<p>Hey everyone, thanks for taking the time to read this. I have quite the dilemma choosing between these two schools and I'm not entirely sure what to do. I'm transferring from community college after spending a good two years trying to figure out a major and I eventually settled on international relations. I applied to places like SB and LA under the global studies major because I've heard this major has a similar curriculum and these two schools don't technically have IR. I was originally targeting UCSD, but even before getting waitlisted yesterday, I was beginning to think I was better off at an somewhat "easier" school with a more college city feel. It's clear to me both of these schools offer something for me but I'm not sure which one is the better fit. On one hand, Davis actually has my major, Sacramento is right there, so I'm sure internship opportunities are great, I have a few close friends there already, including one who could be my roommate next year, I get to stay closer to home which makes visiting my family easier, (I live near San Jose and Oakland) I've visited the campus multiple times and I feel like I fit well with the the people that go there, and it has a more relaxed, slower pace, which is actually good for me because I'm not really into the party scene (rarely smoke, drink). On the other hand, SB offers you a campus right on the beach, which would be much nicer than living in farmville, the weather will be great, the campus is supposed to be gorgeous, it would take me out of my comfort zone a bit and allow me to make new friends and have new experiences and probably grow more as a person, it doesn't hurt that they're known for having prettier girls, and i've heard good things about the study abroad program, which I would certainly like to do for 1 quarter. So with all that being said, which one should I choose?</p>
<p>bump :(</p>
<p>Choose the one you like best…</p>
<p>First, find out if international relations actually is the same as global studies. </p>
<p>At UCSB international relations seems to be a sub area of political science: <a href=“International Relations | Department of Political Science - UC Santa Barbara”>International Relations | Department of Political Science - UC Santa Barbara;
<p><a href=“Undergraduate Program | Department of Political Science - UC Santa Barbara”>Undergraduate Program | Department of Political Science - UC Santa Barbara;
<p>However, they also have the interdisciplinary global studies program, which likely overlapped. I had just pigeonholed that more with feminist, black, etc studies and socio economic policy creation, not with nuts and bolts of treaties and rules and how to work with others the way things actually are today. It is new since I attended long ago, however, so I don’t really know. In any event, I would think you could change majors, or just slant your participation to the courses you want, since global studies is interdisciplinary. </p>
<p>I think UCSB is fantastic, and has really friendly students and more temperate, pleasant weather. However, I am really impressed with UC Davis and its students and I love the town there, as well (not the heat and humidity). You should just figure out what you like best for the next four years. If you haven’t visited UCSB, you should, though. I wasn’t sure from your post if you had.</p>
<p>@collegevetting , thanks for your input. i visited SB once but it was during the weekend of deltopia and i unfortunately didn’t take advantage of seeing the campus. I will have to take another trip down there before I make my decision</p>