Did you say...Davis? First off, congratulations for you and your son. I haven't ever been a student at UCD, but I am pretty familiar with the campus, etc.
What "kind" of nerd is your son? There is the radio station of course, as well as the community television station and now a low power community radio station. There is a Linux Users Group, a Mac Users Group, and a Internet Users group in town.
There are SCA chapters. There is the Whole Earth Festival. Lots of "alternative" agricultural groups, cooperative housing groups etc.
If I knew a little more what S was into I could maybe be more specific. The town is very bicycle friendly and campus is almost a part of town. Farmers market 2x a week. . . There are Over 500 Student Clubs One other cool thing that I think is unique to Davis is the Experimental College. ANYONE can take classes here and it is a great way to meet people. At the Experimental College you can take classes on anything from how to fix your bike to the Rubik's Cube. And of course we have enjoyed the Equestrian Center, the Craft Center and Outdoor Adventure .
It this too much information? Let me know if you come up for a visit.
SG
Survival Goddess "The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any." -Alice Walker
S18 is kind of a Japanese anime/videogame/science nerd.
What do you think about the campus size at Davis? I hadn't realized it had 30,000 students - I know students at UCLA, which is a similar size, often complain about just being a "number". But then, I have often heard that Davis has a real "college town" feel, which is nice.
There is an active anime club and one video store that has an extensive collection for rental of the more "adult" type and another video store that has stuff like Ranama 2 1/2. Both of these stores are independantly owned and operated. I think there are 3 such stores in town. I am pretty sure there is a gamers club as well, but I could be wrong.
I think Davis is small enough that someone could make a big impact here if they were an outgoing, organizing type. In otherwords, plenty of people have started things here and then moved on. And these kinds of clubs and things ebb and flow with the times. There may be something that needs just one enthusiastic person to come in and revive it, or there may be plenty going on already...(Does that make sense?)
I think the "Core" classes are pretty huge. I know a lot of those kinds of classes are taught in a large lecture hall, with about 200 students, then the lab sections are smaller, about 30 students each.
The campus is sprawling, but easy to get around on by bicycle. Probably most of his courses would be in the same few buildings. It is very park like, lots of trees and a nice arboretum that runs through campus.
If you are really considering this you should check out the annual open house known as Picnic Day All of the various departments strut their stuff, and it is a lot of fun.
Probably the biggest problem for someone coming from the coast is the weather. It gets "hecka" hot here, starting in the spring. And it is wet and grey during the winter. I like it, but I am not every body. I also like the proximity to places like SF and Tahoe, both under 2 hours away, but my little town seems safe and cozy by comparison.
SG
Survival Goddess "The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any." -Alice Walker
Ellie, Congratulations bc your S... wao, he can elect, he can decide where to study... thats great and i hope he, with thelp of his fathers, makes the right decission... You know...?... specially tday i was thinking in one of the issues i have more trouble with the D possibility... and it is needing to live all that special moments that i will live, alone... well, alone in home... i suspect he will be here for kids, but it cant be the same if we are a familly... I a moment i travel to my D and S graduation time in their school... what a great time... ther first Univrersity day... My baby first comunion... my D and S first love... and i came to the conclussion that it can be so stressing and sad for him who is considering the D possibility... it can be harder for him than me, bc he is the one who is nnot wanting or is confuse about our M to be continue...!! About your night date... how you hadle that?... you had prooposed or was him?... welll, take care ellie, and stay around Andrea
OOOOooooooohh... this makes me PINE for being in school. All those options! All those choices! All those cool classes! All those extracurricular activities! Congratulations, Ellie, you must be so proud!
Yeah - it makes ME want to go back to college! And he got another acceptance today - to UC Irvine (my alma mater). So far, he's been accepted to 5 of the UCs, rejected by one (UCLA) and we are still waiting to hear from UC San Diego and UC Berkeley (Berkeley doesn't report until the 31st).
The hard part for us, I think, is resolving the question of choosing a school largely based on its ranking, versus figuring out which school would be the best environment for S18s social growth. Then of course there are variations in course offerings to consider too.
I am quite proud of him, he has worked hard in a really tough high school curriculum - and I am most proud of the fact that he does it because he loves to learn, he actually enjoys reading Shakespeare and the classics.
Had some fun with H last nite, went to a St. Patrick's Day party. A lot of 40 - 50 something surf buddies of my H (mind you, because of our affluent neighborhood, these are attorney-surfers and CEO-surfers and the like) - as well as a bunch of 20-something college kid buddies of the hosts' 6 kids (blended family - can you imagine 6 kids in college?!!!).
Had fun, lots of interesting people and old friends, whupped my H at pool (my partner was a 20-something who looked just like Jason Biggs) - and just enjoyed the fact that many of my H's friends envy him his beautiful (if a little zaftig right now) sexy wife who clearly loves him. And that my H finally gets it too!
The last time H was happy to have me around as his beautiful wife was a long time ago. I've forgotten when it was. Although he DID write me an email just weeks before the bomb addressed to "My Wonderful Wife". Can you beat it?
Livnlearn
"The unexamined life is not worth living" - Socrates
