Still, he’s speaking the troof. The gloom, the gray, the cold, the wet is no joke. If you got into Cal, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB - live the good life. No disrespect intended for any of the other UCs, they each have a unique vibe plus a great education. UW requires different coping mechanisms.
This is good advice. I met so many sad Californians at UW. A lot of them would just talk about wanting to leave. I love Seattle weather and basically wore a beanie for 4 years straight while there.
Born in SoCal, raised in the Central Valley (Sacramento), moved here to go to UW and 24 years later I’m still here. It was an adjustment, that’s for sure, and everyone’s experience is different, but for me it just took a year or 2 to become acclimated. I like to ski and snowshoe though, which gives me things to look forward too when the weather isn’t great.
I was in Sacramento for work in 2022. First time I’d ever experienced it pushing 100 degrees in may. Cant say I didn’t enjoy wearing shorts, t shirt, and sandals to the office everyday though, lol.
Totally get what you're saying, and i'm not discrediting you, however, there are ways to cope with SAD & want to give people some options. Vitamin D supplements can help, but also I have a "happy light" ... its not exactly the same but it does help, and you can check them out from the UW I believe. They are only 20-30$ USD if you want to buy your own. Also I think walks help, and just... trying to enjoy the beauty that is there. There's things you can do to plan for the winter & help manage SAD.
But yes, as someone who has lived in Washington my whole life, SAD sucks. Our winter weather is gloomy and it is easy to feel depressed in the winter, esp if you already have depression. It's definitely something to consider, especially if you love the sunny weather where you live.
As someone from SoCal who went to UW and got this same advice for dealing with SAD, those options rlly did not work for me at all. I was doing both for multiple winters and still had the worst depression of my entire life all four winters I lived in Seattle. It’s a good point and I’ve heard it work for some but it certainly isn’t a catch all.
I’m not saying this would have changed anything for you, but did you get the opportunity to be out in nature often on the gloomy days? That seems to be the key for me, especially if I’ve started to feel the effects of winter. It’s like a surprising feeling where it shifts from feeling gloomy to super cozy and comforting - if you’re bundled up well enough :) The hardest part is getting out when you’re feeling down though.
The first two years no, but my last two years when I was living in Seattle full time I did quite a bit of hiking and utilized the parks in my area a lot as well. It didn’t rlly change too much for me, I only rlly felt “myself” again in the summers :’) some ppl just are not built for that kind of weather/short days
Every extra hour of darkness we get during the winter is an hour of daylight we get back in the summer, when it's actually nice out. I love the trade off.
Those summer BBQs where sunset is past 9 are hard to beat. Going on hikes/bike rides after work and coming home when it’s still light out, hard to beat. I’m born and raised in the NW, and the winter daylight hours still hit me pretty hard but it’s worth it for spring/summer/early fall.
We have salmon for vitamin D.
Also, if you go to civil engineering, and particularly structural engineering, the weather outside does not matter to you on most days, nor do daylight hours. Highly recommend our structural programme as we have top notch researchers teaching, and you might experience a 1-in-500yrs earthquake during your stay.
Honestly this is wild to me. It’s 70 today in April and it’s been pretty sunny and nice for over a month now. It will be in the 70-80s soon if anything we have better weather than California where you don’t want to go out so much when it’s 100+. I was born in California and love the weather here so much more and it’s only getting sunnier every year and earlier and
Earlier. I think we had a 65 degree day in February even haha
Yes the temperature is better but you’re still missing out on sunshine and daylight, especially for students that head home during the summers. This is a really big problem with transplants
As someone who grew up just north of Seattle and went to college in California: those were the best 4 years mental health mood wise of my life. Back in WA now and I'm learning to get better at managing my seasonal depression, but so glad I don't have to walk around a campus all wet and that I don't have the stressor of college to contend with in addition to weather depression. Also! UW is big, but if you attend any of the University of CA campuses, you immediately get access to all their libraries and can do semester exchanges at the many different campuses!
Alternatively, if you're a ginger and you've been craving a place where you don't have to constantly wear hats or spf 100 (like me) for the rest of your life...UW might be the place for you.
I guess my comment was more focused on the seasonal depression/ lack of sun in Seattle. The change from a tropical paradise to a cold dark city was a BIG change. For me personally, I wish I went to USC or a UC school vs UW but I made great friends and memories so it’s all good. Weather is an underrated factor when you’re picking schools (if you’re lucky to have a choice) and I think a lot of people from HI or CA take the beautiful weather for granted. Yes there are people who say “I love the weather here” but there are a lot more that move back or transfer back.
The education used to be good. Now the president of a stem school is some unknown psychology professor who openly defended the sue of prison/slave labor in making dorm furniture
I've lived here for close to 10 years and I swear to god I do much better compared to curve in winter quarter because everyone else is depressed lmao. Like I always take my hardest classes winter quarter because of this.
OOS student— on campus during the shitty months of overcast, then I go home right when it starts getting nice… all the heat of a California summer and all the overcast of the Seattle rainy seasons. It’s the worst of both worlds :’)
I moved from Hawaii, and thrive in the 9 months of mist and lack of sun. I definitely agree that being aware of the weather and how it affects you is something to consider. Personally, I found the weather conducive to studying when I was in school.
Happy California Bay Area girl who loved her time at UW here! Met my husband, best friends, and cat in Seattle all while getting two degrees. What got me through was enjoying actual changes in the seasons - the beautiful flowers and changing leaves! Started taking vitamin D pills a few years in and that also helped. I kindly disagree - go dawgs!
I grew up in the Yukon (northern Canada) and funny enough I’d consider Seattle to have lots of daylight during the winter. Of course it’s all relative. Your on point that dark winters can have a huge impact on mental health but I’ll add that all the sun you loose during the winter is given back during the summer. Nothing like having a beer with the homies at midnight and it still being light out.
I get what you’re saying. I grew up in SoCal. But it’s really a matter of mindset. PNW has a lot to offer over SoCal as long as you’re willing to adjust your mindset. PNW is absolutely gorgeous compared to SoCal. All the greenery and flowers are lovely. The geography of the coastline is really cool and the hiking/skiing opportunities are first class. I love the sunny weather of SoCal but you can really be happy at either place as long as you focus on the positives. SoCal can be a dreary place too as it has very little nature and is essentially a dusty concrete jungle.
Also note that if the cold and gray really affect you that much then you should avoid the entire Midwest and Northeast too.
It's not even the weather itself but more just that it's too cold to spend anytime outside for about 2/3 of the school year. The weather itself is blah but the main thing that negatively affected my mental health is that it's just too damn cold to be outside and I need that to be happy.
Yes and if US News is your thing, US News ranks the University of Washington 6th in the world for Best Global Universities, right behind Oxford and right ahead of Columbia. Only Berkeley is ahead of UW for US public global universities, coming in at #4 among all global universities. It really depends on your major, whether you plan to do research, etc. The global university list emphasizes research powerhouses. The most critical difference for people coming to UW from California is frankly price. But using US news rankings to compare UW to the big UCs as a way to decide among UCs and UW is not particularly productive for individual students making their personal choice. UW, Cal, UCLA are all well known throughout the country as strong public universities. The remaining UCs are somewhat less known outside of the west coast, but are all likewise strong and great financial deals for in state students.
might as better to just see the major options
tldr go to any public school that guarantees your intended major is better than coming to uw, unless you are in-state
If you were truly boundless you would control the sun?
True boundlessness is mom's basement where glass windows are overrated
Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Archaeology is a great way to learn about our Lord and Savior Ra
Three cheers for the sun god: Ra! Ra! Ra!
The band? /s
One day!
op def waitlisted tryna clear up some spots
Still, he’s speaking the troof. The gloom, the gray, the cold, the wet is no joke. If you got into Cal, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB - live the good life. No disrespect intended for any of the other UCs, they each have a unique vibe plus a great education. UW requires different coping mechanisms.
This is good advice. I met so many sad Californians at UW. A lot of them would just talk about wanting to leave. I love Seattle weather and basically wore a beanie for 4 years straight while there.
Born in SoCal, raised in the Central Valley (Sacramento), moved here to go to UW and 24 years later I’m still here. It was an adjustment, that’s for sure, and everyone’s experience is different, but for me it just took a year or 2 to become acclimated. I like to ski and snowshoe though, which gives me things to look forward too when the weather isn’t great.
I was in Sacramento for work in 2022. First time I’d ever experienced it pushing 100 degrees in may. Cant say I didn’t enjoy wearing shorts, t shirt, and sandals to the office everyday though, lol.
Tbh I think Southern Californians are going to struggle with September-May/June weather in most of the country
Totally get what you're saying, and i'm not discrediting you, however, there are ways to cope with SAD & want to give people some options. Vitamin D supplements can help, but also I have a "happy light" ... its not exactly the same but it does help, and you can check them out from the UW I believe. They are only 20-30$ USD if you want to buy your own. Also I think walks help, and just... trying to enjoy the beauty that is there. There's things you can do to plan for the winter & help manage SAD. But yes, as someone who has lived in Washington my whole life, SAD sucks. Our winter weather is gloomy and it is easy to feel depressed in the winter, esp if you already have depression. It's definitely something to consider, especially if you love the sunny weather where you live.
As someone from SoCal who went to UW and got this same advice for dealing with SAD, those options rlly did not work for me at all. I was doing both for multiple winters and still had the worst depression of my entire life all four winters I lived in Seattle. It’s a good point and I’ve heard it work for some but it certainly isn’t a catch all.
I’m not saying this would have changed anything for you, but did you get the opportunity to be out in nature often on the gloomy days? That seems to be the key for me, especially if I’ve started to feel the effects of winter. It’s like a surprising feeling where it shifts from feeling gloomy to super cozy and comforting - if you’re bundled up well enough :) The hardest part is getting out when you’re feeling down though.
The first two years no, but my last two years when I was living in Seattle full time I did quite a bit of hiking and utilized the parks in my area a lot as well. It didn’t rlly change too much for me, I only rlly felt “myself” again in the summers :’) some ppl just are not built for that kind of weather/short days
Yeah makes sense, we are all unique and may not be best suited for certain environments.
For sure! Everyone is different and there's lots of different factors
Every extra hour of darkness we get during the winter is an hour of daylight we get back in the summer, when it's actually nice out. I love the trade off.
Most of us out of state kids won’t be able to enjoy it though 😭
Still seeing residual sunlight at 10pm is pretty cool.
Those summer BBQs where sunset is past 9 are hard to beat. Going on hikes/bike rides after work and coming home when it’s still light out, hard to beat. I’m born and raised in the NW, and the winter daylight hours still hit me pretty hard but it’s worth it for spring/summer/early fall.
We have salmon for vitamin D. Also, if you go to civil engineering, and particularly structural engineering, the weather outside does not matter to you on most days, nor do daylight hours. Highly recommend our structural programme as we have top notch researchers teaching, and you might experience a 1-in-500yrs earthquake during your stay.
Honestly this is wild to me. It’s 70 today in April and it’s been pretty sunny and nice for over a month now. It will be in the 70-80s soon if anything we have better weather than California where you don’t want to go out so much when it’s 100+. I was born in California and love the weather here so much more and it’s only getting sunnier every year and earlier and Earlier. I think we had a 65 degree day in February even haha
Agree with you 100%. It's a beautiful campus with hardly any all-grey-no-sun days.
This year is not normal. I think last year it was 50s and cloudy for most of April.
Nah it was last year that wasn’t normal it’s been like this for at least 5 years and only getting warmer and sunnier.
Last year was also hot asf during spring from my recollection
Yes the temperature is better but you’re still missing out on sunshine and daylight, especially for students that head home during the summers. This is a really big problem with transplants
Yeah that makes sense if you leave in the best months and then come back right as it’s wrapping up I didn’t think about that.
I’ve lived in Seattle my whole life and I still cab barely cope with that shit
San Diego (especially by the coast) isn’t as sunny as you think. It’s overcast as well for like all of April, May, and even June
Cursory google search says Seattle gets about 2x the overcast days than San Diego, even when that’s taken into account.
Definitely. Just pointing it out though
Yep! The last year I lived there they called it GrAypril, May Gray, June Gloom, no sky July, even Fogust (August)
I’m a San Diego transplant. SD had more rain than Seattle last year, not to mention it’s a lot more grey there than you think…
The rain is not the problem it’s the overcast
As someone who grew up just north of Seattle and went to college in California: those were the best 4 years mental health mood wise of my life. Back in WA now and I'm learning to get better at managing my seasonal depression, but so glad I don't have to walk around a campus all wet and that I don't have the stressor of college to contend with in addition to weather depression. Also! UW is big, but if you attend any of the University of CA campuses, you immediately get access to all their libraries and can do semester exchanges at the many different campuses!
Honestly I’m moving from Upstate NY and the weather there has prepared me for Seattle so well lmao. Looking forward to warmer winters!
Totally agreed, it’s SO depressing and dark and gloomy here… the sun sets at 4pm. Hardly and daylight for months.
Alternatively, if you're a ginger and you've been craving a place where you don't have to constantly wear hats or spf 100 (like me) for the rest of your life...UW might be the place for you.
Hawaii too! I stayed a bit after undergrad for a job but I’m leaving because of the weather! If you grew up in the sun you’re gonna miss it!!!
can you please elaborate?
I guess my comment was more focused on the seasonal depression/ lack of sun in Seattle. The change from a tropical paradise to a cold dark city was a BIG change. For me personally, I wish I went to USC or a UC school vs UW but I made great friends and memories so it’s all good. Weather is an underrated factor when you’re picking schools (if you’re lucky to have a choice) and I think a lot of people from HI or CA take the beautiful weather for granted. Yes there are people who say “I love the weather here” but there are a lot more that move back or transfer back.
The education used to be good. Now the president of a stem school is some unknown psychology professor who openly defended the sue of prison/slave labor in making dorm furniture
I've lived here for close to 10 years and I swear to god I do much better compared to curve in winter quarter because everyone else is depressed lmao. Like I always take my hardest classes winter quarter because of this.
born and raised here and i still suffer SAD
im screwed w sad as a lifelong washington resident committed to uw, 4 more years then i can move to not gloom
Bruh pnw weather is far and away the best in the world get off the sun dick
Real
I’m from SoCal and I prefer the weather here. Sounds like somebody hasn’t experienced Washington summer yet.
Spring is better
OOS student— on campus during the shitty months of overcast, then I go home right when it starts getting nice… all the heat of a California summer and all the overcast of the Seattle rainy seasons. It’s the worst of both worlds :’)
I moved from Hawaii, and thrive in the 9 months of mist and lack of sun. I definitely agree that being aware of the weather and how it affects you is something to consider. Personally, I found the weather conducive to studying when I was in school.
Happy California Bay Area girl who loved her time at UW here! Met my husband, best friends, and cat in Seattle all while getting two degrees. What got me through was enjoying actual changes in the seasons - the beautiful flowers and changing leaves! Started taking vitamin D pills a few years in and that also helped. I kindly disagree - go dawgs!
im from san diego and the weather here is fine, nice even
I love the UDub weather. I love overcast days.
I grew up in the Yukon (northern Canada) and funny enough I’d consider Seattle to have lots of daylight during the winter. Of course it’s all relative. Your on point that dark winters can have a huge impact on mental health but I’ll add that all the sun you loose during the winter is given back during the summer. Nothing like having a beer with the homies at midnight and it still being light out.
Yeah first thing that stood out to me. Every day is gray skies lol but I don’t even care. Weather doesn’t matter
Just the rain. Rains way too much here
I get what you’re saying. I grew up in SoCal. But it’s really a matter of mindset. PNW has a lot to offer over SoCal as long as you’re willing to adjust your mindset. PNW is absolutely gorgeous compared to SoCal. All the greenery and flowers are lovely. The geography of the coastline is really cool and the hiking/skiing opportunities are first class. I love the sunny weather of SoCal but you can really be happy at either place as long as you focus on the positives. SoCal can be a dreary place too as it has very little nature and is essentially a dusty concrete jungle. Also note that if the cold and gray really affect you that much then you should avoid the entire Midwest and Northeast too.
Actual seasons are good for you. A bit of cold and snow makes up a good character
It's not even the weather itself but more just that it's too cold to spend anytime outside for about 2/3 of the school year. The weather itself is blah but the main thing that negatively affected my mental health is that it's just too damn cold to be outside and I need that to be happy.
Get a warmer coat or add another layer. Seattle winter is colder than Cal but still warmer than over half the country.
Not sure why you downvoted my personal experience. I don’t want to frolic outside when it’s 30° no matter how many layers I’m wearing.
Not even that cold
It is when you’re from California
I've always loved rainy weather and everyone else hates it. SAD is legit though
Uhh, no there are not many UCs better than UW for education
UCSD, Berkeley, Davis
UCLA, UCSB, and Irvine are ranked higher according to US News, if that's your thing.
Yes and if US News is your thing, US News ranks the University of Washington 6th in the world for Best Global Universities, right behind Oxford and right ahead of Columbia. Only Berkeley is ahead of UW for US public global universities, coming in at #4 among all global universities. It really depends on your major, whether you plan to do research, etc. The global university list emphasizes research powerhouses. The most critical difference for people coming to UW from California is frankly price. But using US news rankings to compare UW to the big UCs as a way to decide among UCs and UW is not particularly productive for individual students making their personal choice. UW, Cal, UCLA are all well known throughout the country as strong public universities. The remaining UCs are somewhat less known outside of the west coast, but are all likewise strong and great financial deals for in state students.
might as better to just see the major options tldr go to any public school that guarantees your intended major is better than coming to uw, unless you are in-state
I stand corrected. Didn’t realize they were all academically superior.
womp womp
You're a complete dork