<p>I'm planning on attending UCI as an incoming freshman this Fall 2010 and due to a VERY stupid mistake on my part, I'll be entering as an undeclared student as opposed to a nursing science major (if I had gotten in.)</p>
<p>I just noticed that for undeclared students there is a University Studies class. Is this mandatory? Considering it's supposed to allow students to discover which major is best suited for them and the fact that I'm already set on transferring into the nursing program in my junior year, I'm unsure whether staying undeclared is the best way to go about this - I don't want to be wasting my time on such a class when I could be getting another prerequisite course down!</p>
<p>With that said, if I were able to change my major before I start, what would you recommend so that I can get my prereqs for nursing completed? Chemistry? Something else?</p>
<p>Also, do you think it'd be possible to minor in a foreign language as well? (Considering the workload of whatever temporary major I'll have + eventual nursing science...)</p>
<p>As for dorms, it seems like the general consensus is that Mesa Court is better than Middle Earth. Somehow though, I'm leaning towards Middle Earth due to their study abroad hall, Lorien. The only problem is that it's in Phase I and I hear those are... terrible. Is Phase I really as bad as people make it out to be? And what would the best dorm in each Phase be, in this case? Lorien really interests me (although I don't even know if I can study abroad with my prospective major) but I'm still unsure if it's the right fit. I'm going to attend Discover UCI but I'd like other peoples' opinions on this other than just relying on my eyes.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for reading all this! I know it was quite a lot... ;;</p>
<p>uni studies is not mandatory for U/U students. it’s just heavily recommended. i took it this past winter. It’s an easy A, but only 2 units. You learn bits and pieces of different schools at UCI, and some tips in registration, resources, etc.</p>
<p>Many consider the class a waste of time, but honestly, i would take it if you have some space.</p>
<p>I think the pre-reqs should be pretty similar with bio, you should check it out.</p>
<p>Phase 1’s are not terrible, just older. Phase 1 residents tend to interact with each other more as a whole, in contrast with other phases that house 2x more residents.</p>
<p>I dont know much about studying abroad, but the themes for each hall doesn’t seem to make that much a difference, or at least for mine it doesn’t.</p>
<p>Oh~! I’m so glad it’s not mandatory but if it’s an easy 2 units… I may consider it. I just don’t really need it to learn much about the different schools that I don’t have interest in but… hm, we’ll see.</p>
<p>I’ll be sure to check bio out then in this case. Thanks!</p>
<p>Ahh… Phase I’s don’t sound that bad in this case. I guess now my only worry is the apparent minuscule room size (my room at home is rather large.)</p>
<p>Oh, darn. ): That just makes me want to consider a different theme with a possibility of a Phase III hall then… Thanks for all your help!</p>
<p>It may be true that Phase 1s are more connected since there are less people so you can connect more with your hall, but there’s other factors such as if the RA is active with the hall, the type of people in the hall, etc. All you have to do is to make yourself out there and outgoing. I hope you dont mind living in small double rooms and there are no single room or triple room in the phase 1s i believe and also there’s a smell in the phase 1. </p>
<p>From what I see living in ME, the themes are irrelevant. Don’t choose where your living based by themes. IMO. We havent done anything related with the intellectual incompetence theme in our hall.</p>
<p>So it is true that it’s all dependant on the RA? Darn… In that case, is there any way I can request to be in Phase III or do you only get to choose the theme? I’d go ahead and dorm in MC but I’m notorious for getting out of bed late and even if it’s just a stereotype, I’m not much for parties, especially when it comes to drinking. I know the same thing goes on in ME, but from what I hear, ME is at least a tad bit more subdued. In all honesty, I just want a hall where I can meet great people, and have fun without getting drunk and partying, while not being too distracted from my studies to end up failing. But I guess it’s all by chance, right?</p>
<p>When you say there is a smell… how, exactly? Is it a strange smell that you get used to eventually (like weird hospital smells) or…?</p>
<p>I currently live in Lorien! We are definitely more closer since we are a Phase 1 hall(we know every single person in the hall as opposed to the larger halls where many people are unknown). We are practically one big family. Btw, Lorien has around 47 people including the RA and the CP(Community Programmer). To name a few, we have many movie nights(we recently watched “The Orphanage” >_<), fall quarter we had a Halloween scavenger hunt in Downtown Disney, we went to the beach together, we’ve pulled numerous pranks on one another, have dinner together, are very prideful during the basketball, dodgeball and (soon to be) volleyball tournaments, we go to school sporting events together, we went to Arroyo Vista’s International Village and socialized with foreign exchange students, we pride ourselves in our high average GPA lol, etc. so many things we’ve done together or in little groups. And many people from other halls in Middle Earth as well as Mesa Court hang out in our hall too. To them, our hall is their second-second home?lol</p>
<p>And although our RA is a busy man, he has created many fun activities for us and always keeps the hall themes(“Study Abroad” as well as the cluster theme “Interpersonal Relationships”) in mind. Regarding “studying abroad,” our RA has appointments with each of us and we discuss with him the progress we’ve made in choosing a potential program (a few are studying abroad in Italia this summer…so exciting =]). There are a good number of people that want to study abroad(like me), but most likely in our 2nd or 3rd year do we actually want to study abroad since it’s impossible to go abroad during the 1st year. </p>
<p>Umm…there are single occupancy rooms in the Phase 1s but there are a very limited amount(only 2), one of them being the RA’s room, of course. The room size is not that small, and people stop complaining about it in the beginning of fall quarter and forget about it lol. smell??? i believe that every hall has their own distinct smell, not only ours. And because Lorien is an old hall, I think the problems we’ve endured has made everything a lot more interesting. Our fond memories take shape because of the weird instances that take place in our “old” hall. We make jokes out of it :). </p>
<p>“I just want a hall where I can meet great people, and have fun without getting drunk and partying, while not being too distracted from my studies to end up failing”…with what you just said, I think you belong in Lorien. It’s such a perfect description. =) send a message to me if you have any questions. And maybe you can visit Lorien during Discover UCI :D.</p>
<p>I dont know but I’ve visited some ME phase 1 halls and they have this distinct weird smell… kinda like bathroomy? Not like poopoo or peepee though, just bathroomy. Idk how to describe it. hahha And also the feeling is kinda stagnant and dingy, but not dirty. </p>
<p>I’m from mesa, so I’m used to bright and airy :D</p>
<p>Well some phase I halls do have that kind of smell you’re describing but I don’t think our hall is one of them lol. And it smells like what you’d expect from an old hall =…which is not that bad.</p>
<p>mesa might be bright and airy but you guys will never be as close, fun, intelligent and cool as us middle earth-ers. :P</p>
<p>and parfait, I’ll answer your message asap. I have a lot of reading to do for tomorrow lol. and to keep you updated with the fun stuff our hall has done, we had an Eater egg hunt at night haha. Each egg had candy or a coupon and it was quite fun trying to find an egg in the dark whilst pushing and pulling people.</p>
<p>Ahaha now I seriously must visit just to understand exactly this supposed smell is. I just hope that they’ll show me Lorien when I attend Discover UCI. ):</p>
<p>And thanks MarciMar91 for all your help so far! And wow, that sounds like a lot of fun. Who organizes all these great events? Your RA? Or do you all band together and plan stuff as well?</p>
<p>When you visit every hall, it has its own distinct smell…just like every room within a hall has its own smell, whether it being foul or pleasant LOL. </p>
<p>Yup yup, it was fun :). Our RA planned it with the help of the CP(Community Programmer) and some of the hallmates.</p>
<p>hey Parfait, I’m just like you. I keep seeing people are leaning more towards mesa, but I was goin more for ME.
I must admit, I wasn’t so thrilled to see the floor plans on the website but hopefully Discover UCI will make up for it? lol
Anyway, super excited to be going to UCI in the Fall :-D</p>
<p>Hi parfait,
I’m a current freshman at UCI fulfilling requirements to transfer into the nursing program as well. I’m currently switching my major to bio the classes for the first quarter are quite similar. I have also heard that public health sciences is another major that could help fulfill requirements. I noticed you suggested chemistry. DON’T. You’ll need biology courses to transfer and being a chem major, it will be difficult to get into the bio classes. </p>
<p>In regards to minoring, my nursing science friends have told me it is difficult to get a minor since the workload of nursing gets very demanding during junior year. Minoring in a language requires a few upper-division classes. To sum it all up, it will probably be difficult getting a minor in a language.</p>
<p>Hi latc!
Thank you so much for your input. I think I’ll switch my major to bio or public health sciences in this case. So, your major really does affect the ease of getting into classes? I just suggested Chem because I noticed we had to take Chem 1A, 1B-LC, and 1C-LC. But I suppose in the long run there really are more Bio classes… Ahh my bad. ^^;</p>
<p>Darn, that kind of sucks about minoring though as I truly wanted to… Yesterday I spent quite a while trying to figure out all my potential courses including GE reqs for the next 2 years and you’re right, the course work even before junior year is quite hefty.</p>
<p>Thank you so much! Oh, I have one last question though if you happen to revisit this little thread~ Seeing as you’re going to transfer into the program, are you doing anything ~special~ to try and stand out as an applicant? Say, volunteering or internships - or do you have a part-time job, etc.? I’ve volunteered countless hours at hospitals in high school but I’m not sure if I’ll have the time to do the same in college - or even to get a part-time job. Will that affect my chances of getting in at all assuming I do well in all prerequisite courses? I’m sure there are others from various universities trying to apply for the program so I’m quite worried that even though I do well in my classes I may potentially still be rejected…</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your help, although it was kind of depressing haha~ I wish you luck in getting into the program as well! ^^</p>
<p>Yes! Best idea to switch into either major since you get to do both bio and chem courses, whereas chem will only limit you to chem only!</p>
<p>I’m not going to lie but after talking to an advisor, he said to me that you are competing against transfer students, second bachelor degree students, and change of major students. So it really is in your best interest to build up a resume!</p>
<p>For me, I know it’s competitive and I’m trying my best to balance school and all those other extracurriculars. I think it is best to call the nursing department and talk to them one-on-one. And for me, I have backup plans to try and transfer to other school’s nursing programs just in case I do not get accepted (sad reality T_T).</p>
<p>Alright~ :3 Thanks so much! Would you recommend BioSci over Public Health Sciences? Or the other way around?</p>
<p>Ack, that kind of sucks ;; Oh well, I suppose it can’t be helped. I’ll try my best to try and intern/volunteer somewhere - though the only place I can think of would be the UCI Medical Center considering I won’t be able to go too far. |: Bah.</p>
<p>Yeah, I have a few backup schools in mind though I’d really rather stay at UCI. ^^; Besides, I’m worried about the prereqs for Nursing Science not accounting for the prereqs needed for other universities. D:</p>
<p>I’m not sure as to which would be better, but both cover the needed courses for transfer. I guess it’s what you’re more interested in. Public Health majors are in the same college as nursing majors (College of Health Sciences). Bio majors take special seminar classes for the major. Not entirely sure which is better though.</p>
<p>In regards to the UCI Medical Center it is actually near the Anaheim area, around 10 minutes by car on the freeway. Yeah, I really wish it were a walk away. It’d be definitely more convenient.</p>
We are definitely more closer since we are a Phase 1 hall(we know every single person in the hall as opposed to the larger halls where many people are unknown). We are practically one big family. Btw, Lorien has around 47 people including the RA and the CP(Community Programmer). To name a few, we have many movie nights(we recently watched “The Orphanage” >_<), fall quarter we had a Halloween scavenger hunt in Downtown Disney, we went to the beach together, we’ve pulled numerous pranks on one another, have dinner together, are very prideful during the basketball, dodgeball and (soon to be) volleyball tournaments, we go to school sporting events together, we went to Arroyo Vista’s International Village and socialized with foreign exchange students, we pride ourselves in our high average GPA lol, etc. so many things we’ve done together or in little groups. And many people from other halls in Middle Earth as well as Mesa Court hang out in our hall too. To them, our hall is their second-second home?lol</p>