<p>UC Irvine is a ****ty little school located in Hell-on-Earth.</p>
<p>I was a graduate student there for 2 years and taught classes throughout those 2 years. Coming from an out-of-state university there are a bunch of things that are wrong with the campus.</p>
<p>First off all let's start with academics. Compared to my undergraduate experience the classes are slightly dumbed down (although a few of the upper level classes use really bad textbooks so maybe you could consider those as harder?). The students tend to be lazy and actually try to fanagle the answers out of the teachers (I thought we learned what integrity was in elementary school...). Some are even stupefied by the easiest directions. I had one student in my class that didn't even know how to pour a liquid. A friend I knew had a student that didn't even know what a mean was (and after being told it meant average the student had to ask how to compute the average of 3 numbers). So much for the California educational system lolz. These ****s would be weeded out during admissions at a real university.</p>
<p>Next on the list of things wrong is the social scene. If you want to go to a school where everyone goes home on the weekends, and parents drop off and pick up their children like high school this is the place for you. It's almost impossible to grow into an adult if you're still living with your parents (like the school's major demographic), so have fun playing with a bunch of little kiddies. But I guess that's part of growing up in Orange County -- being a spoiled brat that needs his mommy and daddy to give him money. I'm not saying everyone at Irvine is like this, but a large majority is.</p>
<p>Also, if you want a sense of community, forget about it. The only places to go within close distance to the school is a couple of strip malls and fast food joints. And the only bar is actually on campus. This may sound nice, but due to it being on campus it cannot serve liquor and they close at midnight. Oh yeah, and they only sell overpriced snooty beers.</p>
<p>The library also sucks. You want a book? Good luck as it's probably their only copy and most likely it is checked out or has been missing for a year or two and nobody noticed until you asked for it.</p>
<p>So yeah, pretty much the only thing going for UCI is the asian population. It is great going to school at a diverse campus, but there are other campuses with asian populations that are also relatively large that offer much more.</p>
<p>So yeah...that's my take on UCI from a student/teacher's perspective.</p>
<p>Wow ahah exact opposite! I also visited UCSD first, but didn’t really get the feel of it. When I went to UCI and their engineering presentation, that’s what sold it for me. But I am still indecisive probably until the very end ):</p>
<p>As for some of the things you post, of course it’s true. There’s <em>always</em> going to be ridiculous things such as those found at any school. I think you are very, very biased as a former graduate student. Of course you will see some kids out there who are not the brightest in the bunch. You’re teaching students with ALL kinds of backgrounds and intellect. And as a teacher you should be open to help students learn, not shoot them down and generalize the entire university as a failure. You will also find geniuses at this university. Ever seen that kid who looks like he’s a 12 year old boy on a tour of our campus? Well, he’s actually a student. [ZotZine</a> Feature - Ahead of his class :: University of California, Irvine](<a href=“http://zotzine.uci.edu/2009_04/brandon.php]ZotZine”>http://zotzine.uci.edu/2009_04/brandon.php)</p>
<p>And yes, like someone else said, take this OP’s post with a grain of salt because you can obviously tell that many of the things said are <em>generalizations</em> made for the entire school. Out of 22,000 or more students, are you really going to make a generalization about the entire student body? Hmm… and I thought we were taught NOT to make such broad accusations. Being admitted into a university does NOT = how smart you are. Sure you can BS community service hours and cheat on tests in hs and still get into college. How well you do at the college and what kind of person you are at the end of 4 (or 5) years is really what matters.</p>
<p>UC Irvine is one of the best schools on earth. I f**king love it here and will miss it dearly when I graduate this coming June.
Having students that push answers out of teachers is a NORMAL thing. This happens all the time in schools like UC Berkeley and UCLA . The student population is not as stupid as KermitDaFrog declares them to be. I have met worse students at higher ranked schools. The sample of students KermitDaFrog is using is totally not justified as PoorCookie mentioned. UCI is a public university with a large body of students. Sure, maybe those students may have been subpar, but that’s only one small portion of the campus. Admissions commissioners strive to admit the best/brightest students they can from the applicant pool given the amount of space they have. However, success is not contingent on how smart you seem from test scores and GPAs so all UCs look for well rounded students that have a potential to make an impact on society. There are many many bright students at UC Irvine, and creating an assumption so quickly is absurd. One most take into account all perspectives in order to make such a sweeping generalization.</p>
<p>As for the social scene, I’m having the time of my life. Once again, I’ll be missing my undergraduate experience as I go onto my graduate studies in electrical engineering at UCLA. It’s true that UCI still is a commuter school, but there are plenty of students who stay on campus whether quarter-round they are local or not. I’m from northern California so I stay on campus every day of the quarter. I rarely ever come home because I enjoy it so much, unless my parents beg me to come home for an event. If you find yourself surrounded by commuters/spoiled brats, then you are obviously not making an effort to network around the campus. I’m a part of multiple organizations as well as the president of one. Through these orgs, I’ve created an enormous network of people to hang out with at all times. Your social life wherever you go is contingent on how much effort you put into it.
Locally, Irvine is definitely lacking in go-to places due to the nature of the city. However, one needs to venture a little further to find the fun. Keep in mind that Irvine is a suburban city, and you do need to drive to get to places. During my four years of college, I’ve ventured all around from Los Angeles to San Diego. That’s the biggest plus about being in orange county. You’re in the middle of everything. In fact, UCI is the best place for everyone to convene if you have scattered friends in LA, Riverside, and SD. On a side note, the Antill Pub is pretty awesome. There’s a great selection of beer, and I’m heading there later today after a long week. If you’re looking for more booze, go to Newport Beach or downtown Fullerton. Enough said.</p>
<p>UCI is a great school, and I’m glad I chose it over going to other schools. I’m a person who likes to experience different things, so I left my hometown to attend UCI. Although I would love to stay at UCI for my MS/PhD, I’ve decided to move onto UCLA to experience a new atmosphere…within a budget of course. Otherwise, I would’ve considered my east coast options.</p>
<p>This is my take as a graduating undergrad from UCI. I strongly encourage everyone to consider UCI. Tours and first impressions really mean nothing when it comes to knowing the real experience of attending one. Do your research and get a lot of exposure to the universities you are deciding from. I only knew 1/100 of UCI after taking tours and such, and my experience has only been positive for me since I stepped on campus.</p>
<p>seriously, you know how many people want to live here?</p>
<p>that said, my hometown borders Irvine and I am a commuter. Yes I live with my parents, but I lived on my own for a year. my parents actually asked me to move back in, and I help them with their business on the technical side of things(namely computers and marketting).</p>
<p>Let people make the decisions for themselves.</p>
<p>KermitDaFrog, get a life. Your wasting your time. I can’t believe someone who is already teaching is behaving like this. Upset you lost your job or something? Broke up with your girlfriend? lol
Your an adult act like one!</p>