<p>UCD vs. UCSB vs. UCSD…where should I go? Any notes on campus atmosphere, work load/class difficulty, student body, social life, etc. would be greatly appreciated! Which school sould you choose? Thanks!</p>
<p>I applied to UCSB and UCSD, and I'd rather go to UCSD. I already got admitted to UCSB through ELC (Eligibility in the Local Context). Whoa that was a lot of acronyms. You might want to look up the schools by yourself though, like at <a href="http://www.**************.com%5B/url%5D">www.**************.com</a> or <a href="http://www.campusdirt.com%5B/url%5D">www.campusdirt.com</a> . Pretty good sites.</p>
<p>Uhhh....the first website was College *******.</p>
<p>What in the world?!?! it wont let me a word.... *******.</p>
<p>Hmmm...you must be talking about collegepro.wler (w/o the period betwenn the o and w)....I've seen the websites - looking for personal opinions about the questions I asked. Campus atmosphere, work load/class difficulty, student body, social life, etc. Thanks everyone!</p>
<p>Oh sorry, but there are student quotes on college.*******</p>
<p>I posted a lot of stuff about why I think UCSB is a world class instituion here:</p>
<p>To answer your specific questions:</p>
<p>Campus atmosphere: VERY relaxed, but still lots of hard working students. I live in dorms that are mostly for 2nd year students and transfers, which are considered to be less social, but I still have made many close friends. Isla Vista is pretty much a college town, where the majority of off-campus students live, directly adjacent to the campus, and the town is mostly students. That means everyone lives close together, and that's what helps create the party environment. I'm from the city, and it took me some time to adjust to the small city setting, although it might be different to you.</p>
<p>Work load/class difficulty: Definitely harder than I thought it would be. I did a lot of research on UCSB before coming here, and I knew it was more than a party school. Despite that, I still thought classes wouldn't be too difficult, but I actually was a bit surprised by the workload and unfortunately my first quarter grades weren't too good. My Intro to Political Theory class had two 5 page papers and final, my Bureaucracy had two papers (3 and 6 pages) and a midterm & final, and my Econ class had 3 quizzes and a final. You definitely have to dedicate time to studying, you can't just have fun the whole time, I learned that the hard way.</p>
<p>Student body: Theres a noticeable element of stereotypical So-Cal, but Ive found the overwhelming majority of people are, for the lack of a better word, normal. Some people portray it as a bunch of mini-skirt wearing blondes and Abercrombie wearing guys, but I think most people are just your average college student.</p>
<p>Social life: The college town environment creates a very conducive environment towards getting together with friends and partying, since like 80% of the population is a bike ride away. The weekends in general are fairly quiet, but Friday and Saturday nights are pretty rowdy in IV, with numerous open parties with people packed into houses, and there's a decent amount of partying that goes on in the dorms too.</p>
<p>Thanks rc251. The "How is UCSB?" thread has some good stuff; I had already went back to find it before you reposted lol. Thanks for the abridged version in your last post in this thread.</p>
<p>Well, who's next? UCD? UCSD? more UCSB? Thanks all.</p>
<p>Well, if you visit the Davis forums and look through the first couple of pages or just find a couple threads on the subject on this forum you'll find a good couple pages worth of info on Davis. </p>
<p>From Aggie pride to the gorgeous campus to the diverse student body to the perfect college town atmosphere to the balanced academic and social life Davis was and is the perfect college for me. I got accepted to all the mid tier UC's and chose Davis even though I'm from socal because of all this. </p>
<p>Its just the feeling you get when you walk on campus and look at all the beautiful architecture surrounded by giant oak trees with the sun pouring through the branches and all the students biking to their classes that makes you feel like you want to be a part of it all. Our education is world-class as you probably already know with brilliant professors that all conduct their own research. One of our biotech profs is currently up for the Nobel Prize in contrast to some other schools who just recruit passed-their-prime laureates. </p>
<p>Our campus is gorgeous with a slew of brand new, state-of-the-art buildings including the Mondavi Center which just recently hosted Dave Chapelle, and the ARC which is the best gym and recreation center of all the UC's. Two out of three of our biggest dorm complexes are pretty much brand new and are gorgeous inside(segundo looked like a hotel inside to me).</p>
<p>What else, Davis itself is beautiful. Its a nice college town with diverse restaurants all over the place and great small cafes with live bands and whatnot. If you get the urge for a city its not even a problem because Sacramento is just 15 minutes away. Frisco is also just an hour and a half away and Tahoe is also closeby. Its just a great location with an ambiance Ive never experienced before, coming from LA, and Im glad Ive got the opportunity to.</p>
<p>megathunder: Thank you. It's nice to hear such great things from a current UCD student! I like UCD for all the reasons you posted: beautiful campus, school pride, campus funding, college town w/ Sacramento, Tahoe, etc. close by. I'm mostly looking at UCD vs. UCSB. They're both amazing and each has it's pros and cons. </p>
<p>Since you are a current UC Davis student, I guess I could as you a kinda general question: UCSB has been described to me as a "get together w/ a girl you like at a party, not on a date" kind of school. Is UCD like this, or are are people more "date friendly?" This might sound stupid, but I'm just curious. Are people looking to meet other people and have a relationship or is it more of a go to a party with someone environment? </p>
<p>The thing I wrote about UCSB is a huge generalization (please agree or disagree!) My questions about people's relationships won't make or break my decision at all, but it gives me a great idea about the kind of people I'd expect to meet at UCD or UCSB. Any opinions? Thanks.</p>
<p>Sorry , couldn't really speculate on the relationship stuff. However, this is my take on Davis: mellow atmosphere, social, but not heavily focused on partying, not fiercely competitive, great opportunites for a broad range of studies. Certainly depends upon what you wish to study.
D's roommate chose Davis over Berkeley because she is studying animal science. I also understand that Davis has the #1 program in the country for plant biology.</p>
<p>I think for an overall balanced school, Davis is probably your best choice. However, I know quite a few people who chose socal schools - UCSD, UCI and UCSB, because they lived in the Bay Area or Central Valley and wanted a change. For that matter, I knew people that chose to leave the state entirely because they wanted a change.</p>
<p>But if you are not looking for a change, I would choose UC Davis.</p>
<p>For relationships, I believe UCD or UCSD is more appropriate.</p>
<p>Well relationships can be found anywhere you go, its all what you make of it. But Davis specifically is a great place for dating if thats what you want. There are beautiful places you can take a date to all over Davis, from movie theatres to quaint little restaurants to happening places like Woodstocks or cafes. Davis' atmosphere is very conducive to dating in a way I can't quite describe, but there are definitely many people out there who want a solid relationship.</p>
<p>And if you want a change and just want to dance it up for the night you can just take a girl to one of a whole slew of amazing parties that happen every thursday to saturday. Or you can just do what I do and go with a group of guys and just find a girl there to dance with. Its all up to you.</p>
<p>Like I said before, Davis is very balanced and I'm sure you can find whatever youre looking for here.</p>
<p>*The thing I wrote about UCSB is a huge generalization (please agree or disagree!) *</p>
<p>It depends. You can go out to IV and party if that's what you want, but I think there are many other opportunities if you're looking for a more date-friendly environment.</p>
<p>My D chose Davis over other UC's including UCSD. The campus and college town are right out of a movie. After her first quarter I asked her if she would transfer to anyother school if she could and she said no. She is very happy...a lot to do including studying. </p>
<p>One observation is that it has been hard for her to get into some pre-requisite communications classes and this may steer her toward a different major. My suggestion visit the campuses a couple of times...you are planning to spend four or more years on the campus of your choice.</p>
<p>To add on to rc251. The workload really depends on your year, and major. I know people with enough free time to watch grass grow, and in contrast people who have lost an arm and leg because of assignments. Ok, i'm embellishing, but there is a difference in how much you have to haul depending on your major.</p>
<p>As a third year computer science major, a full nights of rest without a care was hard to come by because of ridiculous projects. You could find my classmates and me coding until 6-9AM in the morning nearing the end of the quarter. I'm not one to procastinate either, I get started right away. Many of us had 60 pages of C++ code at the end of the 6 week project, and it's not easy reading either. A couple of graduate students in our class didn't even finish. Two years later, after this quarter, roughly 5 out of the 15 people I knew as a freshmen are on track. Others are behind a quarter, disqualified from the Uni, or have switched majors. It's cut throat in a difficult science or engineering related field (at any Uni.)</p>
<p>In terms of relationships, maybe I can add some insight. I believe many are seeking long term relationships, and of course there are those who are seeking just a fling. It's no difference than what you find anywhere else. I'm currently in a long term relationship with a girl I met over a year ago at a party so it's definitely possible. It's splendid just to go down to the beach at midnight when the moon is full, and the air still warm; you can also clearly see shooting stars since the lights are far fewer than most cities. The ocean naturally provides activities that you can do together also -- just recently, in our free time we went kayaking together out on the ocean. State St. has some pretty good restaurants also, and some killer sea food down at the pier that you both can go to. If you'd like a night of debauchery and/or dancing together, of course that's offered. Just share some awesome nachos at Freebirds together when you're cooling down. :)</p>
<p>The best thing to do is visit each campus and spend a day there if you haven't already. Take a tour, and have some of your own time to explore yourself. Mingle with the students, and sit in on a few lectures. However, i'm pretty sure you'll have a great time whichever choice you make. People tend to mold and adapt well.</p>