Davis or Santa Barbara for UC admissions? Political science major

Today is the last day to sign up for the transfer admissions guarantee, and I have to decide between these two schools. Help!

Our daughter attended Davis. Many of her friends were poli sci majors. A number of her friends had internships at the State Capitol in Sacramento. It’s a 20 minute drive.
I don’t know how you’re going to direct your political science major into a career, but the program at Davis is popular because it is so close to Sacramento and state legislative offices.

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Good Luck!!

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I agree with @aunt_bea that UCD is a great option due campus proximity to the state capital. What is your goal as a PS major? Law school? UCD also has a Law school and UCSB does not.

Since TAG is a guaranteed admission, select the school you would attend no matter what regardless of your application outcomes. Best of luck.

Yeah! There’s a shuttle that provides direct transportation between Davis and Sacramento, too! And unlike Santa Barbara, which only gives priority consideration for housing for one year to transfer students, Davis guarantees housing for two years to the first 1,000 transfer students.

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I do plan on attending law school. But I would also like to work in politics from a support aspect.

You need to select the campus which best fits your career goals and interests. No bad choice either way.

UCD’s 2021 PS UC GPA admit range was 3.53-3.91 while UCSB’s admit UC GPA range was 3.57-3.91 so similar. Where do you stand in UC Transfer GPA in comparison?

I have a 3.9 overall gpa. I’m unsure of what my major gpa is, but I got A’s in Intro to Poly Sci, Stats, and World History, and got an A- in Comparative Government. International Relations is in progress, and Political Theory is planned for Winter Quarter.

Annie Duke, one of the winningest pro poker players, wrote a book titled “How to Decide” as a follow-on to her book “Thinking in Bets”. In the former book there is one section that has stuck with me

You might get accepted to two colleges at the top of your list or find two amazing homes on your house hunt or get two different dream-job offers. Then you agonize over which option to choose, trying to distinguish the small differences between two or more great choices. You find yourself endlessly researching each option, coming up with additional criteria, asking for more and more people’s opinions, wavering back and forth trying to figure out which is the “right” choice.

So, here’s a weird little thought experiment: What if, instead of choosing between Paris and Rome, you were choosing between a vacation in Paris and a vacation at a trout cannery? Would you have trouble or experience any anxiety making that choice?

I’m assuming the answer is no.

When a decision is hard, that means it’s easy. The very thing that slows you down-having multiple options that are very close in quality is actually a signal that you can go fast, because this tells you that whichever option you choose, you can’t possibly be that wrong, since both options have similar upside and downside potential.

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The data I listed is overall UC transfer GPA not major GPA and you are at the top GPA range listed so your chances are similar for either campus without TAG. There seems to be no bad choice for either TAG or applying without TAG.

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That’s a good point! Lol, I can always apply to the other without TAG!

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I checked on Parchment just for fun. At least I know it’s an evenly split decision, :rofl:. 51% of students choose UCD and 49% choose UCSB.

Both schools have great biking communities. The town of Davis is bike-preferential. The town has a train that you can hear from the nearby community. It will take you to either Sac or towards SF.
SB has the beach vibe thing going on. Less rain than Davis.

Just an FYI: Davis has buildings and scholarships, donated by the Napa winery community, like the Mondavi Center for the Arts, Busch Brewery, etc. The put in a lot of money for student activities and freebies.

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