All The UCSB Perks and Student Discounts That Come With Your Tuition
Photo Credits: University of California, Santa Barbara
Schools has begun and your BARC account is already making you second guess when you should drop out.
With you spending close to $6000 in Tuition and fees you definitely want to make the most of it. Good thing I’ve already looked and researched painstakingly to find all these “free” UCSB student perks for you! With you ALREADY paying for these things services, be sure to get take full advantage of them!
A Free Lynda.com Account (Now LinkedIn Learning)
[Value: $30/month]
Okay this doesn’t necessarily come with being a student but if are in any way, shape, or form, employed by UCSB, you will get a free Lynda.com account as a perk of your employment. Whether as a RecCen employee or an RA, UCSB gives you free access to a resource many usually have to pay for.
Lynda.com, which is now LinkedIn Learning, has many videos and resources from professionals in their field who can teach you many soft and hard skills. This can range from the basics of photoshop to learning how to program.
Many videos are made specifically for employees to learn unique and advanced skills to make them better assets in the workforce. Lynda.com also has a unique feature that allows you to link whatever video courses you have completed to be featured on your LinkedIn account. Essentially helping you improve your resume and attractiveness to future employers.
If you like my personal recommendation, Learning Study Skills by Paul Nowak and the Fundamentals of Programming by Simon Allardice are exceptionally well done and will do a great job of teaching you something new. You can even download the courses for later viewing. Definitely take advantage of their vast selections.
Free Unlimited Storage with Box
[Value: $15/month]
When it comes to putting your documents, papers, and presentations, I always default to my Google Drive Storage. But you can only get so much out of your 10 GB of storage. UCSB knows this, and they Gaucho back.
As a student, you get the amazing perk of unlimited Box storage. This means all of those photos of your crazy night in IV, that fire mixtape you’re working on, and the video footage you have from your awesome new club, can all be saved on the cloud.
All you have to do now is sign up using your UCSB username and password and you’ll be all set to go!
You’re a UCSB Student so use this free storage!
Update: The new UCSB Gmail account also lets you have unlimited photo and video storage
Free Meal Ticket at the Food Bank, EOP Office, or TSC [Value: $12/ticket]
This one is self-explanatory but UCSB students who qualify can get a free meal ticket from any of the places listed below to use at any of the dining commons on campus. Some places require that you fill out a quick form others go based off an honors system. Go ahead and check them out!
The Food Bank also offers items such as bread, mac and cheese, fruits, along with other quick and hearty foods for free. Students only need to make less than $10,000. Unlike FAFSA, they only consider your income, not your family’s when figuring out if you qualify.
Also they serve out pastries and sweets throughout the day for anyone to enjoy.
Free Meal Ticket Cheat Sheet:
1) Food Bank (2nd Floor of UCen): Offers a Meal Ticket/Quarter
2) EOP Office (2nd Floor SRB): 1-3 tickets/EOP Visit: Max 5 Tickets/Quarter
3) Transfer Student Center(1st Floor of Old Lib/Mountain Side all the way to the end): 1-5 Meal Tickets
Free Media Equipment Rentals
[Value: Around $25/rental varing per item]
Ever felt the urge to start your own podcast or collab with your friends documenting your life at SB, but didn’t have the equipment or know how to do it? Well now you can!
UCSB has their own Media Center located right next to the Career Services and Psychological Services Building (CAPS), aka the pink building, where you can rent out Canon 80D, Go Pros, Røde NTG-2 shotgun mic with windscreen, Sennheiser Headphones, iMacs, 1TB Hard Drives, access to Photoshop, InDesign, and so much more!
And if all of that went over your head like it did for me, they have experts to give you the ins-and-outs to get you going.
The only catch is that you need to call or email in advance because supplies are limited with a 3 day max rental. But still, the creative opportunities are up to your imagination.
Make Your Appointment here:
LOCATION: AS Annex, Building 434, Room 141H
EMAIL: media.center@as.ucsb.edu
CALL: 805.893.5422, or stopping in in person
FACEBOOK LINK: https://www.facebook.com/a.s.mediacenter/
UC InterGym Membership
[Value: $60/Quarter]
I’ma keep this short and sweet. If you are a Student who pays student fees to go use the Rec Cen then you also have the privilege to work out at any of the other gyms across the 9 UC campuses.
UCSB Rec Memberships Page. UCSB Students get to gym at other UC schools.
So if you’re feeling guilty after going HAM at UCLA’s dining commons, you can always hit the gym with your friends to get yourself feeling fit again.
I try and tell myself I could always eat better options but have you tried the bagels or smores at UCLA’s De Neve?? You’re crazy if you think I’m passing that up!
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Honorable Mentions
These are the generally more common things you’ll prolly already know but this page wouldn’t be complete without mentioning these gems. Again, take advantage of them as your student fees help pay for a lot of these. Put the services you, a UCSB student, already paid for to work!
Condoms [Value: $3/small pack]
Single people, “it’s complicated” couples, and everything in-between (lol), these things are everywhere. Get them. Use them. Be safe. Be responsible and follow the motto: “Always put a beanie on the weenie.” And ALWAYS ASK for CONSENT.
Where to Find them:
1) SRB Bathrooms
2) Women’s Center (1st floor SRB) (can also find menstrual products and lube)
3) RCSGD (3rd Floor of SRB): They actually have a TON as well as lube
4) Peer Sex Peers: Usually every floor in the Res Halls is assigned at least one peer who always has access to condoms. Don’t be shy and ask!
5) Student Health
I'll send you an academic planner and more of these awesome articles!
Free Books – AS Annex [Value: ∞]
This is a resource where you can borrow and request books varying from English required readings to select textbooks. Be sure to check out their site or even visit the actual store located across Stroke Plaza.
To request books you may need, hit this email up with your requests or use the links available on the site:
Email: sirrcbookbank@gmail.com
Site Link: https://sites.google.com/view/sirrcbookbank/home?authuser=0
Counseling and Psychological Services)
[Value: Priceless]
Mental Health is very important! College (and life) can and will challenge you in ways where your friends and maybe even your family might not know all the right things to say. UCSB offers free psychological counseling from many great psychologists and counselors. They even got Couple’s Counseling.
As a UCSB Student you get access to free counseling and psychological services
If you, like me, have had bad relationships with social workers or psychologists in the past, I encourage you to give it a second chance.
Sometimes it does take a caring professional to help guide you through that rough patch. I recommend Jessica Cooper. She’s incredible and really helped improve my attitude and perspective during some of the toughest moments in my life.
I know it’d be like that sometimes but reach out when you need support. CAPS definitely helped improve my life for the better.
CAPS Location: Counseling & Psychological Services, Building 599
Phone: 805.893.4411.
Also check out these other resources or share with others:
Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1.800.273.TALK (8255)
UCSB After-Hours Phone Counseling: 805.893.4411
Student Health Social Work Services: 805.893.3087
Career Services [Value: ?]
Resume edits, cover letter advice, and networking events. Plenty to take advantage of. My favorite is the 1 free professional critiqued interview per quarter.
I applied to 1 job before I did this and didn’t get it. However, the critiques I got from my mock interview really helped me gauge what I needed to improve on. I then applied to be an RA on 3 separate occasions, as well as a clinical research position and got hired each time. So use your resources!
Legal Counseling [Value: idk a lot?]
Parking ticket, seat belt ticket (lol me), housing contracts, anything, you name it and the AS Legal Resource Center has your back! You can go to them for anything and they are so nice.
A Professional helped me with my Trial by Declaration after being accused of not wearing my seatbelt when I got pulled over (I was in the backseat and my coat had covered it rip).
Not only did she give me some great legal advice but also helped edit my statement and I won the court case!
Printing [Value: $.05/page]
Every student gets 200 free prints every quarter (black and white) at HSSB, Phelps, Psych, and the Music Building. As well as 50 free prints + 10 color prints at AS Pardall Center and 20 in Kerr Hall in the ONDAS Center.
Library Resources
[Value: ∞/ Subscriptions]
Being a student means you have unlimited access to almost any publication. You get a school account, you get a library proxy access.
Go to the website, login, and then use the articles & database search. If you search through the website, you get access to virtually every paper. I know it’s not 100% access to everything, but while using that I was never once stopped.
The lib also has almost every course book on reserve with the option to scan them to pdfs for free. Saves time and money.
Free Movies [Value: $8/Movie]
Free movies every Tuesday in IV Theatre courtesy of AS. Take Advantage. Go with your friends. Ask someone out. You already know how it goes.
Free Bus Pass [Value: $120/Quarter]
Get a free bus pass at the AS Ticket Office or Registrar’s Office. They recently updated it so as long as you have an ACCESS CARD you can use it as a bus pass. No bus sticker required!
Free Tutoring and Academic Skills Help (CLAS)[Value: $110]
Get Free tutoring. And if you are trash at studying and time management, get that too.
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Outside UCSB Student Discounts
Perks you get for being a student anywhere.
Free JetBrains Account [Value: $200/year]
If you are a CS major or plan to work with programs such as Python to C++ then JetBrains gives you a free account every year you’re a student. Jetbrains gives you cool IDES, Visual Studios, and other framework support tools.
Unfortunately, everything I just said flew over my head but if you know what I’m talking about, help yourself!
Amazon Student Account [Value: $50/year]
You probably have seen this one EVERYWHERE. So why not try their 6 month free trial. Comes with one day shipping, Amazon Music, Video, Free Books, deals and more! After that, it’s $50 every year with your student account.
Overall, this should be an exhaustive list but if you all know of any other savings please leave a comment and I’ll be sure to spread the word.
Best,
Chris L.
Chris Landeros
My name is Christopher Landeros but you can call me Chris. I started this website after struggling to find relatable and relevant info for first-gen college students. I kept learning the ropes and was wondering why there wasn't a resource to show you how to practically navigate college. So here I am, creating the most in-depth content for College Lighthouse.I'll send you an academic planner and more of these awesome articles!