I am an international student and I am hesitated about UCI vs. UM.

<p>Hello guys, I am international student from China. And I will be an undergraduate freshman this year. I recently got accpeted to both UCI - University of California, Irvine ( School of Social Sciences)and UM - University of Miami (School of Business Administration). I know they both are excellent colleges and they are competitive, that's why I don't know how to decide...
My major will be business for sure. I am an international student, money is not a big deal for me to decide the school because for international students the fees are similar.
And I currently live in California to go to a public school. (I mean, I know if I go to UCI, the environment will be easier for me to adjust, I hear Miami is a really beautiful place though...)
IT'S REALLY HARD TO DECIDE FOR ME...
Can anyone give me suggestions??? I would be really appreciated!</p>

<p>Did you not get into the Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine?</p>

<p>I don’t think so… At least it didn’t show on my application status.</p>

<p>I have never been to Miami. But as a Californian, I frequently hear other Californians complain that they have an incredibly difficult time adjusting to the humidity and bugs in Florida. They go there for vacation and come back and say they weren’t prepared for the mosquitoes. We don’t really have mosquitoes but apparently they are absolutely terrible in Florida.</p>

<p>Kind of a random comment, I know, but I’ve heard it so many times it seems worth noting.</p>

<p>That said, if you want to go into business, I wonder why you would attend UCI in the social sciences?</p>

<p>B/C there is a major named Business Economics under the school of social Science…
well, I am an international students, the place where I from is full of mosquitoes, so it doesn’t really bother me. I heard there are enormous classes size at UCI, is it true? Can students there approach to professors? I mean, if I can’t get to know the professors, there is no point I go to a “good” school. What do you know and think? Thanks!</p>

<p>If you’re positive you want to do business, you can reapply to UCI’s b-school after a couple semesters (not sure about the exact number) but you must have excellent grades.</p>

<p>My father made the transition from southwest Florida to SoCal and remarked that Florida is only truly terrible in the summer time, owing to the humidity. I go to college near a city affectionately known as “Hotlanta”, where mosquitoes roam freely, and avoided bugs during the summer and early autumn by just putting on a bit of insect spray. I wouldn’t worry about the bug issue. </p>

<p>If you’re truly passionate about majoring in business and can picture yourself at both institutions, U Miami might be a better option, simply because you’ve already been admitted to the major.</p>

<p>Thank you so much! I personally don’t mind the mosquitoes since the place I am from is full of mosquitoes too… HAHA
But what I am worrying about is the classes size of UCI… I heard lots people complaining about there are 400+ students in one lecture!! And you know, there are like 30 students in one class in UM… And also… UCI has a large group of Asian, considered I am a Asian too, I know the competition will be really intense at UCI but I also heard that so many people say UM is a party school b/c it’s a private school and students there are rich and superfical and they only care about party inseatd of really studying… Do you know any info about this? Thanks!</p>

<p>txtxtx, I forgot about the biz econ major. As far as your questions about classes go, I used to work for engineering professors at UCI, so I have quite a bit of familiarity with the school. </p>

<p>You will have large lecture classes at both UMiami and UCI for your intro classes. That’s basically inescapable. That being said, if you go to a professors office hours you can establish a close relationship with him or her. I know one of my bosses remarked that he wished more students took advantage of office hours, so that he could both help them with difficult material and establish better relationships with them. So you can certainly interact with professors, but you have to take the initiative.</p>

<p>Your information really helps me! Thank you so much!
To be honest, I have no ideal about the major “Business Economics”… Is it so different from the majors under the school of Business Administration since there is specific school for business?</p>

<p>About the UMiami student body:
Generalizations are just that, generalizations. While plenty of people at U Miami are extremely wealthy (like yourself if you’re able to afford a >$50,000/year school) and superficial, plenty of others don’t fit that mold. I don’t have experience with UMiami, so I can’t comment on the party scene. That being said, it’s not possible to party every day and survive any academically decent university. And even at enormous party schools, plenty of students don’t partake and instead do other activities. In fact, I was just skyping with a friend who goes to UCSB (an ENORMOUS party school) and while he parties maybe once a month, he mostly does other things on the weekends. </p>

<p>UCI does have a LOT of Asians. This is correct. I don’t know much about the competitiveness among students in non engineering majors, so you should ask about that when you tour the school. Make sure to ask business majors as well as other students since you will take non biz classes regardless of whether you attend UMiami or UCI. </p>

<p>I don’t have much knowledge about business econ vs. the undergrad school of business administration. One of my former bosses (not the professors) did his evening MBA at Paul Merage and liked it, but an MBA is different from an undergrad business admin degree.</p>

<p>Thanks for your information! I think I might go to UM because the major. I just looked up the major “Business Economics” which is more about economics rather than business. And I really am not good at either math or economics which is about Calculus… But still, thank you so much!</p>