Differences among the UCs

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - GENERAL
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<p>This a general thread to discuss the differences among the different UC campuses. I would hope this discussion could fall into three main categories.</p>

<p>1) Academics. What are the strengths and weaknesses in the schools? Do they differer in teaching styles? What about GE requirements? Overall, what kind of student would thrive in which UC?
2) Setting/architecture. How does the location and architecture influence the general feel of the campus? Are there specific areas that are hubs of campus? What relationship does the campus have with the city it is located in?
3) Student life. What clubs and activities are popular? Are sports prevalent? What sort of social life exists on campus?</p>

<p>These sorts of questions can serve as jumping off points. Feel free to answer all or none of them. I’d prefer if you only post about the UC campuses you are familiar with (i.e. you are a current or former student, you work on a UC campus, you are a parent of a child attending a UC campus, you live near a UC campus, ect.)</p>

<p>Finally, here’s a list of the 10 UC schools:
UC Berkeley
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC Los Angeles
UC Merced
UC Riverside
UC San Diego
UC San Francisco (Graduate only)
UC Santa Barbara
UC Santa Cruz</p>

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<p>There’s literally as many differences between all of the campus as you’d find if you compared like 10 universities at random. There’s probably less difference between Berkeley and UCLA, or Berkeley and Stanford, than there is between Berkeley and UC Merced, even though both are part of the same system.</p>

<p>But here are some observations:</p>

<p>UCLA and Berkeley have the most competitive/pre-professional/academically oriented students of the bunch. They both have a ton of pre-med/pre-law applicants, although i think Berkeley students are slightly more oriented towards academia. Both have high endowments and vast prestige. Sports are also fairly big for both schools.</p>

<p>A slight notch below them is UCSD which also has very competitive students, although perhaps more oriented towards pre-med. It has a significantly smaller endowment, and less prestige than the other two. This makes it, among other things, vulnerable to budget cuts which affect things like its ability to retain top faculty. It also has a reputation of being not very social.</p>

<p>UCSD’s peer (or very slightly below it) is UC Davis which has a higher endowment, and completely engulfs the town its located in. It’s the largest UC in terms of acres, and even has its own airport. From what i hear, it’s a great college town, but don’t know much more about it.</p>

<p>UCSB has part of its campus located on the beach and is perhaps the most social/party oriented of the UCs. If Penn is ‘the social Ivy’ then perhaps UCSB is ‘the social UC.’ It also has a world-class (theoretical?) physics institute.</p>

<p>UCSF, UCI, UCR, UCSC, and UCM i don’t really know that much about.</p>

<p>Your other questions are far too general to really answer accurately. A student might be a better fit for Davis if he prefers a college town, and a better fit for UCLA if he prefers the big city experience.</p>

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<p>An excellent synopsis by beyphy. </p>

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I agree. CC is best used for asking questions AFTER someone has taken the effort of doing some research on his/her own. </p>

<p>The first step would be to read summaries of the UCs in relevant books…the Fiske Guide and Insider’s Guide to the Colleges are the best. Many public libraries have copies.</p>

<p>[Fiske</a> Guide to Colleges 2013: Edward Fiske](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Fiske-Guide-Colleges-2013-29E/dp/1402209630/ref=pd_sim_b_1]Fiske”>http://www.amazon.com/Fiske-Guide-Colleges-2013-29E/dp/1402209630/ref=pd_sim_b_1)</p>

<p>[The</a> Insider’s Guide to the Colleges, 2013: Students on Campus Tell You What You Really Want to Know, 39th Edition](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/The-Insiders-Guide-Colleges-2013/dp/0312672969]The”>http://www.amazon.com/The-Insiders-Guide-Colleges-2013/dp/0312672969)</p>

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<p>Berkeley: Flagship campus, best academically, top programs in pretty much everything. Pac-12 sports. Bay Area. Public transportation facilitates getting around without a car. Some town and gown issues…park-like campus in a grittier urban environment. Football played on campus. Semester system. University of Competitive Bastards.</p>

<p>Davis: Berkeley’s farm school. Outstanding ag science and veterinary programs. Cool college town. Football. Bikes mostly used to get around. Quarter system. University of Cow Dung.</p>

<p>UCSF: Berkeley’s medical campus. One of the top medical schools in the country.</p>

<p>UCLA: Berkeley’s Southern Branch. Pac-12 sports. Film school. Glamour and crowds of the Westside. Football played off-site. Good medical school. Quarter system. University of California Loaded with Athletes.</p>

<p>UCSD: Bioscience strength. Beautiful location. Residential colleges kinda confusing. Lack of major sports. Kinda boring socially. More of a commuter campus…kids go home to OC and San Diego on weekends. University of California Socially Dead. Quarter system.</p>

<p>UCSB: Great physics and chemical engineering programs. College of Creative Studies is a unique opportunity. No major sports. Beautiful location. Big party scene. University of Casual Sex and Beer. Quarter System.</p>

<p>UC Merced: Semester system. Just got its start. Isolated location. UCMerdead.</p>

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<p>All of the UCs with undergraduate study are on the quarter system except Berkeley and Merced.</p>

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<p>I have done a lot of research and do have my own opinions about the UCs. This thread isn’t for my personal knowledge. Instead, it’s a general knowledge type thread for people to discuss their own opinions and perceptions. I intentionally left my questions open ended. I could recite various statistics and data, popular majors, etc., I’ve spent over seven weeks on UCSD’s campus full time as an example. I wanted this thread to be about the intangible things that can’t be researched, the “feel” of the campuses.</p>

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<p>@UCBChemEGrad</p>

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<p>Being a commuter campus and having some kids go home for the weekend are two completely different things. And trust me, UCSD is not a commuter campus.</p>

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<p>@$KingsElite$, I tend to agree with you about that observation. I’ve heard the commuter campus comment more than once, but in my own personal experience that doesn’t strike me as true. Many students (especially freshman and sophomores) live in the dorms, and for those who don’t they live in the nearby condo complexes or maybe as far as PB (a 10 minute drive). Very few live with parents, as a percentage of the population. I’ve also heard “socially dead” more than once, but if you’ve ever gone to the sun god festival that perception may change. There aren’t wild raging parties every night because there isn’t a frat/sorority row (banned by the city of La Jolla). But there’s plenty of places to party and socialize if one chooses to do so, and easy transportation to said party hubs (in PB or downtown, mostly). The socialization on campus is less about wild keg parties and more about small groups meeting in dorms to hang out.</p>

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<p>I think it’s worthy of noting that while Davis does have a reputation as a cow town, the cows are only really in certain areas of campus (by the Tercero dorms, if you’re considering going here). I personally like visiting the cows between classes if I’m in that area, but that’s me.</p>

<p>Also, I’ve heard UCD referred to as Under Construction Daily by many students :P</p>

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<p>I have opinions on the others UC too but am mostly familiar with UCI and UCLA. </p>

<p>UC Irvine:
Went here for two years. The University of Chinese and Indians as it is known…I can’t say that isn’t true. Consequently, classes are tough, but its easy to get an A with all the slackers padding the curve for you. UCI has some amazing, inspiring professors in Chemistry (but NOT the labs), Math, and Writing; and some not so amazing professors in Biology and other areas. The tutoring services (especially the free ones) offered are also top notch. It is a good school for someone who wants to go to medical, pharmacy, or dental school. They offer a lot of resources for those who are pre-health. It is really not known for anything outside the sciences. </p>

<p>The campus is very green and is famous for having a park in its center. The architecture is uninspired, concrete, ugly, and sometimes flat out depressing. Some of the corporate buildings in Irvine are more impressive. It is also very detached from the city of Irvine itself. The campus is isolated by stretches of undeveloped grasslands. As a result, there’s nothing to do within a 1 mile radius of the campus given that you don’t have a car. But it’s definitely possible to find someone with a car, as most of the people you will meet will have brought their Mercedes and BMW’s with them. You can also walk over the bridge to the Town Center for some overpriced food I suppose. They have a movie theater too. Or head over to Lee’s Sandwiches for the awesome iced coffee and smelly sandwiches (please refrain from eating them in the library though. That is the worst).</p>

<p>Clubs don’t really have much of a presence on this campus…except when they’re out en masse hawking $2 boba or $5 Korean BBQ. Basically, you apply to leadership positions for something to put on your grad/professional school applications. Passion not required (although boba/faux-KBBQ marketing skills are). Sports? Social activities? Ummm…nah. Good luck locating signs of human life on weekends. There’s always somewhere to study though. The science library may be shaped like a vagina but it really is the best: endless sea tables WITH OUTLETS (<== IMPORTANT!). Food here is the worst. You can get better food at McDonalds than what they serve in the dorms, except at Brandywine Commons (which is still not worth the ridiculously expensive, MANDATORY, dining plan). </p>

<p>UCLA:
The only “other” UC people have heard of outside of California. It is also known as every Asian mother/father/aunt/uncle/grandpa/grandma/cousin’s dream school. Professors are a mixed bag…some are great, the best of the best; maybe even world renown in their field. Others, it seems, only stay in academia because they find enjoyment in making other people miserable. The level of competition is lightyears above what can be found at UCI. Going here may leave you questioning how in the world you got accepted in the first place? </p>

<p>The architecture here really is stunning. You may have seen photos of the place but up close, it’s much more magnificent. If you’ve never been, that first glimpse of the school is breathtaking. The school just oozes history and prestige. You feel like you’re actually in college the way you’ve always heard it to be like…not like you are in a concrete prison full of clones. It’s no wonder it has been used in film so many times as a phony Harvard. And it never gets old. But then you actually go inside the buildings…yeah. All the history definitely shows…in a different sense. The interiors are definitely somewhat rundown in certain buildings. The campus is also located in the best part of Los Angeles. You also get to experience a little bit of LA in the way it is depicted in Hollywood. Movie premieres and filming happen here all the time. Feel free to walk around the neighborhood and gawk at those multimillion dollar homes. The options are endless (but definitely pricy) when it comes to food. Westwood may not be a “true” college town in the sense that Davis is, but it definitely is lively and geared towards the college crowd. Enjoy it while it lasts, cause chances are, you will never be able to afford to live in a place like this again. </p>

<p>Whereas UCI’s clubs were mostly passionless, UCLA’s are made up of rabid fanatics. Seriously, they will put a pamphlet in your hand if it is the last thing they do. They will interrupt your lectures if necessary…it doesn’t matter how intensely the professor glares at them THEY WILL SELL THEIR DONUTS. And cupcakes. There are also very few places to study especially during exam season. Even on normal days, you should feel very privileged if you are able to sit your butt on a chair in Powell Library. On campus food is surprisingly good, especially at the Bomb Shelter. Unlike UCI, this school has a believable Greek Life. I’m not quite sure if that is a plus or a minus…As for sports, there’s not really much that needs to be said here. It’s common knowledge (but kind of annoying at times).</p>

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<p>How do people outside of southern California see UCSD? Outside of California?</p>

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<p>^At least from where I’m from (moved around the SF bay area), it’s pretty close to UCD as far as academic reputation. It does have a reputation as being socially dead though, as someone mentioned earlier in the thread.</p>

<p>Edit: “Pretty close” meaning the same or slightly better, depending on who you ask.</p>

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<p>^yeah that’s what I thought. </p>

<p>Anyone else outside of socal have opinions about UCSD?</p>

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<p>Here’s some snippets of what I’ve said about UCSD in other posts:</p>

<p>"I just revoked my SIR to UCD and sent one in to UCSD</p>

<p>In terms of easiness, overall I think UCSD is more competitive. It really doesn’t matter about “rankings” but the competitiveness could make things more difficult. So UCD should be a lot easier. But sometimes competition is good and keeps you on your toes, and it makes you work harder for what you want instead of slack off and get easy grades because the curves are set low. Ultimately, if your end goal is Law School, competition will be healthy. Because “aint nobody gonna work together to get into Law School.” It’s you vs. all of the other applicants. And if you can take them out by being a better applicant the better. This isn’t community college anymore hahaha.</p>

<p>I really liked Davis! One of my friends did communications at Davis with a 4.0gpa! She loved it there, sadly she is a Walmart Clerk and is still trying to study for her LSATS because her scores were not competitive enough. (There goes that word again hahaha)</p>

<p>Wherever you go you do it for you. Not for your family or anyone else because it’s your happiness that counts. You’re going to be the one going to Law school, and studying hard to get in and then passing to get that JD degree and license. If it’s a social environment you want it’s gonna be Davis. UCSD is a place where you have to be ACTIVE and into the scene, (which imo is a good thing not everything is gonna be handed to you on a silver platter). That’s probably why it’s ranked up there, because students actually take the initiative to be proactive! (Idk, I’m transferring this fall so i couldn’t give you first hand experience) All I know is that college is what you make it to be.</p>

<p>Again, a little competition never hurt anybody. UCSD NEEDS people to bring more diversity and more social welfare to their campus. I’m from a really diverse community in Oakland, CA and went to an even more diverse community college. I chose UCSD because I feel that as an older URM transfer student I can bring such diversity and mentoring to the campus. </p>

<p>Don’t be intimidated by their rumors of social isolation. TIMES ARE CHANGING.
I visited the campus last weekend and ran into a WHOLE bunch of friendly people who gave me directions and answered a lot of questions I had to inquire about the campus! </p>

<p>-Remember if you’re gearing toward a professional degree It’s you vs. all of the other applicants. Which in the end is COMPETITION. You can’t avoid it, so why not get used to it and be on top of it if it exists? “And if you can take them out by being a better applicant the better. This isn’t community college anymore.” (from my previous post)</p>

<p>I’m just saying, don’t discredit UCSD. If you think UCSD is bad, you should hear about Cal. I attended Cal for 1 semester and was overwhelmed with the atmosphere. That place was for real “cut-throat and competitive.” I was younger, working full-time and was not prepared for that thus flunked out. But now as an older student, I understand why these universities are very prestigious. They are geared to hard working students, some may be gunners, and others are the ones that learn to be sociable and adapt to any environment. (IMO, the real “competition,” but in humble form) If you can adapt, give back, and help contribute to both your university and fellow students then you deserve to work in the real world and go farther places</p>

<p>Now in regards to rent, I am from the Bay Area where my rent is $1500 a month and I do know that Davis is so much cheaper and has a really good public transportation system. To me, Davis is still in the middle of nowhere. If “everything” is on campus then why do people still point out the Bay Area or Sacramento/Tahoe which is a farther commute to “visit.” San Diego has soo much to do OFF of campus, it’s ridiculous! So stretching out to live 15-20minutes from UCSD is not that bad. So far from calculating my time on a weekday last week from Hillcrest to La Jolla, it shouldn’t be too bad. On average it’s about a 15-minute drive. Pretttyy close. I don’t think traffic gets too bad. Although I wish I could give you a more confident answer (as I am not from San Diego, but maybe auntbea can elaborate).
On google maps it says you can just take the 5 to get there, and from what I remember in the morning the 5 was worse going northbound than southbound.
But I can’t remember if the northbound traffic gets back before or after Hillcrest…hmmm</p>

<p>Like I said before, I loved Davis and their fun atmosphere. One of my goals is to help underrepresented communities (not just economically underrepresented but socially also). IF UCSD needs diverse students that will break barriers and unify colleges than I will do that. But seriously, from my experience visiting their campus–I knew that it would be a place for me, even if it was just for 2 years. </p>

<p>I mean, I SERIOUSLY was going to go to UCD. I attended their transfer admittance day, was invited to a multicultural welcoming party, and even talked to other students from my major and made connections. I had SIR’ed and was on my way to attending UCD, up until my Half-Marathon run in SD last weekend where I finally was able to visit UCSD and talk to students and see first-hand the campus. There are SO MANY research, work, clinical opportunities for “socially outgoing” people! Again, times are changing–UCSD is changing and I say this not even being a student yet."</p>

<p>ahaha man that was long!</p>

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<p>Haha yeah that was long–long but insightful. </p>

<p>Thanks for sharing your opinions, and not some general CC consensus that I could’ve just looked up…Just what I was looking for.</p>

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<p>@WordofTeekz</p>

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<p>This doesn’t make sense. Davis is in the middle of nowhere because it’s 15-20 minutes from Sacramento but UCSD is close to everything in a short 15-20 minute drive?</p>

<p>And I also don’t think UCSD is that competitive. The average UCSD student goes to their classes for the first 2 weeks and then sporadically attends them for the last 8. They never do homework if it’s not assigned, they study for their midterms the day before, and their finals two days before and never study in between. It just doesn’t feel very competitive but maybe that’s just me.</p>

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<p>Someone’s a little cocky.</p>

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<p>And La Jolla isn’t…?</p>

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<p>No, you won’t.</p>

<p>I know you’re trying desperately to validate your decision to turn down UC Davis, but please stop. You’re embarrassing yourself.</p>

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<p>Hey @JeSuis I’m just stating my opinions and how I chose UCSD over UCD no need to be so hostile! I’m sure OP/others interested can find many great threads about how awesome Davis and and many threads on how “socially dead” UCSD is! But I’m trying to go against the norm and show why I chose UCSD over Davis and leave out stuff like rankings and show that rumors of competitiveness shouldn’t discourage anyone! If you’re accepted to a University of California/State University you’re already an exceptional person. =)</p>

<p>I’ve from the Bay Area and am very excited about going to a new city with a completely different environment, so I am a little biased towards UCSD. But like I mentioned in my previous post,</p>

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<p>Davis has such a great reputation, I understand. A lot of my fellow transfer students and my high school graduating class (oh so long ago) attended Davis and loved it! There’s really nothing wrong with UC Davis (except for the location, in my case) </p>

<p>@$KingsElite$ I’m going to generalize this personal opinion, but people who live close to San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, even San Jose don’t really fancy Sacramento. It’s a “Bay Area” opinion that “Sac is Wack” (very cheap housing! but hot weather and no real water surrounding it) But I’m sure those who attend Davis who’re younger will find plenty of things to do as it is a college campus. They will probably find a nice “college experience” in Sacramento also. My statement is as an older student that is not very much interested in the “college” life (ie. greek life, etc). I’m also a bartender so I’m around alcohol, partying, clubbing, bars and what not often so I’m also not interested in any of that. </p>

<p>In regards to La Jolla, it has the beaches! Again, my opinion again stating that awesome weather with beautiful water and sand is totally something to appreciate. I visit Thailand and the state of Hawai’i often and am obsessed with living by the water. I love it and to me that’s completely the type of isolated tranquil place I can stay in!</p>

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<p>You say after bashing UC Davis for being too easy… Your “opinion” is wrong and misguided.</p>

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<p>Yeah, no one at UC Davis has ever worked for their grades. We all just slack off and get 4.0’s.</p>

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<p>Did you seriously just compare UC Davis to a community college…? That’s funny considering I know someone who transfered out of UCSD to a community college because she hated it so much. I guess I should make sweeping generalizations about Junior College being more fun than UCSD. Or I could use my critical thinking skills and realize how stupid that would be (something an “older student” like yourself would hopefully have learned to do by now.)</p>

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<p>Ranked up where? 0 spots above UC Davis? Or are you going by Washington Monthly? ;)</p>

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<p>In terms of the administrative stuff like signing up for classes, etc. the UC’s are probably all pretty similar. The subject of the actual classes that you take would probably be pretty similar too. The difference lies in the level of competition among the students when it comes to grading, and I’d wager that it’s harder at UCB and UCLA, followed by UCSD/UCI/UCD/UCSB, and then UCSC/UCR/UCM. I’m headed into my 4th year at UCI, so I can only really talk about Irvine but the previous poster who spoke about Irvine is right when he says we have a LOT of Asian students here. Like seriously, more than 50% of the student body here is Asian I think. He/she is also right about how you will probably need access to a car if you want to enjoy anything around the Irvine area. But the stuff around here is pretty nice, Disneyland is very close and there are a lot of nice beaches around Orange County. I disagree with the claim that our campus is ugly, I think our campus is really nice and the architecture seems really cool to me, it’s like brutalist/postmodern stuff. The whole school is also arranged in a giant circle, which makes it easy to navigate and it’s pretty bike friendly.</p>