<p>I currently live in northern cal, and narrowed my choices to UCSD, UCI, and UC Davis.</p>
<p>In all honesty, I want to get out of Nor Cal, so UCI and UCSD has more of a spark to me.</p>
<p>I was leaning towards UCSD, not only because of its reputation but because I thought there was a lot to do. After scrolling through these boards, im finding out that my expectations may not be true. If anyone is a current UCSD student (or has been), what is life like on campus and around? Like is there stuff to keep me busy on the weekends and at night? This is important to me because if i do decide to go here I'll be all alone (as in no friends, no family that I would know) and i need to keep myself busy...</p>
<p>I don't go to UCSD, but I have a friend who goes there and I have visited him. The school is called UC Socially Dead for a reason. Many of the students just aren't very friendly. The school is great for people who want to focus solely on their academics. My friend is having a miserable time there. Once every few weeks he drives to San Diego State to party or goes to the Gaslamp district. La Jolla is an upscale town, but is pretty boring. Definitely not a college town.</p>
<p>UCI is kind of a commuter school, but you have so many students that there are always people around on the weekends. Right around campus you have movie theaters and lots of stores and restaurants. It's not a party school, but if you want to party, you will find people who are down. At UCI you definitely need to have a car to get around - or know someone who has a car.</p>
<p>I knew La Jolla isn't a college town, it's too wealthy for it to be one... I dont particularly want to go to a full scale party school, but neither do I want to go to a school where its studying all the time. I guess i want more of a balance. I dunno what to do, at this point i just don't really care cause I can always transfer out, but i want to avoid that as much as possible and try to make the best of it at least. </p>
<p>UCI would probably give you more of a balance. Yes, it is a commuter school, but about half the kids are in the dorms on the weekend so not everyone goes home. There's tons to do right around UCI--Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Corona Del Mar. Plus you're only an hour from LA and an hour from San Diego.</p>
<p>UCSD has better academics and if that's what you want go there, but I have heard that it's not a very social place there. Both schools are great so you can't go wrong with either one. Go where you think you'll enjoy yourself the most.</p>
<p>"neither do I want to go to a school where its studying all the time."</p>
<p>I'm no expert on UCSD, but I don't believe that any school of that size is just "studying all the time" for every student. If nothing else, it has a pretty sizable social Greek system, and obviously any students joining it are interested in socializing.</p>
<p>IMO, Davis has a much better college-town feel and is socially better than either Irvine or SD. Based on the limited info you have posted, I'd recommend staying closer to home.</p>
<p>You might send UCLAri a message; he's a current student at UCSD, I think, and seems pretty evenhanded/knowledgeable to give you good advice.</p>
<p>I think it's a misconception that there's nothing to do at UCSD. The campus is serene, to an extent, but it's near the ocean and SD is right nearby. Plus, UCSD itself is full of activity (26k+ students). I don't see how anyone could get bored...</p>