Hopefully it’s okay for me to start this thread! I didn’t see any similar threads with a UC Davis search.
I’m still in the process of deciding which college I want to attend, while waiting for the final admissions to release but I am leaning towards UC Davis.
I’m curious about the different freshman dorms or really any advice or insight you can provide me about attending the college. Are there certain dorms that you recommend or are they all nice? Do we even get a choice? Also, what about meal plans - is the cafeteria food good? I’m sure you can imagine I have lots of questions and I’d really appreciate any advice about freshman life at UC Davis!
The housing website explains the type of Freshman housing available and locations. Segundo and Tecerero are located on campus while Curarto is catty corner off the Northwest side of campus but within walking distance.
If the housing app is the same as the last few years, you can select 1) Area such as Cuarto, Segundo or Tecero 2) single/double/triple/quad and 3) Learning communities.
You cannot select specific dorm buildings.
Tercero:
Newest dorms. It’s closer to most classes, and located closer to the center of campus.
However, it is the most popular choice and housing is not guaranteed. Each area has their own Dining Hall (DC).
There are actually gender-neutral bathrooms in addition to the single-gender bathrooms at some buildings.
Segundo:
Segundo is closer to the edge of campus, right across from the Rite Aid and a small outlet with various food options. It is also very close to the ARC making it so there is no excuse for not working out. It’s a bit farther to most classes with the exception of the lab building. The Segundo DC is the largest of the three.
Cuarto:
The rooms are like apartments (no kitchen) but suite style. There are mainly doubles but some triple rooms and quad rooms. Usually 2 shared bathrooms and a small living room area with couch and side tables. Webster hall has a pool/hot tub and a small rec area. The DC is the smallest but many Vegan options.
Depending upon what you like to get, the DC’s have a variety of food and should be able to find something to your liking. Since UCD is an agricultural area, farm to fork and seasonal foods are prepared. There are other dining areas on campus along with some food trucks.
You can choose which dorm you want as well as who you want to live with. If you find a roommate (on the Class of 2023 UCD Facebook page) both of you must submit the exact same options for all of your choices in order to be matched as roommates. They don’t guarantee you your first choice of dorms so make sure you list a second and third choice as well. For example, choice 1: Tercero, double, co-ed, no LLC 2. Tercero, triple, co-ed, no LLC 3. Segundo double, co-ed, no LLC. There are limited doubles and limited space in the halls that are not co-ed. If you don’t care, you are more likely to get your choice of dorms if you choose a triple on a co-ed floor.
I’ve been sharing this account with my son (which I didn’t realize was against the rules ?) so now I am just writing as myself asking questions on his behalf.
My son is our oldest so we’re new to this! He’s trying to decide whether he wants to go on Facebook and see if he can find a roommate or just leave it up to fate. Any feedback on this? Thanks!
A lot of kids go with what they call “random” assignments or leaving it to fate. It is pretty tough to find three people that want to live together. Often two people connect and then have a random third assigned to their room. My personal opinion is for him to join the FB group and see what other kids post. He might not find two people that he connects with and that is okay. But he might meet people in his major or might read the profile of someone who ends up living in his hall, etc. Orientation is another time when new friendships are created. Davis is an extremely friendly school.
My son met his first year roommate during Freshman orientation in July and they decided to room together. Unfortunately his roommate dropped out after Winter quarter and was not given a roommate for the rest of the year. 2nd year he decided to stay with the on-campus housing and was given random roommates for Cuarto so 5 total and ended up sharing an off campus apartment with 2 of these roommates for 3rd and 4th year.
If he is able to find what he thinks would be a compatible roommate(s) through Facebook then he should give it a try. The housing application is pretty generic so it can be hit or miss. I believe they give you until Mid-August to select a specific roommate so depending upon when he signs up for Freshman orientation, he may be able check some of the Facebook prospects out before committing.
@lkg4answers@Gumbymom Thank you, again! He’s definitely leaning towards Davis but still hasn’t fully committed. If and when he does, he plans on joining the Facebook group and seeing if finds someone that he “clicks” with but he won’t force it. Still waiting to hear back from Irvine and Berkeley (which is a reach school) in California and University of Colorado. Exciting time for sure!
My Aggie daughter felt awkward rooming with someone she just met on the FB group (because how can you really tell about someone online?), so she went into the lottery. Ended up with someone with a like mindset, and they got along great! They were in a Tercero double, which was very spacious because I think they were all designed to eventually be triples.
My kid went with random (or blind) assignments at Cal last year and it worked out ok. They didn’t become BFFs, but they got along and I was surprised that my kid’s insomnia issues never was an issue (I don’t think). He had many of his high school classmates in the same dorm actually, but he said that he didn’t want to deal with a friend as a roommate in case he had to complain.
