<p>I'm looking for a little advice. The two schools in question are UC Davis and UCLA. I tentatively decided on Davis (figuring that the priority registration, Integrated Studies honors program, and $ 7500/year PLUS having all my need met with grants outweighed my desire to go to UCLA). Now I'm having second thoughts... </p>
<p>Every day at school, people ask me where I'm going to college, and I say UC Davis. I live close to UC Davis. I have several family members who have gone or are currently going to UC Davis. (In other words, Davis doesn't seem that exciting). I always imagined myself far away at school (until I overestimated my qualifications and was waitlisted at my top two choices, both East Coast schools). Now I'm facing the reality of going to a school half an hour away. I know it's a good school, but I never ever in a billion years pictured myself actually going there. It's great for science obviously, but I'm not into science. At all. (My major of choice would be poli sci, or philosophy.) Early this year, my mom and I attended a preview day on campus, and she commented to me, "I can't really see you going here." I agreed. I've worked so hard all through school, always doing it because I wanted to go to a great college someday-- someplace that I would really like, where I would really fit in. I didn't feel like Davis was it. </p>
<p>Of course, now it seems like I AM going to Davis. I don't want to give the wrong impression here-- I do like UC Davis. I like the friendly atmosphere, I like riding bikes, and I REALLY like the idea of the perks of the regents scholarship making UC Davis more of a "small school" for me. (I only applied to private schools that were super hard to get into, mistakenly thinking that if I didn't get in there, I'd be happy going to a UC. Now I'm realizing how much I wanted a private school that wasn't so big, and so hard to get the classes I wanted, and all of that). </p>
<p>I just don't know what to do now, because every time I tell people I'm going to Davis, I feel sad about it. As ridiculous as this sounds, it just doesn't seem "exciting." They ask me where else I was accepted, I say UCLA, and they act like I'm crazy for not going there. Am I? I qualify for the honors program there, so if I was accepted to it, I could get priority registration there too... I don't know how much to weigh all of these different factors. Finances are an issue. I could swing UCLA, but it would require some debt and maybe working during the school year, whereas the scholarshp at Davis totally has me covered. (Fair disclosure: I'm thinking about law school in the future, so I'm not too keen on building up a lot of debt at the undergraduate level). If UCLA and UC Davis were the same financially and in terms of special housing and all of that-- like if both had given me nothing-- I would pick UCLA. But the Regents deal at Davis changes things. I guess it's the conundrum of the safety school.</p>
<p>What do I do? Where do I go? Am I dumb for going to Davis, or am I dumb for doubting my decision to go to Davis? Will an academically driven, politically active (on the liberal side), cynical-sense-of-humor type of a person be happy as an Aggie? Or should she rethink and decide to be a Bruin?</p>