Does anyone have any thoughts on what school will be more fun socially? I’ve heard that about 2/3 of the people at UCI commute and that there’s not much going on socially. I don’t know much about UCD. Thanks.
<p>Davis is a perfect example of a college town...my friends are having tons of fun there</p>
<p>UCD is okay socially, if not a bit too quiet.
UCI is very new, and is worse socially.</p>
<p>Thanks guys. As of now I have a choice between UCD, UCI, UCSB and UCR as a bio major. Where would you guy if you were me?</p>
<p>-Bubbles...I'm not sure what you mean by UC Davis is quite. Haha...i can tell you for a fact that it sure can be loud, from the Cal Aggie Marching Band Uh playing through the dorms on the way to the football games to the persistent buzzing of bikes. If by quite you mean we have no traffic noise because we're not surrounded by a city...i'll take quite any day.</p>
<p><em>I transferred most of this from an old post</em>
Anyways, UC Davis prides itself in having a very strong student life. If you want to go to college for the sole purpose of grades and a degree, go to UCI or UCSD and study to your hearts content. But if you want to enjoy college life, toss the Frisbee on the lawn, cheer on the newly DI Aggie sports teams, or party it up on Russell Avenue (Frat row, where MTV filmed the show "Sorority Life"), WHILE still having an academic atmosphere of one the top schools in the nation...GO TO UCD. Go visit UCI on any weekend, the school is really a commuter school, it is deserted, everyone goes home. If you're a hardcore partier go to UCSB, where you can party till you drop. But the most well rounded UC in the system with the greatest student life is Davis.
WHY STUDENT LIFE AT DAVIS IS THE BEST
- DI sports with potential to grow. THIS IS THE MOST EXCITING TIME TO BE AT DAVIS as we're just going DI in sports. Everyone at UCD loves UCD, there is Aggie Pride everywhere, you just haven't heard of it because Davis hasn't had the chance to be big time. Next year we play Stanford in football and they are coming to Davis to play us in basketball. We're building a new football stadium, by the time an enrolling freshman is a senior, Davis athletics should be all over ESPN and the student crowds will easily rival Cal and LA.
- People at Davis are really friendly and really cool. The guys always open the doors for girls. If get in a bike accident, everyone stops and asks if your all right. Its a friendliness not seen at other campuses, its Aggie Pride.
- Intramural Sports in Davis are huge and open for all skill levels. 16,000 students do IMs every year; from Dodgeball to Flag Football...the IMs are incredibly fun.
- Come on, what's more college esque than thousands of people biking to class everyday
- I could go on but this post is long enough...feel free to check my previous posts and other threads...a lot has been said by fellow Aggies on this topic
In the end, Davis is the last true college town left in California, it has that feel to it, and it has the vibe to it. It's an amazing school with amazing people...GO AGS!</p>
<p>my cousin goes to UCD... and she loves it there! Dunno about Irvine though....</p>
<p>uc davis has more friendly people</p>
<p>Irvine is a great city. I should know, I live here, lol. There's a lot of places to do stuff, they have an In-n-Out across the street from the campus (okay, that's not a good reason). </p>
<p>First of all, if you like living in a city, Irvine is the place. If you want to bike around, then no, Irvine isn't the place for you, shopping districts are spread far apart (though there is one across the street from the campus and down the street from the campus).</p>
<p>The whole city is very new (created in 1978) and beautifully maintained. It's nicknamed "The Bubble" because it's like a haven between crappier cities such as Santa Ana and Tustin (No offense to people living there).</p>
<p>The crime rate here is unbelievable low. I wouldn't be afraid of walking around at 2:00 in the morning holding $10,000 in cash in my hands.</p>
<p>For entertainment: There's an ice skating rink (it looks like a barn rofl) about 3 minutes from UCI, a bowling alley, and a Boomers (it's a large arcade with rides such as go-carts and laser tag... an interesting place to hang out). </p>
<p>About 15 minutes from the campus (i'm bad at estimating since I live six miles from the campus and I'm not attending UCI yet) there's a huge... I guess you could call it mall --> Irvine Spectrum. Complete with a lot of restuarants (more than 20), a Nordstroms, an Edwards 21 Cinema, Electronic Botique (videogames!), and a casino/arcade (no slots, it's not Indian owned).</p>
<p>Blizzard Headquarters (Starcraft!) is in Irvine, as well as Taco Bell. That's not relevant to anything, but I thought it might be interesting to note. Broadcom is located here also. Who is head of Broadcom? None other than Henry Samueli. </p>
<p>Who?</p>
<p>The Henry Samueli School of Engineering? at UCI?</p>
<p>Oh right.</p>
<p>Yeah, that's completely irrevelent.</p>
<p>Where was I...</p>
<p>Basically Irvine isn't a boring place at all, unless you like the calmness of the countryside in contrast to the lights of the city.</p>
<p>It's definitely not a close-knit community. Nobody would ask if you're okay if you fell off your bike because everyone's in cars. You can't really get anywhere without a car.</p>
<p>But hey, tell me more about Davis, I'm going there if UCI rejects me.</p>
<p>Oh and I appologize for the lack of organization in my post, UCSD turned me down and because of that I can't think clearly right now.</p>
<p>"It's definitely not a close-knit community. Nobody would ask if you're okay if you fell off your bike because everyone's in cars."</p>
<p>LOL!... nice. </p>
<p>More on the definitely-not-a-close-knit comment... everyone pretty much minds their own business around here. Don't know that about UCI for a fact (though that's the impression I've had from studying there a few times), but I've lived in Irvine for a while too and it's pretty much like that. Don't know if that's a bad thing or not, but I like it. Not that everyone's a complete snob or anything like that, but just don't expect everyone to be your best friend.</p>
<p>btw, coolman25, you forgot to mention one more thing about Irvine... the Verizon Ampitheater. There's concerts and shows there all the time. They're not crappy shows either. Radio station concerts, mainstream artists, sometimes even independent artists. Here's a [url=<a href="http://www.verizonwirelessamphitheater.com/losangeles/%5Dlink%5B/url">http://www.verizonwirelessamphitheater.com/losangeles/]link[/url</a>] if you're interested. Orange County itself has a lot of concert venues too... you just have to know where to look and what you want to see, but they're not very far from UCI. </p>
<p>Also, I don't know if this is a bad thing or not, but hey, if you're a die hard "The O.C." fan (which I'm not - actually I've never even seen a single episode), UCI is right next to Newport. You can always cruise around and admire the estates (har har... but I do know some UCI kids that do that in their spare time) or visit a few clubs mentioned in the show :rolleyes:.</p>
<p>What's bad about UCI though is... well, some people are right. The social life is nothing compared to Davis. Chances are, at UCI, most are either really close dorm/hall mates, or have been friends since junior high or high school. You pretty much just have to know the right people, or at least know the right places to go. However, I've heard great stories about joining certain clubs and organizations on campus that really help with ones social life. But like I said, all it takes is some asking around and knowing the right places to go.</p>
<p>Anyway, coolman25... excellent description of Irvine! my sentiments exactly! nice "bubble" comment btw (and great job mentioning the low crime rate... lol. I feel the same way). Even if a person "ends up" in Irvine due to rejection from his or her dream UC, coolman is right - Irvine is a great city. I love it. I wouldn't mind going there for the next couple of years even if I do live here.</p>
<p>Coolman, how can you call Tustin a crappy city? Have you been to Tustin Ranch, North Tustin, or other places?</p>
<p>Have you seen Santa Ana near Foothill High School?</p>
<p>I mean, of course, deep Santa Ana with great hispanic populations isn't the greatest place to live in. But you can't judge a whole city by that.</p>
<p>The only reason reason Irvine doesn't have any crime is because it's full of Asians. They're incapable of any wrongdoings.</p>
<p>I live in Irvine, too.</p>
<p>"The only reason reason Irvine doesn't have any crime is because it's full of Asians. They're incapable of any wrongdoings."</p>
<p>That's where you're wrong. I'm Asian. Actually, no, you're right, I'm incapable of wrongdoing, but not because of my ethnicity. Anyway... where was I... oh yeah... obviously you've only met a few Asians; otherwise, you'd know that Asian teenagers and young adults are just as likely to become trouble makers than anyone else. Believe me, I know plenty. The only difference is that whatever trouble they cause, they just don't do it in Irvine. Besides, you'd be surprised to know that Irvine is not full of Asians. It does seem, though, that it is - especially around the IVC area and up Walnut because of all the Asian markets/restaurants. But Irvine is pretty big beyond the Westpark I/Northpark area, and it's definitely not full of Asians beyond those borders, and especially not in my neighborhood. Also, not that this what you've said, but it's also a misconception that whites are the minority in Irvine. </p>
<p>Demographics:</a>
In 2002, only 29.8% of Irvine was made up of Asians. And that's not only Pacific Islanders, Oriental, or Southeast Asians, but it also includes Middle Eastern Asians. Yes, in two years the numbers have risen, but not by much (I don't have the census booklet with me). Now, UCI is a different story, however. According to the University</a> of California's Introducing the University booklet, the Fall 2003 enrollment statistics states that nearly half of the incoming students were Asian (48.6%). That's why Irvine seems like it's full of Asians (and of course, like I said, the abundance of Asian markets and restaurants).</p>
<p>I do have to agree with you one one thing. You definitely can't judge a city based on a hispanic population. Santa Ana's pretty big. So's Tustin... I've been in different areas of Tustin, and I guarantee you they're not the same - urban areas, gated communities, new homes, huge estates... the list goes on.</p>
<p>Speaking from my experience (four of my cousins went to davis, as did my best friend, as did a whole bunch of my hs classmates), it is very much a nice college town. The people are friendly and you are likely to find close-knit friends. My cousins generally loved it there. My best friend and some my hs classmates however absolutely hated it. I personally thought its pleasant but it wasnt for me. In my observation, it pretty depends on whether you like the town of davis and if you are into student life. My best friend hated davis because its a cow town and she is a city girl. The few bars downtown just doesnt do it for her and once she got her fill of house parties, she just got tired of it. My cousins on the otherhand loved it so much, they bought a house in davis after graduation and she still lives there today. The best thing is to come up and check it out for yourself. I didnt even apply to Davis because I wanted to leave northern california and go somewhere new and experience something new. It turned out to be one of the best choices I made. If you are from socal, that might be something to think about.</p>
<p>Well, not to say Santa Ana and Tustin aren't good cities, it's just a strong contrast to the "bubble" of Irvine. I know they have those certain rich areas with very nice houses.</p>
<p>We asians can't do wrong because our parents would beat us if we did :)</p>
<p>Oh I forgot to mention the best part of Irvine... Micro Center!</p>
<p>It's geek central for Comp nerds. Nobody's probably ever heard of it if they're not from around here, but Micro Center is a small chain computer electronics store that is elite because sometimes they have crazy sales. For example, the first day that Warcraft III: Frozen Throne came out, they gave away a $10 gift card with it!! Not for preordering it or anything, just buying it! Also, when Half-Life 2 was $49.99 at most stores, i bought it like 2-3 days after it came out at Micro Center for I think $34.95.</p>
<p>160 gig SATA HD for $59.99!</p>
<p>Of course, very close to Irvine (somewhat) is the city of Fountain Valley. What do they have there? None other than Fry's Electronics, possibly the only electronics store I would consider better than Micro Center.</p>
<p>Can you say... 200 GB hard drive for $50? I sure did. Their after-thanksgiving "black friday" sale had so many people there that I had to wait in line outside for 15 minutes to get in and going to the checkout I had to wait in a line of 100+ people.</p>
<p>But yeah, let's see what else I can say about Irvine... oh yes, there's another In-n-out on the other side of the city at the "Tustin Marketplace"</p>
<p>Uh this is kinda hard to explain. As you're driving down Culver, the Tustin Marketplace is to the left and The Marketplace (I call it Irvine Marketplace) is to the left. I think technically both are part of Irvine, but you know, people are weird these days...</p>
<p>This is another huge shopping district that I frequent a lot because my house is about two miles away. They have a Barnes and Noble, many... many restaurants (Black Angus, In-n-Out, Taco Bell, Carl's, Thai Spice, IHOP, McDonalds, agh I can't remember all of them), Target, Gamestop, K-mart, Costco, Home Depot, Lowes (not that a college student would go there).</p>
<p>Oh yes... there's two Edwards theaters... DIRECTLY across the street from each other. But they're separate theaters... I never knew they had so much money...</p>
<p>I'll post more if I can think of anything else, lol</p>
<p>Oh yes, for people who've seen The OC, that show has absolutely no factual basis. First of all, I think you'd see quite a few asians at Newport Beach. Especially since UCI borders it. And uh, I don't think anyone would beat you down and say "Welcome to the OC b1tch, this is how we do it in Orange County!" rofl</p>
<p>As someone living around the area where the show takes place, it's hilarious how ridiculously inconsistent it is with reality. Well, it is TV though.</p>
<p>One of the things I got a huge kick out of was when the woman was saying that the main character (sorry I don't remember names) was trash because he was from a poor place like Chino and her husband says, "But aren't you from Riverside?"</p>
<p>ahahaha</p>
<p>oh yeah read:</p>
<p>Riverside bashing!</p>
<p>We roadtripped down to Irvine and on Friday and Saturday nights, all people did were play computer/video games. If thats what you like to do, go for it. </p>
<p>In Davis, you need not find "beverages reserved for elders." These "beverages" will find you.</p>
<p>Davis has Sacramento, the Bay Area, sports teams, concert venues, shopping malls all within public transportation distance. </p>
<p>Irvine has LA, Disneyland, and other places yeah thats true..but the horrendous traffic definetely is a negative.</p>
<p>rofl "beverages reserved for elders".</p>
<p>Traffic isn't that bad. Maybe on the freeways.</p>
<p>As for Disneyland... you'll go once and you'll probably never go again. It's not that great. There's also Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park which to me is a bit better than Disneyland. There's also Six Flags somewhere which I've never been to. </p>
<p>There's a Wild Rivers close to Irvine Spectrum but I've only been there once... </p>
<p>Computer / Video games :)</p>
<p>The joys of LAN</p>
<p>So basically Davis is the cooler college place to be over Irvine....interesting...</p>
<p>Now I want a comparo between Davis and SB.....the two choices I'm having a hard time with...</p>
<p>I'd argue that conclusion, but I've never been to Davis, so all I can do is say good stuff about Irvine... it's not boring if anyone concludes that. It's just a big city so not everybody will be your friend, very individualistic, and you just find a group of friends and go hang out at places.</p>
<p>uc davis is an awesome school socially and academically</p>
<p>Socially, UCSB is the best, and pretty good academically as well. (Pending my Berkeley rejection on Thursday lol, I'm picking UCSB over Davis and Irvine. :) )</p>