What are your opinions of UC Merced, Davis, and Santa Barbara? (Middle Universities in the State) (San Jose: rental)

[Ghostgecko]

Being from Indiana, I am not afraid of a small town, especially near Yosemite! But I am also apprehensive about passing up the larger universities like Cal, UCLA, and UCSD for fear the quality may not be the same. Can anyone put these fears to rest, and help me make a better decision?

I am about to get a TAG in the next few months, and apply, as well as I have been following the IGETC and go to Santa Monica College, #1 in transfers.

Any advice or challenges to my ways of thinking?...please be nice and understand that I do not know most of the state. Right now, I am planning a degree in Psychology, planning Masters and perhaps further, and also would like to maybe lecture or teach...not determined for sure.

In addition...any experiences or the "top five reasons" for your pick would be awesome...and are appreciated in advance...

Thanks!

[BeauCharles]

UC Davis is excellent academically, is old enough to be thoroughly complete in its program offerings and integration into the community. Its also located in one of California's few true "college towns". Its location fairly close to Sacramento is a plus and its also an easy drive to San Francisco (about 90 minutes).

I had a friend who went to UCSB. Its a good university, but for some reason it just didn't appeal to me. I didn't like the Isla Vista "student ghetto" she lived in and Santa Barabara, while pretty, was just too filled with homeless and vagrants which are typically drawn to mild coastal communities.

UC Merced is very young. I'm sure in time it will flesh out and be completed, but in this era of state budget shortfalls its going to take some time. I lived in Merced for five years and its a nice town, but nothing approaching Davis as far as a college town.

[Cali-girl]

I'm a bit unsure of your post since you say you're from Indiana but are now in Santa Monica?

If you can handle SM, you should do well at any of these universities since SM is located in a heavily populated area.

Santa Barbara would be my choice, but perhaps because I'm biased having earned my B.A. there and the last I attended was in 2006, so that's how current my suggestion is based on.

SB is an upscale town like SM and the housing is priced similarly for either homebuyers or renters. Less expensive would be Goleta and Isla Vista. UCSB housing dept has referrals to local rental agencies and also has postings for short and long-term rental housing. May want to check this out if you are admitted.

UC Davis like UC Merced are located in farming communities/areas and so if the Indiana in you calls, may want to consider going to either of these (flatland). Merced is newer and small than Davis. Davis has a medical school and has top-quality medical care for students and the community.

Davis housing is less expensive than Santa Barbara's - may want to look on Craigslist for cost estimates.

~Cali-girl

[TimC2462]

Originally Posted by Ghostgecko

Being from Indiana, I am not afraid of a small town, especially near Yosemite! But I am also apprehensive about passing up the larger universities like Cal, UCLA, and UCSD for fear the quality may not be the same. Can anyone put these fears to rest, and help me make a better decision?

I am about to get a TAG in the next few months, and apply, as well as I have been following the IGETC and go to Santa Monica College, #1 in transfers.

Any advice or challenges to my ways of thinking?...please be nice and understand that I do not know most of the state. Right now, I am planning a degree in Psychology, planning Masters and perhaps further, and also would like to maybe lecture or teach...not determined for sure.

In addition...any experiences or the "top five reasons" for your pick would be awesome...and are appreciated in advance...

Thanks!

My choice would be UC Davis, despite that I attended UC Santa Barbara for a year before dropping out to pursue another major elsewhere. I was a pre-psych major and I didn't find the major that interesting. That aside, it's a beautiful campus, but the atmosphere was less favorable for me. I elected to live off campus rather than live in Isla Vista, which was very ghetto the last time I attended there.

My sister and brother-in-law graduated from UC Davis so I have time up there. It's not known as a party school, but it is a very strong university in terms of academics. Davis is smaller, but it is a large college town with just about everything a student can do to stay occupied.

[nr5667]

IV has been undergoing quite a bit of renovation, and you don't even have to live there, I didn't. And it can be different block by block.

The campus is easily the nicest in the UC system. Unless you can walk down some stairs and go for a swim in the ocean between classes at Davis or Merced...

Santa Barbara doesn't have that many homeless people, certainly not compared to Santa Cruz, San Jose, San Francisco, or anywhere else, it's a very affluent and very beautiful city.

I'm afraid that for me, there's really no way a central valley town could compare with Santa Barbara (although, UCSB is actually north of the city, surrounded by the city of Goleta).

[BayAreaHillbilly]

UCSB is closer to the Cal, UCLA end of the spectrum than it is to the UC Merced end.

[Glenview94602]

I am a Davis grad ('11) and my brother is a junior transfer at UCSB. I don't really know much about UC Merced and I don't want to generalize.

UC Davis is very strong in Agriculture, Veternary Sciences, and has very good Med school in Sacramento. It is actually the third biggest campus in enrollment size (33k undergrad, grad, and professional in total..maybe 26k undergrads) and is the largest UC campus in size. It was founded in 1908.

UC Santa Barbara, has a beautiful campus and a lovely little lagoon. My brother's dorm this year has a beautiful ocean view and the beach is less than a 5 minute walk from the dorms. UCSB is very strong in economics and accounting type courses. That is what appealed to my brother. I don't know as much about the program, but I have heard good things about Physics at UCSB. UCSB is also an older campus.

Both universities are highly geared toward research and theory, but all UC's have a theoretical framework. Both my brother and I are happy where we attend(ed). Both are considered very good schools. UCSB is known for parties, but the qaulity of the student body is still very good. UC Davis is not known for parties (except for Picnic Day in April). Both Isla Vista and Davis are bike friendly and have lots of things to do and local restaurants.

Both schools are about 1-2hrs away from LA/SF region depending on where you are located, respectively. UCSB has some of the socal vibe due to the LA area students and UC Davis has a lot of Bay Area students.

Both UC Davis and UCSB have lots of school spirit and are residential campuses, where students live nearby and don't spend their time commuting home all the time. UC Davis has a football team. UCSB has a powerhouse soccer team.

[Chimérique]

Another feature about UC Davis. It is 10 miles west of downtown Sacramento and is connected not only by I-80, but by a commuter train (The Capitol Corridor). Lots of SAC area kids go there as well.

The 20+ trains per day connect Sacramento with Davis, and Bay Area towns to the west, and SAC and a few foothill towns to the east.

http://www.capitolcorridor.org/route_and_schedules/

[CAVA1990]

Surprised UC Irvine isn't in the mix here. You can live near the beach and go to a great school. I went there before transfering to Cal and the quality of education was comparable.