For 2020, UCD received 407 appeals and only 1 was approved.
was it a waitlist or rejection?
@BaileeJA. UCD does not allow you to appeal from the waitlist, so logically it is a denial that was overturned.
oh! I did not know that. I thought maybe someone could appeal to get off the waitlist and earn a spot in their class officially.
Currently, only UCSC will allow waitlisted applicants to submit an appeal. However, you can use UCDās waitlist statement as an appeal.
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Hi everyone, Iām trying to decide on a college. I just want to know some more information about premed and research at Davis. If there is anyone that could answer some specific questions (possibly juniors and seniors) that would be great!
Does anybody have any experience with SURF @ CalTech (UC Davis prospective student)?
It depends on what major. I applied as CS, with 4.22 weighted and 3.9 UW and tons of AP classes in soph and jr and plenty of EC activities and sports. Waitlisted. I have straight As in all my senior classes ( 7 APs), so hopefully theyāll take me in.
@Gumbymom, I noticed you said your son graduated from UCD. How did he like attending? Was this his first pic? My son was also accepted (economics) and likes Davis (also accepted at UCSC, UCR, SDSU). Davis is currently his top pic. But he was waitlisted at UCSB and UCSD. What heās not sure of is whether he would accept a spot at UCSB or UCSD if offered over Davis. Also waitlisted at NYU, which is in his consideration set - but I think so very different from Davis. I hear so many great things about Davis and they have a well ranked Econ program, so I think itās a great option. Any thoughts on how the culture of UCSB, UCSD are different from Davis?
My daughter is also now seriously considering taking UCD Regents/Honors over normal admission to Cal. The UHP (honors) presentation today was well done and highlighted how a nurturing, friendly environment might be better than the competitive, beat the curve environment at Berkeley or UCLA. The easier opportunities for research, including the capstone/senior thesis would really help position her for Grad school.
Cal forces kids to grow up fast, but thereās definitely a risk there of not beating out others for the opportunities like Davis Honors would more assuredly provide. Calās Fall Program for Freshmen would help provide some of the same benefits so itās not clear cut.
If anyone else could provide insight into Davis Regents/Honors vs Cal w/ FPF, itād be appreciated.
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You might join the UC Davis Parents FB page. There are a lot of parents of newly admitted students asking questions about different programs at Davis and how they compare to other schools. There have been a couple of discussions about the honors program.
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My older son was an Environmental Science major at UCD. He did not have a top pick but after visiting, he felt it was the best fit for him. The quarter system and some bad roommates made the beginning of Freshman year tough but he grew to love his time at UCD, once he found his tribe. He is still an introvert so he took him to time get out of his shell and comfort zone. Starting next week, his job is transferring him back up to the Sacramento area and is thrilled to return to Northern California. All his friends that attended UCD have positive things to say about their college experience. @lkg4answers gave an great description of the UCD vibe. University of California - Davis - College Confidential Forums
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My older kid goes to UCD. Loves it. Us as parents do too 
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Daughter accepted/commited UCD. Waitlist Cal Poly,UCSC. Rejected UCB,UCLA,UCSD,UCSB. After three kids admission cycles in 4 years I too need a vacation.
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My son is still weighing his options and hasnāt committed to Davis, yet. But my older one is at Cal - rolled off the waitlist into Fall Program for Freshmen (vs Global Edge) a few years ago. What are you looking to know about Cal FPF?
We have quite a few Aggie Alumni in our family, so we are being advised by them. (And the Davis parent FB group, too. They are so friendly!) The biggest theme from all is that they thoroughly enjoyed their time Davis and had a lot of opportunities. Again, Itās all about the student being able to make the most use of opportunities they have.
I also went to Cal and enjoyed my time there, too. But the vibe (academics, social and the surrounding area) isnāt for everyone. I would be āfollowedā by home insecure individuals even back then and now my older one is learning to be a lot more street smart. I do worry - a mom canāt help it.
My husband was Regents at Cal so the Cal Regents perks (housing/picking classes) was really helpful. Not sure what advantages Davis Regents gives you, but definitely factor them in!
Fit is key. My older one wanted a big urban college with a Pac-12 football team. Davis didnāt fit that. But my younger one appears to want different with a less stressful (relative to Cal), not urban, easy going college town. Weāll see !! Good luck to all.
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Thanks IKG4Answers and CalBear100! Really appreciate your advice.
Weāll be walking/driving around the Davis campus and town this weekend and have many suggestions from the FB group. Looking forward to it.
I do think my daughter would have a more satisfying college experience in Davis Honors Program. The Davis Regents/Honors offers quite a lot (copied from the website):
- Honors residence halls to foster community with fellow UHPeers (Currant Hall)
- Small, interactive classes with selected Honors faculty
- Special opportunities to meet campus visitors including Nobel prize winners, political leaders, and best-selling authors
- Faculty mentorship support
- Dedicated Honors staff who support and guide you through your undergraduate career
- Honors-specific programming and events
- Priority class registration
- Honors transcript notation
- Graduate-level library privileges
In addition, they offer entry into the Regents Scholar Society organization and the opportunity to gain double honors with the honors capstone thesis
Such different choices between Cal and Davis! At least weāve decided to no longer consider UCI and UCSB which she also got into. She did get waitlisted by UCLA but weāve heard this year might be tough to get off the waitlist.
My daughter just had a long chat with a family friend who was in Cal FPF so weāve got pretty good insight into that program plus FPF has produced a lot of YouTube videos even though they have few views.
Thanks again!
My personal opinion about these.
Priority class registration is HUGE. She will be able be able to take whatever classes she wants at the time of day she wants with the best professors. Being able to choose the best professor is especially important in lower division courses such as CHE2ABC, MAT17ABC and PHY7ABC. BIS2ABC at Davis is team taught and there is often only one set of professors each quarter. Labs start as early as 7 am and some end as late as 10 pm so if she isnāt an early bird or night owl, having priority to schedule labs in the middle of the day might be important to her.
Honors residence hall - All of the dorms at Davis are nice. Currant Hall is in Tercero. Here is an Aggie Abode of a room in Live Oak which has the same layout as Currant Hall. Aggie Abode Video In my opinion, this is a very accurate representation of what the dorms rooms, bathrooms and common area looks like. The only exception is that I donāt think I ever saw student desks that clean. 
Small interactive classes with selected honors faculty - The majority of her classes will be regular classes but they do offer honors lectures and sections for popular lower div courses like MAT 17. Sometimes the professors are better, sometimes they arenāt (talk to friends and use Rate My Professor). The nice part is that if she lives in honors housing, she will know a lot of kids in the honors classes.
Ask the parents on FB about honors specific programming, faculty mentorship support, and events and dedicated honors staff. When one is living in honors housing, I think they bring the events to you.
In the past four years they have had distinguished speakers but Iām not sure how many students attend. I suppose it depends on your major or interest. Graduate-level library privileges - again, Iām not sure how many students use the library for anything other than a place to study.
Good luck with your decision!
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I took physics 7c at UC Davis. Its taught using a flipped format where most of the learning is in ālabsā (more like worksheets done in groups). The professor does lecture but its very basic and the class is more TA dependent than professor dependent due to the emphasis on the lab sections.
Yes, the Physics 7 series is funky. What was a UCLA engineering student doing taking the 7 series at Davis? I thought most engineers take PHY 9
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