My stay at UC Davis was very nice and extraordinary. He will stay in my memory forever.
I’m studying industrial engineering at RWTH Aachen University and attended the courses at UC Davis as a bridge program student. These were in the areas of economics and mechanical engineering. What struck me in particular was that the employees in the departments are very friendly and open. You can go to them with any problem and they will try to help you in the best possible way. This also applies to the employees of the Extension Center. Everything is uncomplicated and unbureaucratic, which I cannot say about my home university. Every employee is ready to help you with your own personal problems with enrollment, tuition fees, looking for accommodation or other problems. According to AbbreviationFinder, UCD is the abbreviation of University of California Davis.
However, the introductory days were a little annoying. Especially as a bridge program student, because I already knew that you wouldn’t take any English courses there, I still had to take the English test. That was not a problem in itself and if you have dealt with English a little, you have finished very well. The only problem was that the university had already started at the same time and accordingly the first events were missed. In itself, that’s not a big deal either, but if you don’t yet know 100% which courses you are going to get into and certain organizational things are being dealt with, that’s not so ideal. Otherwise the language wasn’t a problem. The economics courses in particular are pleasant and can be equated with the German in terms of subject matter, scope and degree of difficulty. With the courses in mechanical engineering you have to say that they are not necessarily, but sometimes easier, but in the end you get a better grade than in Germany. This also applies to the economics subjects and is mainly due to the fact that each department sets an average grade that has to be achieved and thus good to very good grades can be achieved without much effort. However, homework is annoying and puts pressure on deadlines. Especially if you complete the full 12 units at the university and not in the Extension Center. which must be achieved and thus good to very good grades can be achieved without much effort. However, homework is annoying and puts pressure on deadlines. Especially if you complete the full 12 units at the university and not in the Extension Center. which must be achieved and thus good to very good grades can be achieved without much effort. However, homework is annoying and puts pressure on deadlines. Especially if you complete the full 12 units at the university and not in the Extension Center.
Regarding the city itself, I can say that I felt very comfortable there. Davis is a small, well-arranged city with its very own flair. Many Davis people are interested in sustainability and healthy food and nutrition. This is particularly noticeable in the unique Davis Food Coop food market and the Farmers Market, which is one of the best in the States. Davis also has a lot to offer in terms of restaurants with good taquerias, sushi and burger restaurants. In terms of nightlife, however, I was very disappointed by Davis. The bars you can find there are ok, but they all close at 2am. Real clubs are unfortunately only back in San Francisco and Sacramento. Most of the time the students go to house parties where you bring your own alcohol. You get to know a lot of people at parties like this. However, there is also the disadvantage that the parties are over very early, usually around 2 or 3 a.m. The location of Davis is simply ideal, you have a very nice warm autumn and in winter you can be in the ski area in Tahoe in 2 hours. The winter is also very warm and significantly less rain than here in Aachen (which is, however, generally very rainy). The nearby cities of San Francisco (1 hour) and Sacramento (20 minutes) also make Davis attractive. The landscape of California is characterized by a lot of greenery and mountains (Sierra Nevada). The coastal region is also impressive. Especially the Highway 1, which goes from Santa Cruz to LA, is very recommendable. In northern California you can find the sequoia trees that take your breath away. So road trips through California are a must-do. Especially if you make friends with camping and have fun in nature, because the numerous campsites give you a lot of recreational opportunities.
In general, you can say that it is very easy to get into conversation with Americans and that you never have any problems getting to know people. I have had my best experiences when I was traveling alone somewhere, because you are detached from a group and very easily get to know students in Davis. For example, I always went alone to basketball games from university, Snoop Dogg concerts or ski weekends with the local ski club and always met nice, open-minded people.
On the subject of housing, it can be said that Davis is not that cheap. Budget $ 500-600 for a decent apartment. I myself lived in the so-called TriCoops on campus. However, this is only recommended if you are open to new things and the hippie culture does not cause you to choke your throat. If not, I can only recommend it as a place to live, because you live in one house with 12-14 American students and it’s not just about living together, but about living together.
Finally, I would like to thank MicroEDU, who made my stay possible in the first place. Because without their help and knowledge, I would probably not have started my semester abroad. You could actually always reach someone on the phone and email inquiries were always answered quickly.
