So you may have heard a lot about UC Davis academics and rankings, but you may be wondering what it is like to be on our UC Davis campus. For those of you who, unfortunately, cannot visit the wonderful UC Davis campus, I invite you to join me on seven small adventures and discover what the UC Davis campus is like on a day-to-day basis. I am pleased to be your travel guide for this blog today. My name is Danielle, and I’m a 2nd-year Managerial Economics major from San Francisco and Social Media Intern for UC Davis. Now, let’s see what UC Davis has to offer.
Go on a virtual campus tour from the comfort of your home
We can embark on the official UC Davis grand virtual campus tour filled with highlights of our 5,300-acre campus and providing you with campus-related information.
Coming from a city of skyscrapers, moving to Davis was definitely a change in scenery for me. I went from a concrete-filled city with towering buildings to a charming University town where buildings are only a few stories tall and bicycles rule the road. Davis is welcoming, spirited, supportive, diverse, and sustainable. So if you are looking for that classic college campus feel, then UC Davis is definitely for you.
My favorite place on campus is the Memorial Union (MU), the hub of student life. Want some sushi? MU. Need a place to study? MU. Hungry for some free food? Go to the Food Pantry inside the MU, no matter who you are. Want to go bowling or play video games? Check out Gunrock Gaming in the MU. These are just some of the great reasons I enjoy the MU.
Campus housing
- Three on-campus housing locations: Tercero, Segundo, and Cuarto
- On-campus transfer housing is also available
Campus dining
Say what you will about academics, but you'd be hard-pressed to find many universities with fine dining to add to its list of accomplishments. But here at UC Davis, the campus dining and markets are just as diverse and creative as the classes.
Explore the local businesses in the area
From big-name businesses like Target and Safeway to charming local shops and restaurants, we have it all in Davis. Not to mention, many of these places are college student-friendly: hiring students, housing student organization fundraisers, providing study spaces, and offering student discounts.
Simply search on websites like Yelp to see what types of cuisine and shops are available in Davis. You can also read “The Best of Davis for the most recent years” in the California Aggie, a student-run newspaper, to find out some great spots in the area.
Some popular student spots include thrift stores, bike shops, poke, Thai food, brunch cafes, coffee, and boba. To the coffee and boba lovers, Davis is filled with spots in practically every corner of this city so don’t worry about getting your drink fix. Davis is also known for the local farmers market that comes around twice a week where students and locals will seek out the local goods that vendors have to offer.
Weather report: Cloudy with a chance of cows?
The reason Davis is sometimes dubbed a “cowtown” is due to the fact that we have cows ON campus. Don’t worry, they’re not roaming around the streets or raining from the sky.
Speaking of rain, the annual precipitation is 18 percent with an average of 21 inches of rainfall. The rest of the year is sunny and warm in the summer. When fall arrives, the temperatures begin cooling down to around 80 degrees. Winter temperatures average around 50 to 60 degrees.
You can get a good look around the area with this campus tour filmed with a state-of-the-art drone.
Sacramento is a quick 20-minute trip away. There is also Lake Tahoe, wine country, and San Francisco that are only 1-2 hour drives from Davis if you want a change of scenery or weather.
Find your clubs and community
At UC Davis, we are home to more than 800 student clubs on campus, including many Greek options. Moreover, we have welcome student centers where you can find your home away from home. Oftentimes, the people you meet in these organizations will turn into close connections and make UC Davis even better.
Follow campus social media
Our UC Davis social media is a convenient go-to spot for information about events, applying, guest star takeovers, helpful webinars, campus happenings, student life, and more!
Follow @ucdavisadmissions. You'll the content I create for this account! Follow the hashtag #GrowWithUCDavis on Instagram to keep up with what is happening on campus and pics from students.
Get to know your fellow Aggies
Feel free to reach out to us through the UC Davis undergraduate admissions Instagram or the UC Davis undergraduate admissions account itself. Make sure to hop over to the UC Davis YouTube channel to learn about student life and almost anything UC Davis-related. We are here to help!
It's also worth booking a virtual tour of the campus. The campus tour guides are serious pros and will have great tips about the area.
UC Davis student life
Even though every student is different, we often find common ground through the activities we Aggies (UCD students) partake in.
Bike around your neighborhood: There’s a reason Davis is named the “Bicycle Capital,” with biking as a main mode of transit, whether it be to go to class, eat, study, or just hang out with friends. So if you want to “feel” like you’re in Davis, take a bike out for a spin.
Attend our virtual Picnic Day 2021: Undoubtedly the biggest annual event at UC Davis where students, families, alumni, and friends come together to showcase the richness of diversity and achievement at UC Davis and the surrounding community. Even though Sunset Fest, a student event that is like a mini-festival with performances and food trucks, is quite exciting, Picnic Day is incomparable in scale.
Sip some coffee: The general education (GE) course, “The Design of Coffee,” was voted the best general education class, and UC Davis even has a Coffee Center where classes and research are held.
Dine with wine: UC Davis is known for being one of the few colleges to provide viticulture and enology major, and another GRAPE fact is that one of the performance/lecture centers is named after the Mondavi family, who are known for their significant impact on the California wine industry.