UC Irvine or UC Davis

[cystapharm]

Does anyone here go to these schools..........which one is the better school for biology? Which one is ranked higher? What is the demographics there like?
Seems like a lot of people here go to UCI but does anyone know anything about Davis?

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[Seles3]

UCI is ranked higher by a little bit.

UCI is such a great school for Bio and Chem majors and the campus is nice. GO there!!!!!!!!!!

 

[evilolive]

Both are great schools, but it depends on what environment you want to go to more. Irvine has more of a commuter feel, but Davis smells like cows all the time.

 

[Klemmentine]

UCI does have a very nice campus. The school is smaller, and it feels newer. Their dorms are newer and look very nice. I have also heard that it's a commuter school, so it might get a little boring if you live on campus.

UCD also has a nice campus. Departments and classes are more spread out, and the school seems older. They don't issue parking passes to freshman, due to a lack of space... which would have been hard for me. Sometimes you just want to get away, or drive home for the weekend, but you can't do that without a car. Everyone rides a bike. Davis is a college town, and Irvine's campus is stuck in a business town, with businesses, hotels, and offices surrounding it. But, it's not very far from the coast and other local attractions. I personally liked UCI better.

I believe they both have very good science departments. UCD has probably the best Vet school in the country. I'd say UCI's Med school is slightly better than UCD's, but that's just from what I've heard.

You'll get a good education from either school, and they both have great science depts. I would visit each one and get a feel for each school, and base your decision on the overall atmosphere of the schools. IMO.

 

[eddie269]

DUH! UCD is light years ahead of UCI! jk

I'm a bit biased but I think anyone who goes to UCD will love it. Of course the town gets a bit boring but it's a true college town. And it is not a commuter school. You will see people around campus eating at 7pm waiting for classes to start. The library will always be packed and the ARC (new state of the art gym facilities) is better than any gym (24 hr, bally's) out there. While a student, I sometimes hated the town, but after I left, I truly miss it. It's also the biggest UC in terms of land.

UCI and UCD switch places as far as rankings go every other year it seems. Both considered a top 50 public undergrad. When I went there in 2000, it was ranked ~45 I think with UCI at 46. The next year, UCI was 45 and UCD was 46. Those are my estimates but you get the idea.

And the way I see it, UCI is more Asian dominated. UCD has a more diverse crowd.

As far as who has the better science dept, they're pretty much equal in my opinion. Both have grad schools, med schools, (UCD has vet school though). Both highly respected UC's.

GO AGGIES!

 

[PolarBear21]

Hi, I'm currently a UCD senior, if you have any specific questions feel free to ask me!

I like UCD.. and not all parts smell like cow ... although the area near Tercero (one of the freshman dorms can smell when the wind blows a certain way during spring)..

My sister went to UCI and so I've been to their campus as well, I think UCI's campus is really nice, really new looking while UCD seems more.. worn in I guess. I like UCD though because its so laid back and everyone here is so nice! (at least I think so..).. the student environment is very non-competitive and people are just really nice overall.

Oh and I didn't want to give the impression that UCD is just a barn or anything, we have a lot of new science facilities (new labs for all general chem students, new labs for ALL lower division biology courses, new labs for Microbiology, new labs for all physiology courses, etc). New Science lecture hall. We are also making the transition to DI sports so if thats your thing UCD might be a good fit. We're actually going to be opening our new stadium next year (should be exciting, too bad I'm not going to be here.. I'll be in pharm school ) Our library is huge and its pretty nice. We also have the new Recreation center (the ARC) like Eddie mentioned and we have 2 new freshman dorms and new dining centers for freshman. And then there is the Mondavi center.. ok ok I'll stop now haha..

Both schools are great for Bio so that probably shouldn't even be much of a factor in terms of which school you go to (unless you are looking at a specific emphasis maybe..). Its basically which school's overall atmosphere fits what you are looking for.. like other people have posted.. UCD is a laid back college town where everyone and their roomates bike to class, while I think UCI is more of a commuter school and people go to surrounding LA hotspots to have fun. If you LOVE and NEED the city life Davis probably isn't for you, but if you want a laidback, chill college experience go to Davis! You'll get a great education either way.

And in terms of rankings Davis and UCI are pretty neck and neck (along with Santa Barbara). I think Davis was ranked really low one year (not sure if it is the current rankings), because someone accidently sent USNEWS wrong data saying 65% of professors have PhD's while the real number is like 97% or something, so it really hurt the rankings.

 

[sshock2]

I think Davis was ranked really low one year (not sure if it is the current rankings), because someone accidently sent USNEWS wrong data saying 65% of professors have PhD's while the real number is like 97% or something, so it really hurt the rankings.

Yeah, I read that in the Davis Newspaper while ago I remember. You shouldn't base your decision on USNews though, it's all subjective, so I've heard. Anyway, being a UCD alum (as of yesterday, oh how I miss it), I think UCD is a way better choice. It's a school that will help you get internships at pharmacies and vet/med centers through the internship and career center...there's a lottery system, but if you try every quarter, you'll eventually get something. So you can list those experiences on your pharm school apps! All the pharm exp I got was through UCD.

And like everyone has already mentioned, it is a very laidback school. Everyone is really friendly.. etc etc. The only thing I liked better about the UCI campus was that they had rabbits hopping around! So cool! At Davis, you'll see a lot of squirrels and some sort of blue birds....not like it matters, just extras I guess. lol

Sigh, I will really miss the Davis.

GO AGS!

 

[PolarBear21]

Wow lots of aggies here!! haha. go AGS!

I think UCD is a way better choice. It's a school that will help you get internships at pharmacies and vet/med centers through the internship and career center...there's a lottery system, but if you try every quarter, you'll eventually get something. So you can list those experiences on your pharm school apps! All the pharm exp I got was through UCD.

Oh yeah I forgot about this one. I have gotten internships at Rite Aid Pharmacy and UCD Veterinary Medical Teaching Hopital Pharmacy. Great pharmacy experience and I even got a LOR from the Rite Aid internship. Great program! I got lucky I guess, I only did the lottery three times and I got internships twice. Pharmacy internships are a little hard to get but I agree if you keep trying you are bound to get it sometime. Even if you don't you can usually get an internship at UCD-Medical center in Sacramento.

The only thing I liked better about the UCI campus was that they had rabbits hopping around! So cool!

Hey! We have rabbits at UCD also! Near Hickey gym and social sciences building, they are brown and they hop around!

Maybe they are not as ubiquitous as they are in UCI maybe? But they are definately there. There's a bush near hickey gym actually that has a den of them I think because while walking to downtown once I saw around 7 of them hopping around.. it was quite cute haha.

 

[Scrubs Fan]

I graduated from UCI a couple years ago. I liked the campus, but there is also a lack of school spirit at times, esp since we didn't have very good sports. And if you go there now, it might be kind of boring, b/c about half of the campus is going under construction right now, they're renovating the student center and I'm not sure exactly when it will be done.

When you first arrive at UCI, a lot of people will complain that there's nothing to do at Irvine. A lot of places close early like at 9pm or 10 pm b/c the city doesn't really encourage people hanging out in the wee hours, which sucks for college students. But it's just a matter of who you are with and what you choose to do. To be honest, I personally found stuff to do and had a blast at UCI.

Irvine is a really expensive city to live in. Rent is pretty expensive. At one point, we were paying $1800 for a two bed room apt, but i'd imagine it has gone down since then.

In terms of education, I think UCI is a pretty good school, but in retrospect, I didn't really like how the whole bio curriculum was structured, but i think it's the same wherever you go.
to sum up, i loved uci and dont' have any regrets going there. I just wish it was semester instead of the quarter system.
good luck

 

[G0T2PS]

I'm a UCD alumni.. and quite frankly I really miss it. The community is a tight knit and very close. The university has expanded the last few years.. one of many is the ARC. The atmosphere is diverse and slightly unstructured so you'll meet interesting people if you happen to be in the right places.

Academically you can't go wrong here. I had acquaintances who went far in biology and other science realm. UCD strong points are engineering and science.

Negative side of UCD is that it is a college town. As such it's safe but a tad on the dull side (so you have to keep busy). But other than that I thought it was an awesome experience. And... let me mention that UCD also has more cute girls than any other campuses I've been to.

 

[sshock2]

Hey! We have rabbits at UCD also! Near Hickey gym and social sciences building, they are brown and they hop around!

Haha, I've seen some big ugly brown rabbits off campus, in the fields in West Davis. Didn't know they had them on campus.. way cool though. Oh I've also seen roosters/chickens walking around some buildings near the Mondavi Center. haha.

 

[PolarBear21]

Haha, I've seen some big ugly brown rabbits off campus, in the fields in West Davis. Didn't know they had them on campus.. way cool though. Oh I've also seen roosters/chickens walking around some buildings near the Mondavi Center. haha.

Oh yeah do those rabbits in west davis have the big pointy ears, look kinda like Jack Rabbits? No the ones on campus are cuter (IMO).. they are fluffier

You really see roosters and chickens?? Maybe they were extras in a play haha.. all I see are ducks.. ducks.. and more ducks. Ducks rule the arboretum by their sheer population size.

 

[BubbleTeaGirl]

Hi everybody,
I am also a UCD grad. Something you guy might not know about UCD is that it has great scholarship programs for science and biology. For computer science and math there is a program called MERSP (something like that, don't know what it stands for), and for biology there is BUSP (stands for Biological Undergraduate Scholarship Program) which I had to the honor to join. BUSP is to be joined within the first two yeas of undergrad. The program helps students A LOT with their science classes by providing extra help courses. They know the ins and outs of sicence departments. It not only has close conjuction with the specialists the Learning Skills Center, but also has close relationship with the dean of Division of Biological Science (DBS is a school now?). Persionally, BUSP was the greatest help in my undergrad experience, and I think this is a pretty conservative statement. It was also through professors associated with BUSP, I found a summer internship in the National Institute of Health in Washington DC (Maryland actually). As a result of this internship I am now employed by the NIH and have been working there for year and a half. So, I def. encourage you guys to join BUSP if possible (I don't know if everyone can join.) BUSP have great resources for their members. I hope this adds a plus on UCD to your considerations, but don't forget that UCI might have similar programs. (I can only comment on UCD since I don't know much about UCI). No matter which you pick, I think the most important thing is to maintain a close association with the resources available, whether the professors, dean, career center, tutors, or your classmates. Make use of them. I call this NETWORKING.

Good luck!