<p>I just got accepted into UC Davis with a Neurology, Physiology, and Behavior major and at UC Santa Barbara with a Pre-biopsychology major. My goal is to probably get into medical school. I'm definitely unsure of my future, but I know I definitely would like to go to grad school. I'm interested in biology.</p>
<p>I know UC Davis has a better biology program, but how is the life there? What's it like there compared to UC Santa Barbara?
Is UC Davis's biology program really a lot better than UC Santa Barbara's ?</p>
<p>I've heard UC Santa Barbara is a difficult campus to be at if you wanna study well and work hard, but I wanna be somewhere to enjoy the campus too.
I love Socal weather, and I love the beaches and the city attitudes and the downtown little shops.</p>
<p>I’m currently a UC Davis bio student who goes to UC Santa Barbara every now and then to visit friends. While it is extremely fun at UC Santa Barbara, I think it would be very hard to focus on your studies. I think on average, more people from Davis end up going to med school than SB…but this is just what I’ve noticed amongst my friends. Also, there are probably more pre-med students at Davis than SB to begin with. Study habits are extremely different between schools.</p>
<p>I really like the UCSB campus; I love the beach, the weather, the area, etc. but for pre-med future careers, I think I made the right choice in going to UC Davis. And despite what you hear about Davis, we do party here too, but it’s just a different environment. Every night in SB, you can walk around going to random house parties or go downtown if you’re old enough. In Davis, partying doesn’t usually start till Wednesday, and there are house parties as well. There are apartment complexes in Davis that are known to always have parties, but there are those that are quiet and calm…so it depends on where you live too. I think in Davis, you just have to try a little bit harder to look for parties, but if you are social and have friends, you will have parties to go to.</p>
<p>Also, I want to note the bio program at Davis is FANTASTIC. I hear bio students at SB asking why they don’t have any of the stuff we do almost on a daily basis. Because Davis is mostly a research facility, there are so many different things you get to work with and opportunities you can take–great for pre-med school experience. If you want to go into the marine field, Davis has its own marine research facility near San Francisco, where you can actually study and research for a whole quarter while living there. Our microbiology and NPB department have amazing professors as well. But I’m sure SB has great professors too…conversations aren’t usually about school when I visit my friends.</p>
<p>Both schools are pretty relaxed and people are very chill. You don’t seem to get the sense of competition between your peers as you would at LA or Berkeley. I hope this helps you choose which school you want to go to!</p>
<p>“While it is extremely fun at UC Santa Barbara, I think it would be very hard to focus on your studies.”</p>
<p>This is a matter of discipline. </p>
<p>Frankly, both schools are the same in terms of quality - it really depends where you want to live for the next 4-5 yrs and other factors - rent will be higher at UCSB once you leave the dorms. There is not quite as much to do at UC Davis etc - but you may like the quieter pace.</p>
<p>Both are good choices. I would go with the best aid and if that is equal the best fit.</p>
<p>Actually, there is a lot to do in Davis, in and around the area. Davis seems to get this image that it’s just a super boring farmland…it’s not. Sacramento, is just a 20 minute drive away. Lake Tahoe/ Reno is about 2 hours. We are just like every other school, maybe minus the beaches and add the flat agricultural land.</p>
<p>Even if you were to live in SB, you’d want to leave and experience other venues because everyone gets bored being in one area too long. I know people from SB that come up to Norcal for a weekend just to party. </p>
<p>Also, rent is not always higher in SB. It’s the same at every school: the nicer, bigger, closer to campus, etc. places you want to live are more expensive than ones that are not. </p>
<p>As for quality, Davis is actually higher in ranking than SB and Irvine for the 2011 year. Davis is also a little more expensive tuition-wise.</p>
<p>I ended up choosing UC davis because of my biology major. They offered a lot more programs there that I would want to pursue. Although everyone told me UCSB was beautiful, i was still stuck between the Davis and SB campus. Both are equally nice in their own way. I loved the dorms and the nature of Davis, and I loved the buildings and the beach of SB. but honestly… isla vista was kinda disappointing.</p>
<p>Anyway, Davis ended up giving me a lot more money than SB for financial aid.</p>
<p>Also, Davis’s cow smell is WAY overexaggerated. i had to sniff for the smell in order to smell it, and i could see the cows. if the smell is horrible for you, i’m sure you can easily adapt to it anyway.</p>
<p>Davis is a great school for pre-med and in 2010 there were 375 applicants to med school who did undergrad at Davis. SB isn’t even listed, but let’s say had maybe 100-150 or so. In addition to your other stuff you listed…</p>