So this is going to be a bit of venting. Basically College admission decisions started coming out recently and I was really nervous as expected. The first response I got was an acceptance to UC Davis. I was pretty happy about this but I never gave UC Davis much thought, i only applied because my sister, who goes to Berkeley, said that Davis is another UC to consider besides UCLA, Barbara, and Cruz.
However, every single decision I checked after has been a rejection. I’m still waiting for a few more decisions but so far I’ve been rejected from like 7 colleges. Because of this reality Ive started looking into Davis more as this might be the only school I get into. The only school I haven’t been totally rejected by is UCLA as they put me on a waitlist.
Right now this predicament is making me miserable and I don’t even really know if I like UC Davis. I guess I’m looking for validation that Davis isn’t that bad to go to.
@panqueque101, UC Davis is an OUTSTANDING school. There are many kids out there who would love to be in your shoes right now. You should visit the campus, if you have not yet had the chance. A diploma from there opens up doors for strong graduate programs, if that’s what you are interested in, and/or solid jobs in most fields. You can’t go wrong with that choice, even if it’s the only one that you wind up having! Congratulalations!
Well first of all, it’s not over until it’s over. Second of all, while it might be disappointing not to have a long list of acceptances to choose from, you can only attend one college and you only need one admission in order to do that. Go visit, learn more about it, if you still hate it and it’s your only choice you can take a gap year and try again next year. But, you might find that you like it, you might find that it is the right place for you. Some things happen for a reason.
I feel the same way because I didn’t get into ucsd or ucla, and ucsd is supposed to be about as easy to get into as ucsb (my dream school). i thought that i had a pretty solid chance of getting into ucsb but i’m not so sure anymore and i’ve been trying to hype myself up about davis because of it.
it might just be me, but after taking a tour today and thinking about it more, davis is starting to feel like somewhere i’d wanna spend 4 years at!! the campus is beautiful and safe, a majority of the students are super nice, and the school itself is super well known and highly ranked.
so don’t worry too much about it, because you already got into an amazing school and there’s a chance you could fall in love with it <3 plus, santa barbara comes out on tuesday so you still have another response to go before you throw in the towel and call the shots
i’m wishing u all the luck in the world, and congratulations on getting on ucla’s waitlist! that’s an accomplishment in itself<3
I can tell you as a parent, this whole college admission environment is appaling to me. Over the last week I’ve seen some incredibly talented, hard-working and caring students with very high stats be denied from colleges that a few years ago it would have been unthinkable for them to not be admitted to. I actually feel sorry for the colleges too, because they are missing out on some really great students. It IS disappointing when you have worked so hard and done everything right to face multiple rejections. Things may turn around for you, but if you only have the one acceptance, you will shake off the disappointment and make the most of every opportunity you can find there. It truly isn’t the college, it is what you make of it to spring you forward into the future you want. That said, Davis has everything a student needs and has an excellent reputation worldwide. Hang in there!
Davis is our local UC. It has an outstanding reputation in many fields, including some in which it is a leader amongst the UC’s. There are only a couple of issues to consider, though I would not go so far as to say they are negatives for everyone.
1) It's not in a big city. It's almost a city unto itself, but many UC's are large, as well. Sacramento is close, SF a little farther, but it's not urban and active like L.A. This is all a positive for many people, but can be an issue for some. The town of Davis has a quaint downtown. Parents like it. It also has pretty good train connections to some cities, which might be useful depending on where you live. My son takes the train to and from the Davis station from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Very convenient and affordable even if it is somewhat time consuming.
2) It is HOT here. I'm not talking about just the Summer. You can have multiple 100 degree days in a row pretty much from the beginning of May until the end of October. However, it's not that hot all the time. It kind of runs in spurts except in July. July is just hot every darn day. School is out in July, so that's good.
I was kind of in the same predicament, except I got into UCLA but was struggling financially. UCD gave me almost a free ride. UCLA gave me next to none except for my Pell Grant.
I have to admit, I HATED Davis. Honestly. A lot of people at the school had a lot of forced optimism because they had also been rejected, and there wasn’t a lot of school spirit. A big con for me was it really is in the middle of nowhere. You need to take a 20 min car ride to Sac, 1.5 hr car ride to SF, there’s no BART, you can’t have a car freshman year, and downtown can get pretty boring after awhile. And the food isn’t great.
However I warmed up to it. There are no hills on campus, just a beautiful flat campus which is really nice for walking and biking to class. There are a LOT of student spaces and resources. And the opportunities they give you as a student are endless. Take me, for example. I’m only a freshman, but starting spring quarter (so in a span of 2 quarters) I’ll have 2 lab positions and 2 internship positions all pertaining to my career goals. And they’re good, selective positions I can keep for my 3 years here. You just have to look. I love the student spaces they have here. The student center is amazing, the MU is really cool, and they’re all easy walking distances from anywhere.
And yes, it’s in the middle of nowhere. But as you become a full time college student, you kind don’t need to go out all the time lol. Once awhile, you can rideshare/take the bus to the city, but you’ll be plenty busy at Davis with a lot of activities.
Davis takes time to warm up to. Do I love it? Unfortunately, no, not yet. I still haven’t found the magical feeling that makes everyone fall in love with Davis. But I can’t deny the academic and student opportunities. There’s a LOT, and you can get way ahead for grad or med school here.
@panqueque101 UC Davis is my daughter’s first choice, and she was waitlisted there. She’ll trade spots with you!