<p>I will have to make a decision about these two soon, and I was wondering if anyone could provide any advice. I fell in love with Santa Barbara when I visited, but after a lot of thinking I found things I don't really like - the fact that it doesn't have a medical school, or any professional school, and the graduate population is very small in respect to the undergraduate one. I was sort of hoping to be surrounded by a more diverse group of pople, age wise. Also, the fact that it's sort of small and secluded. Does anyone who goes there or plans on going there find this a problem? I'm afraid I might get bored of such a small place and so little people.</p>
<p>But, the good thing about SB (besides all the obvious ones about it being beautiful and so on), is that it is only an hour away from LA, which is where I live. Davis on the other hand, is an hour north of the Bay Area. Money is a very large issue for me, and I worry about not being able to travel from school to home too often. It would definitely be easier at SB.</p>
<p>But Davis, I believe, is larger and has professional schools and a larger student body. Of course, although Davis looks beautiful in the photographs I've seen on their website, I have never visited it, (which I'm hoping to do), so i don't know how the campus feels, which is very important for me.</p>
<p>I need some help with this decision. Anyone?</p>
<p>I don't think SB's lack of professional schools and small graduate population is significant for undergrads. In general, there isn't much social interaction between undergrads and grads anyway. And SB has 21,000 undergrads, so I don't think you'll find it to be a small place.</p>
<p>DEFINATELY check out Davis before making a decision. But im_blue is right, as an undergrad, it will be rare to interact with grad students outside of discussion sections (grad students are usually your TAs).</p>
<p>If only UCD was a little further away it would be perfect for My D. Best for Bio, perfect college town, near San Fran, Tahoe, Napa, Sacramento. Great student spirit, sports. I think NCal/SCal is the perfect distance from home. If you plan ahead yor can do round trip for less then $100.00 and less then 4 hours (including check in times) depending on where you live in SoCal.</p>
<p>I guess I wouldn't really be able to interact with grad students in the classroom, but I would like to be around them outside of the classroom as well. I'm majoring in English but am also, most likely, going to do pre-med and it would be helpful to have the help of people who have gone through the process and are now in med school, for example. I just feel like throughout my educational career hitherto, I have been so limited in what people I have the chance to meet, that I'm afraid to go to uni only to realize I will be limited to people my own age. I know it sounds kind of silly, but it is actually something I consider when thinking about all this college stuff.</p>
<p>salmonscrubs UCD has a medical school. If you are serious about going pre-med you should try and do some research. UCD is the better choice. You really need to visit both campuses.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I'm majoring in English but am also, most likely, going to do pre-med and it would be helpful to have the help of people who have gone through the process and are now in med school
[/quote]
The med students don't hang out with undergrads, except for the handful that want to make up for lost years working to get into med school with some casual action among the coeds. As im_blue and others have pointed out, the grad & professional students are not looking for buddies among the undergrads.</p>
<p>What matters to you is going to be the premed advising, your grades and scores, and research. Contrary to collegemoms opinion, there is plenty of research opportunity at UCSB for undergrads. See the undergrad research brochure at UCSB</a> Office of Research - News or take a look at UCSB</a> Undergraduate Research</p>
<p>mikemac you are right my post was poorly worded. Of course ALL UC's have research. My point was the availability of the medical school which would provide you with ample opportunity to volunteer, intern etc. And of course the availability of advising which is also quite important. I also neglected to say that it is really important that you visit both schools.</p>
<p>UCSB has better humanities program. You can volunteer at the local hospital, follow doctors around, you don't have to go to UCD. UCSB is on the beach, nicer atmosphere.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for all the responses, they are very helpful. </p>
<p>I think I just have a skewed idea of UCSB's location and surrounding area. I have visited the school but I have not been in downtown SB, or anywhere in the area actually, other than the campus. I guess I just imagine it to be in the middle of nowhere with no connections to a real city less than an hour away. I guess I could successfully prepare for med school at UCSB in spite of it's lack of said school, especially if I won't be making friends with grad students anyway. =P</p>
<p>The city of Santa Barbara is not a "small town" it is actuallty large and filled with a lot of things to do... Downtown is amazing and only about 10 min. from the campus...</p>
<p>okay if you want social interaction with more people than your classmates, you do not want to go to Davis.
Davis is surrounded by nothing. Except Sacramento, which is slightly miserable. It may have your major, which was my issue with schools. The thing is, you can major in Bio in SB and then specify in Grad or Med school. I suggest SB because you sound like you want some city, or at least more than Davis has to offer. Davis has a cute town, but its small and mostly populated by college students. SB on the other hand is a nice balance between big city and absolutely nothing. Also, SB is gorgeous! </p>
<p>and hey, we're all freakin out, dont worry :)</p>
<p>bananaslug, I am actually planning on majoring in English. I know the major might not be too common among pre-meds (or perhaps it is, I's not sure), but they say study what you love and it is a subject I feel I will enjoy most. </p>
<p>I initially looked into UCSB because for some time I was seriously considering a physics major and the school was recommended to me by a teacher. When I visited, I fell in love with the campus because yes, it truly is beautiful...only, I am not sure how long I would be able to feel comfortable there. I now know SB is quite a city and by no means small, but the campus is and from what I've heard, Davis is a lot larger.</p>
<p>I have also been looking into apartment prices and my, Isla Vista seems very expensive. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places but I'm afraid I cannot afford that kind of living. I can't even afford uni really, but it's an experience I desperately want (and am willing to acquire debt enough to rival that of a small country for). I am hoping to one day be able to pay all of it off. </p>
<p>Of course, I just really need to pay Davis a visit before I make any final decisions.</p>