<p>Hello! I recently sign a TAG (Transfer admission guarantee) agreement with Davis last month. I’m seriously considering going there next year. I’m just curious to know if a bike is really necessary to get around campus? How about parking? I’m from southern California so i would like to bring my car. Is parking a real issue on campus? What about the surrounding areas?</p>
<p>Yes, I cannot imagine NOT owning a biking here. I live directly across the street from campus ground, and even I still own a bike. The campus is just so massive to get from one part of campus to the other part. Sometimes you have only a 10 minute window where one class ends, and another starts. Also, during the evenings and nites, I wouldn't be caught walking miles everyday in this cold weather. It has already started getting cold. When you choose to study at the library til 10pm or midnite, and it's dark and no one outside, it would suck to have to walk home. </p>
<p>As far as parking spaces, there are very few of them because it's not a popular mode of transportation here. Not only that, they are all really far from the classroom buildings. Nearly everyone either bikes or takes the school bus. A few who lives in the dorms do walk. Mostly out of towners (non-Davis residents) drives to school. Because once you park in one of the parking garages, it could be a 1/4 - 1/3 mile walk to your classes. </p>
<p>Many students leave their bikes permanently on campus while taking the bus to school. Once they get to school, they bike around. Because this campus is so spread out and massive. If you like to walk alot, I guess you can drive to school haha. Because even if you drive to school and have no bike to get around on campus, you will be walking ALOT.</p>
<p>I would bring your car to get around town and to get to other places such as Sacramento, but I would also highly recommend getting a bike too because a car does you absolutely no good when you're actually on campus. And it's a BIG campus.</p>
<p>oh...the campus is much bigger than i imagined. Is the school bus free?</p>
<p>buses are free if you show your i.d.</p>
<p>a bike is not essential, but I don't know what I'd do without mine. I ride it everywhere. it especially comes in handy if you're in a hurry. A three minute bike ride definitely beats a 15-20 minute walk.</p>
<p>I don't have a bike. It's a ten minute walk exactly to my classes.</p>
<p>I was there today for a preview day and got lost on campus. I walked for at least 45 minutes and finally saw someone who saw me with my map and helped. (Not that it was an unhelpful group but it took awhile to figure out how lost I was and there were places where I saw NO one....). Anyway after I figured out where I was it took another thirty minutes to get where I wanted to go.</p>
<p>Was preview day today? Now I know why I had the sudden urge to eat inside tonight. I thought I saw people wandering aimlessly while I was getting my mail...</p>
<p>That was me!! Today was "High School Scholars". Tommorow is the regular one.</p>
<p>Did you like the campus? I only checked Davis out after I was accepted.</p>
<p>First, let me be clear; I'm a mom, not a student, but yes I liked the campus. More than liked, though, I was in awe, that I could have lived so near for so long and never appreciated it before. We've been to Davis often, and participated in programs, but apparently only on the periphery. We were less enamored with a science class that seemed to have 500 students, plus several more that sat on the floor and in the hallway.</p>
<p>^ Unfortunately, I think that's pretty standard for intro science classes at most UCs. Or anywhere, for that matter. Even places like MIT and Harvard have overflowing classes. </p>
<p>Cal's the worst, though. I hear the numbers get up so high they overflow into another lecture hall where you get to watch the lecture on a screen. :-/</p>
<p>My Psych class has 350 people and it's been no problem at all. It just depends on the professor.</p>
<p>I say this and ironically the class was overflowing with people today because it was midterms.</p>