times.

It’s a nice place to live and the cafeteria nearby is also very good. But the morning bus is really a pain so you have to wake a little bit early or ride a bike to school. Overall I enjoy my time there when I was a freshman!!

Easily the best dorm for freshman, everybody is super friendly and it's easy to make friends here. The bathrooms are elite and the building has a gym, pool, and dining commons in the building. I didn't really mind the mile commute to campus, I'd recommend biking or skating there over taking the bus because the bus isn't very reliable. I'd highly recommend FT over any other dorm

Overall, this place was okay to be a commuter freshman. If you don't want to be to involved with all that freshmen on campus events, you can seclude yourself to this off campus dorm that is 1 mile from the school. It is just rough to bike to campus and buses are always late. I enjoyed it cause of the privateish bathroom that you'll usually share with 5-6 people that's cleaned weekly, and just liked how I was able to separate my living space from my schoolwork which I usually did at the library.

It’s like 1.5 away from campus which is a huge turn off. If you don’t mind the commute then it’s pretty good