Davis or Berkeley

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Davis
1

<p>I have to decide between going to UC Berkeley and UC Davis. I got in the College of Natural Resources (planning on doing Environmental Science major) in Berkeley and Environmental Science & Management in Davis.
Financially, I am getting grants and scholarships that pay for tuition + books + supplies + other fees and all I would have to pay is housing. My mom wants me to commute to Berkeley (I live in Fremont and would take Bart) so we don’t have get loans for housing. I don’t want to commute though.</p>

<p>I want to your opinion about the schools and which is better for the major and which is more fun. Also, if you have any opinion about the commuting part.</p>

<p>thanks</p>

2

<p>they’re both excellent schools. they do have VERY DIFFERENT vibes, however. only you can know for yourself which campus you’ll feel more at home in. visit both, and you’ll know.</p>

<p>i can understand why your mom wants you to commute, since room/board is expensive at both campuses (costs more at cal though). </p>

<p>since you’re from fremont, davis will be the more ‘different’ campus as far as the town itself goes. the town of berkeley may feel too familiar. but hey, u can’t go wrong either way.</p>

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<p>how is Davis different than Fremont? (btw I am going to visit the campus anyway)</p>

4

<p>Davis… hands down. If you want to do well, you should get immersed in college… be able to join study groups easily without worry of schedule… You can’t do that if you do the commute route.</p>

<p>You also want to meet new friends and learn to be independent… living in the dorms the first year will help you with that. Then you move into a condo with other room mates friends you get along with and save another $3k - $4k a year by doing so. </p>

<p>Davis is remote… you don’t have a bunch of vagrants roaming the campus.</p>

<p>And Davis is bike friendly… Bikes are everyone’s mode of transportation. The campus is built with bike trails.</p>

<p>Berkeley is not bike friendly… you can get a ticket of more than $200 if caught riding a bike on campus at Berkeley. So you have to walk everywhere.</p>

<p>Berkeley is a major City… you have a lot of vagrants roaming the campus as the campus is spread across the city. The campus housing is not even on the campus.</p>

<p>And the number one reason to live on campus… to get away from mommy and daddy, so that you can learn to be independent… you can contact them when needed, but they are not so close as to butt into your daily life.</p>

<p>So, what are my credentials to back up my opinion…? I’m a college graduate with my BS, and enjoyed living on campus… even starting up a chapter of a national Greek fraternity on my campus… something that I would not have had the opportunity to do had I commuted to college. </p>

<p>More importantly, I’m a father with a son in college, and another heading off to Davis this Fall in Engineering, and another heading off in two years. I really believe that children will do better and enjoy the college experience best if they live away from mom and dad on campus, starting their first year in the dorms. </p>

<p>BTW, my son also applied to Berkeley, and I made it clear he was not allowed to commute… that he had to live on campus for the afore mentioned reasons. Otherwise, I would just have them go to DVC for the first two years. We live closer to Berkeley than you.</p>

<p>Best of luck in whichever College you decide to attend. :)</p>

5

<p>Oh… and one more thing… you can knock off about $4000 off the UCD college price if your parents already have health insurance for you, and by selecting a less expensive dorm/meal-plan option, and excluding commute and personal expenses (pocket money) allocations.</p>

<p>This means you can attend UC Davis for about $26,000.</p>

6

<p>I know. I’ve told my mom that and I don’t want to commute (i don’t think my dad wants me to either). I don’t know if I can convince her though.</p>

<p>I’ve already looked up all the prices. The cheapest housing at Davis is around $9,900, but it’s still a lot. Like I said above, all my family would need to pay for is housing.</p>

7

<p>Well… better snuggle up with your Dad and get him to take your side. Schools expensive, but it’s certainly worth it. Get together with him and squeeze your Mom… maybe have your Dad make your Mom her favorite cocktail first. * wink *</p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

8

<p>I once had a very similar situation with you. I chose Davis over Berkeley</p>

9

<p>Disclaimer: I am a recent Davis grad, love my time there, and had a lot of support/help from them to get into medical school.</p>

<p>I think honestly, with finances being equal for both schools, Berkeley will be a better choice for you over Davis. In terms of Environmental Science, both schools are excellent, but Berkeley has a slight edge in terms of name recognition and rankings. In the situation where you wish to enter the work force right after college and deciding to forgo graduate school, the Berkeley name will give you that slight edge over Davis. In terms of environmental, it depends on what your preference is. Davis is more of a college town and besides from the bars, there isn’t much entertainment in terms of clubs etc. From my visits to Berkeley, there’s more things going on, better restaurants and such. There’s much more to do owing to the fact that it is close to San Francisco if you wish to venture there in your spare time.</p>

<p>Commuting or live on campus in the end is your choice and should be your choice alone. It’s good to get opinions online about it, but none of us knows about your family situation or dynamics or your personality. Some people love the freedom of living on campus and going to parties and getting drunk while others prefer to sit in there room or library and study. You want to use college as a way to grow up and be independent for the first time. Commuting will be a pain if you have to do it everyday when you eventually see all that time wasted from traveling all the time. </p>

<p>I also want to address some of the things VentureMan said and try to keep the facts clear for you. </p>

<ol>
<li><p>At both schools, you can choose to waive the health insurance fee if your parents already have health insurance for you. It is not only at Davis where you can waive this fee, but at Berkeley as well. Unless they are going to significantly raise the price, health insurance is only $367 a quarter (~$1000 a year). </p></li>
<li><p>Bikes are NOT restricted on Berkeley campus. Only in some certain areas where it is dangerous for bikes to be. But you can ride bikes on campus.</p></li>
<li><p>There are also vagrants on the Davis campus. Maybe not as many as in Berkeley, but there are vagrants. See the daviswiki.org for some of the more “popular” vagrants around.</p></li>
</ol>