EF Reviews 23,653

Santa Barbara is the absolute best I love it here

So Great ! Love my experience

I've been to the campus twice now and it is a quaint,cozy campus. The staff is friendly and engaging. It was a very, very nice experience.

The staff and location are great

It's Hawaii! 😍 a beautiful place to learn English. You have mountains and the beach so close.
You meet a lot of new people, making new friends. Everyone is nice!
The location of the residence is very good, but the rooms could be better/newer/cleaner.

All in all i had a great experience :)

​I am beyond disappointed with my EF Santa Barbara experience. As a student over 40, I was incredibly clear about my needs, yet I was completely misled by the sales team.

​1. Blatant Misinformation on Demographics

I was informed that the "Senior" program had been canceled, but despite expressing my deep concerns about sharing spaces with young students, the sales team pushed me toward this location anyway. They should have professionally reoriented me toward a school with a more mature demographic. Instead, the school was dominated by very young, loud students, which was the exact environment I tried to avoid.

​2. Financial Exploitation & Housing Lies

I specifically paid extra for a "twin" room just so I could have my own single bedroom and avoid the chaos of a shared room. Even then, the sales team lied about the density:

​The Promise: A 2-bedroom unit with max 4 people. ​The Reality: Units were crammed with up to 9 people. ​The residence was old, dirty, and looked nothing like the photos I was shown before booking. Because it was essentially a "party house" for teenagers, there was noise every night, making it impossible for an adult to rest or study.

​3. Disruptive Learning Environment

The lack of rules extended to the classroom. My English classes were constantly interrupted by younger students who were disrespectful and disruptive. The teachers were forced to act as "babysitters" rather than educators, which is unacceptable for a paid professional course.

​Conclusion:

EF took my money for a premium "single room" experience while knowing full well the environment was entirely inappropriate for my age group. They value sales over student experience. If you are an adult learner, stay away—this is a poorly managed youth camp, not a professional language school.

I am still waiting for a formal response from management regarding these discrepancies.

It was a great experience. All the teachers were always friendly, interested, and sweet. Everything was well organized and the atmosphere was nice. It is very nice to learn a language in the country itself and the lessons are of good quality. I would recommend it to everyone.

Really loved the experience cause it helps not only learn a new language but also a culture, the city, meet new people and really got along well with all members of staff as well as the students from all over the world! They are a family to me now. <3

Always nice vibes in the school, and the staff is nice!!

The people and the staff made the expirence here wonderful and inolvidable. Ellos SIEMPRE incluyen TODOS y son muy amables y divertidos. ¡Hacen todo bien!

Learning the language in such a beautiful place is amazing. Had a lot of fun with the staff and other people staying here. The activities are organised well and the classes are interactive and you learn the language very good.

Had a lot of fun with the people and the staff here. Learned spanish in a fun and interesting way. Especially Nico and Moni were a lot of fun even outside of school

Is an amazing way to learn a language, had a lot of fun and the staff is great

Everything has been amazing. The school is incredible, the residence is great, and I truly couldn’t be happier with this experience. I especially want to thank the EF staff because they are absolutely amazing. The teachers are excellent, they help us so much, always guide us, encourage us, and make learning enjoyable and motivating every day. The activities staff are also fantastic. They are so fun, energetic, friendly, funny, caring, supportive, and they always make sure everyone is included and having the best possible time. They are constantly helping us, organizing great activities, and creating such a positive atmosphere. Overall, this experience has been unforgettable, and I’m so grateful to everyone who makes it so special every single day. Thank you so much, EF! You are all amazing!

The classes, teachers and activities are all great. Really enjoying it <3

One of the best experiences in my life.
Had a great time and gained soooo many new friendships. Even the stuff was like friends to us and I felt rlly welcome.
Classes are so much fun and the teachers rlly try to adapt to each student individually and to support them ❣️

The EF staff was great and i always felt that I had someone to help me if i needed something. I made a great group of friends and the residence was prefect