The friendliness toward bikes, the indoor track at the Activities and Recreation Center, and the various plant collections at the Arboretum gardens are a few of the things I’ve come to love about the University of California, Davis. However, my appreciation toward these characteristics came after the fact, and there were other things I chose to consider when I first decided to attend UC Davis.
Choosing which university to attend is difficult; when you’re making a two- to four-year commitment, you have to consider a multitude of details. Does the location suit your needs? Do they have a gym? How does transportation work? Will you receive a quality education in your field of interest? As you begin to look into these details, you realize that some resources matter more to you than others, and that some universities have qualities that you hadn’t even considered and must now take into account.
Whether you feel pretty sure about your decision to attend UC Davis or you’re still on the fence about it, I’ll enumerate some of the reasons I chose the university here:
- Bike-friendliness.
The thought that even on lazy days you can bike around campus is comforting. Exercise is crucial to everyone’s well-being. There are traffic lights that signal for bikes, roundabouts for bikes, a dozen or so bike shops around town, and a myriad of parking spaces for bikes around the campus and city. Using a bike to get around is environmentally friendly, which is great, and also quicker than walking. Buying a bike to use while attending UC Davis is a great idea, but there are also accommodating ways to travel for those who are not interested in biking, which brings me to my next point:
- Transportation. One of the great things about attending UC Davis is the ease of finding transportation. Both Unitrans and Yolobus are free to students. The Unitrans bus system transports students around the city of Davis from the campus. One of them is even a restored London double-decker bus! For me, it was great knowing I could ride the Yolobus to Sacramento, Woodland, Winters, or Vacaville, without having to pay extra or worry about parking my car.
- Competitive ranking. UC Davis is currently tied with UC San Diego in the national rankings for best public schools, making it tied for third place overall in California. Personally, I’ve had professors that are very involved in research and are established in their respective fields. More information about the research at this campus can be found here: http://blogs.ucdavis.edu/egghead/
- Environment. The people are open and active, the school as a whole is environmentally friendly, and the classrooms are filled with students who are as academically driven as you. I wanted an environment that would challenge me while providing me with the necessary resources to relax as needed.
You can access a list of stress-relieving campus resources here: https://cbspeerblog.wordpress.com/2014/03/05/dont-stress/
M. Joan Castañeda
Peer Adviser, Biology Academic Success Center
B.S. Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, Class of 2014
STUDENT TO STUDENT 