For those of you who’ve been getting your college acceptance letters, congratulations! It’s decision season! And you have no idea where you want to go!
But that’s cool. Subreddits are being filled with questions from potential incoming students, people are asking their friends to ask their friends about that school they’re going to, and the weird mix of thrill and terror that comes with the task of deciding is in the air.
Choosing where to go to school is probably one of biggest decisions that you’ll make in your pre-collegiate life. To say that it’s daunting would be playing it cool. For some people, the prospect of going to college and doing the adult thing is as exciting as Christmas morning as a child. But for some, having to choose the institution you’re going to surrender your youth to seems like an insurmountable, Wonder Woman-esque feat. Whether you’re the Amazons’ greatest warrior or just a normal, superpowerless human, here are some things to consider about UC Davis that may make your decision easier.
Cons:
Every school, every place, every thing in the world has its drawbacks. And based on my findings so far in my first year in Davis, here are a few main things I would consider to be general cons.
1. It’s safe.
As a NorCal resident, Davis feels like the safe choice. To me, this means Davis is close enough to home that I can still see my family whenever I so please. Choosing to go here didn’t feel like taking a wild leap outside of my comfort zone. Honestly, going to Davis doesn’t feel like living out the fantasy we all have of moving far away from home, having a glamorous apartment in the city, and eating breakfast at the cute little French bakery down the street.
2. Diversity…
I will say that I feel like there’s representation of a lot of different people in some capacity, but as someone who is black, I must say that there aren’t a lot of black people here. It’s like that at pretty much all of the UCs, though. And on the bright side, Davis is cool in the sense that it generally seems to attract fairly open-minded people.
3. The land.
I guess this goes back to me being fairly local, but Davis is just… Davis. There’s no ocean or forest or any slightly remarkable feature of land, unless you’re a grass enthusiast. The abundance of interesting architecture almost makes up for it, but I’d be lying if I said you won’t get jealous when you see your friends on Snapchat kickin’ it at the beach. We do have the arboretum though, and that’s actually pretty nice.
Pros:
With those cons out of the way, I’ll get onto the things I actually think are really great about Davis. Despite all the stuff I said above, it’s actually a pretty decent place here. And sometimes (a lot of the time) it’s even enjoyable. Here are what I would consider to be my highlights of Davis that I’ve discovered so far.
1. The Arboretum.
As previously mentioned, the arboretum is one of the dopest places on campus. It’s actually my favorite place on campus. The arboretum is this big ol’ stretch of greenery along the Putah Creek. Its hundred acres run adjacent to campus and is filled with beautiful trees and flowers. On a warm day, you can find people sunbathing in the grass clearings or having a little picnic at one of the tables or benches. It’s a cool place to study, a great place for a run, and from what I hear, a nice place to look at the stars at night.
2. Proximity to cool stuff.
Though I kind of wish Davis had its own thing, I love the proximity to everything else. Northern California and even that little edge of Nevada that’s basically surrogate California has so much to offer, and living in Davis puts you in perfect position to take advantage of pretty much all of that. There are few things I fancy more than a weekend in Tahoe, and choosing to go to UC Davis allowed me to not have to forfeit that privilege.
3. Burgers and Brew.
Bringing this back to Davis itself, I have to talk about Burgers and Brew. I’m the type to judge a place based on the quality of its red meat, and I can confidently say Burgers and Brew is a cornerstone of this town. It’s pretty smacking good.
Sometimes, your friends or family will come to visit you at school and you need a solid place to take them out to eat. That’s when you go to Burgers and Brew.
Sometimes you and a friend want to grab lunch off campus, but you don’t want to walk or bike too far because you have another class soon. That’s when you go to Burgers and Brew.
Sometimes you just have an undying, carnivorous hankering for red meat and nothing on campus can satisfy that. That’s when you go to Burgers and Brew.
4. Classes and teachers.
I feel like I should mention school, because although picking a school is so much more than picking a school, when it comes to the school part of it all, UC Davis is actually really good. Even if you’re not trying to be a veterinarian, you’re going to get a really good education here.
I know I’ve only been here for two quarters, but in that time, I’ve found that there are some great teachers and some great classes out there. I would especially recommend to incoming freshmen to take a First-Year Seminar. They’re small (around 15 or 20 people) classes typically with low workload and interesting curriculum.
I’ve also found some really cool GEs like Food & Folklore and Astronomy. Seminars, fun GEs, great professors…. the Davis academic life is pretty great, and you are picking a school after all.
All in all, you’ll pick what you pick, but I think that if you pick UC Davis, you won’t regret it!