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Question for UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz students/alumni

M

mrkun

Platinum Member
Please post what you like and dislike about your respective universities and the cities of which they're a part.
 
i didnt go to UCD but i should have.. but i like the town.. very democrat.. i love the place.. loved going there for beer and stuff.. lots of loose liberal women.
 
<-- UC Santa Cruz alum

pros:
-motherfvcking gorgeous location, up in the redwoods with views of Monterey bay.
-anything-goes student body (so long as you aren't conservative)
-tons of outdoor activities close at hand
-fun downtown with restaurants, music clubs, bars
-fun backroads for spirited driving
-fairly low violent crime rate
-tons of hot chicks that don't wear too much makeup
-costco
-5 minutes from Highway 1 and its beautiful views
-30 minutes from Silicon Valley
-Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has the Giant Dipper.
-lots of drugs

cons:
-traffic sucks. bad. highways, surface streets, campus.
-very hilly. you often need to ride a bus to get from one class to another.
-no parking unless you are willing to pay $500+ a year for a close-in permit (it's worth it).
-non-stop isolationist liberal yammering from student body
-non-stop isolationist conservative yammering from city residents
-high percentage of dumbsh!t classmates (probably the same anywhere)
-very high rent ($1500+ average for a 2 bd sh!tbox), poor rental selection, crooked landlords.
-high gas costs, high sales tax.
-nearest clean supermarket is one city away
-"eco-friendly" bio-diesels spewing particulate matter everywhere.
-Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has mexican gang members mugging each other.
-lots of drugs.

all in all, i'd make the same choice to attend there if i had to do it again. but i'll be glad to move out when i finally get around to it.
 
I went to UCD from 1997-2001

The biggest reason I stayed an extra year was the MUSIC SCENE. The college radio station has the 2nd largest library of records & CD's in the state (2nd to Stanford). I hosted a jazz/funk/hiphop show for 4 years there & it was a blast. I met so many musicians while there & acquired much music knowledge. I got to interview Afrika Bambaata, DJ Shadow, DJ Qbert & many other local artists.

It's a small town where the campus & downtown area is right next to each other, so at night after studying at the library, you can walk to the local club/bar/cafe & listen to live bands & have a beer or 10. Buses are free. You're 2 hours from Tahoe, so if you're a snowboarder/skiier, you'll definately enjoy your weekends.

Summers and winters are hot & cold as fvck, respectively.
 
UC Davis has a nice college town feel to it; the place is essentially built around the college and everything caters to students right down to the bus system.
 
UC Davis is a great place...to study. My GPA there was amazing, you get fogged and rained in and keep busy. The quality of the faculty is top-notch, and the town has definitely expanded the last few years and has everything you need...in addition to great little restaurants. The crime rate, besides petty theft, is amazingly low. I biked and walked everywhere, or caught the bus in bad weather. And on Sunday mornings or Saturday, you can get up and drive down to Chinatown for some great breakfast and spend the day in the Bay, and then head back refreshed.
 
Some really smart overachieving kids went to Davis from my HS. I took a class there once. Top notch faculty and students. Great campus--easy to get around with a bike (which everyone owns). A great place to get a top education. Tahoe is close by for some amazing skiing.

UCSC is more of a hippie atmosphere. Lower standard everything compared to the Davis campus (it's still a UC, so a great education is in order--they won a Nobel two years ago I believe). Environment is beautiful and great if you're a surfer and a pot smoker.

 
Originally posted by: Parasitic
Oh, are UC decisions out?
Time to phone my brother and ask how he fared.
Click to expand...

Freshman decisions should be out in the next few weeks. Transfers won't get theirs until April.
 
i'm a current freshman at UC Davis.

positive
as others have mentioned, it truly is a college town
if you want to study, it's a great university in a good location
faculty is top notch
facilities are excellent. many (most?) building are brand new, the gym is the best i've ever seen, and the library is amazing
buses are free (and all bus lines return to campus...it's campus run)
very biker-friendly campus/town (helps with the freshman 15 😉 )
attractive campus and lots of greenery
rent is pretty low (~$1000 for 2 bedroom...get a roommate and it's $500)
close to the bay and sacramento

negative
if you've been to berkeley, it doesn't have an abundance of small restaurants like that. there are restaurants, but not like berkeley.


i'm real satisfied with what davis is offering me.
 
Davis lacks the college-town atmosphere IMO. Seriously. This is where Berkeley and LA rule in terms of college life. If everyone drives around, it's kinda pointless.
 
Originally posted by: atomicacid55
Davis lacks the college-town atmosphere IMO. Seriously. This is where Berkeley and LA rule in terms of college life. If everyone drives around, it's kinda pointless.
Click to expand...

I suppose if one really wants that atmosphere, there's always UCSB. Isla Vista is just an extension of the campus, and then there's nothing else around.
 
Originally posted by: Kelvrick
Originally posted by: dquan97
UCD alum '01 here. Worked for TAPS 🙂 while going to school. Enjoyed the close proximity of classes
Click to expand...

The devil!
Click to expand...

Burn in hell!!!!😛


For the OP, Davis has a far better rep than santa cruz with regards to academics and such. I believe it's number 3 in the UC's. It's ranked 47 in the US News National University rankings, and Santa Cruz is 76.


My one regret (being a Davis alum) is that I never bothered to work for Unitrans. Where else could you get paid to train to drive a bus and be a bus driver without it being your actual career path? For those unfamiliar, Unitrans is the UC Davis bus system. It's completely student run and all the buses are student driven. It has to be one of the cleanest and most efficient bus systems in the country too. Oh well, I got a higher paying job in IT.

The one bad thing about Davis, the nearest big city is Sacramento. If the state of california had a hairy sweaty armpit, it would be Sacramento.
 
Originally posted by: mrkun
Originally posted by: atomicacid55
Davis lacks the college-town atmosphere IMO. Seriously. This is where Berkeley and LA rule in terms of college life. If everyone drives around, it's kinda pointless.
Click to expand...

I suppose if one really wants that atmosphere, there's always UCSB. Isla Vista is just an extension of the campus, and then there's nothing else around.
Click to expand...

this thread needs more Gaucho love

<- UCSB alumni
 
UCD alum 1998 to 2002,

-Very college friendly town, you can bike almost anywhere. Buses are free too.
-Short drive to the bay area and Sacramento. Not too far from snow during Winter.
-Diverse community.
-Their honors program is good.
-Med and law school near by.
-Prestigious MBA program.

 
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