<p>I really hope no one is offended by this question, but I just want to get an idea from other people’s experiences. </p>
<p>So, I often hear Davis referred to and ranked as one of the friendliest campuses in the UC system. But, in my own experience as an undergrad a few years ago and then again returning as a graduate student more recently, I generally haven’t found the students very open and outgoing - in classroom settings and around campus at least. For example, when trying to chat with people just at the beginning or end of classes or walking around campus, I generally find the students reserved and wanting to keep within their own ‘cliques’…not seeming very open or enthusiastic to welcoming new friends compared with community or state colleges I’ve been to in the past. A lot of them almost seem offended when I try to say hello or strike up a conversation. (I actually had one student remark to me “Why would you say hello to people you don’t know?” - which did seem to summarize the general feeling.) The people don’t seem to smile very much, either.</p>
<p>Davis is an OUTSTANDING university, with a safe community environment and some of the finest instruction and research to be found anywhere. But, I’m just wondering if anyone else has had this experience as well. Are people friendlier in the city of Davis itself than on and around campus maybe? Or are people at UC’s maybe just more reserved like that in general, because of the stress of the classes?</p>
<p>I live in Webster Hall in Cuarto, and my floor is probably the friendliest I’ve ever met here at UCD. We eat dinner together a lot of times and just do a lot of stuff together (although I’m a reserved kind of person and would rather prefer to stay inside if I don’t have classes, mainly because I don’t have a bike to get around, especially on weekends. Plus, I don’t do parties at all). Maybe my experience has been different from yours, but except for one ****** I encountered once, most people have been rather nice. Around this time, people are taking their midterms, so that’s probably while they’re more reserved.</p>
<p>I think it might just be the stress of UC Davis. I noticed that the first few weeks of school, everyone on my hall was extremely happy and outgoing. Now that midterms have started, however, I’ve notice that people are pretty stressed and don’t seem as friendly. Because of the quarter system, many people have a midterm almost every week. It really wears on you after a while. Overall, I haven’t experienced anyone being outwardly rude, and I’m sorry you haven’t had a great experience with the students here.</p>
<p>That’s a good thought - it could be the fact that in the quarter system, midterms roll around very frequently. (And when you consider that everyone has midterms around different times, that means a cycle of stress could be rolling on for a good bit of the school year.) </p>
<p>I know when the stress of studying really gets going, it certainly CAN feel more difficult to be outgoing and friendly! That’s definitely understandable.</p>
<p>I’m glad that the people in your halls have been friendly to you! I wonder if my own experience might have been different had I roomed on-campus; is that how a lot of people meet their best friends? (Too bad they don’t allow grad students to room in dorms, just so I could have the experience!)</p>
<p>And it’s okay, haha! Thanks for caring, but at least I met a few friendly people I’m still in touch with Maybe if I hang around the community more outside of testing times or even during the Summer, I’ll start to meet less cliquish people. you both sound very nice :)</p>
<p>You can’t generalize an entire school just because of a few people. I lived in Cuarto Emerson last year and hardly met anyone because no one opened their doors, but I was told it would be like that before I got here, so I didn’t just say that everyone here isn’t friendly.</p>
<p>Also, yeah the quarter system is pretty stressful for people. A lot of times people have multiple midterms every week</p>
<p>Hahah… yea I’ve noticed in some classes people clique the hell up and REALLY leave a cold shoulder. Ow! No worries, still lots of chill people around.</p>
Maybe my experience has been different from yours, but except for one ****** I encountered once, most people have been rather nice. Around this time, people are taking their midterms, so that’s probably while they’re more reserved.</p>