<p>So I finished my first year at Davis and over the summer just made a realization. There really is not much to do here!!! Ahhhhhhh Looking back at my old e-mails I found out that I got accepted into UCSB, I didn’t even know that! </p>
<p>I feel like I’ve been cheated. UCSB is the TOTAL college experience, with parties and even a great beach! Does anyone know how hard it is to transfer to UCSB after my sophomore year if I get like a 3.5 GPA from Davis?!</p>
<p>Usually the difficulty of UC to UC transfers is grossly overstate on CollegeConfidential. I just ran a StatFinder query for UC to UC transfers to UCSB, and in Fall 2008, the average GPA for applicants was 3.15 while the average GPA for accepted students was 3.21 This was actually lower than the stats for community college transfers.</p>
<p>I can’t speak to your other concerns since I’m not a Davis student (I was a UCSB student), however, I also suggest visiting the campus to confirm you do want to go there (if you haven’t already).</p>
<p>Ok but can you give me your opinions on UCSB? Is it really the party school that everyone claims it is. Honestly, how nice is the campus? Is the beach lovely?</p>
<p>Well, I’m admittedly a huge UCSB fanboy, so keeping that in mind, you can see [my</a> post here](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/753048-did-you-know-10-unique-facts-about-ucsb-why-its-best-school-nation.html]my”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-santa-barbara/753048-did-you-know-10-unique-facts-about-ucsb-why-its-best-school-nation.html) on the UCSB forum.</p>
<p>However, I did live in Davis during one of my summers (South Davis, at the Allegre apartments holla!) to spend some time with my high school friends (being from San Francisco, all my friends went to Davis and I was one of the few who ventured to UCSB). </p>
<p>I would say that one of the biggest differences is that Davis is spread out, with nice and wide avenues. Isla Vista, meanwhile, is really compact (many streets don’t even have proper sidewalks), and as a result, the 13,000 students living in Isla Vista are all within a mile of each other. Also, unlike Davis, which contains more permanent residents than students, Isla Vista is about 70% students, so it doesn’t have the same “town & gown” relation problems Davis has with residents resenting the noise that students bring… it’s these kind of factors which lead to UCSB and Isla Vista being conducive to partying. It’s nice to be a very short bike ride away from all your friends, food, etc, and no one will call the cops on you for being loud or rowdy.</p>
<p>That being said, I found Davis to be a lovely town and I had a nice time there. I’d say downtown Davis was more varied and interesting than Isla Vista. Be sure to visit UCSB and make sure that the school feels like a “fit” for you.</p>
<p>If you are looking for an unbiased view, there is no way you are getting it here. (Read: Davis forum).</p>
<p>Anyways, I traveled to Davis to visit my girlfriend a half dozen times or so, and I really liked the campus. It looked like there were plenty of activities… sports, arcade, bowling, bicycling, downtown, etc. </p>
<p>I might have liked the campus because I am more of the quiet type and don’t drink, but my girlfriend assured me that there were tons of frat parties and drinking if you wanted to find it. </p>
<p>So what are you wanting more of? I don’t know much about UCSB, only that it is notoriously known as the party school of the UC system. I guess maybe the whole Isla Vista environment is superior to Davis’s small town feel. I think you are looking for the grass to be greener on the other side, but it is not necessarily so. If you are sitting in your dorm on a friday night wondering why Davis is so boring, that is not necessarily Davis’s problem.</p>
<p>P.S. UC/UC transferring is far easier and more commonplace than this website makes it out to be. Stats don’t lie. And yes, I will eat my words if I get rejected from Davis coming from UCSC :)</p>
<p>Hm, yeah I did do a lot of that Friday nights, after plans got cancelled aha! </p>
<p>Anyways, I was really just talking about the “Davis” vibe (you know, small town, very rural, farms, hot, dry weather, flat land, not too much happening)…whereas from what it looks like, UCSB looks like “the place to be” with its beach, beautiful campus and varied terrain, (unlike flat Davis). </p>
<p>I’m just hoping I can transfer as a junior to either UCSB/UCB/UCLA. I just wanna get out of the small town Davis and look for bigger, brighter, funner things!</p>
<p>Well, to be fair, Isla Vista is very small too. Imagine taking Davis, kicking all the adults out, squashing everything together, and having crappier housing haha. That’s Isla Vista in a nutshell. In Davis, you have Sacramento as an escape for big city life, however, at UCSB, you really only have downtown Santa Barbara 12 miles away (which is beautiful, and being a tourist town, it has a disproportionally high amount of activities, but it’s still far from a metropolis). </p>
<p>Isla Vista still has a lot to do, in part because it’s pretty much unheard of for students to go back home on the weekends. According to [this</a> research](<a href=“http://www.sariweb.ucdavis.edu/factbook/county/countymap0507.cfm]this”>http://www.sariweb.ucdavis.edu/factbook/county/countymap0507.cfm), the tri county area around UCSB only made up about 15% of the student body, so 85% of the students live about 2 hours or more from the school. As a result, weekends are packed and there are many festivals, concerts, and similar gatherings throughout the year.</p>
<p>Any school is going to be what you make of it. UCSB might not be any better of an experience for you.</p>
<p>Nono I understand what the OP is talking about. It’s all about the vibe too that comes with a college based on its atmosphere and surroundings. Davis seemed “very rural, dry weather, flat land” which didn’t appeal to me either. I currently attend UCSD which, in my mind, varied alot more. There were hills, trees, beaches, and cities, which I found a bit more appealing to my tastes.</p>
<p>Such “feels” for a campus could definitely make a difference.</p>
<p>Hm. I think much of the ‘fun’ really comes from the kind of people you spend time with.
How do you not know that you were admitted to a school… I guess its mean to say this… but… when I first read what you wrote… I thought… if you are on forums whining about boredom at a school and how you made the wrong decision… you probably don’t have many friends and going to UCSB over UCD wouldn’t have made much, if any, difference.</p>
<p>OoPurestOo, I know what you mean about UCSD haha. I was admitted to UCSD also this year but I chose UC Davis instead… for the stupidest reason ever. um. When I visited UCSD, WOW! haha it felt like a great home for me XD it definitely varied a lot more than UCD. </p>
<p>The “feelings” you get from a campus, definitely matters :]</p>
<p>if you are on forums whining about boredom at a school and how you made the wrong decision… you probably don’t have many friends and going to UCSB over UCD wouldn’t have made much, if any, difference.</p>
<p>I do think campus culture can be a factor though. I know this isn’t a perfect comparison, but when I was at a community college, I was miserable. Once I transferred to UCSB, in general I was a lot happier, my grades improved, and it sure was a lot easier to make friends than before. </p>
<p>I’ve lived in Davis and Isla Vista, stayed overnight in Santa Cruz and San Diego with friends, and visited every other UC except Riverside. They really do have different campus cultures and I think people may fit in some better than others. For example, while UCSD is in a nice area for adults, I thought it was pretty bad for students. The lack of a tight student community outside campus put UCSD pretty far down my list; I much preferred UC Davis and UCSB which had defined college towns, bicyclers everywhere, etc.</p>
<p>UCSD surrounding area isn’t as good for students… UNTIL you are 21 :). That’s when Pacific Beach can be the playground.</p>
<p>To be honest, UCLA seemed a bit too packed and I actually liked the quiet setting of UCSD. I don’t require hoards of people to thrive on a campus. I do pity those on this campus that despise it… it’s like… ok, so why did you choose this place then??</p>
<p>HI,</p>
<p>I will attend davis in fall as an exchange student so don’t scare me. do you guys think i should join many clubs to get some contacts? where are the places to meet people?</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>CyberShot - I find it amusing you equate a “college experience” with the need for a “total party school.” Best of luck in SB.</p>
<p>To everyone else: Davis isn’t boring. It’s boring if you don’t go out and get involved and meet new people, so do those things.</p>
<p>The end.</p>
<p>^Doesn’t that apply to any college you go to?</p>
<p>No, it doesn’t. There are plenty of things to do in Davis, unlike some other colleges, and I defy you to find another town with as many nice and friendly people</p>
<p>Totally agree with dmission.</p>
<p>i’m a second year at davis and i don’t know anyone who says davis is “boring”. and all this BS about davis not having “hills” which makes it a boring school is just stupid. we don’t want you here anyways if you don’t understand davis like the rest of the school!</p>
<p>Hey guys.</p>
<p>I’m a UCSB Graduate and recently moved out to Davis after moving back home after graduation. I had a great time at UCSB and always though Davis was nice. Now that I’m here I’m also a bit bored. I pulled up this chat on a google search while looking for things to do with my weekend.</p>
<p>My opinion is that both places are very nice and offer different experiences. At UC Santa Barbara I enjoyed going to the beach in between classes and didn’t run out of things to do on Saturday night. Now that I’m here in Davis I really like the people and there are a lot of different cultures and variety in the local stores downtown.</p>
<p>I won’t say which one I like -better-. My reason for writing is to honestly ask for a list of things to do with my weekends. I’ve been enjoying fine cups of coffee and studying up at Miska’s and Cafe Venus. Maybe there’s a bit more going on that I’m not clued into, such as exploring Winters or heading out on some trails. </p>
<p>Anything local and/or a good hangout? I’m more interested in logistics such as a list of things to try and not interested in battling it out between the UC’s. Actually, I also studied at UCLA and visited most of the campuses. Really, it’s hard to make a bad call, so long as you enjoy the experience and make it happen.</p>
<p>Thanks,
-R</p>
<p>There might be something in here</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-davis/296713-whats-best-worst-thing-about-uc-davis.html?highlight=davis[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-davis/296713-whats-best-worst-thing-about-uc-davis.html?highlight=davis</a></p>
<p>or here</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-davis/477031-ucd-overlooked-uc.html?highlight=davis[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-davis/477031-ucd-overlooked-uc.html?highlight=davis</a></p>