<p>Soo..
This was originally just a reply to the thread "Why does everyone hate Riverside so much?" But it got so long I decided that it deserved its own thread.</p>
<p>To start off with a bit about myself.
I currently attend UCR and I have applied transfer this year, got into Irvine, SD, LA, and Cal
I came from a nice neighborhood and my high school was very prestigious.
For various personal and family reasons, although I was surrounded by a bunch super studious kids (or maybe because of that), I did not have the motivation to try hard in school.
Consequently, I really suffered two years ago when I applied as a first year. I was an average students but because everyone else from my school had stellar GPAs, ECs, and unbelievable legacy, I basically looked like crap. I applied to more than 15 schools in total (UCs+Privates+OOS Public schools) and only received admission from UC Riverside.
It really humiliated me so much that I decided I had to transfer.</p>
<p>Enough about me. Let's talk about UCR.
Everyone has stressed enough about the location, being a commuter school, the weather, etc.
I want to talk about the academic aspect.
Contrary to my belief before coming here nearly two years ago, UCR really is not a bad school.
We have numerous brilliant faculty members with credentials and scholarship just as outstanding as any other UCs'.
What makes a school different isn't the teaching staff, it is the student body: another big reason that attributed to my will of wanting to transfer.
Many people I've met here claimed to have wanted to transfer just like I did, but I'm fairly certain that I'm the only person that came through with it.
What I'm about to say next is a generalization from I would say about 70% of the people I have came across here. If I offend any UCR student users on here, I'm sorry. Just speaking from my own experience.
To put it in the most straightforward way, people just do not like studying here.
They are just trying to get over with college with a whatever degree and land on some job.
I've met fewer than a handful of people that truly had a passion for the field/major they are working towards to.
What I always tell people is that people that come to UCR are basically a bunch of bums (First year students).
Some of them will come to the realization of the value of education and try hard, but most of them will just .. chill out.
My writing class from last quarter really astonished me.
Maybe it was just my class, but through the various peer reviews I did, my fellow classmates all wrote at the level of a middle school student. I know, some people just aren't that good at writing, but some of the grammar mistakes I saw just made me speechless. Again, these are just individual cases and one single class.
I was very disappointed by this and it made it a tad difficult for me to make good friends here because nobody really shared the same view as me.
Of course, these people perhaps exist even in Ivy League schools, but I just really wanted to go to a better school where I can potentially find more people like me that aspire to succeed and have a thirst for knowledge.
Again, I do not mean to offend anyone and I know not everyone at UCR is like this.
There are also kids that went to high schools with limited educational resources that UCR would be considered as a great institution or possibly the highest they could have reached. Again, I do not mean to offend you guys either. </p>
<p>I know I probably sound very cocky and judgmental, but this is sincerely how I felt during this time I studied at UCR and I don't intend to seek agreement here.
I definitely learned a whole ton in the past two years and I do not mean discredit UCR on that.
It is a good school. </p>
<p>For those people that really do want to transfer from UCR to a better UC (or just any school), here are some of my suggestions:
- UC to UC transfer is very difficult. Schools overall prioritize community college students over people like us that are already attending a four-year university. I think I was very lucky to have been able to get accepted from schools like LA and Cal. But I do not mean to discourage anyone, definitely apply! (As you can tell, I'm very happy that I apply)
- Keep up your GPA!! I cannot stress this enough.
- ECs and personal statements DEFINITELY matter for schools like LA and Cal. I did not have a 4.0. My personality and determination definitely shone through my application and I guess they liked me.
- Yes, determination. State as clearly as you can in your personal statement of what you'd like to do. Not just vague and cliche statements like "I want to make a difference in this world", but very specifically what you intend to achieve (like research goals) in your field of interest, with the talent you have. This is probably more applicable to the major essay, not to "the world I came from" essay. The latter is just kind of inevitably going to be vague.<br>
- Complete your pre-reqs!!!
- Basically check all of the requirements you need to fulfill.
- I know UC to UC transfer is relatively rare and hard to gather information from online. My answer for you is, call them. Explain your situation to them and see what they say.</p>
<p>This got way longer than I thought.. Hopefully people actually appreciate this.
Overall, I just want to say that hard work really pays off.
Good luck to future applicants!</p>