<p>I just came back from a road trip up north(I'm from LA). I went to Santa Cruz, Berkeley, UCSB, and Davis. What schools have you been too and which ones did you like the the most? Santa Cruz was so amazing! The trees are huge and they are everywhere! Berkeley is really nice too. I love the area around the campus. There's this place called "CREAM" that sell the best Ice cream cookie sandwiches. There are always people walking around and they have this street fair on Telegraph on the weekends. I can't get over how chill Berkeley was. And SF is right across the bay. That city blew away LA! It was so relaxing and bright. The Bay bridge and Golden gate bridge were huge! It really made the place feel unique.If you are unsure about going to Cal, change your mind because it's really beautiful! Davis was pretty lame compared to Cal and SC. I'm glad I checked it out because now I know that I really don't want to go there. It was completely dead and in the middle of no where.</p>
<p>I’ve visited most of the UC’s. I live in San Jose, so I’ve been to Cal a few times and UC Davis a few times as well. For me, SoCal is way cooler because I’ve been living up here for a while. UCSD and UCLA are hands down, my favorite campuses in the UC system.</p>
<p>I went to Irvine, and mentally-noted several excellent nap spots. Westwood is way more entertaining, but I’m not going there, so whatever.</p>
<p>I went to UCLA, Irvine, and Davis. UCLA and Irvine are pretty cool schools. Davis is alright (surrounding area wise).</p>
<p>I agree with UCSC, absolutely amazing. 15 mins from the boardwalk too. It’s a complete 180, going from a forest-like campus to the beach lol. I’ve been to Berkeley and Davis as well. I’m not basing my decision on the campuses though, I go to SC every summer(boardwalk) but I didn’t apply there. I really want to visit UCSD.</p>
<p>Only UCLA, stayed out there for a couple of weekends and been to a couple parties, def. would want to go there but probably won’t get accepted. Now to visit UCSC and others.</p>
<p>Applying with a 3.34 gpa to Davis with 90 credits and no tag…hope I have a good shot!</p>
<p>I’ve only been to Berkeley, and that’s the dream school. Love the campus and city. </p>
<p>I haven’t been to UCSD but I have a friend who lives in La Jolla and says it’s nice.</p>
<p>Gonna visit SC in a couple weeks. I’m really looking forward to it.</p>
<p>I’ve been to UCR and UCSB a number of times already.</p>
<p>I am also from LA, and I just got back from visiting Davis, Santa Cruz, and Santa Barbara. I did not go to Berkeley because I’m not getting in there, but I’ve been to SF many times. SF is about a thousand times better than LA, which is partly why I want to move north.</p>
<p>I’m surprised that you thought Davis was boring because I absolutely loved it. The town of Davis is more walkable than Santa Cruz, the weather is warmer, the people are friendlier (bar scene and on campus), and surprisingly the food was better. I guess part of the reason I loved Davis is also because of the equestrian program and facilities, which are amazing. The arboretum area of campus was beautiful, plus there are lots of hiking trails along the river and bikes everywhere! This is the stereotypical college town with a lot of school pride and a tight knit community. I think it’s great. Plus, not only is it relatively close to SF like Santa Cruz, but it is also only 15 minutes from Sacramento which is a pretty rad city.</p>
<p>The Santa Cruz campus was beautiful and the trails were awesome, but it’s a very hilly campus with limited parking, so getting around seems like it could be a problem. Biking seems like it would be difficult because of the hills. The McHenry library is very nice and the cafe had good sandwiches. The town of Santa Cruz is kind of touristy and lame in spots (beach boardwalk / wharf), but the beach itself is nice. The downtown area is less populated compared to Davis which has a lot of people squeezed into a small area. Science buildings were nice, but a little aged. Met some faculty in the chem department that were very nice. Overall, beautiful campus, great walking trails, but smaller compared to D and SB.</p>
<p>Santa Barbara was my least favorite, but I knew it was going to be before I went. Santa Barbara is a lot like Orange County, just a little more laid back. A lot of the buildings on campus are very old and look like high school buildings from the 70s. They’re doing construction in some areas though. This campus is the easiest to navigate and the most visitor friendly. Weather is great, but the campus has almost no trees compared to Davis and Santa Cruz. It’s a flat campus with lots of bike trails, so biking is a good option here.</p>
<p>Definitely subscribing to this thread!</p>
<p>@mermaker,</p>
<p>I’m having a hard time deciding between SB and Davis. I have yet to visit either, which I am planning to do within the month of April, but have friends at both schools to share with me their experiences. Could you please offer your opinion and maybe compare the two schools for me? It would be very much appreciated!</p>
<p>@everyone</p>
<p>I’m from San Diego so I can share my experience with UCSD. It’s in a VERY nice area called La Jolla which is also home to, IMHO, San Diego’s nicest beach. The campus is pretty cool and I personally see nothing wrong with the layout/scenery. Now, despite the positive aspects of UCSD geographically, I must share some negative aspects of UCSD’s campus, socially. Personally, none of my friends have ever told me they “loved” UCSD in the same way that others have professed their love for other UCs (Davis, SB, LA, even Irvine… lol). I have nothing against San Diego (actually, I would love to stay here forever!), but I have zero interest in attending UCSD. That is my honest, albeit harsh, opinion. </p>
<p>Lastly, it’s interesting to see so many differing views on the same campuses. I personally would see the appeal in SB as I’m from SD and I enjoy the beachy, laid-back atmosphere. In the same regard, I understand Davis’ lack of appeal due to its geographic isolation. Before, I really entertained the idea of Davis as a change of scenery and true “college-town” atmosphere… but now I’m starting to wonder if this was all just a fantasy.</p>
<p>My review on UCD was pretty biased because I didn’t really check out the whole school. When I went up there, it was a little overcast and It was in the middle of Christmas break so of course it was dead. And the fact that for some reason the people I was with kept *****ing and complaining about how much this school sucked and It was in the middle of no where". That honestly sort of ruined the trip to UCD, so I can’t really tell you what I think about UCD since I didn’t analyze the school with an open mind. chelsiemorning’s thoughts on UCD are way more believable and realistic. In reality, almost all the UC campuses are in the middle of no where, with the exception of Cal, LA, Riverside and SD.<br>
UCSB is the epitome of “in the middle of no where”. There is nothing North, there is nothing west and there is nothing but ocean in the south. The only place you can go is east and you’ll arrive at Santa Barbara. The city is pretty cool and you have a zoo that could be fun with a lot of places to eat, especially on State st. But again, you’ll need a car to get there. If you are living in the dorms, you probably won’t have access to a car.
That doesn’t mean that UCSB sucks. I love that place. I sometimes would go 3 weekends in a row to party and surf. The weather is awesome, the waves are freaking amazing when it’s firing. A lot of people don’t surf so the waves are always empty, especially coal point. The water is pretty cold all year round so you can’t just go swimming when ever you want-- it fluctuates around 50-60 degrees-- so you’ll need a wetsuit. I have one so it’s not a problem for me, but you won’t see a lot of girls out there in bikinis swimming. Well, I never saw any when I was there. In fact, the beach is pretty much dead. I guess everyone gets bored of it because they don’t know that they’re suppose to SURF lol. I guess all the students from the city don’t know how to have fun on the beach.<br>
The social scene is pretty awesome at UCSB and I guess that is why a lot of people want to go there. I’ve been there on floatopia, halloween, concerts (interpol) and random weekends. It was freaking awesome! A lot of people walking around DP and having fun. I like it when you’re drunk walking around and end up at some random house drinking with random people. You can expect that to happen quite often. I’m over the whole party scene so that doesn’t appeal to me, but it’s always there if you want it. </p>
<p>I didn’t bother to proofread.</p>
<p>@mermaker,</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the honest response! Your experience seems to correlate well with others I’ve heard (including the whole Davis middle-of-nowhere complaints). What I found interesting was that you also said SB is in the middle of nowhere. It makes sense, but I haven’t heard anyone complain about that in particular. Also, you’re from LA? Can you share with me the driving experience going from LA to SB and back? How long does it take, is there usually traffic, and what is the route you take? I want to visit my close friends @ UCLA every now and then. Thank you in advance!!!</p>
<p>Aside from where the campus is located, I think you guys should get a feel of how the people are like (friendly, mean, down to Earth, etc…). I have had friends who chose campuses based on location and ended up not liking it because the vibe wasn’t great.</p>
<p>The only way to get to UCSB is by taking the 101. There’s usually traffic on 134/101 and 405/101, but once you get out of the LA area, there really isn’t any traffic. The drive there is so awesome! It’s a 2 hour drive so it definitely feels like a mini road trip and it especially gets scenic once you get past Ventura–where 101 converges with the 1-- because you’re driving right next to the Ocean for about 30-40 minutes. It’s pretty relaxing and worth the time when you have time. I’ve gone to SB and back in 1 day so it’s doable.</p>