A four-year institution of higher learning located in
California's Central Valley. Currently ranked as the fourth best campus in the University of
California system. Davis has acquired a reputation as a bike-friendly campus and is often stereotyped as constantly smelling like cow shit (although this only true if it rains or unless you happen to live in the Tercero housing complex). The students at UC Davis are called Aggies, however the campus mascot is actually a
mustang named Gunrock which has nothing to do with the title "Aggie". This leaves Davis students in the
awkward predicament of having to explain to non-Davis individuals why their mascot is a
horse and what the
hell an Aggie is when the vast majority probably haven't a foggy damn. Davis is also perenially labeled as the "school for Berkeley rejects" and a common saying is that "Davis is no one's first choice." Despite this snobbish labeling of the campus by outsiders, Davis students have a reasonable amount of school spirit and school pride.
The academics in Davis are somewhat in line with the rest of the other UC's in that they are competitive, challenging, and that you can be assured that if you slack off, some super
nerd is going to set the exam curve at 98% therefore screwing you over. However unlike Berkeley, Davis students are somewhat more willing to help others with
work and the sense of violent cutthroat competition that one might expect at a university of UCD's caliber is notably absent. UC Davis is largely noted for its veterinary/animal
science department, agriculture school, and its Viticulture and Enology Department (aka the study of wine). The VEN 003 course is always popular amongst freshmen who think it's going to be a
chill laid back class about alcohol and then end up getting frustrated once they fail their first midterm because they couldn't remember what type of grapes are used to make oloroso sherry (Palomino).
UC Davis also fields a number of teams in different sports and is notable as being the only UC campus to field a football team after Cal and UCLA. The transition from Div II to Div I occurred in 2007 and the Aggies now play at a much more competitive level regarding sports. The main rival for all UCD athletes are the Sacramento State Hornets who annually play the Aggies in
football in the Causeway Classic. It should be noted that UCD leads all
time 39-17 in the Classic and has destroyed Sac State for eight years in a row. Other rivals include Cal Poly and any other university with the word "state" in its
name.
Davis is an example of a true college town; once classes let out following spring quarter, the town empties as thousands of students and faculty flee the summer
heat and crushing
boredom of the Central Valley for cooler and more entertaining destinations. Activities in Davis are limited by the town's size; bowling at the MU, eating downtown, going to the movies, and drinking (at house parties or bars) are staples of most students' lives. UC Davis also has a number of student clubs, IM and club sports teams, the Band-uh! and some roughly 40 recognized sororities and fraternities for those students who seek to be more involved in their campus.
On the whole, it's a very underrated campus, an excellent place to get an education, and no, the students do not go cow tipping.
