<p>santa barbara is like 5 feet from the pacific ocean</p>
<p>I've seen all of them except for UCR and UCM. My impressions:
1) UCLA, in particular the north campus which has an Ivy League look without the lousy weather - vibrant campus atmosphere and if you're gonna be stuck in LA then this is the best area to be. Nearby freeways and south side surface streets are horrendous though. Beaches are about 15 minutes depending on traffic.
2) UCSD - nice too but in a much different way. Great location, beautiful natural surroundings, coastline and great weather. Has the nicest nearby beaches of all the campuses IMO. Architecture is not too consistent, most buildings are more modern - some parts look like a business park but overall pretty nice. More laid back and quiet than UCLA, perhaps too much so for some.
3) UCI - probably the best laid out. Attractive, however it seems a bit sterile, especially on weekends when nobody's there. Looks a lot like a hi-tech business park. In an upscale but fairly crowded suburb - lots of people work here so commute traffic can get ugly - beaches not too far away.
4) UCSC - very nice natural setting - weather not bad but not as nice as the socal campuses. Can rain a lot in the winter. Beaches are close by with good surfing. City of Santa Cruz is a bit dumpy and crowded in spots. Counter-culture crowd is alive and well here.</p>
<p>5) UCSB - Closest to beach however IMO the beach is not so special, lots of seaweed and flat surf at the time I was there. The offshore oil rigs don't help either. The lagoon was not too pristine looking either. Isla Vista frankly is a bit of a dump. Architecture is inconsistent but not bad, weather is great. Overall a nice campus but I thought it was going to be nicer. Downtown SB was further away than I expected too.
6) UC Davis - if you want a traditional college town this is it - bikes dominate the campus and it's laid out nicely. Has a midwestern feel to it - flat, spread out and lots of friendly people. Winters can be relentlessly foggy and summers can get really hot. Although it's a Sacramento suburb it feels a bit like a rural cowtown, which it was and to some extent still is. Nice base location if you like to ski - Tahoe is a couple of hours and SF Bay area is less that 2 hours away, as is the Napa valley wine country.
7) UC Berkeley - you either love Berkeley or you don't and your outlook of it's attractiveness will depend on that - can't argue that it's a great academic school though.</p>
<p>santa cruz is absolutely gorgeous. it's in a redwood forest, is surrounded on 2 or 3 sides by a national redwood forest, is overlooking the montery bay, and has tons of wildlife. it's hard to walk around and NOT see animals, especially deer and racoon. UCSC also has several large meadows and their own organic farm.</p>
<p>i don't understand how people can possibly think UCLA is more attractive than UCSC.</p>
<p>UCLA has a prevailing theme, so you know what to expect.
Berkeley tends to contain more surprises. Some people like the buildings to be the same; others tend to enjoy diversity.</p>
<p>Man, only one person gave props to UCD...:( Bummer...</p>
<p>From the UC's I've seen...UCLA has the nicest buildings by far.</p>
<p>"From the UC's I've seen...UCLA has the nicest buildings by far."</p>
<p>.........Have u seen CAL?</p>
<p>view from janss steps.. amazing</p>
<p>Its really all preference.
UCLA- looks nice i guess if you like consistent themes, classic architecture. </p>
<p>However personally i think Berkeley is the most attractive. It is the polar opposite of what UCLA is. It's grimier, dirtier, colder, foggy, and inconsistent, but i find that very beautiful. With UCLA you have your red bricks, with UCB you have your variety and random architecture.
It's like comparing clothes, take a preppy lacoste/ralph lauren outfit (UCLA) and hold that up to a grimey, torn up, vintage T Shirt (UC Berkeley.) Some people like the more preppy, clean cut lacoste polos while others like that vintage, classic, dirty but in a good way t shirt. </p>
<p>UCSB is a bit overated. Don't confuse Isla Vista with Santa Barbara, Isla Vista is a dump, its a place to party and thats it. The beach is literally right outside class, however, it's cold and dirty. The nicest thing about UCSB scenary would have to be the hundreds of scantily clad blondes running around in flip flops. </p>
<p>UCSD bored me. Best beach by far, but the area, and people, in general, bored me. </p>
<p>UCSC is great if your looking for a natural, green, setting. </p>
<p>UC Davis is nice if your looking for that ideal college town/atmosphere. </p>
<p>UC Irvine i found boring, lacking culture, lacking excitement, if you like modern, you might like it.</p>
<p>"It's like comparing clothes, take a preppy lacoste/ralph lauren outfit (UCLA) and hold that up to a grimey, torn up, vintage T Shirt (UC Berkeley.) Some people like the more preppy, clean cut lacoste polos while others like that vintage, classic, dirty but in a good way t shirt."</p>
<p>thats true... the most beautiful campus is based upon what kind of campus you like... i guess i like the preppy look better than the vintage =)</p>
<p>I'm personally opposed to prefaded anything. Yes, it was completely random, but it had to be said.</p>
<p>i'll take my vintage 17 year old pink floyd on tour t-shirt that i won off ebay over any $70 preppy lacoste shirt. The Pink Floyd shirt has so much more meaning and style to that mundane, happy Lacoste shirt. Anyone can go out and buy that lacoste polo with a matching coat but only some people can pull off the creativity of that vintage, grimey look. </p>
<p>Berkeley Campus>>>>>UCLA Campus IMO</p>
<p>Meaning, History, Culture>>>>>Red Bricks</p>
<p>not bashing UCLA, its still nice in that Carlton from 'Fresh Prince of Bel Air' kind of way but its not touching UCB.</p>
<p>ALL of the UC campuses are nice! Out of the ones on the beach, UCSB wins hands down! UCSD has nice buildings but the architecture style is not consistent and the campus does not have a good overall "warm" feel!</p>
<p>i didnt like ucsb... and dont brag about the beach, we all know its shiit.</p>
<p>ucsd was lame, it was so obvious that every tree on campus was planted there and it all looked so fake. </p>
<p>ucla... i just couldnt picture myself there. when i visited i didnt feel like i fit in at all.</p>
<p>i love santa cruz. its just something you cant pay for.</p>
<p>Joseph Stalin and Nikita Khrushchev would love UCLA because it fits their image of a neat, squarish, brick dominated camp. Compare LA to a Soviet era factory and notice the similarities.</p>
<p>Seriously, UCLA is like a cold war holdover. The entire campus is their monument. Next thing you know, and the newspapers headlines will be</p>
<p>"UCLA Purchases Statue of Stalin to stand atop Rolls Royce"</p>
<p>I wish more of Davis' buildings had that Shingled architecture that you see over by the financial aid office.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Joseph Stalin and Nikita Khrushchev would love UCLA because it fits their image of a neat, squarish, brick dominated camp. Compare LA to a Soviet era factory and notice the similarities.</p>
<p>Seriously, UCLA is like a cold war holdover. The entire campus is their monument. Next thing you know, and the newspapers headlines will be</p>
<p>"UCLA Purchases Statue of Stalin to stand atop Rolls Royce"
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Why is this remotely necessary other than to incite a flamewar? What do you gain from this? Come on.</p>
<p>specialK, ucla is not "5 miles from the pacific ocean"</p>
<p>No, it's 8 miles as the crow flies.</p>
<p>I like Davis because of the large quads and some of the interesting buildings, and the attractive small stream. I do wish they would clean up some of the scruffy 1960's style thought and soul-less buildings.</p>
<p>Don't you just love the Death Star?</p>