Where to go to college: UC Davis or UC Santa Barbara?

[rhsgolfer33]

I must have been in the wrong place, some of my most memorable parties were held at UCSD and Pepperdine.

Oh you weren't in the wrong place... I just wouldn't want to be caught at Pepperdine if I was a student there, which I'm not. I go to another "dry" campus, but that rule is routinely broken by many students.

I wouldn't exactly call Santa Barbara a big city. Its good size and there are quite a few people in the area, but a lot of it gives off a fairly small feel, you certainly don't feel like you're in a city.

If you're majoring in something like Bio or Engineering definitely go to Davis, but for French you'd do fine at either school.

 

[63dot]

I wouldn't exactly call Santa Barbara a big city. Its good size and there are quite a few people in the area, but a lot of it gives off a fairly small feel, you certainly don't feel like you're in a city.

For California, I thought Santa Barbara was a major city but compared the biggest city in my region which had 20,000+ people, Santa Barbara at four times that population seemed huge.

Of course years later, I took four consecutive summer trips to in-laws in LA and I saw what huge really was. On a map, one could easily overestimate Santa Barbara and underestimate Los Angeles. San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland also dwarf Santa Barbara. There is no substitute for actually checking out a city to see how it feels. For it's current 90,000 residents, Santa Barbara still retains a small town feel to it, but not so small that there is nothing to do.

 

[hayduke]

I must have been in the wrong place, some of my most memorable parties were held at UCSD and Pepperdine.

Most memorable or (stumbling around drunk) *least* memorable?

 

[63dot]

Most memorable or (stumbling around drunk) *least* memorable?

Umm, that would be Chico State.

 

[crazyevilmuffin]

Of course! how could I forget Picnic Day and the Whole Earth Festival?

Haha both of those event seem pretty interesting--I've definitely never been to anything like them before

It's worth noting that UCD has an excellent Bio program, with renowned schools of medicine and veterinary medicine, if you plan on taking that route.

This is one of the main reasons I plan on going to Davis over Santa Barbara. I've always been interested in the sciences, and by majoring in biology I have plenty of options, such as becoming a dentist or perhaps a veterinarian. Would you say that Davis far outranks UCSB in this respect?

 

[EricNau]

This is one of the main reasons I plan on going to Davis over Santa Barbara. I've always been interested in the sciences, and by majoring in biology I have plenty of options, such as becoming a dentist or perhaps a veterinarian. Would you say that Davis far outranks UCSB in this respect?

Yes, Davis easily outranks UCSB in both respects. The UC Davis school of medicine, and the UC Davis Medical center consistently rank among the best in the nation (along with UCSF, UCLA, and UCSD, and UCI).

The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine is world-renowned and the largest veterinary school in the United States. It consistently ranks among the best vet schools in the country.

UCSB does not offer either program.

 

[EricNau]

One last thing...

UCD has the coolest marching band. The UC Davis Band-uh:

And for more formal events:

They're really quite good, with a very unique persona.

 

[eldy]

I visisted some friends in Davis once. I'm never going back there again.

 

[d wade]

duuuude... UCSB all the way -- that school is amazing and the girls are innnsannneee

 

[rc251]

I've been lurking on this site for a bit (trying to get a refurbished IPhone as an upgrade to my AT&T account but guess you can't), but I noticed this topic. I just wanted to chime in to this topic. Full disclosure: I went to UCSB but also took summer classes at Davis and lived there 3 months (South Davis at Drew).

I don't see how some of you guys are under the impression that Davis has the better academic reputation. Both Davis and SB are ranked #44 nationally by US News (they tied, also tied for #12 for just public universities).

Also, UCSB is not Santa Barbara. Downtown Santa Barbara is 11 miles away. That's like saying UC Davis is in Sacramento and then describing Sac. UCSB is adjacent to Isla Vista, the most fun college town in the world...

I was accepted to both, and chose UC Davis, simply because the transportation to Santa Barabara is extremely limited. I'm happy with my decsion.

I take it you're from Sacramento based on your profile? Just hop on the San Joaquins at Sacramento Amtrak and take the thruway connection at Bakersfield to Santa Barbara. Then hope on the 24X SBMTD bus and you're right on campus.

As for pre-med, there's opportunities in SB too. Keep in mind that Berkeley doesn't have a med school either, although UCSF functions similarly as one. At UCSB, you have the Cottage Health system. They have many med-related opportunities and ability to sign up as scribes in the ER.

I still loved my 3 months at Davis though, and both schools are great. I would say academically they're almost equivalent, just choose whichever one you feel more at home at. I was from San Francisco and I wanted a change of environment and get farther away from home so I went to SB.