University of California, Davis

UCD is wonderful on the whole. Tupper Hall floor numbers in the elevator, however, not so much. Sorry, but I’ve sent the lift down to the basement numerous times because the ground floor is floor #2. So coming from floor 3, I select #1 as where I parked my bike. Oops.
/​end rant

This is directed at UCD Taps. a department that I have never been satisfied with.
I bought a permit my freshman and sophomore year, and was a commuter. My boyfriend and I moved in my junior year. I have biked the whole quarter, and did not need a permit. He bought a permit just in case.
Today, I drove to the university because I was late for a final review, and forgot to put up his permit. I came back to find a ticket. Yes, I broke the rules, yes the fault is mine.
I just think that giving out parking tickets to your students during finals is mean and cruel.
$ 50 parking tickets during finals. Thanks TAPS, you have officially lost my respect.
Glad that I fund you guys with my $ 15,000 tuition.

Great university.
I volunteer here for different events and spent time on campus and near by. The university has excellent science programs and some of the friendliest students.

If I could give a minus for my review I would. I did not attend UC Davis. I took my young dog to the Vet Dept on the reccomendation of my personal vet. I was expecting so much and was so dissapointed. It isn’t that the vet, Jaime Peyton messed up though she failed to lled acmention a huge yearly cost the obraces, my dog needed, would cost. If I had known that I probably would not have preside this. I’m on disability so they let me put a $ 500 deposit while Davis donated 2,000. Very nice, I thought. But right from the get go, there was miscommunication. And the billing was so confusing I had to get an accounting friend to look T it for me. I called OrthoPets, they made the braces and there was about a $ 500 markup. Which they never explained. I just got the run around every time I called and that was numerous times. Each time someone said they would get right back to me but the never did. I ended up having to pay 187.00, that I was trying to get some answers about but never did. At the time treatment was not finished but no one ever contacted me again. It was just a miserable experience. And I find it hard to believe that I would be the only client to experience this.

All right, 4 years comes to an end for me in 4 days, and it’s time to write this thing.
My sentiment at the end is somewhere between 2 and 3 stars. I’m going to try to approach this without too much of a subjective component; how much you love ANY college is going to depend almost entirely on what you make of the time there.
I’m the first to admit I didn’t take full advantage of every single opportunity available to me here, and didn’t entirely have the best four years of my life — I would maintain that both my worst year and best year occurred here, and Davis was a welcoming place to engage in the struggle of growth that nearly all people will experience around 20 years old.
The bottom line to me is that what you pay for here, more than anything, is an experience and the ability to write a recognized university on your resume. Beyond that, things get questionable.
UC Davis and the town of Davis are good/​great because…
— Great people, very educated town; never feels dangerous and even the younger crowd (high schoolers are usually away from the university campus anyway) are generally high-​performing and focused.
— Davis as a whole is pretty middle/​upper middle class thus eliminating or at least greatly minimizing the type of violent crime and property crime common in impoverished areas as well as the type of institutionalized corruption and designer drug culture common in areas populated with the economic elite.
— True college town atmosphere; Davis is a weird utopia of 18 – 26 year-​olds and that makes for a really unique experience. It’s not like anywhere else I’ve been where there are tons of kids and teenagers and old people alike — probably close to 9 in every 10 people you see downtown are 18 – 26.
— Great place to meet smart, educated, driven people — not a bad arrangement for dating if it’s something you want to consider. Davis is full of beautiful-​looking human beings who are smart and/​or interesting and/​or fun. Of course, there are shitty human beings no matter where you go, but for being pretty densely packed with stressed and still-​developing 20-​somethings, there is a very small population of low-​quality people.
— Cute downtown.
— Bike culture is cool.
— Green culture is cool.
— Events like Picnic Day and Whole Earth are pretty awesome.
— Solid farmer’s market.
— Nice community events like bike races, marathons, etc.
UC Davis and the town of Davis are bad/​terrible because…
— It’s expensive.
— Education is theoretical, not practical.
— Research university; double edged sword because there are research opportunities for students which is great but all the money and accolade comes from the research performed by professors. As a result most professors are not teachers or lecturers in practice and at heart; they aren’t passionate about teaching and in some cases are downright terrible. The ones that ARE great very often are lecturers ONLY and not researchers — and those ones are almost all pink-​slipped (Salitsky and Liets come to mind).
— Popular and interesting courses (Exercise Biology department) are often sacrificed due to «limited funding» but during my time here I’ve seen the MU bus stop overhauled, the entire MU itself begin a total reconstruction, new structures (parking maybe?) being built, and obscure areas of study opening up (Art Science???).
— The very few practical hands-​on labs actually offered on campus (NPB 101L) are becoming impacted and at risk of complete truncation or termination because they’re costly and only serve a small number of people — not as efficient as 500+ person lectures where each person is faceless and nameless even IF the professor is wonderful.
— Admission rates are increasing. I’ve worked in the apartment advertising industry in the Davis area for a year now and can tell you the effect this has: if we admit 300 more freshmen and 300 more transfers each year, this generates a demand for approximately 300 rooms (if 2-​person living arrangements are assumed common) in the town’s housing market. As a result, apartment prices are aggressively on the rise — to my knowledge almost EVERY SINGLE COMPLEX in Davis increased rates by about $ 40−100/month on average. And despite this fact, nearly all complexes leased out completely BEFORE MARCH this year. Future students will be forced to start looking earlier and live with more people in one apartment in order to get by.
— Parking downtown is terrible. On a handful of occasions I have gone downtown DURING THE WEEK to get lunch and was unable to find parking after 15+ minutes of roaming around so I’d just go to work on an empty stomach. Oh and don’t think you can get away with parking somewhere you’re not supposed to. You can’t. Tickets in Davis range from $ 45 on-​campus (f*ck TAPS) to 70 – 90 for parking violations downtown. It’s really hard to spend 4 years in Davis and never receive a ticket for something.
And there’s my 5000 character limit. Cheers.

Coming from a CSU, You already know that I am jealous of the size and the endless adventures that UCs seem to provide. I want to start off with the chill vibe i get from the campus… Everyone seems to be doing their own thang and it is a peaceful relaxing environment. The campus is huge, which can be good (adventure and many buildings, lots of options) as well as being bad (long commutes between classes, getting lost). Prior to my first arrival of the campus, i always thought it would be dead campus which smells like cows ²⁴⁄₇ but i was wrong. Nice green fields, modern buildings, college campus life is existent and most important of all… the recreation and student activity resources that are available. For example, at CSU… the gym is small and ALWAYS crowded but at Davis, the gym seems to be ridiculously spacious and there are so many resources like huge basketball courts, indoor track field, dance studios… all these in multiples. Came here for picnic day almost every year… and damn… the student on campus organizations are so well structured. UCD well played, will be visiting quite often.

When I first came here, I thought you were Berkeley’s misfit younger brother – overshadowed and constantly trying to prove himself to the other UCs. But over time, in the cheesiest of ways, you’ve become my home.
I’m a Bruin at heart so my natural home is UCLA, but Davis comes pretty close (honestly if you stuck an Aggie in front of Royce Hall they’d probably say the same thing about their school). I’m from the Sacramento campus so I come here to study on and off during the weekends. Since I’m going to be in LA for a while after this, I just wanted to take time to write about some of the things I love here. Here’s my list:
–Veering off the path and walking across the Quad on a sunny day while wearing flip flops and having the grass tickle your toes
–Double decker buses and red telephone booths
–Chilling out in the Memorial Union coffee shop with a live soundtrack, compliments of a random undergrad hammering away at chords on the old upright piano tucked in the corner… it makes for nice study music
–Wind chimes
–Looking both ways before crossing the street to avoid being hit by bicycles, not cars
–Taking Saturday morning detours from campus and exploring the farmer’s market
–Hammocking (haven’t tried this yet but it looks fun)
–All the food options in college town
–Davis’ love for nature. You want trees? We’ve got trees. Trees trees trees and more trees. More trees than you can handle. You can even major in agriculture and grow trees for a living if you want.
–All those weird statues around campus
If I could describe the culture of Davis in one word, it would be «chill». You guys are so chill, with your board shorts and flip flops and riding your bikes to class and studying under trees and being one with nature and all. I kinda wish I went to undergrad here too :) Thanks Davis, it’s been real.

I have fond memories of UC Davis and I graduated from UC Santa Barbara. I love the vast campus, large rolling green lawns, the variety in architectural designs, and agricultural bent. It reminds me of Cornell, actually. Davis is a beautiful school in proximity to a great college town with many good food options — Burgers and Brew, anyone?
UCD is very student friendly with many rental options as well on and around campus. Extensive bike paths and a reliable yolo bus system save students from needing cars. Speaking from experience at UCSB, which is also a bike school, I would definitely get some kind of road bike or fixie.
I never seriously considered going to Davis because of its supposed cow smell everywhere (it’s not true) and out-​of-​the-​wayness, but I am certain I would have loved going to Davis — perhaps more than my own alma mater.
I will be back for Picnic Day.

I graduated from UC Davis a little over 4 years ago, majoring in Environmental Science.
UC Davis may never be as prestigious or popular as UC Berkeley, UCLA or UCSB, but the quality of education is top-​notch; on campus research and internship opportunities are limitless; and there are hundreds of undergraduate majors to choose from, a few of which are unique to the university like wine-​making and textile design. Even though the campus has a student body of over 35,000, it feels like a small school because faculty and staff are friendly, approachable and absolutely passionate about their jobs. I never had any trouble scheduling a meeting with a professor or major adviser. Its proximity to Sacramento provides a lot of internships and networking opportunities with state departments, etc… A lot of my classes, excluding lower division chemistry and biology, had about 2 to 30 students.
The campus has a close-​knit student community — a lot of campus eateries are run by students like the MU; the bus system (Unitrans) is operated by students (this is probably the best student job on campus); anyone can start a student organization with just $ 5 and 5 members; Aggie Pride is the best fan club around (even though our sports teams are not the winningest). Although many student go home on the weekends, quite a few stick around, so the campus is not completely dead on weekends. There are parties all the time, but they are never that crazy. Generally people are here to study, at least that was my case. The campus is also host of several campus-​wide events. Most famous being Picnic Day — don’t miss that! It is a campus-​wide open house that is appropriate for all ages and you get to pet animals, watch a chemistry magic show and watch the marching band play for hours.
The campus has too many quirks to mention. Some of them include the egghead sculptures found throughout the campus, campus farm (yes, there are cows and many farm animals on campus. You can smell them, but it is not so bad), and domes (co-​op student housing). The campus architecture is a mix of new and old, but there’s not much to write home about. The campus has a lot of trees and squirrels running around — very idyllic. The Quad is a large grass lawn, where in warm, sunny days, people would spend their time there studying, socializing or sun-​bathing.
The city of Davis is a true college town and is very livable, meaning rent is cheap (relatively), housing is plentiful, there is hardly any traffic congestion and streets are relatively safe. While I was there, I always felt safe taking the bus or biking alone at night. The entire campus and city is very bikable because it is very flat and there are bike lanes/​paths every where. The city also has an extensive green belt, connecting bike paths and green space into one large urban park. Green belts are such an European thing, but Davis has them. You definitely don’t need a car to get around. There is a yolo county bus that takes you to nearby Woodland, Winters and even Sacramento. The city has a wonderful farmer’s market on Wednesday evenings and Saturday nights. The downtown is cute with a lot of mom and pop shops and yummy restaurants. For a long time, the city was adverse to any big-​box developments. But lately, that has waned a little, so there is Target at the edge of town, Traders Joes, etc… which is convenient to poor and car-​less students.
I came to study here because I wanted to get away from the big sprawling city of Los Angeles and to learn from the best in environmental science. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life. During my four years, I befriended some very smart, genuine and passionate people, learned from some of the best scientists, writers, historians, etc… and got to live a less frantic and more wholesome lifestyle. I am proud to be an Aggie alumni. Thank you for reading!

My School, enough said. Just kidding! So UCD campus is quite large but I spent most of it around the quad area.
Sadly to say but some would say lucky! but sometimes I had all classes in the same building, just different floors. I love the relaxed feeling of being on campus, however be aware of getting run over by a bike, or laugh hysterically when someone randomly tips over. You think I’m kidding but I have seen kids literally get confused, teeter and then BAM!
Campus is well kept in most areas, pretty relaxing, gets very congested during monday thru Thursday. Friday many do not have class and the evenings are relatively quiet. We do have a 24hr library that’s great if you need to study and tons of food spots of you are hungry. I heard they upgraded the Silo but I haven’t checked it out in years!
Also there are plenty of sports and clubs to sign up for. However just be careful of walking around in the evening, esp by the building known as the Death Star. Tends to be creepy and since its next to downtown we get a lot of random creepers.

Great school. Beautiful campus (with a few not so beautiful buildings). Good food (Thai and Indian food trucks are sooooo good). Lively campus lots of activities to do/​clubs to join! The only thing that knocks off the fifth star is the smell of cow shit everywhere and often

UC Davis is a world-​class institution located in a nice college town. The academic programs are strong overall and the schools of veterinary medicine, law, and medicine are well-​regarded.
The student government has a long history of providing many of the services on campus including the Coffee House, Unitrans (bus system), and campus recycling.
The campus, though lacking a true, iconic building, is sprawling with old-​growth trees and open spaces. You can get anywhere with a bike, which is convenient.

I met some of my life long friends at this University. Davis reminded me a lot of Sonoma County and after touring UC Berkeley and Cal Poly, I fell in love with the Davis campus. I loved the fact that everything is within walking or biking distance and my roommates decided to live close to the campus. We loved the transportation system with the buses coming and going so often. The professors were amazing and the programs they offered here were exceptional. The campus is very well kept and clean. The library is absolutely beautiful. Everything about Davis is great and I loved it so much I recommended it to my sister who attended after me and then cousins. From our family alone we already had five graduated from Davis. We all loved it and I would recommend UC Davis to everyone.

Sometimes I come to UC Davis for other reasons but today, I came for one reason (also the point of this review), and that is the mofking hammocks! First time ever being on one, thanks UC Davis. Its pretty chill I can sleep here between classes or read a book (yeah right, sleep is precious) and all for free too! Minus one star because they put them in the sandy part if the quad so the wind sometimes blow sand in your face, and the hammocks got dirt stains and stuff all over it but these things can’t really be helped. Better than sleeping on the grass or the crappy desks this campus has for kindergartners. ⁴⁄₅ would come to campus again for hammock.
P.S if you thinking about hanky panky on these things please be considerate and put a blanket under you.

Amazing community where intelligence, respect, compassion, and fun all combine :)

I absolutely love UC Davis. I can’t speak for the non-​science majors but as a science major I find this place to be great. The school provides a lot of resources for students and I have never had any trouble finding an internship or a job.
The teachers here are all very nice and professional. I’m in my third year right now and I didn’t love every teacher and TA I’ve had and I don’t think they were all amazing but admittedly, every year they get better. I feel like this is mainly cause the better professors are in my upper divs.
The campus itself is beautiful and very spread out. I didn’t know how to ride a bike til I got to Davis but it isn’t completely necessary either. Some of my favorite moments in college have been in the early morning after my first class. I’ve finally woken up and I’m riding on my bike and there’s not too many people around yet. It’s just starting to warm up but there’s still a slight breeze and I just cruise to my next class while thinking to myself, «I’m so glad I chose Davis.»
Now the few negatives:
1) It can get boring at times. It isn’t nearly as boring as people have told me but there are times when I wished there was more stuff to do. But then again really there isn’t all that much anywhere else either. I do suggest having a car to get out now and then but its not completely necessary. The quarter system goes by quickly and with studying time there isn’t all that much extra time anyway. But Davis does have animals, a beautiful arboretum, a shooting range, a great ARC, skydiving, etc. There’s definitely stuff to do but you have to look for it a bit which means making friends, joining clubs, etc. Also don’t be afraid to go visit friends at Berkeley now and then for a change of atmosphere.
2) The food. The DCs at Davis are better (overall) than the DCs at every other UC except UCLA in my opinion but as a city Davis (and Sacramento) just don’t have anything extremely noteworthy. The food isn’t bad just not great. Whenever I visit UCB my friends rave about places I need to try and the places are all memorable. In Davis there’s quite a few good places but very few GREAT ones. The places I do always take visitors to include: sushi buffets (especially Raku & Azukar, sometimes Fuji’s), Tea List, and some of the French places in Sacramento. With the exception of the sushi buffets, Davis has little to no good Asian food. Then again I came from an area with amazing Asian food so I may just be picky.
3) The weather. It’s not all that bad compared to the east coast or something but within California, Davis whether is on the lower end of the scale. During winter your windshields will get really frosty and in summer your handlebars on your bike may melt just a bit. The two extremes can suck but its still California weather so its not all that bad.
4) The allergies. This is my biggest issue with Davis. My allergies have never been so bad. I can tell when spring comes because I start to lose my ability to breathe. I am completely miserable during the spring even if I take a ton of different meds. Its to a point where I can barely function. I finally decided to get my allergy test and of course I’m allergic to almost every type of tree in Davis. Hopefully with allergy shots I will be less miserable this year.
Overall I love Davis. I’m sad I’m not closer to home but Davis is a beautiful school with friendly people. The atmosphere is laid back and I just love it.

My 100^th review! What better place to review than my now alma mater. I recently graduated after spending 4 ¹⁄₃^rd years as an undergrad.
UC Davis has always been in the shadow of its bigger and more prestigious schools, UCLA and Berkeley, but really, the UC system is chalk full of top-​notch schools. More recently, the university has been moving up in terms of ranking, matching and even surpassing UCSD in some reviews. It always has been a consistent top public school in the country as well.
The campus is HUGE! Unlike other universities where everything is built upwards, Davis is flat and everything is spread out. There’s a reason why most students decide to bike or long board. Getting from one end of campus to the other could take up to 30 minutes! The campus is beautiful as well. Davis prides itself on being green, so there are trees and flowers everywhere. The campus is extremely well kept.
Professors here are great too! Most professors are engaging and insightful in their lectures. Keep in mind that your experience with professors may vary depending on class and major. Tip for current undergrads: go to office hours!
There’s always something to do here. The university offers thousands of student jobs and internships. If that’s not the thing for you, there are also hundreds of fraternities and clubs for basically every interest possible. If you can’t find the club you’re looking for, $ 5 and 5 people is all you need to start your own!
There are hundreds of events hosted by UCD all throughout the year from Pajamarino to the famous Picnic Day. People from all over come to these epic events.
If you are a prospective student, UC Davis could be your school. The place really grows on you. I made this decision 4 years ago and it was the best decision that I have made! GO AGS!
Note: a lot of people think it smells like cow all the time. It does sometimes and only in certain areas of campus. It’s honestly not a problem whatsoever.

Wannabe Nurses, Listen up!
I graduated from UCD in 2010 after five years, yes, yes, five years. This is very common at UCD because the overachievers come to school here, start out as a Bio Sci or an engineering major, can’t cut the tough classes then switch to something more manageable. I was one of those, clearly :) I couldn’t cut my Psych major so I switched to Human Development with a minor in Spanish. I travelled abroad in Madrid (UCD has AMAZING travel abroad programs all over the world with various courses and a stellar rep. We usually share abroad campuses with Cal, Harvard, Stanford, Penn State and Yale to name a few).
After graduating in 2010, I took pre-​req nursing courses and got into the ABSN program at Samuel Merritt. I’ve been an RN now since 2012 and I have an amazing job as a post partum nurse at SF General.
Beyond that, you’ll see your fellow Ags for years to come all over the corporate and money-​making world. The ones who don’t seem to succeed are the ones who majored in ethnic studies or something like that (sorry guys).
Also, little side note, I met my husband as a student; I was starting my 5^th year and he was finishing up his PhD. :)

Cheers to the college years spent at UC Davis! They say high school is a place for self-​discovery. I beg to differ. I feel like college is a place for self-​discovery and it brings about enormous self-​change. 4 years at Davis passed by fast and it has definitely shaped my outlook on life and the world.
I certainly cherish the priceless memories made at Davis and what people would like to call Davis — suburban, cow, bike town!
Davis is a great college community, where college students and other people can easily meet up at local hot spots, study places, or simply chat over a cup of coffee. Over the course of 4 years, I feel like one is bound to know and recognize somebody that knows another person through a mutual friend just because Davis is small. One is bound to see each other on campus — whether heading to class, activity club or lunch.
C A M P U S — It is vast. I think since we are known for agriculture, we need a lot of flat lands in order to experiment in agriculture. Campus life becomes so quiet when students are off for the holidays and summer school. It is like a ghost town. Do stay for Picnic Day! That is like the only highlight and main social event that UC Davis is known for!
The 24 hour room is super convenient during finals — especially studying for an 8 am final! You mind as well pull an all-​nighter at the 24!
There is a nice large pond on campus called the Arboretum! It is a great place to relax, take a stroll or chill with the ducks.
The ARC (Activities and Recreational Center) is the best place for getting your exercise done and holding special events!
CoHo (Coffee House) — Flooded by students all the time! Great place for lunch, grabbing super cheap coffee, yummy bakery snacks, pizza and other fatty foods! Slow Wi-​Fi though!
Classrooms — Some are modern and some are in need of renovation! During the 1^st week of each quarter system, classes are always packed!
P R O F E S S O R S — Teaching ethics ranges. Check out
. It is pretty accurate. I always referred to that website when matching professors with courses required for my major.
T R A N S P O R T A T I O N — All you need is a bike to get to places in Davis and I never knew how to ride one until I went to college here. Not only do you save money and quarterly parking fees for a car, you burn calories on a bike. There is the university bus, but there were times when it was unreliable and I went to classes late. However, the bus is convenient during the rainy seasons!
S U M M I N G I T U P — I love Davis. I am glad that this college town is secluded from the major cities, such as Sacramento and San Francisco. Initially, being a city girl, I disliked it, but overtime, it gives college students, such as myself, to become more independent and to foster a small, local community. The courses I took and learning from professors, UC Davis has surely made me become more of an open-​minded person.

I’ll always be an Aggie!
Graduated from here in 2009 with my B.S. in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior and I absolutely LOVED my experience here. From moving into Tercero’s «M» Building on my first official day as an Aggie to accepting my degree at the ARC when I graduated, I have had the best educational experience (both in terms of my career and in terms of just growing up). Heck, I even stuck around for an additional year working as a research technician after I got my undergraduate degree!
The professors in the NPB department were very knowledgeable and always cutting-​edge with research (both in ideas and technology). I even got to see one of them at part of a workshop at the Society for Neuroscience this year. The Neuroscience research at UCD is top-​notch and really prepared me well for my graduate studies and professional development. It was also the main reason I switched from pre-​med to pre-​doctorate.
The quarter system can be rough on students at times, especially if not prepared — however, I always liked the quarter system because of its fast pace. Instructors would rarely drag out topics to teach in the lecture halls and labs so that I felt that my time was used well.
Since graduating, I make it a point to visit the campus at least once a year to see the new developments, and I really like the new buildings and facilities that are being built — as well as the renovations to my old lab!
When I first started classes my freshman year here, I thought that I didn’t need a bike. I guess everyone riding bikes all over the place should have been my first clue that I was wrong. During «traffic hours», the bike circles can get pretty congested, and there’s a steep learning curve for getting from one side of campus to another!
Davis itself is a great college-​town, but it’s the university that makes it thrive.
Yay for this being my 100^th review!