Need advice! UCSD bio VS UCD bio

<p>Ive been accepted to UCSD biology in muir college, and UC davis biological science,
and I can't decide between the two.</p>

<p>I wanted to go to UCSD because i heard that it is actually pretty hard to get into San Diego bio major, since it is an impacted major. Also, Muir college seems like one of the tops among all the six college. </p>

<p>I also wanted to go to UC davis because i heard that people are really friendly in davis, and students there are really happy (which really matters to me). Also davis is close to San francisco and Cupertino, which I may visited quite lot because gf may be there. </p>

<p>Does UCSD have better bio then Davis? I would like to pursue my dream as an environmental and ecology consultant. Please give some advises!!</p>

<p>I don’t know a whole lot about the Bio program, but you need to know that UCSD is very competitive, and the social life is a little harsher than Davis. Daughter didn’t apply there because she didn’t “like the aesthetics and the cold feeling of the buildings -more office-like”. You have to be VERY proactive to find the niche that fits you because unless you have a really good relationship with your dorm mates at SD, you will have to really work hard at finding your comfort level. Daughter’s friends got into UCSD and that is their major complaint-the difficulty in feeling a part of the university and making friends. We’re from San Diego, so you would think she’d want to apply.</p>

<p>YOU MUST VISIT BOTH SCHOOLS! You can’t rely on our biases. But keep reading if you/re thinking Davis:
Daughter is at Davis in biological sciences; at first she had difficulty socially, because roommates and she had nothing in common; her RA’s on the 3rd floor had no interest in “entertaining” the frosh. They were there for the free room. They basically never got the kids together until someone got into trouble. But if you went to visit 1 floor up or down, the kids jelled really well because the RA’s actually did their jobs. </p>

<p>So daughter got involved in on-campus clubs and is having the time of her life! Loves that the department chairs and profs go out of their way to help the kids. Free tutoring in each dorm and writing centers to help with papers. Loves the biking-40,000 bikes on campus! Her main club has taken her to yosemite, tahoe, san fran, gold rush country, etc. Gets along well with roommates now, when they realized they weren’t supposed to be best friends. Although her major is difficult, she and her classmates try to help each other. She’s signing up for a tractor-driving class for fun!</p>

<p>Basically what aunt bea said</p>

<p>In the past several years, UCSD and UCD have always been the same ranking. However, UCSD seems to be losing its prestige while UCD is gaining more.</p>

<p>If you are aspiring to be a environmental and ecology consultant, then it’s HIGHLY recommended that you go to UCD. UCD has the nation’s top environmental and ecology programs.</p>

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<p>Curious, what club is this? I’m trying to find more clubs that like to travel (the ones I’m in now mostly just do things in Davis.)</p>

<p>And to the OP, definitely visit both school. I chose UC Davis over UCSD mostly because I wanted to do my undergrad in a true college town. But if warm weather and the beach appeal to you more, UCSD could be a good fit. I will say that UC Davis has the #3 Evolutionary Biology program in the country.</p>

<p>Oh, and do NOT choose a school based on where your significant other is.</p>

<p>@aunt bea</p>

<p>Thank you for the reply! I would LOVE to visit the two campuses, but the problem is this…I am an international student from Taiwan, and it is impossible for me to fly to US before I go there for college in the summer.</p>

<p>Wow!! its great to know that ur from San Diego, and I would like to learn more! I am quite an extroverted person, but i do not speak English very well,do you think this will somehow affected my ability to get lots of friends? I play lots of sports, tennis, soccer…etc, and I play saxophone too, and I really wish to become friends with people who have same interests.</p>

<p>I really really want to go to a school which I could feel like Im part of it ( maybe because Im an international student). and it will be great to know friends that are non-asian, which I could speak English more often. Do you think this will be a problem in UCSD?</p>

<p>I could see that ur sister really loves UC davis, and she has a college life that I admire a lot!! Going on field trip to places like Yosemite sounds awesome!! could you please tell me more about the biological science in UC davis? I would love to learn more about it!! And is it true that people in UCD are a lot more friendly?</p>

<p>@Wassupman99</p>

<p>Can you tell me why UCSD is losing prestige and UCD is gaining more? are there any more information?</p>

<p>UCD all the way!</p>

<p>JeSuis: One club is Koinoinia(?), they travel a lot. She’s in other clubs, but that’s the one that travels.</p>

<p>FangDarren: if you’re outgoing, you may do well at UCSD. There is a large Asian Community at both campuses. UCSD has some intramural sports that you may be interested in and would meet people. Please check the posts about Social Life at UCSD on this site. </p>

<p>I have to give you our bias on UCSD’s social issues because both my elder daughter and my middle daughter had and have friends at UCSD and the friends don’t socialize on campus too often because the campus doesn’t lend itself to that. Husband liked UCSD 30 years ago because he commuted there and “didn’t find the need to make friends on campus”. He has not 1 acquaintance from UCSD. (@Grad School-Stanford-he made more friends). UCSD has hills and buildings in various areas whereby the different colleges don’t really connect. Take a virtual tour. The beach is about 2 miles away, downhill, in a residential section-Torrey Pines Road. Transportation is an issue/look at a map of the area. You can’t really see the ocean from the campus. UCSD is in La Jolla which is really expensive. Again, these are my family’s biases so you really have to judge for yourself.</p>

<p>Davis is flat. It is extremely agricultural. It is very hot in the late spring and early summer and very cold in the winters; when it rains, it does pour. (They just had lightening and thunder a couple of hours ago.) But for the most part the climate is temperate. The kids bike EVERYWHERE. Most of the community bikes to the local businesses 5-10 minutes from most spots on campus. </p>

<p>It is a very “Green” campus; plastic bottles are not encouraged because of the trash they create. There are an estimated 40,000 bikes on campus. There is a BIKE Barn on Campus and about 5-10 bike shops in Davis (cheaper?). There are bike “stations” where you can pump up your tires or make quick repairs. The students run a double-decker public bus company in Davis. Students fly into Sacramento and take the public bus free to campus with a UCDavis ID card. </p>

<p>Rents vary by location and can run anywhere from $350 to $1000 per month depending on your needs and setup. Aesthetically, there are large campus grassy areas where the students walk, picnic or play frisbee. It is a pretty campus; an arboretum is on the perimeter of the campus. The NAPA wineries have “poured” a lot of money into new buildings for vintner studies. </p>

<p>Each Dorm building has a tutoring center. There are writing centers everywhere. The University wants the students to succeed and has writing centers where someone will review your papers and give you pointers about what the professors want.
My daughter and her friends from our town have been very happy there; the workload is hard, but they are enjoying their time; (they go to games and get free shirts).</p>

<p>Forgot about your bio question:
The daughter is taking classes in the Department of NPB-Neurobiological, Physiological, and Behavior Sciences; it studies vital functions common to all animals. She’s finding it really hard but interesting. Look it up online.</p>