<p>Ahem…I would point out that many people at UC Davis and other Davis residents think that Davis is a wonderful town. It’s a great small, self-contained town with a big college and has everything you need right there in biking distance - the only true college town in California. A lot of people in Sacramento, as soon as they get rich enough to afford it, move to Davis to take advantage of the excellent public schools for their kids and academic richness and cultural vibrancy that a university brings to a community for themselves.</p>
<p>And to the OP’s general point - I think you will be far more successful in your college search if you start off a little less opinionated and a little more open-minded. “Pretentious,” “awful,” and loathsome as starting points do not suggest a person sincerely looking for answers but rather one who thinks he already knows everything and is merely looking to stir up trouble with aggressive and insulting opinions.</p>
<p>*He/she was criticized for “wasting” their talents by leaning towards the University of Oregon, as if anybody, with those stats, would even <em>consider</em> such a school.
*
who criticized OP for leaning toward U of O?- not on this thread.</p>
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<p>I saw several posters who thought that was a great choice- although several also posted their own recommendations.
( I do think that U of O, would offer more merit aid than U of C -Boulder- in general)</p>
<p>What was being criticized was weighted language- the negative jargon to describe schools that were higher on the radar.</p>
<p>Which I found ironic considering this comment.</p>
<p>I’ve been to Arizona State. They have some good individual programs, but for the most part, the school has a pretty negative reputation in California.</p>
<p>I was thinking that OP was trying to make up his own mind, not go by the opinions of others around him. </p>
<p>U of O was one of the schools my D looked at. Good school, nice place & they offer honors as well as belong to the Western Undergraduate Exchange.
[WICHE</a> - Student Exchange Programs](<a href=“http://wue.wiche.edu/]WICHE”>http://wue.wiche.edu/)
My older daughter applied- she decided she wanted a smaller school- </p>
<p>But hello? my comment about the tie dye shirt was totally right on. </p>
<p>I don’t see what the problem is- unless she/he is looking for more reassurance.</p>
<p>( I would also agree that CA- has many good schools, and it is a large enough & pleasant enough place that attracts students from all over the country/world-much to CA besides LA county)</p>
<p>Oooh that is not very much- I have heard Boulder is an expensive area as well. -but lots of outdoor opportunities.
My nephew was in aeronautical engineering there- was accepted to Duke, but was instate in Colorado.</p>
<p>( and since my brother wasn’t going to pay any towards his college…)</p>
<p>OOS aid at Boulder is almost non-existant LOL</p>
<p>Both sons applied there and were offered the 10K that drb mentions and 30K a year in parent loans with stats not that different that the OP. They did compete for a few select engineering scholarships but were not successful.</p>
<p>Boulder is for the rich out of state student only, with a few lucky exceptions imho. Oregon would be much more generous</p>
<p>emeraldkity - I’m sorry I wasn’t clearer. The OP posted much the same question on another CC forum, in which the criticisms occurred. This is the source of his “heavily criticized” comment in the OP. Agree that no one here has said the same kinds of things.</p>
<p>I know several ambitious, very bright, stats = or > higher ranked schools, who are very happy at UW. One is a dual major in electrical engineering and oceanography, which would be hard to do at many other schools. All love UW, and have made many new friends. Yes one will find less motivated and uninterested students if one looks for them, but the daughter of a close friend who is at a top Ivy says that describes about 1/3 of the people she has met there as well. Smart folks find other smart folks wherever they are.</p>
<p>I live in Oregon. I go to Eugene often. I have even been to the Oregon Country Fair (which, incidentally, has nothing at all to do with UO and isn’t even in Eugene). The tie-dye deal is vastly overstated. One, in fact, doesn’t see tie-dye in Eugene anymore often than you’d see it anywhere else on the west cost with a liberal bent… which in this day and age isn’t all that often. It’s more a hoodies and sneakers and jeans kind of place – like almost every other college in America. But, stereotypes can persist… and it is a nice, friendly, laid-back sort of town. Pot is not uncommon. If UO has a dominant culture though (and I don’t think it really does) it would be more relaxed and sports-y. There are resiliant tye-diers around I suppose, but not in any greater concentration than in the Bay Area, Tucson, Seattle, Santa Monica, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Austin, and any number of other places.</p>
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