Ask a Current Freshman anything!

<p>I'm a freshman (biological sciences major) looking to help incoming freshman :)</p>

<p>How life on campus? I have been admitted for biological sciences for the fall of 2012 as well and wondered how things are in college. Is the grading system hard? campus a fun place? food good?</p>

<p>On the weekdays, things are pretty lively on campus. People are in a “hustle and bustle” on their way to class and clubs are always looking for people to join. However, on the weekends, things can get a bit dull, especially if you dorm. But if you have a group of friends that stay back with you, the boringness goes away and your bound to find something to do somewhere. All in all, the atmosphere of UCR is pretty laid back and respectful.</p>

<p>As for the grading system, math and science classes can get a bit difficult. I took math9B in the fall and the curve for an A was an 85%. For chem 1A there usually isn’t a curve but the class isn’t that hard anyways. In the winter, you’ll take the first Bio class and chem1B. These classes are a bit harder and the curve is around an 85% for an A, depending on you prof. If you just put some time into reading your textbooks and lecture slides, you’ll do great.</p>

<p>The first quarter I dined at UCR, the food was pretty good. They had a nice variety of things ranging from burgers and fries to pastas and sandwiches. After the first quarter, the food started to become repetitive; but one thing I will say is, the desert is always good :)</p>

<p>Just a few questions! I’m trying to decide between UCSB or UCR so here we go. </p>

<p>What made you choose UCR?
How is the Economics/Business program?
Sororities/Organizations - lots to do?
Is biking around accessible?</p>

<p>1) I truly chose UCR because of the academic environment. I too, had other choices such as SC and SB, but obviously turned them down. I consider myself to be more of a studious guy, as I’m trying to get into grad school haha. Don’t get me wrong I love to party when I have time:). But in the end, I don’t think I could concentrate if I went to SB… too much partying.</p>

<p>2) I’m not an econ/business major but from what I hear, UCR’s business program is pretty strong, and is continuing to grow stronger. Both UCSB and UCR rank in the top 50 so I would think that either school would be great for business.</p>

<p>3) Yes, there are plenty of sororities and clubs to join. Just find out what you’re interested in and go around to their booths and get involved! </p>

<p>4) Biking around is pretty easy, there are plenty of bike racks around each hall where you can chain your bike to before class.</p>

<p>Good luck choosing!</p>

<p>Hi! I got accepted to UCR with physical science undeclared. I’d like to know if there is any pharmaceutical studies, and what exactly do you plan to do with biological science in the future?</p>

<p>I intend to study pharmacy at a graduate school. As far as I know, there isn’t a major that is for pharmacy itself. The pre-req’s for a graduate pharm school are just a set of classes that you must take. These may vary slightly depending on what pharmacy school you want to get into. If you need help planning out a career in any type of medicine, UCR has this program called HPAC mentoring where they guide you with your career in medicine.</p>

<p>So I am guessing that there is very little party life at ucr. Do you have any recommendations for housing? I heard freshman year you have live in the dorms.</p>

<p>If living on campus, how hard is it to bring a car around the middle of the school year? (around December)?</p>

<p>How hot is the average girl (scale 1-10)?</p>

<p>jleemd21:</p>

<p>I recommend that you stay at AI because it is a not too shady AND you get to meet tons of people. Pentland is for people who like a cleaner and relatively quiet dorm environment (unless you have a hall thats loud). I think Lothian (both east and west) is kinda ghetto. So if you like to be in a loud hall with tons of people, pick AI. If you want to share a bathroom with only 2 or 3 people, pick pentland. I currently stay in pentland and was lucky enough to live in a super chill hall haha.</p>

<p>jgallo10:</p>

<p>Bringing a car to school isn’t a bad idea unless you have money. Parking permits cost around 300-400$ for the year, I can’t remember exactly. If you don’t want to buy a parking permit and have a car, you can park on the outskirts of the campus but it will take a LONG time to get from your car to class.</p>

<p>The girls… haha funny question. It depends on what your into i guess. There are a lot of asians and a fair amount of latinas. I would say if your into asians and latinas, UCR will be heaven. Personally I’d give an average of about 5.5</p>

<p>I got accepted to UCR and I was wondering if my career choice to be a nurse would be a good match for UCR or should I choose CSUs like CSULB, CSUF, or CSULA?</p>

<p>If I were you, I would definitely choose UCR. The college of natural sciences (CNAS) is great and the staff members are always willing to help. You can join various mentoring programs that will guide you to your profession in nursing. On top of all that, you can experience dorm life! In the end, UCR is a UC and the rest are cal states. But it all comes down to money… If you can pay for UCR I recommend it. If you can’t, cal states are the way to go… after all, college is what you make of it!</p>

<p>Thanks! I was really indecisive because I don’t think UCR has a nursing program, but the other CSUs I listed do.</p>

<p>Ok… I didn’t do my research because I thought the cal states you listed only have undergraduate nursing programs. But they do in fact have graduate masters programs where you can get a nursing degree. In this case, choosing a cal state school would save you transferring time and money.</p>

<p>Best of Luck!</p>

<p>I got accepted to Biochemistry and thinking of entering the Thomas Haider program. Do you know any details about the program? I have a relative who was in the program and said it was really hard, as she was taking 24 units instead of 16. That was a couple of years back, so I don’t know if the program has changed.</p>

<p>Oh, does UCR require students to live on campus first year?</p>

<p>do you know how waitlisting works? as in last year did most waitlisted get in? im nerveous im biochem major waitlisted :(</p>

<p>Howhurl:</p>

<p>As far as I know, the program has not changed. Admission to the program is extremely competitive. There are plenty of things that can help you get in, such as UCR’s FastStart program and the Health Science Partnership Program; both of which you need to apply for.</p>

<p>Heres a link to the admission requirements: [Division</a> of Biomedical Sciences: Program Prerequisites](<a href=“http://biomed.ucr.edu/prospective_students/prereqs.html]Division”>http://biomed.ucr.edu/prospective_students/prereqs.html)</p>

<p>If you don’t really care where you go to medical school you can always just take the 4 years at UCR :)</p>

<p>UCR does not require freshman to live on campus. There are plenty of commuters and people who rent non-campus owned apartments.</p>

<p>what college you went to?</p>

<p>ucirvine789:</p>

<p>I’m not sure how the process of wait listing works but I do have a few friends who got off the wait list last year.</p>

<p>Their stats were around 1500 SAT, 19 ACT, 3.3 GPA and barely any extracurriculars. That being said, I even met people that got 1300’s on their SAT’s. These stats are for CNAS/BOURNS wait lists.</p>

<p>If you fall in this range, you should be admitted! Best of Luck :)</p>

<p>itdoesntmatter:</p>

<p>I’m in CNAS (College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences)</p>