<p>Help!! I’m having alot of trouble deciding between the two schools. I got in to UCSB for pre biology and Davis for statistics. I either want to be a financial analysit (Actuary) or study Biology and a minor in statistics for medical school. I visited Davis and I really liked it and I also really liked Santa Barbara. I can’t decide at all :(</p>
<p>just from general knowledge, i think Davis is better academically? i have no rankings and such to back that up, i think its just a little higher in the UC ranks</p>
<p>True, it is higher. However, the gap is not too comparable. I’m more interested in campus life etc. to this point.</p>
<p>Both schools are pretty much the same in ranks, UCD is better ranked in certain majors while UCSB is ranked better in other majors. It all comes down to either living in a beach town atmosphere and interacting with mainly people from SoCal or living in a town with a central valley feel to it and interacting with people from NorCal/ Bay Area.</p>
<p>Leonidas, your post is probably the most unbiased post I’ve ever seen in the forums here, and for that, I thank you.</p>
<p>Leonidas is right, as well. It’s beach-town versus a more college-town feel. You have a few things to take into consideration:</p>
<p>**Size of the college: **Davis is easily at least 4 to 5 times larger than UCSB - that includes farmland.</p>
<p>**Weather: **UCSB’s weather is generally sunny a good amount of the year round, with the cooling system from the beach. Davis’s weather is an amalgam of things. If you enjoy the rain and varied weather, go with Davis - you’re more likely to get it there. Santa Barbara almost has no rain, and I’ve heard that it’s generally the same weather all year round.</p>
<p>**Distance from home: ** I don’t know where you live (at least… I hope I don’t), but this is still important. Which is closer, and, from that, pick if you want to go home every once in a while, or completely break away and be more independent (not that you’re dependent in the former case).</p>
<p>**Atmosphere: ** Davis, I’ve heard, has more of a studious sense. Some have said that you might feel pressured to do well there - which is good or bad, depending on your point of view. Davis people are also incredibly passionate about their school - they have been equated to being fanboys and fangirls. Santa Barbara is a much more laid back feel - despite that, their academics are still very competitive against Davis’s. At the event for “High-Achieving Applicants” that I went to, one of the UCSB students said that “There isn’t a sense of competition for spots between classes, or rankings in classes. Someone isn’t going to be all like ‘Well, if I help you then you’ll do better than me.’” Whether the students there have Gaucho pride, I’m not entirely certain.</p>
<p>**Sports: **Both are Division I league - the top division in College sports. Santa Barbara, however, lacks a football team - Davis does have one. Is having that football team and going to the games important to you? (FYI, Santa Barbara’s #1 sport, I believe, is soccer).</p>
<p>**Location: **Davis is a college-town that’s very isolated from other cities. It was established as a farm school for UC Berkeley, which is why it’s so massive and so distant. Santa Barbara is right next to the Santa Barbara airports (the residential halls aren’t close to the airport, so don’t worry about not sleeping at night), and is right next to the cities of Isla Vista and Goleta. I’ve heard there’s more places to hang out at UCSB, and not so much at Davis - but if a Davis student refutes this, I will sit corrected.</p>
<p>I’m sure there’s more that you should consider, but I can’t think of them right now. If I have an epiphany, I’ll add.
I’m actually in a similar situation as you - I have to choose between UCD and UCSB - but I’ve virtually made my decision. If you’re curious, feel free to ask.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>@styxxnstones, sounds like you’ve made up your mind on davis? 
hahah</p>
<p>
For what it’s worth, I’ve never met anyone with this attitude at UC Davis.</p>
<p>@RUFFLZ: x] I attempted to make the information as unbiased as possible, but, after attending Decision Day at UCD today, I must say I’m quite unimpressed. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I wanted something to wow me when I was there. Nothing there did. But we’ll see. If UCSB s**ts the bed at Spring Insight - which is… well… doubtful to both me and my parents - then I’m headed to UCD; if not, I think I know where I’m going.</p>
<p>@JeSuis: I’m sure you know loads more about UCD than I do, and I didn’t get that vibe at UCD as well. People were incredibly friendly, and a Comp.Sci. professor told me that the student-to-student is more conducive than competitive. I apologize for making it seem like Davis had that attitude. But there is no doubt that people at UCSB are incredibly laid back, most likely more so than people at UCD. It’s something to take into consideration for the OP.</p>
<p>I have 3 friends that go to ucsb and they hate it. I’m in the same situation as you and I think I’m going to choose uc Davis. In the end Im probably going chose uc Davis because of my major (biomedical engineering) which ucsb doesn’t have.</p>