<p>Like was mentioned earlier- VISIT davis! I liked it, but it definatley has a unique feel, very different from that of UCSB.
after visiting 32, you can tell the character of a campus very quickly- UCD was much more diverse, much more intellectual, more earthy and eco-minded. Sports and outdoor activities like hiking and biking were big, but i guess at SB the beach is outdoors too.. haha</p>
<p>my best advice- VISIT and stay with someone if u can. talk to as many students as possible and maybe sit in on a class. </p>
<p>Thank you jasonlee576, those of us from Northern California are all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.</p>
<p>Maybe you should go and read all the discussions over the forum for the school you will be attending, UCSD. They are discussing the joys and virtues of having a dry campus where everyone wants a single room. ;)</p>
<p>Collegemom,
I've stated my opinion and so do you. Please don't attach people because if for some reason they state something negative about UCD. Your opinion is no more important than mine. UCSB is also known for physics but this person is asking about a major in English.</p>
<p>EDIT: What I also notice is that you prevent people from expressing their opinion about a certain college that either your S or D attending or applying. Why is that? Yes some people do not like Davis, actually a lot of people dont. It's ok if you like Davis or Sacramento but that is your own opinion.</p>
<p>Columbia_Student
My initial post on here was to state that UCD has a medical school and I believe it to be a better choice for students interested in going to medical school. You then posted that UCSB is "better" for humanities. I checked it out and there is no ranking for undergraduate English. I also looked at the staffs of both colleges and they are quite similar in terms of prestige of professors and programs. Even so I did not reply back to you about your opinion. Perhaps go back and re-read your own posts. I'm not the one who made disparaging remarks about another campus either. I gave my opinion about what I think is the best environment and campus for a person interested in medical school. ;)</p>
<p>I have been checking UCSB humanities especially my daughter's major(very similar to English). UCSB graduates from this humanities major go to Yale for Phd. The Creative Studies College also has some excellent humanities program.</p>
<p>i never called SB a big city, i said it was a balance between big city and a cow town.
ANYWAY since you are an english major, i really do think SB in your best bet. yeah, isla vista is expensive. so live on campus for the first or second year, and then rent a house in goleta with a few of your friends. it will be much nicer and much quieter than living in isla vista. (but go there at night and have a blast ;))</p>
<p>oh and collegemom, stop being sarcastic. it doesnt make us respect you and its completely unnecessary. thanks :)</p>
<p>hard to say about particular majors, but generally speaking, location and reputation are a consideration to start, and an in-person visit is still so important even though now the web time. </p>
<p>if you don't have time for a visiting, simply choose ucsb over ucd. usually it's hard for many students to choose between ucsb and ucsd. but with ucsb vs ucd, imo, i don't think it's hard to make decision at all...</p>
<p>Hi, I may be repeating some stuff other people have already said. I have been very happy with my decision to come to SB, and Davis was one of my choices at the time, too. My approach to college is noticeably different, however, because I notice you seem more career-oriented (that is, you know what you want to do post-grad), whereas college has been more exploratory for me...</p>
<p>That said, one of the "negatives" for me for Davis was the "cow-tipping" stereotype that made it seem like a barren cow town? (I apologize for misrepresentation, but that happens to be my vague + hazy impression of it.) If the decision really comes down to the two, I think you owe Davis a visit to help you decide.</p>
<p>On the question of traveling home for the holidays, IMO, it is considerably easier to drive an hour than to fly home or drive/carpool for several hours back down.</p>
<p>As far as location goes, I've lived in Sacramento (about 30 min. away from UCD) my whole life... there isn't a lot of "city life" here or in Davis (the wide majority of Davis's population is UCD students) but it's not a total hick "cow-tipping" town... there's culture here but not a lot in comparison to the bay area or LA. However it's not an exciting place to live by any means and although I haven't visited UCSB yet I will either be going there or UCB in the fall because I want to get out of Sac badly. Not that I hate it here, it's just that I can assure you it gets boring fast. The people here are super-friendly though.</p>
<p>Oh, and Davis is the Bicycle Capital of America... everybody rides bikes there; that's one of the things the town is primarily known for.</p>