UC Davis!
I checked it out Saturday morning to afternoon for Preview Day... seems like a pretty nice campus. I'm pretty confident I'll get in, and I'll be starting my apps soon so I can finish them by the end of November.
Anyway, I'm thinking of majoring in some Biological Science of some kind and minoring in Classics/Latin. Maybe Stef can give me some general hints or advice about the school.
Also, I haven't biked for about 13 years. Hopefully it'll be easy to relearn... like... riding a bicycle.
Anyway, I'm thinking of majoring in some Biological Science of some kind and minoring in Classics/Latin. Maybe Stef can give me some general hints or advice about the school.
Also, I haven't biked for about 13 years. Hopefully it'll be easy to relearn... like... riding a bicycle.
Comments
Shop around for your textbooks online. I don't know how it is there, but at my school they tend to overcharge for textbooks, to the point where I've found my books online for half the price that the school was charging.
Used books are your friend, there's usually not much difference, and the price is usually significantly better. Sometimes if you go an edition back you can buy the book for less than 10% of it's new vaue, but you have to make sure there haven't been significant changes. (When I took biology and borrowed my friend's book, this comes to mind, I was using an edition two steps back, and for my purposes, it was pretty much the same.)
It sounds like you're planning on going with the dorms. If feasible, get a single room or at least a roommate you know. My first roommate would come back from the shower and start playing his X-Box in a towel. It was mildly disturbing. But, then, my second roommate was cool and had a PS2 and a GameCube, so it's really a crapshoot.
There's other things, but a lady's got to have secrets.
If anyone is interested, I should be off to cambridge in 18 months
Still, I'm glad you enjoyed your stay. Davis is a beautiful campus.
I'm up here at the Rochester Institute of Technology. I put off college-applying until, like, April of this year because I'm lazy. Then one day, passing my brother at the front door after school, he just said to me, "You know what? You should go to RIT." So I did. It was actually the only college I applied for.
My roommate happens to be my best friend, since way back in fifth grade (class of '99!). I don't think we've ever had a fight, mostly because we just play video games or computers and don't really bother each other much. Well, there was that heated "Robots versus Cool Carzzz" debate. I just... don't think robots as transportation will be feasible for quite some time.
Oh well, have fun in a warm college!
Hmm. Regarding the books, I'd like to add that (according to DavisWiki) Davis has a student-run 'book exchange' in the basement of the memorial union building that gives better prices than the bookstore on used books. The school has many such student-run services on campus and off, which is pretty awesome. The school is very encouraging of student enterprise and learning by working and such. It's a good environment.
You'll relearn to ride a bike quickly. The gigantic volume of bike flow through the city makes it such that you don't want to be out on anything other than a bike. Ask Mario-- he drives through town occasionally. Again, DavisWiki has a good Bike Tips article that tells you a little about riding on campus, equipment you'll want (fenders in rainy season--heh, I hadn't thought of that) and to use hand signals/follow bike laws. For the record, I am the only person in Davis who uses hand signals and follows bike laws. If you see someone out there stopping on a bike at a 4-way stop and signalling right, it's probably me.
Keep on top of any paperwork the school requires of you-- there seem to be a few administrative disconnects between departments that make even simple paperwork hellish, especially if it goes through late. I know this from experience.
That's all I want to glut this thread with in a single post. It would be really cool to meet you in person when you live here. It's going to be good to have another comics friend living here. Plus, the comics in the Aggie (student newspaper) really suck, so if you wanted to start your own strip, that damn paper needs some talent.
Hlavco, how many times must I explain to you that this place is too freakin' warm? I still find it too warm to wear sweaters for more than a few morning hours. That's just not right for October.
Aparently I also suck less than BunnyTu2006?
Yes, you DO suck less than BunnyTu2006!
EDIT: That school has nearly half the population of the fair-sized city I live near. I prefer going to my school where I have class sizes between 6-15 people, there is only 1 relatively small parking lot and there is always space, and there are only about 30 people total in my major. Maybe less. My tuition also covers ALL expenses, including books. That said, I was at a point where I needed to make the decision: Go to college AGAIN for more schooling that would still not get me a job, or buy a house. That probably says something about my tuition cost and my level of sanity.
My best advice: think really hard about what job you want. Try to decide soon. Look at what it takes to get that job and go hard at it. Drifting gets a person nowhere. It happened to me and it happened to many people I know. You'll see people with 4-year degrees flippin' hash at McDonalds. Those are people who still don't know what they wanna be now that they are grown up.
Of course, I still manage to spend most of my free time on the Internet. Such is the way of things.
My bike got stolen this weekend.