#UC Davis vs UC Irvine

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dense sinew
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Data Science (might minor or switch into CS idk as its unlikely)

UC Davis

School 1 Pros:

  • close to the bay/sf which is super important to me as I'd hope to do internships/meet similar people there interested in startups and tech

  • decent emphasis on undergraduate research and lots of opportunities for the same

-already committed and found a roommate

  • weather is mild (dont prefer anything too cold)

  • doesn't have too much of Greek life

  • ton of different fields to take electives in like BME, EE, CS and stats.

  • anecdotal data says people are generally collaborative and motivated in general(?)

  • relatively low COL compared to SoCal

School 1 Cons:

  • the data science major has been introduced only 2 years ago so IDK how mature the major and department is in general

  • small town and kind of isolated with not much to do in the area

  • I'm not sure what the tech scene is like at Davis itself

  • i dont like the rain ;(

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UC Irvine

School 2 Pros:

  • has a separate college of computing which looks cool

  • the data science major has. been there for a while and looks more established?

  • SoCal is allegedly a better place to have FuN

School 2 Cons:

  • commuter school

  • SoCal is more expensive

  • need a car to go anywhere (this will be very difficult for me)

  • far from SF and the bay so idk how the tech opportunities compare

  • i've mentally decided im going to Davis so I need some really good points to convince me otherwise lol

main briar
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Davis has tech related clubs I believe

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Ik there’s at least a couple that work on making lil projects

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We also have SacHacks and Hack Davis

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We even have a quant club smile

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There is a point to SoCal being fun in some ways but I feel that’s a bit negated when you can’t go far due to not having a car

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Like I tried the LA metro and as much of a transit geek as I am I would very much not recommend

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Davis doesn’t rain too much. We do have a season where it def rains more than SoCal but id say our main thing is wind

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And heat but if you’re leaving for the summer you can avoid the main brute of it

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Also yeah I feel it’s collaborative? I can’t speak on stem tbf but I’ve noticed a bunch of classes/subjects tend to have discord servers and at least in the ones I’ve been in people don’t try to gatekeep stuff like helping people study (e.g. people will share notes they’ve taken and be open to answering questions people have abt class material)

dense sinew
dense sinew
main briar
dense sinew
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can you only share the good bits 😇

dense sinew
main briar
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At one of two terminals

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Memorial Union and the silo

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The silo is more central

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They recently introduced the J-EX which gives the J line more frequent and faster service

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And it’s all free by showing your student id

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There’s also double deckers buses on a few lines

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Most you’ll ride are the modern version but they do occasionally run a couple vintage versions

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There’s also a line that goes to target and another to Amtrak

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No bus line is super long either save for the P and Q (the perimeter lines) so you won’t have to ride for too long usually to get to school

dense sinew
main briar
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Amtrak wildly varies

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If you wanna go to SF you’re taking the Capitol Corridor

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Which is usually only a few mins late

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The one time I was late was bc of a bridge lift

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That put us back like 30 mins

dense sinew
dense sinew
main briar
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They run that line a lot bc it’s more of a commuter line vs some others

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So timeliness tends to matter more I feel

dense sinew
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gotcha

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and its safe right

main briar
dense sinew
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unlike what i've heard about ny metros lol

main briar
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Yeah not the same lol

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Bc they check all tickets

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You can’t really fare hop Amtrak

dense sinew
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gotcha

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tickets are affordable right btw?

main briar
# dense sinew tickets are affordable right btw?

They should have a student code which I think changes every year or two, with that I usually pay $20 a way to Richmond and then BART into the city. Ik some people prefer to take the train further in tho

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If you go to Richmond you’re right at the Richmond BART stop

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Which idt is the same at like Berkeley’s stop

dense sinew
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gotcha

main briar
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Also you don’t have to get there early like you do at major city amtraks

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Like do get there maybe 5-10 mins early

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But you don’t need to be a half hour or anything

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Bc they just have you hop on as it comes

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Only stops for 1 min at Davis and Richmond unlike major stations

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Which also means you have to double check ur train number

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Bc they aren’t gonna guide you

dense sinew
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hmm okay

main briar
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It’s not too hard tbh, it’s rare you’ll be the only one and there’s a digital screen so at worst just ask someone near you

dense sinew
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also how's your experience been with BART

main briar
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I’ve been fine on it but ik people have varying experiences

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Just make sure to tap both in and out on bart but only in on buses

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And safety wise it’s just usual stuff

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Like don’t leave your phone by itself and all that

dense sinew
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oh yeah that's a given

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i really like how there are so many public transportation options

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as opposed to SoCal 💀

main briar
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If you’re given a choice between bus and smth else that’s transit choose the non bus option lmfao

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That doesn’t happen too often

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But the buses in sf are super slow

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IIRC they average 8 mi/hr?

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Bc so much traffic

dense sinew
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😭

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thats understandable i guess

main briar
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Other option would probably be the tram

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Don’t do cable car if it shows up

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That’s a tourist thing that’ll cost $8 a way

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Not included in clipper

dense sinew
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ok maybe once for the experience right

main briar
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Yeah

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But note you’ll have to either pay cash or muni app

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Idt clipper covers it

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Also there’s always a line

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If you’re comfy w it you can just hail them at a middle station and jump on

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Skips the line but could be more crowded

dense sinew
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gotcha

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i think im fine with crowds it cant be much worse than here

main briar
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It’s not the crowd the line just takes a bit

dense sinew
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lol

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oh also generally do davis people go out to sf/sac on the weekends

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or nah

main briar
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Sac? Sure, it’s only 25-30 by drive outside of rush hour

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SF? Not as much bc it’s 1.5h outside of peak

dense sinew
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because apparently everyone at irvine goes home which is not ideal for me

main briar
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Like it’s not impossible to do SF it’s just not a weekly thing

dense sinew
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right

main briar
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1.5h driving I should say

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Transit is closer to 2.5h

dense sinew
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at peak right

main briar
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Bc BerkBus only runs weekdays

dense sinew
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ohh I see

main briar
dense sinew
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oh okay interesting

main briar
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Other than the train just being crowded

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They have their own paths

main briar
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I’ve never done it

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I think it’s a bit under $20 a way too but it’s faster

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Takes you straight to UC Berkeley

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From campus

dense sinew
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oh cool

main briar
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It only runs like once or twice a day but the timing works for a day trip on weekdays

dense sinew
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im probably overestimating how much im going to commute out of davis lmfao

main briar
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Yeahhh

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I’ve only left a few times this year tbh

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Save for breaks

dense sinew
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oh okay

main briar
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I’d get an Airbnb and stay a night in sf for a concert a couple times

dense sinew
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with friends?

main briar
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Alone lmfao

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It can be cheaper

dense sinew
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fairs lol

main briar
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Bc you can book a private room vs whole place

dense sinew
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ohh right

lapis sequoia
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got into both and chose davis over irvine and purdue

obsidian pewter
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you shouldn’t be factoring it into your travels and stuff unless you commute consistently (and even then)

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Also, just to weigh in, you seem like you’d be considerably happier at Davis

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go to Davis

alpine sun
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uci has abgs so mogs

dense sinew
alpine sun
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ur cooked

tardy shoal
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uc irvine because round 1

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i hope this helps you decide

dense sinew
tardy shoal
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NOOOOOOO