Bakersfield College

I attended UC Davis, and honestly, it was one of the most disappointing and unhealthy academic environments I’ve experienced. Despite its reputation, the culture felt far more toxic than collaborative. Instead of genuine mentorship or intellectual growth, I encountered cliques, academic politics, and a lot of performative behavior. Decisions often seemed driven by ego, networking games, and optics rather than student development or real career outcomes. What stood out most was how shallow the intellectual culture often felt. There was a strong sense of academic arrogance without the substance to back it up. Many people relied heavily on the school’s name rather than actual critical thinking or competence, yet were quick to dismiss or undermine those who genuinely challenged ideas or demonstrated real ability. Truly capable or independent thinkers were often treated harshly, while mediocrity was rewarded as long as it fit the social and political mold. There was very little self-awareness, and few people seemed to recognize their own limitations. Support was minimal where it mattered most. Advisors were overextended, professors often felt detached, and the guidance students received was generic and impersonal. If you weren’t already well-connected or positioned at the very top, it was easy to fall through the cracks. The system seemed to reward visibility and conformity more than intelligence, effort, or potential. The financial side makes it even harder to justify. The cost is enormous, yet many graduates leave earning about the same as an Uber driver, which raises serious questions about value and return. A prestigious name doesn’t mean much when it fails to translate into meaningful career stability or long-term growth. Bakersfield College, by contrast, was refreshingly honest and grounded. It emphasized real skills, real outcomes, and actual learning. Professors were accessible and invested, advisors knew my name, and the environment encouraged progress instead of posturing. The education was hands-on, career-oriented, and built to help students move forward without unnecessary ego or gatekeeping. When it comes to return on investment, the difference is obvious. Bakersfield College prepared me to earn, transfer, and grow—without crushing debt, wasted time, or false promises. If I could go back, I would skip UC Davis entirely and start at Bakersfield College. For me, it delivered more value, more support, and a far more realistic and respectful path forward.

Seriously. Tell your IT team to review their firewall for emails. You guys are often blocking edu domains and custom domains. It's very difficult as a researcher speaking with students or responding to your students who inquire about my work.

I really wish I could put 5 stars. I graduated in 2022 after two decades of being a bad student, finally figuring it out and then working while attending at the same time. It helped put me into a very good career, and I am grateful for the repeated opprotunities this place has given me. However, they use this program now called Certree to handle official transcripts. It is 23 dollars even if you only need one transcript, although technically that 23 dollars will get you any number of transcripts for 3 months (it's a subscription service). The college does offer 2 free transcripts, but if you are like me where you are a graduate who only needs the transcript for a couple online courses you have taken to pass requirements for other degrees, you have probably used all of those when you first applied to other colleges. Also, Certree has no other colleges that I attended using it, only BC. So it has a very limited use case - if you are sending copies of your BC transcripts to multiple colleges. By my math, since Parchment (which every other college and even my high school use) charges $5.75 per transcript, you would need to be ordering about 4 BC transcripts for this option to be economical. The whole system seems so niche that it is hard to see how it isn't a price gouge. Also, the school I need to transfer the grades to (San Jose State) hasn't heard of Certree, so I am dumbfounded as to what meeting happened and all of these issues were bypassed or ignored in favor of going with Certree. Just.....as an expert in bad decisions (which BC can attest to based on my transcript), this is a doozy that has affected a large subset of BC students and seems to indicate the admin is out of touch with the diverse needs of the student body. So just know that yes, you can get a good education here even if you struggle with school.....but then, unless they change something or you are applying to 4 or more colleges, getting your transcript will be more expensive than most other colleges. All other things held equal (since the cost per credit is similar across community colleges), I recommend a college where you will likely pay the same amount per credit but have a lower cost for a transcript when the time comes as well as in any future cases. The only case I see for going to BC at this point is if you live in Bakersfield. I used to, but now I live in LA (thanks to the career path BC helped put me on), so I am not limited to their campus. I now regret taking online courses after the fact due to this issue. It was not like this when I graduated.

If you have the opportunity to go anywhere else, do it. The staff doesnt care about their students. Getting anyone to pick up a damn phone or send an email back? Unheard of. Registrar putting that you were attending when you weren't? Heard of. Financial aid couldnt pick up a phone or respond to an email if it was a microchip on auto reply transplanted in their brains. Honestly? Go to University of Pheonix. Garbage. School.

Clean school. It can benefit from better teachers. More experience on the field for business classes.

Need more parking spots if they are going to make students pay $40 per semester’s

Let’s cut through the noise: UC Davis was not the enriching academic journey it claims to be. It was an overpriced, underwhelming, and disheartening experience that left me more disappointed than developed. For a school that prides itself on prestige, I found little more than a culture of performative excellence, inflated egos, and a toxic environment masked as "competitive." There’s a false narrative that big-name universities open doors just by association. That’s a lie. UC Davis cost over $35,000 a year and gave me little in return—no meaningful mentorship, no solid career guidance, no real investment in my future. The advising system was a joke. Professors were often unreachable or too absorbed in their own academic echo chambers to care. Unless you were already well-connected or playing the politics game, you were invisible. Instead of collaboration, I witnessed cliques, fake smiles, and backroom power plays. The culture rewarded showmanship, not substance. People advanced not by merit, but by aligning themselves with the right names or selling themselves in just the right way. The entire place felt like it was built for resumes, not reality. Now contrast that with Bakersfield College, where I got more education, support, and clarity at a fraction of the cost. I paid under $2,000 a year and walked away with practical skills, real career direction, and professors who actually taught and cared. I didn’t have to beg for advising or compete for attention. I was supported. I mattered. People look down on community college until they realize it’s where the real work happens. Bakersfield College didn’t sell me a dream—it gave me a foundation. UC Davis sold me a name and delivered confusion, stress, and a pit of debt. If I could do it all over again, I’d skip the branding hype and start with what worked: BC. Honest, effective, affordable, and real. UC Davis? All name, no value. And definitely not worth the price tag.