what are some good things? i heard that its a good school with a small town feel, but it constantly smells like poop. what are some other cool things UCD has that appeals to others?
UC Davis is in an agricultural area but the only area where you get the “essence of cow” is near the dairy (housed near Tecero dorms) if the wind is blowing right.
You are within 1 hour of San Francisco/Bay Area. You are within 2 hours of Tahoe so good access to skiing, hiking, fishing etc… and 20 minutes to Sacramento.
Large campus and spread out so it does not feel crowded with over 29,000 Undergrads.
Cool downtown with many restaurants and bars.
Arboretum with great places to walk or bike. Davis is bike heaven if you are into biking.
Also has a great transit system which will get you around Davis so no car is necessary.
Reasonable off campus housing/apartment rates in comparison to other UC’s.
Friendly down to earth students and more cooperative vs competitive.
Close access to Sacramento airport so easy to fly in/out from the area.
The best way to determine if UCD is a right “fit” for you is to visit, since my opinion and that of my son’s (graduated last year) is moot unless you like it. UCD is definitely not for everyone, but still one of the few small college town’s left in California. Being from Southern California, our family really appreciates the Sacramento/Davis area. My son is hoping to return to the area permanently and my husband and I are planning to retire in the area so some bias here.
Safest of all UC Campuses
After a while, when you get a whiff of the cows, it feels like home.
this is kinda a late response, but i love davis!! i used to bag on it being a cow town, but actually i’ve grown to love the cows.(you’re able to pet them from the parking lot on the down low & it’s pretty cute but wash ur hands after). the smell isn’t necessarily very far reaching, it’s only near the tercero dorms and the intramural soccer fields on a normal day.
from my experience w my sister’s friends (she goes to davis) and from just being there in general is that the people that go there tend to be super nice.
the location is rly good in my opinion because it’s “isolation” helps you stay focused on school, but there are still plenty of activities to do within the campus and downtown so you won’t ONLY have to focus on school
i also appreciate that rent is relatively cheap because of the location
there are plenty of good food places (my favorites are davis creamery, red 88- for the fried rice, philz + dutch bros)
there is a bowling alley and game room which is super fun & it’s only $2 a lane for students on weekdays
the rec center/gym is really nice and well stocked
honestly i could keep going on about it but i think this is enough 
hope this helps
They have a good tutoring set up. All free.
It helps you with your grades and learning how to study in college.
There is a strong student support system whereby the students work together. My dd graduated in 2016.
She liked the non cutthroat environment in her classes.
Walk around the campus and you’ll notice smiles on the students’ faces. They are very helpful
Echoing @“aunt bea”, I took A and C sessions at UC Davis and they have a math tutoring center just on the main quad open every day and I have to say the tutors there were not only super friendly but also were some of the best math teachers out there. Casey in the math tutoring dept is legendary at davis for math and physics help. All the math support staff there have been much better than the math professors I have back home at UCLA.
thank you @Gumbymom, this was really helpful. I live in Contra Costa county and didn’t realize how close of a commute UCD would be so hadn’t considered it before today. Definitely on my list now. Browsing the website majors now. Study abroad options are very appealing.