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Monday, March 18, 2024

UC Davis ranked no. 1 in Princeton Review’s annual list of Best Health Services

ROSIE SCHWARZ / AGGIE
ROSIE SCHWARZ / AGGIE

Student satisfaction places UC Davis first nationally in evaluation of college health providers

The Princeton Review recently named UC Davis number one on its annual list of Best Health Services for students. Out of 380 colleges evaluated, UC Davis was one of 20 named in a list that included UCLA, Pennsylvania State University and Baylor University.

The publication, most commonly known among students for its test-preparation books, compiles each of its 62 yearly lists entirely through student surveys, many of which only have one question, including the current list, which asked students, “How do you rate your school’s campus health services?”

“We give each college a score for its students’ answers to each survey question,” states The Princeton Review on its website. “Similar to a GPA, it is a metric that provides us with a numerical base to compare student opinions from college to college — apples to apples, as it were.”

ASUCD Senator Sofia Molodanof said that while the recognition was appreciated, the university could continue to do more.

“It’s great to see that UC Davis was [named] number one by The Princeton Review for the best health services,” Molodanof said in an email interview. “I definitely think that UC Davis does have a lot of very beneficial health services compared to other universities, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t need to continue to grow.”

ASUCD President Alex Lee, drawing from his own experience with the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP), said that he was surprised with the recognition.

“I’m surprised only because as a student that doesn’t primarily subscribe to SHIP, but I have used SHIP before, the service is not stellar,” Lee said. “Though I think it is sufficient, I wouldn’t imagine us to be number one. I’d think we’d be mid-ranking.”

Molodanof notes that UC Davis has done well in providing health services, particularly mental health resources, for students compared to other universities, but there is still room to improve.

“This ranking makes UC Davis look great, but we can’t get too confident,” Molodanof said. “Health services, especially mental health, are constantly growing and we aren’t nearly as close as we need to be to having A+ services. UC Davis administration should be proud of these results; their hard work is getting positive feedback. But they shouldn’t get too ahead of themselves because there is a lot of work to go.”

Compared to physical health, Lee said that mental health has not received as much support to address issues that students are facing.

“I think that student health and counseling services for physical health does a good job at being accessible and readily available to students,” Lee said. “Our mental health services, which are best in the UC system but not great either, the ratio of counselors to patients is so disproportionate that we can’t even have adequate mental health services for the students.”

Molodanof said that she is still happy with the availability that health services are providing to students at UC Davis and that students seem to feel the same way.

“From using the health services at UC Davis myself, I can say that I have genuinely had positive experiences every time I’ve been,” Molodanof said. “The medical doctors, assistants and staff are very attentive and truly care about your personal health needs. This is why I believe UC Davis is ranked so high, especially if it was being ranked by student feedback.”

Written by: IVAN VALENZUELA – campus@theaggie.org

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