<p>Ok, so I need some serious advice here. I am looking to transfer from a community colleges and need help deciding which one to go for. I know what the typical person is thinking, "Are you crazy to even consider this question? UC Davis without a doubt, their a nationally ranked university" but I am not interested in hearing those remarks unless you can tell me from experience that it really matters to employers where you received your degree if its not from an Ivy league.</p>
<p>I want concrete reasons why I should choose one school over the other without stereotypes such as "humboldt students are stoners" or "theres nothing to do in Davis". I'd appreciate responses from current students or alumni and a mention of anything helpful about the school. Financially, UC Davis is looking to be almost 10k more a year and that is definitely playing into my decision.</p>
<p>I plan to work with animals as a trainer or caretaker and these two schools stick out the most but if there are any other schools I will gladly accept the help.</p>
<p>Since UC Davis has a veterinary school, there are going to be many more “animal” related course options than at Humboldt. The Davis name would hold a lot more weight in that general field because of that. Have you considered Cal Poly SLO? Or maybe an Animal Health Tech program like Moorpark?</p>
<p>I know you don’t want to hear about “stereotypes”… but, reality is, that job-applicants from schools like Humboldt and Chico really, really do cause many (but not all!) potential employers to go “HMMM”… :/</p>
<p>I have looked at Moorpark but as a community college they do not offer a bachelor degrees and, if I want help paying for my college, then I have to go for the bachelor degree. </p>
<p>I appreciate the fact that you tell me that employers DO look at the schools and that helps to get hired.</p>
<p>I know a lot a good stuff about UC Davis but what is some bad things?</p>
<p>The only bad thing about it, really, is that it’s kind of isolated. It’s in the central valley and its very flat there. On the other hand, there are fewer distractions from study than at other school because of its isolation. That said, it’s only a couple of hours to world-class skiing, and only a couple of hours to SF so there’s “weekend” stuff to do. The town is fantastic, feels safe, easy to get around on bike, friendly vibe. I would be delighted if any of my children decided to attend Davis. It’s a great school (especially in the general field you are interested in) and I think its a nice, wholesome environment.</p>
<p>One more comment… if you haven’t already done so, you should start working toward getting some summer internships at some well-known institutions (Sea World, larger zoos, etc). It’s a very competitive field, particularly if you want to work with marine mammals at all. “Hands on” experience is probably as (or more) important in this field as in any.</p>
<p>If you are seriously interested in Humboldt you should contact faculty members in the Wildlife Dept. The facilities there include the Wildlife Game Pens and the Marine Wildlife Care Center. At Davis you might have the possibility of helping out at the Veterinary school but most work will be done by the vet students. What type of animals are you interested in working with?
I would not let an earlier poster’s comments that "job-applicants from schools like Humboldt and Chico really, really do cause many (but not all!) potential employers to go “HMMM”… ". My son graduated from Humboldt and has never had an employer do that, nor have any of the many friends he had who graduated with him. Faculty at Humboldt are well known and respected in their fields. The smaller size of the school allows serious students opportunities not so readily available at larger schools. My son found out in his job that he actually was better prepared than graduates from both Davis and Berkeley in his field.</p>