UC Davis College Rating

I love college towns. I think they are the best type of towns. I think it's the combination of the energy that students bring to a place along with anchor of a campus and the the types of businesses that typically surround colleges. As a deli and pizza guy, college towns suit my palate.

In San Diego we lived about 2 miles from San Diego State. While I don't consider big cities like San Diego to be college towns, we did live near enough to the campus where it did feel a bit like a college town. I loved driving through campus, seeing the kids on their skateboards, and telling Carly that Sig Ep was throwing down that night with a double kegger (which was probably true). SDSU has a reputation as a bit of a party school and in all the years we lived nearby it seemed to make sense. There were times that I found myself jealous of the young and beautiful college kids having the time of their lives.

Now we live in Davis, which is also a college town. Technically we live adjacent to campus, but it's about a mile to where the academic and residential buildings are. It's more of a college town that reminds me of Ann Arbor with the big tree lined streets and the campus integrated into the city. But the students here couldn't be any more different than those of Michigan or San Diego State. 

During what would be considered welcome week Carly and I were out in downtown Davis just blocks from campus and their was nary a stumbling student anywhere. We were on the South U equivalent of Davis and it was kind of dead. I couldn't believe it. Then a few weeks ago my buddy Dave came to visit and we went to a Aggie Football game. We were tailgating a bit in front of the stadium and watching the students arrive. It was a night game, and having been to a few college football night games I was expecting a shitshow. On the contrary. We didn't see a single student that looked even a little inebriated. I've yet to see a yard littered with solo cups. For shame.

The students here also dress very differently than those of SDSU. On the SDSU campus the kids looked so fucking cool, and the all had the bodies to back it up. Here in Davis it's a lot of unwarranted midriff that no one wants to see and guys with t-shirts tucked into cuffed jeans. I don't get it at all. Sober and poorly dressed is no way to go through college.

Now this blog at one time had a feature where I rated colleges on 4 key areas. It's been awhile since I've done one, but I think I'm ready to rank UC Davis.

Campus layout:
The UC Davis Campus is actually pretty good. It flows nicely into the the downtown and the students all ride bikes. The buildings are mostly postwar architecture and not very classically collegiate. Rating: B+

Student Population:
Total nerds. Rating: D

Night Life: 
I've seen zero evidence of any house parties. Frats seem small and not very wild. Off campus bars mostly cater to townies. Rating: D

Food, Stadium, Bus System, Other:
Food is fine. Big international student population means a good variety of restaurants, mostly cheap, nothing that I'd consider a "must try". Great bus system with the old London double-deckers. Stadium is decent for a FCS team. Tailgate scene was marginal, but again... FCS. Rating B-

OVERALL RATING: C+

Introduction to Brian's Guide to Colleges

In the last 4 weeks I have visited 4 universities in 4 states. All of them are unique and have ups and downs. After this post, I got the idea to start rating the girls at each school I visit. Better yet, I am going to devote part of this blog to give overall ratings the different colleges I visit. Usually when I visit a school I take time to walk around campus and get a feel for the school. I try to visit the union and see the stadium. So now when I go to different schools I am going to rate them based on how I feel about the following factors:

Campus layout:
This is one of the most important factors in a school. Most notably, does the campus have a good feel to it? Is the campus planned out in such a way that it is organized, yet not cramped or too spread out? How are the buildings, are they interesting and unique or do they just look like boring office buildings? Is the school close to a downtown, or is there stuff immediately off campus? These are questions that can be easily answered by a walk through the campus.

Student Population:
The people make the school. A great student population is key to a great school. What are the students like? Are the girls hot, and are the dudes total D-bags? How is the Fratmosphere?

Night Life: This is sometimes hard to tell based on a one or two night visit, because it kind of depends on how good of a time you have. But its easy to tell if a school has a great bar scene or lots of parties.

Food, Stadium, Bus System, Other:
How are the food courts and off campus food? Is the stadium big and intimidating? As a bus driver, I have to take a look at the bus system to determine whether it is up to par. Is there anything else that stuck out on campus?

College Humor already ranks the Colleges across the country on all the important measurable aspects. But these are the immeasurable ratings that are really important.