The University of California - Davis

Date: Feb 06 2004
Major: PreLaw and Legal (This Major's Salary over time)
I'm not a resident of California, but wanted to attend a school in this state and chose Davis because many raved about the friendly people and the academics here. Back in senior year, I thought I had made the right, perfect decision, but now I'm not so sure. Davis academics are fairly stressful, but it's really not that bad- the atmosphere here is very studious and the coffee shops here are always filled with students studying for midterms, even on Saturday nights, thanks to the intense quarter system we have. However, I find the quality pretty high and a lot more than I expected. Big lecture hall classes are all right; it is something to get adjusted to,but just get to know your TA and you should be fine. Despite the budget crisis, there are a lot of new buildings here or in construction and the campus does look well-funded. The people here are friendly and it was pretty easy to make close friends within a small amount of time. However, it is somewhat difficult to find a clique here, especially since many come from the San Fran Bay Area and there's hardly anyone here outside California, so a lot of the people here come from the same high schools and know each other from before. This makes weekends somewhat awkward for out-of-state residents, because many students go home and the weekends end up fairly quiet here. However, I don't think this is the only UC where this occurs, but I do wish someone had warned me about this before I matriculated to Davis. Simply put, the town of Davis sucks. I'll admit that Davis isn't that rural and it really doesn't smell like cows as long as you stay away from the campus dairy farm (don't dorm in Tercero- they're located right next to it). It's more like a surburbia minus shopping malls. However, the nearest malls are a 20 min drive in Sacramento, which works if you have a car, but if not, then you're stuck. Social life here revolves around house and frat parties, which can get pretty boring fast. Davis is NOT a party school. Overall, I'd say if you want to get away but not too far away from home and want a school focused on academics, then Davis is definitely the right place for you. If not, then look elsewhere. If you are an out-of-state resident, I wouldn't recommend Davis mainly because of the price. Pay a little bit more and you can attend private, better, more civilized-located universities.