Ask questions about UCI, Pre-med, Bio major, CHP

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Irvine
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Hi guys,

I’m a first year bio major at UCI, and I was accepted into the CHP as an incoming freshmen. If you would like any info about the school, the program, research opportunities, etc. send 'em over. :slight_smile:

cheers,
Ady

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  1. What does the honors program provide for you as a student?
  2. Have you considered changing majors? Or do you know if it’s easy to do so at UCI?
  3. Why did you choose UCI over other schools?

Thanks! I really appreciate it :slight_smile:

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Hi @juniorneedshelp!

  1. The program has various perks, including but not limited to small class sizes, a year dedicated to research, and prioirity enrollment (my favorite). Here are the comprehensive details if you are interested: http://honors.uci.edu/
  2. I have considered changing majors, but now I've decided against it. I'm going to stay as a bio major until I can specialize in developmental and cell biology. Since I personally have not changed majors, I can't say if it's easy to do or hard to do. However, I do have a few friends who started out as bio majors but switched. Their transition was rather smooth. Keep in mind, they switched into other science majors, not something distant like engineering or computer science. Depending on which major you switch into, and how much your new and old majors overlap, you may find the transition a bit challenging.
  3. I chose UCI solely for the honors program. With every year, graduating in 4 years is getting more and more difficult. Priority enrollment ensures that I, along with other honors students, will get the classes we need/want and still control when we graduate. Also, I'm pre-med, and UCI has a decent pre-med program (I don't know about the placement rate for non-honors students, but the med-school acceptance rate for CHP students is very high, higher than the national average. Basically, if you can come here and get a 3.8+ GPA, great test scores, etc. you can go anywhere you want for grad.) Lastly, I love research, so the easy access to research labs was an influencing factor.

hope this helps. Best of luck!

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Thank you so much!

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Great info
Is it harder to maintain a high GPA with the honors program?

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  1. Is there a significant impact on my classes if I’m in CHP but undeclared? Since I don’t have a major picked out yet, will I just be in higher level gen req classes or does it even impact anything?

  2. I know that this is getting off of the academic topic, but could you tell me a bit about the social life at UCI? I’m born and raised in LA so I’m used to having parties every weekend, but I’ve heard Irvine is very low key in terms of parties. Is it difficult to find parties, or are there parties every weekend but just not a multitude? Would going Greek help with that significantly?

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@juniorneedshelp my pleasure :slight_smile:

@bigsist : I can guarantee you getting a 4.0 is challenging. I don’t know anyone who has done so, and there are only a few in the hundreds in the history of the CHP who have got 4.0s. (Don’t take my word for this. I think they said this during CHP orientation lol). But the point is, it’s challenging. As I science major, I can say you’re in for a ride. I know engineering is challenging as well, depending on how many AP creds you have. That being said, the academics is great here. UCI may not be like UCB or UCLA, but if you put the work in and make the connections, you’ll have a shot at any and every grad program. Especially, if you can be in CHP and get a 3.7+, I think you’re set GPA-wise. Then you have ECs, letter or recs, etc.

@shaneli1020 : 1. I doubt it. I have a few friends who are undeclared, and they seem just fine. In fact, all CHP students get to register a week ahead of all non-CHP students. However, the timing is rando: some get to register at 10 am, some at 10:45, you get the idea. It’s completely random. My enrollment window for winter quarter opened at 1 PM, and for spring quarter it opened at 10 AM.

  1. I have to say, the social life is not too vibrant here. But with the right connections, you shouldn't have problems finding parties. My roommate basically parties every weekend, so there are places. I think going Greek would definitely help getting into that atmosphere. I kinda regret not going Greek...don't make the same mistake, especially if you're already a partier.

Sorry for my late response guys, and I hope this helps! Come for Honors Experience Day (HED) if you can. I was leaning towards UCSD and UCSB, and HED is what made me settle on UCI.

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@ADY360 Thank you! This helped a lot :slight_smile: