Looking for some guidance on which school to choose. Any feedback/insight is appreciated.
Two different campus vibes. Which do you prefer ? That’s where you should go.
Both are solid. Also Check the curriculums - perhaps one appeals to you more than the other.
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We are on the east coast (NJ) and daughter got admitted to Psychological science (2nd choice major) at UCI and Psychology at UCD. UCI has admitted student day on April 16 whereas everything for UCD is full for the month of April (prior to May 1 deadline). Given these circumstances, not able to compare wisely so all help is appreciated.
Why don’t you do both a self guided tour of Davis and a guided virtual tour?
You could do it right before or after your UCI visit.
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You might find other threads on UCI and Davis. Many talk about how nice a town Davis us and how it’s integrated with the City. UCI is in a big, contiguous metro area.
I interviewed for a job with UC Davis but don’t remember. UCI I took a class at. Nothing special campus wise for me.
Also read niche reviews.
I know UCI had some anti-Semitic activity…not saying they are legit but it’s been an issue publicized there. You may read up about it.
Good luck.
Since you will be visiting UCI, I will give you some information about UC Davis and hopefully you will be able to include it in your visit. UCD is opposite the of UCI regarding location.
UCD is a biking campus and has a great student bus system which gets you around campus and town. My son did not require a car until Junior year since he had internships off campus. Up until that time he would utilize the student bus system, the Yolo bus system or bike everywhere.
Davis has the quintessential small town feel but only 20 min to Sacramento airport and about 1 1/2 to 2 hours away from Lake Tahoe, San Francisco Bay Area and Napa/Sonoma wine country.
UCD is large campus surrounded by rural farmland and Wildlife wetlands near by. They have a huge arboretum with bike and walking paths throughout the flat campus.
Socially, UCD is more earthy, laid back and friendly but there are social parties and sororities if she is interested.
Davis has four seasons so rain and cold during the winter, a beautiful spring/fall and then a hot summer.
UCD students work hard but tend to be more collaborative vs. competitive. Undergrad research is available especially if you find a professor with your area of interest.
Downtown Davis has many specialty shops, plenty of restaurants and cafes. Costco and Big Box stores (Home Depot, Best Buy, Target, etc.) are in Woodland which is 15 minutes north of town, by car or bus, so everything you need is relatively close. There is a Target just east of campus and some kids bike over to that shopping center.
Since she is coming from New Jersey, the Sacramento airport is 20 minutes away and she can either Uber to campus or use the Davis Airporter which will drop and pick up on campus.
Davis also has an Amtrak train station which serves the Bay Area and San Jose.
Really visiting is the best way to get an idea if she would like to spend 4 years attending UCD and definitely explore the downtown and Sacramento area if you can.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to respond, appreciate your thorough response🙏 Definitely help her in her decision making process…
Agree with @Gumbymom’s description of Davis.
It’s a green campus concerned about the environment. Lots of water and biking stations. Lots of walking paths to the campus.
We’ve visited UCI several times and with each time, I had a hard time liking it over Davis.
So take my bias into the equation.
- UCI tends to be a commuter campus since a number of students take off for the weekend.
- It’s a hilly campus and can be challenging to bike. It seems to be more dependent on having a car. Traffic can be an issue.
- If you are visiting the campus, make sure that you sign up for both the housing tour and the campus tour.
We toured before the Covid issues. We didn’t know and we did the campus tour, but the people on the housing tour wouldn’t accept us because the campus tour ended late. So, even though there were a number of families, like us, from out of town, hoping to see the housing, their staff leaders weren’t willing to begin another tour. There were several student tour guides, whom we overheard indicating that they were willing to do another tour, the “school staff” did not want to change their decision.
That really soured my daughter on the school. She didn’t really care about seeing the housing, but the fact that there were several families there, and the tours were within the time frame that was posted, the staff just wouldn’t budge. She said, “if they wont budge on their tour, then I know if I have ever have an issue, then they are not going to be sympathetic.” She went to Davis and loved it!
Yes, it’s in the middle of farmland, but you don’t really feel that until you drive around on the outskirts. The kids keep so busy on campus and in town, that they don’t feel as though they are on an agricultural campus.
The train goes into town, dead center. The students take the train to SF, Berkeley, Sacramento and anywhere else.
The town has many top rate restaurants and facilities.
The foods are international and franchise types of every kind.
There are about 10-15 bike shops in town and there is the Bike Barn in the center of campus.
Check out the community Wiki page:
https://localwiki.org/davis/
Can’t thank you enough for such a detailed feedback, super helpful 
Honestly don’t recommend the major. It is heavily oversaturated, my relatives have been having trouble finding a job. Try Neuro or Cog Sci.
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