Ask a UCM Student!

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of California - Merced
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<p>Do you think he will be teaching Calculus over the summer as well? Because I am planning on taking it over the summer, and my major is Psychology so I will for sure pursue general Calculus, thank you so much for the information I appreciate it!</p>

<p>To be honest, I’m not sure myself. I just checked the online class registry and unfortunately no professors are listed for the Calculus classes offered over summer, so I really can’t say.</p>

<p>**On another note… I visited the campus recently and was wondering if we’re allowed into the land/fields surrounding the campus? I’d like to take my laptop and venture out to do some writing/reading. Also, how busy do the quad and grassy areas get during weekdays? (Odd questions, I know, I just want to be covered.) **</p>

<p>Unfortunately not, that’s private farmland. During my orientation, the orientation leader told us a story of how some bored students went over there to check out (aka tip) the cows, and were caught by the farmers. But that’s a story for your orientation!</p>

<p>As for the grassy areas, generally they’re not busy at all. You’ll find a few people sitting on the grass but not crowded. Personally I find this a bit sad because I have a thing for grassy quad lawns. </p>

<p>I’m glad to hear that wired internet connections are available as well. I’m bringing a desktop and laptop with me, and a wired connection is ideal for my desktop… How good is the wireless connection, though, typically?</p>

<p>The wireless connection is fine during the day, but loves to cut out during the night. During study sessions on campus or when I stay over in my friends’ dorms, the connection loves to cut out intermittently after 9PM or so, and doesn’t become stable until 1AM. It doesn’t happen every night, but happens frequently enough for me to gripe about it. The wired connections however are 100% stable, and I haven’t heard anyone complain about them. I even had a friend claim a 100 mbps connection using a CAT6 cable.</p>

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<p>Sounds good, thanks. :)</p>

<p>Hows the food there, btw?</p>

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<p>@ r31ncarnat3d, Thanks so much for all the input, however I have one more question, do you recommend a mac laptop? I have had so many students tell me that its the best one to get for college, is this true?</p>

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<p>Hows the food there, btw?</p>

<p>It can be a hit and miss. We have many different stations here, and I find the Mexican and Blue Plate stations to be good, the grill is a bit bland and expensive for me. Personally, I’d stick to the salads and sandwich bar and avoid the burgers for lunch, and would eat cereal and bagels for breakfast and skip the eggs.</p>

<p>do you recommend a mac laptop? I have had so many students tell me that its the best one to get for college, is this true?</p>

<p>Unless you’re going into computer graphics design, I’d have to say definitely no. Macs are very expensive for what they are, and cost much more than a comparable PC. Right now, I use an Asus UL30A, which is lighter+thinner than a Mac, yet offers more battery life while having the same power as one. If you want the power of the new MacBook Pro (but again for cheaper and with more battery life), consider looking at the Asus U30JC laptop. If you want more details, feel free to PM me anytime :)</p>

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<p>Thanks for this!
How many units should I take my first semester - (enough so that I might finish early, but not kill myself)? And how many clubs is it okay to join without being overbearing?</p>

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<p>How many units should I take my first semester - (enough so that I might finish early, but not kill myself)? And how many clubs is it okay to join without being overbearing?</p>

<p>Definitely 13. My friend and I took 16 our first semester, and it got extremely stressful at times. Unless you handle high stress levels well or you took plenty of APs/JC courses back in high school, you should probably only take three main courses your first semester to adjust to the workload.</p>

<p>As for clubs, I don’t really have a good number in mind, but I’d imagine two or three to start off with. They should be easier than courses though, since most likely you’d just be a non-officer member so the time commitment is much less than normal.</p>

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<p>Hi, I’m planning to attend in the fall and I just had a question about triple dorms. Do you know if triples are always bunk beds? I’m planning to room with two of my friends, but I sort of hate bunk beds so I was wondering if there were any triples with individual beds? Thanks!</p>

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<p>Do you know if triples are always bunk beds? I’m planning to room with two of my friends, but I sort of hate bunk beds so I was wondering if there were any triples with individual beds? Thanks!</p>

<p>Unfortunately, all triples have bunk beds. Each room has a typical bunk bed and a loft bed, where the bed is the top bunk and a desk goes where the bottom bunk would be. The only way to get an individual bed is to dorm in a double. Sorry!</p>

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<p>What are the drawbacks to UCM not being accredited yet?
I understand that the process is already underway, any word on the progress?
As for the upcoming medical school at UCM, any idea when it will open?</p>

<p>This is an awesome thread, good to see people defending UCM’s rep.</p>

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<p><strong><em>bump</em></strong></p>

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<p><strong><em>last bump</em></strong></p>

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<p>Sorry about that, I had to take a leave of absence to prepare for finals :)</p>

<p>What are the drawbacks to UCM not being accredited yet?</p>

<p>To be honest, I’m not entirely sure myself. We have sent people to other prestigious grad schools (UCSF, Stanford, Columbia, etc) and of course graduates have been able to find jobs. From what I could gather, while UCM itself isn’t accredited, as a campus in the UC system the UC name itself satisfies the requirement for many other schools/employers. </p>

<p>I understand that the process is already underway, any word on the progress?</p>

<p>They’re still going through the entire procedure, but I’ve heard it might be finalized within two years. We’ve already have had representatives from the organization come down and visit us, as well as classroom visits and surveys from students. Unfortunately, I don’t have anymore details than that.</p>

<p>As for the upcoming medical school at UCM, any idea when it will open?</p>

<p>I also do not know, but I’m pretty sure it won’t be within the next four years. No construction has been started on any medical school yet, and the UC system is feeling a very large budget strain right now, and there has also been opposition within the city for a medical school over some stupid BS, but it’s still another obstacle to overcome. I don’t think the medical school will be happening anytime in the near future. </p>

<p>Sorry again for answering your questions so late. Hope this helps!</p>

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<p>r31ncarnat3d, no problem! I completely understand.
During the last finals, I had no time for anything else. I was literally dreaming about
chemistry calculations lol</p>

<p>Awesome. I did hear that the accreditation issue could effect the chance of being accepted at a med school, but I’m not sure how true that is.</p>

<p>That really sucks that there is opposition to a med school. I’m actually pretty surprised anyone would be against an institution that trains doctors, especially in a place that is rural and under-served! When it’s time for me to apply to med school, it’s most likely going to be Davis. </p>

<p>Thanks again for the help r31ncarnat3d :)</p>

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<p>Hey I was curious about what the comp sci program was like at Merced. </p>

<p>I am a high school senior that has the possibility of transferring in one year if i go to a cc (meaning i can scrape the min. 60 credits =P) or i could go to UCM and I didn’t know what the program was like because no matter where i googled i could only find that basically everyone ranked UCM as the last school to go to.</p>

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<p>where did you read that Merced is ranked last? sounds exaggerated</p>

<p>i’m going into the computer science major here next year</p>

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<p>Well, as its not ranked yet, most people put UCM on the bottom of any list due to its infancy.</p>

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<p>@satoshikrd </p>

<p>You’re going to have to get more specific than that. Every program is what you make it out to be. The student defines the campus, the campus doesn’t define the student. </p>

<p>Now, to try to give you an answer that I think you’re looking for, the comp-sci program seems to be like any other program at any other university. I’ve had some cool professors for my programming courses, some super-nerdy ones, and some TA’s that were chill and laidback.</p>

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<p>@ Jserrano298</p>

<p>Awesome. I did hear that the accreditation issue could effect the chance of being accepted at a med school, but I’m not sure how true that is.</p>

<p>It is an issue if you are applying to Ivy League schools. We’ve had several students go on to medical schools, including highly ranked UCSF. At some point, accreditation doesn’t matter since the medical school will look at the individual and what he or she has done for themselves rather than what the institution has done for the student. </p>

<p>However, as mentioned earlier, the Ivy League schools are notoriously picky and will most likely not even look at your application if you are applying from a school without accreditation. </p>

<p>That really sucks that there is opposition to a med school. I’m actually pretty surprised anyone would be against an institution that trains doctors, especially in a place that is rural and under-served!</p>

<p>Very true, but with the budget cuts to education and the tuition increases for students, it doesn’t look like the UC system will have money for expansion for quite a while. It’s a real shame when we students have to foot the bill for the mismanagement of funds by those who were hired to make our futures as bright as possible.</p>

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<p>Is their any way to do research at Uc Merced??? Are there any close hospitals??? I am also a pre med student thinking about going to Uc merced, but I want to know if there is a way I can do research…</p>

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<p>Oh and does UcM have any deals with med schools to help get students in???</p>