My daughter is OOS (east coast) and has narrowed it down to a few schools. She is a psychology major. Between San Diego and Davis any pros/cons which might sway her one way or the other. Getting done to the wire!
It really depends on what she is looking for. Have you visited both?
Pscyh is a popular major are nearly every college. Unless you are independently wealthy, it makes zero sense to pay OOS fees for such a UC degree. But if you are independently wealthy, either would be fine academically. The towns and thus, the campus environments, are significantly different, however, and only your D could decide which would feel like âhomeâ for the next four years.
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Davis feels like a college community and students live on/near campus. But itâs an inland school and can be warm during the summer (although students are gone in the hottest months)
San Diego is a nice area, great beaches and climate. However itâs more a commuter school; not enough housing on/adjacent to campus so kids live in the greater San Diego area (including on the beach) and commute in.
As a CA taxpayer I thank you and your family for the gift of 4 years of OOS tuition to the UC system!
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Yes. We visited both, however we went to San Diego on Triton Day and is was a bit chaotic so didnât get the real campus feel.
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My understanding is that UCD allows for easier major changes which, depending on your daughter, may be worth considering.
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Itâs a small sample size, but the students I know at Davis are by and large happier than the ones at San Diego.
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This strikes me as odd. How do you define independently wealthy? Iâm guessing your point may be that an OOS family receives no FA at UCs so it might be cheaper to get a psychology degree at a private institution where aid is being given. But for donut hole families, UCs may not actually be more expensive than Ivies, and I doubt those families consider themselves âindependently wealthyâ in the trust fund/generational wealth sense.
We happily pay full OOS at a UC right now. Also, I consider psychology a very important field of study right now. Just my two cents.
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We are from San Diego. All three of my children were accepted to UC San Diego. None of them wanted to go there. They used it as their safety. Maybe itâs because we live in town? I donât know.
The SD campus just didnât feel like a college campus. Plus, they were very concerned of UC for the âsocially deadâ environment and competitive atmosphere.
Our daughter chose Davis. She was a recruited athlete statewide, but she didnât want to play at the college level. She had HS athlete friends at Berkeley. They were miserable. They would join her at Davis on certain weekends just to relax.
Davis a very green environment and eco-friendly. You have 40,000 people on bikes Including students, professors, staff and residents.
The whole town is bike friendly. Plus, the students study collaboratively. Tutoring is held in every dorm building, every night. Students help each other; when you visit Davis note that people have smiles on their faces.
They have a phenomenal pre-health advising team. With references to local clinical internships and lab openings, our daughter acquired her experiences and references for diabetic clinical positions. She sought out their help and helped volunteer with them, and learned how to study to enter her medical program at UCSF.
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I 100% agree with @bluebayou
Youâre talking about a psych degree - you can go to any flagship and guess what, youâre still either going to grad school or going to get a job that accepts âall majorsâ - like insurance claims.
So would I go to an Arizona over a UC and depending on GPA, get the huge merit - if i wanted to be out west. Or stay closer to home, etc. Or find an LAC with big merit.
Heck yeah. UCs are not this lottery ticket people think they are.
But that being said, OP didnât ask about value - so the monetary aspects really donât matter.
They simply asked the pros and cons of two schools.
I think the student has to choose based on feel. Do they want warmer and beach access - and access to neat areas like La Jolla? San Diego is not Americaâs finest city for nothing.
Or do they want the inclusiveness and bikability everyone describes at Davis? But the weather wonât be as good.
Another poster mentioned housing - and that would be a concern and you might look at year 2-4 options. I donât know but would have to assume Davis would be cheaper and more plentiful. I might check into that or @aunt_bea probably can give the skinny.
It is unusual - every time you read about UCSD - people talk about it like itâs U of Chicago - where fun goes to die. And Iâm not sure thatâs the caseâŠbut the way people describe it, maybe it is.
I went to HS in Poway (suburb of San Diego) and few wanted to go to UCSDâŠbut that may have been the you always want to leave home factor. Then again, tons went to SDSU so maybe not.
Best of luck.
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Independently wealthy = money is no object. Top. 1%.
Yes, I should have been more clear: IMO, paying sticker for an OOS public is not a good value. UC expects you to pay nearly 2x the âmarket rateâ. And for your contribution to our state tax base, your D receives ZERO extra benefits. Same poor advising, same housing & course registration hassles, and same bureaucracy. (UC bureaucracy makes the local DMV office come across as customer friendly.)
Psych is a generic major. It may be important, but the same knowledge can be obtained at any good college. Your D wonât be any âsmarterâ or have any more advantages for a job by attending a UC than your instate flagship.
But I get that kids want to go away to college.
For a few dollars more, a good private (at sticker) offers similar academics and better advising & housing, less bureaucracy. In other words, better value. But the same can be had at a private Uni with merit scholarship, which then makes it the same â or less â price as a UC.
btw: not sure what a donut-hole family is, but yes, the Ivies with financial aid can be less expensive than a UC at instate rates. (My kid attended one cheaper than Berkeley.). But that is not relevant since you are comparing a UC at OOS rates vs your instate flagship or other public/private with a discount.
Got it. We are off topic for OP but I think I see your angle here - for some departments, paying OOS for UC (or MichiganâŠ) is academically perhaps not justified. It would have to be other factors (peers, weather, etc.)
I know many for whom those factors prevailed.
By donut hole I meant the folks who would be just above the salary level for significant FA at private (say, expected to pay 50-70K annually) but for whom this is an uncomfortable amount to afford.
Point taken re: hassles of a large public are avoided when a private is chosen at the same tuition.
Davis has four seasons, UCSD doesnât. Davis is often hot during move in and sometimes (ex. 2022) during graduation. Otherwise the real heat is during summer. Davis usually gets some rain during the winter. Winter and rain this year was worse than normal at both campuses. All dorms, apartments and houses in Davis have both A/C and heating.
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Thereâs a coastal breeze 
I grew up in Rancho Bernardo - that got hot - the UTC/Torrey Pines area - they got the breeze covered
Really depends on the studentâs desires of course.
Sorry, I was referring to Davis when I said it was hot during move in.
yeah, i misread - all good.
Hopefully the student visited and has a preference.
The - which should I attend are always difficult to answer although this one was better - what are the pros and cons.
Davis pro - 4 seasons
UCSD pro - mild to awesome weather
Some will have a preference.
I will say based on everything I read here that UCD seems more âcommunityâ like than a UCSD.
From people I know that went there, one contributor could be the the reputation for students studying the sciences which often means less free time. Degrees awarded data | University of California shows Davis awarded about 3,000 out of 7,800 degrees in the humanities, arts, social sciences; at UCSD about 1,800 out of 7,200. Another is the commuter-school feel so youâre unlikely to run into someone you just met in your class out in the community and it can be a bit of a hassle to arrange to meet up for study groups. Neither school has big-time sports which can be an anchor at a commuter school
But some people really like the beach vibe and at UCSD there are kids enjoying life along Mission and Pacific beach
Davis has a Div I football team (Big Sky Conference). UCSD does not have a football team.
Thanks everyone. Really good insight.
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