Should I apply to UCSB?

[wellendowed]

<p>I read from CNN.com that two of UCSB's faculty members have won Nobel prize in Economics and Physics this year. They have 6 Nobel laureates the past 6 years, more than UC berkeley or UCLA have won in the past decade. I can only afford to apply for 4 campuses. I've decided to apply for Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD but can't decide which one to pick, UCSB or Davis. Which of the two is better?
I've seen the UCSB campus and it absolutely beautiful with bike/skateboard path on campus and 2 min walk to the beach. But I've never seen UC Davis.... Help me decide!</p>

<p>Stats: 4.2 GPA
SAT I 1420
Very few EC's</p>

[shyboy13]

<p>Hey, UCSB kicks a** but then so do just about all the UC's. I went to UCLA and have a tremendous amount of respect for UCSB. You cant go wrong at any UC actually. Davis and Santa Barbara are both pretty equal but I would say perhaps SB is just a touch better. They are both better than some schools that US News ranks higher than them. And you are correct; the campus is beautiful! Since SB is slightly easier to get into (last I checked) you may want to throw that into your equation. Good luck!</p>

[anxious_mom]

<p>It is certainly exciting that several UCSB faculty members have received Nobel prizes. The Physics program is very highly regarded.</p>

<p>As far as whether that actually translates to a better program for undergraduates is not clear. I recently read an article about the new Nobel Laureates in a newspaper, and found out that all, except the economist, do no teaching. The article continued with a discussion of how several UCs, notably UCSD, UCSB and UCI are focusing the bulk of their resources on 1 or 2 areas, with the idea that would boost their overall standings. That is working. It may also mean increased funding coming into the department, with increased opportunities for those within those majors. So, I would suggest you consider what you want to study.</p>

<p>By most rankings, UCD edges out UCSB, but they are quite close. </p>

<p>In the most recent research funding statistics, UC Davis: $426.3 million versus UC Santa Barbara: $143.9 million. UCD's large jumps in research funding over the last few years results in many undergraduate research opportunities and internships. In fact, more students at UCD complete such programs than at any UC or even any other university. </p>

<p>With your stats you may be offered a Regent's Scholarship at Davis, which would mean a minimum of $7500 merit scholarship per year (or full need met, if more than that), priority registration so that you can always get the classes you want, an opportunity to live in an Honors dorm, in the nicest new dorms on campus, reserved for Regents scholars and take the required GE courses only with other top students in small seminar style course, etc. If money is any consideration, you might want to apply to several UCs and compare what they offer you in return. (Regent's scholarships to Berkeley and UCLA have higher cutoffs, and require not only considerable ECs but strong leadership - and the Regent's $$ and perks are not nearly as extensive). I'm not as familiar with the UCSB Regent's program.</p>

<p>All are fine choices.</p>

[wellendowed]

<p>My stats are good enough for Regents Scholarship? I never even thought my GPA was that great. Also,should I retake SAT to have a better chance of getting admitted to UC's? My friend is encouraging me to apply for Brown or UPenn but I don't want to waste money for application fees I know I would never get admitted. </p>

<p>I've done a lot of reading lastnight about UC Davis and Santa Barbara. Davis has Managerial Economics and SB has Business Economics with emphasis in Accounting. the SB program sounds enticing partly because I have never heard of Managerial Economics lol I'm still undecided...</p>

[anxious_mom]

<p>Each UC has it's own criteria for Regents, and SAT IIs are also taken into account, but 1400+ on the SAT I will put one in the running for a Regents scholarship at the mid-ranked UCs. (I know on CC it seems like everyone has perfect SAT I scores, but 1400+ is actually a very high score).</p>

<p>Is 4.2 your official UC GPA? The mean GPA for UCD admitted students was around 3.9.</p>

<p>As far as "managerial economics" - UCD describes it as "The managerial economics major at UC Davis goes beyond the limits of traditional economics and business majors, blending a thorough grounding in economic theory with business knowledge and applications." All of the typical "business" courses are taken as requirements for the major.</p>

<p>UCD is also home of the Graduate School of Management, which has been shooting up quickly in the rankings, even though it is a new and tiny program compared to the Grad Schools that it is being ranked against. Courses such as accounting,which is part of the Managerical Economics major, are offered through the GSM. This year a new "technology management" minor is being offered through the GSM.</p>

[coureur]

<p>I'm a UC Davis alum, so I can answer any specific questions you have. Plus here is a description I posted in an earlier thread: </p>

<p>UC Davis is an excellent large state university. It started as Berkeley's agricultural school back around 1900, and agriculture is still one of its strengths even though it has grown into a full service university. </p>

<p>It's strong in the sciences (particularly biological) and engineeering. It is the top school in the world to study wine-making and wine grape growing. It has a medical school, a veterinary school, a law school, and a business school. It has a fairly strong academic atmosphere - It's not quite Caltech, but it's not a school for slackers either. </p>

<p>It's a large university (w/nice campus) in a small town making Davis perhaps the only true college town left in California. And it's a great little town. Everything you need is right there in easy biking distance. Sacramento is a short drive away. </p>

<p>The area is flat and rural - about an hour west of the ski slopes of Tahoe and an hour east of the bright lights of the Bay area. The weather is rather hot and dry in the summer and kind of cool and foggy/rainy in the winter. It almost never gets cold enough to snow there.</p>