<p>I’m only a freshman high school right now but I’m already setting my goals and choosing the schools I want to aim for.
From everything I’ve heard, Cal and Davis sound like exactly what I am looking for in a school. I’m pretty set on moving from LA county to NorCal for college.</p>
<p>I’m planning on an English or History major, perhaps double.
I really want a university with outstanding school spirit, I am a huge football/basketball girl. I want a laid back school but with plenty of nightlife.</p>
<p>There's no way someone on this forum can tell you which school to choose...</p>
<p>Yes Berkeley is more prestigious (i don't think many will argue with me on this point), but that isn't what you should be basing your decision on. I was in your very situation my freshman year (SoCal wanting to go NorCal) and visiting the campuses made all the difference.</p>
<p>Berkeley is my top choice, but if i get rejected from that school i know that Davis is a very close second in my book. You just have to go see the schools, there both very different from each other, but very very nice schools also.</p>
<p>Honestly, if you end up getting accepted to both Berkeley and Davis, it would be extremely tough to pass up Berkeley. As much as I love UC Davis (it has been a dream school of mine since I was a kid), Berkeley has a national prestige whereas Davis currently only has a regional and statewide prestige. Berkeley is considered the #1 public university in the U.S. At least at this time, outside of CA, not many people will have heard of Davis and the rest of the UC's for that matter (besides Berkeley and UCLA). However, Davis has been and is still constantly climbing up the ranks year after year. UC Davis is very highly regarded and respected up here in Northern CA.</p>
<p>There are other factors to consider though, such as environment, atmosphere, location, etc. which to me UC Davis is in a league of its own. There's only 3 true college towns left in CA right now........ Davis, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), and Chico (CSU Chico).</p>
<p>This is my PERSONAL ranking of the top UC's in order of academic reputation:</p>
<ol>
<li>UC Berkeley</li>
<li>UCLA</li>
<li>UC San Diego</li>
<li>UC Davis</li>
<li>UC Irvine</li>
<li>UC Santa Barbara</li>
</ol>
<p>Don't you think this is a bit early to be worried about this? When it comes down to it, the decision is based on your own circumstances. Take me for example:
I was accepted to both berkeley and davis, but I chose davis. When I made my decision, everyone was ***?. Most people would choose berkeley, but my circumstances pressured me to pick davis. Why? Because I was awarded regents scholarship ($$) and made davis a free ride for me. Whereas with berkeley, I would go into a bit of debt.</p>
<p>Basically, don't worry about it till you actually get the full offers.</p>
<p>I know its a TINY bit early to be thinking about this but I've seen kids who are younger and more concerned and I've always been a plan ahead person. I still have a ways to go but I enjoy college research and I think once you get to high school is really when you should start thinking about what you wanna do. I really just like hearing from people the pros and cons and differences of both. </p>
<p>Also, would anyone say that the course load at Davis isn't as difficult as at Berkeley? I want get a great academic experience in college, but also have a lot of fun and not have to constantly study.</p>
<p>Right now your focus should be on doing as well as you possibly can in high school in order to open up as many opportunities as possible when you graduate. You don't want to make some kind of decision now and then change your mind later and not be able to do what you want. And trust me, where you want to go now is going to change many times before you actually apply.</p>