For the “cow town” thing, there are cows but they’re only near Tercero. You honestly don’t usually smell them unless you’re both in that area and at least one of the following is true: 1. It’s really hot out 2. it’s really windy or 3. recent rain. Even if one of those is true, the smell is rarely strong enough to be more than a “oh, you can smell them today” kind of thing. And again, that’s in one area of campus. The rest of campus is cow-smell-free.
The point being, you have to decide how you will spend your free time at Davis. You have to reach out and meet people and go to the clubs. Volunteer and you’ll make friends.
GO to Accepted Students Day and get your vibe of the campus.
Be proactive and join the clubs.
Good Luck!
Im in the second quarter of my freshman year here and I am in love with Davis! Its an absolutely beautiful campus with really interesting professors and a lot of school spirit. You have to go into Davis knowing that our sports aren’t super good, and we don’t have many crazy parties, but its what you make of it. Theres a ton of students who go to football and basketball games and we all get really into it. And inter murals are a huge thing here, and so are club sports! In respect to social stuff, I would definitely say rush for a frat/sorority. I joined a sorority my fall quarter and it has given me the chance to go to parties. Outside of greek life, there really aren’t a ton of parties going on so I would recommend doing that if you can. If you are just in it for the social part then you can drop your sorority/frat sophomore or junior year, because then house parties become way more of a thing(when you move out of the dorms) and you will have made more social connections. Also, the bar scene is huge here so when you turn 21 then theres a ton of fun stuff for you to go to! Im an engineering student, so academically it was a little challenging at first, but after a few weeks you adjust and get the hang of it, and like I said the professors are awesome and we have a ton of really interesting classes you can take(beer making, tractor driving, star wars analysis, etc.). It also helps to know someone with a car or join a club that takes weekend trips, just because its nice to go to sf, sac, or tahoe sometimes. Anyway I hope this helps, I would definitely consider UC Davis!
If anyone’s got questions about the Davis community, I’ve lived here for a long while and currently attend high school here, so I can answer those types of questions. :-*
How is the daily living ? What fun things are there to do in Davis or really close ? I’m from the Bay Area so idc about SF or all that. I mean like roller skating , hiking , that type of stuff.
@Eager4acceptance It’s really what you make of it. There are certainly a lot of opportunities here for you to go out and have fun such as the arc where they have an indoor track, a wall climb, various exercising equipment, badminton courts, etc. You could go on a relaxing stroll around the city while taking in the nice scenery on your bike on the weekends if you so wish. Or you and your friends could go on a trip to Tahoe and ski or something. If you don’t like doing all of that and much rather stay in your dorm and game all day, you could do that as well.
There are a plethora of clubs available for you to join, so really, there’s an endless amount of things to do here. What’s truly unique about the school is the college town atmosphere. Both my family and I felt REALLY safe when we drove around the city. We saw a lot of young families riding together on bikes with big genuine smiles on their faces, students and children leisurely walking around and a surprising general lack of traffic. This was the complete polar opposite of our experience when we visited UC Berkeley and ultimately, my parents agreed with my decision to choose this school over UC Berkeley because of their experience and because UC Davis is still regarded as being a good school(Top 4(?)).
Thus far, I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever in choosing this school. The weather is good(except during part of the fall and spring), students here are generally very welcoming and intelligent, the freshman dorms are great(Pick Cuarto btw, best DC food out of the three), off campus housing is cheap and easy to find(Think $350 a month for a double. $600-$800 for a single) and the list goes on and on.
If you haven’t already, PLEASE visit. Take a campus tour, if its too troublesome to schedule one, just walk around campus or drive around the city. In my opinion, Davis is the most balanced out of all the UCs since its good in just about every category. Food is good but not as great as UCLA’s as I often hear, academics is good but not as highly regarded as UCB’s, city is really safe(completely trumps UCLA and UCB in this category honestly), opportunities to have fun is plentiful, etc.
I came from SF and I absolutely DREAD having to come back home during the breaks since I would much prefer staying back at Davis. Air quality over there is nowhere as good as Davis’, getting around the city sucks ass(Hate the Muni so much) and doesn’t even compare to the convenience of being able to just hop on your bike and ride to anywhere in the city in a matter of minutes, and the amount of noise pollution is unbearable.
@Onikage34 What would you say are the most essential things for students at UCD to take advantage of? Such as free gym, etc.
@napapapa One that I don’t see a lot of students taking advantage of is the Internship and Career Center. There’s a wealth of information there, plus access to things like resume workshops and mock interviews. It’s something I wish I had started using earlier than my senior year.
Another suggestion is to get involved in research, and try to get involved ASAP – usually people start this sophomore or junior year, but you could start as early as freshman year depending on the professors/grad students you’re interested in working with. This is especially important if you’re at all potentially interested in grad school; grad schools want to see that you have some research experience. Even if you don’t end up going to grad school, your research experience gives you some unique experience to discuss with employers.
As for how to get involved in research, honestly just start talking to professors and grad students about their research. Ask questions! And if their work sounds interesting, politely ask if they have openings for a research assistant. You never know until you ask! Even if they don’t or they don’t think you’d be a good fit for their research, a lot of times they’ll refer you to someone else to talk to who might have a position you’d be interested in. I got my position for sophomore and junior year after volunteering to assist a TA’s research. She recommended that I talk to someone whose research was related to my interests. That person happened to have an opening, and I ended up working with her for two years.
@PhantomVirgo Thank you so much for the reply man!
@PhantomVirgo @napapapa I went to the Discover UC Davis event a few weeks ago and they pretty much stressed the same thing. The Internship and Career Center basically said that students transferring really should start talking to them once they get there and start taking classes. And to try to get involved with research, there’s lots of opportunity there with that.
Ah it’s nice to see you ended up going bro. Thank you for the reaffirmation, I can’t wait until we really start getting into the transfer process. @boxandwhiskers
@napapapa ME TOO. I’m totally ready to SIR now.