I am disappointed with UCI

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Irvine
1

Hey everyone,

I am a new transfer student at UCI as of Fall 2015, and I’m pretty disappointed/let down with UCI. I was really expecting this school to be a strong academic institution with passionate and motivated undergraduates who were astute and ambitious, but to my surprise and disappointment, most UCI students that I’ve met aren’t like that at all, if not even a little uninspiring.

Is it just me or is everyone just doing the minimum expected of them? I mean, what the hell? I thought UC’s were supposed to be “world class,” and if UCI is really the 8th best public school in the country, then God help us.

Sorry for the negative comments about our school, but I am really disappointed with UCI in every way. From the bureaucracy of the UROP to the ridiculous de-centralized “schools” that make it near impossible to double major in two different fields, to the discouragement to explore fields outside one’s major. I don’t like to say this, but I kinda hate UCI – and it sucks even more for me because I really pushed my parents to support me financially because I was under the impression that the UC’s were in a “league of their own,” but truthfully, people seem no different than the people I went to community college with – I don’t see anything special about our student body. I just can’t believe how mundane everything is here. Not even the faculty are doing anything extraordinary. I don’t see anyone going for a Nobel prize, I don’t see anyone making any substantial contributions to any new and exciting field, it’s all just very “going through the motions” like and I’m just feeling really let down after working so hard to transfer. I honestly feel like I am wasting my money here.

Maybe someone can help me to see why UCI has such a great reputation.

Best,
Robert

2

Hi! I’m also a new transfer student at UCI this quarter. I am sorry to hear about your current difficulties with the school, but you should also know it is totally possible for things to get better, as there are definitely valid reasons why UCI is known as a top-notch institution. So far I’ve had a very satisfying academic experience (though this may partly be the result of being in a relatively more competitive major as far as admissions goes - I’m in Computer Engineering). I feel that many of my peers genuinely care about learning the material, and they often ask insightful questions both in and out of class. There are definitely some very motivated and ambitious types around me: while waiting for class to start, I overheard someone saying he was planning on triple majoring in Electrical Engineering, Physics, and Biochemistry, and another saying that he enjoyed reading other textbooks to get different explanations/perspectives on the same material.

I’ve also joined a research lab since I started here. I got the position by simply emailing one of my professors expressing interest in his work and attaching a copy of my resume, and so far it has been really great. I guess that would be my best suggestion to you if you are genuinely interested in improving your academic experience - get into research! There is much more going on here than is listed on the UROP website. If you go to any of your professors’ office hours and express interest in their work, they might also invite you to join their team. Much of the research is cutting-edge and interdisciplinary. As an example, one of the projects I am currently working on with my research team is a collaboration between engineering/computer science and nursing students - we are working on a web app with immediate applications to healthcare.

UCI wasn’t my first choice when I was applying to transfer last year, but I am extremely happy here now and can’t imagine being anywhere else. :slight_smile: Feel free to contact me if you have more questions/concerns!

3

It’s true that psychology majors might just not be into their field as much as engineering majors – and that sucks because I’m really passionate about Psych and I turned down really nice private school with a $20,000 Grant AND priority early enrollment AND personalized 1 on 1 academic advising (and not to mention, classes of 20 people) for UCI. I think overall I just made a mistake and didn’t quite realize what UCI was before deciding to transfer (I wasn’t able to visit the school before deciding – had I done so I probably wouldn’t have chosen UCI tbh).

But, even with that $20,000 Grant UCI is $10,000 per year cheaper. The question now is: was priority enrollment, class sizes of 20 people, and one on one academic advising worth the extra $10,000 per year? I just don’t know.

I guess I was just expecting more from UCI. I didn’t realize most of the students would only enroll here because they didn’t get accepted to X or T UC, and I really didn’t expect to find people who seem to not want to be here (no wonder psychology gets such a bad rap as a field of study).

You know, I’m having a hard time finding a faculty member I want to work with. With the school of social sciences and social ecology seperate, it’s tough to find someone who has IRB clearance to use process measures, but would like to study behavior instead of sensing or perception. It’s like a clunky way to budget resources and it seems that the ones with the money for expensive equipment only use it study, well, sensing and perception – and this is very frustrating.

But, I see your point and I hope it does get better for me. And btw, I was thinking about adding a double major in engineering with a focus on renewable energy. Let me know if you know if there are any programs here that are interdisciplinary enough for that. I feel like I’ll probably need to do an MS somewhere after graduation because it looks like UCI doesn’t’t really allow a “general” engineering major of any kind.

4

Thanks for taking the time to write that out - I think I have a better understanding of where you’re coming from now. While I’m no expert on this topic as I’m only really familiar with the School of Engineering, I think there are two separate majors related directly to psychology at UCI. One leads to a B.A. in Psychology and is under the School of Social Sciences, and the other leads to a B.A. in Psychology and Social Behavior and is under the School of Social Ecology. Just based on what you said, it sounds like you are currently enrolled in the former but are more interested in the latter. Based on the Change of Major criteria on the UCI website, it looks like switching majors to PSB isn’t so bad - you just need a 2.5 overall GPA and at least a 2.5 average in a particular course sequence. http://changeofmajor.uci.edu/CoM_SocEcol.html Perhaps that might be an option worth investigating.

Regarding adding an engineering major, I think it might be a little difficult to do at this stage if you haven’t already completed the prerequisite math and science courses (i.e. math up to linear algebra/differential equations, an entire calculus-based physics sequence, and at least one semester of college chemistry for most majors except Computer Engineering). A minor might be more possible, but the only two minors in the School of Engineering are Biomedical Engineering (which I’m actually planning on doing) and Materials Science and Engineering, and I don’t think they relate very closely to renewable energy in particular. However, I did notice that there is a Global Sustainability minor being offered here, which might be worth looking into: http://catalogue.uci.edu/interdisciplinarystudies/globalsustainability/

Let me know if any of this helps!

5

Yeah, I’m fully aware of the two Psychology majors. I chose the School of Social Sciences because the class sizes for the Psychology and Social Behavior major are insane (400-600 students vs. 100-150 students in the other program). On top of that, the School of Social Ecology requirements are even more restrictive than the school of social sciences, meaning I would have less time to take classes outside of my major – especially with the mandatory 100 hours of community service.

And, IDK, Psyh Beh seems very gimmicky to me.

I plan on taking the Cog Neuroscience classes, a class on Memory, Psychotherapy, Brain Disorders, Neuroscience of Language, Abnormal Psychology and Developmental Psychology. I did an upper division Intro to Social Psych class at Stanford over the summer that is counting towards my degree as well.

In truth, Psychology should not be split as it is here, and to be honest, the Behavioral Neuroscience (or Neurobiology and Behavior as it’s called here) major probably does psychology better than either the School of Social Sciences or Social Ecology does it.

As far as the double major goes, I’m sure it’s a lost cause. Especially because there are excessive amounts of prereqs for everything here (I seriously do not understand why).

I do, however, plan on taking a handful of electives in Art, Philosophy, English Literature and maybe a foreign language or Music. I only need 63 more units to graduate so I should have time to do some electives at least so long as I’m not shot down by a ridiculously long list of lower division prereqs.

I feel like I’ll be a lot happier if I get to choose upper-division classes as electives that I know I’ll find interesting or useful in my future.

If I had to criticise one thing about UCI that bothers me the most, it’s the confined, decentralised 6 schools. I honestly wish there was one school of Arts and Sciences where students were free to take classes and double major/minor within it without worrying about having to deal with “school requirements.” UCI is the only major research university I know of that does things this way and it’s just crazy.

6

@fleetfeet2016
Have you looked into the Honors program? You usually find more dedicated students in programs like that.
Even if you’re majoring in the hard sciencey side of psychology, why don’t you look at the PSB professors to see if anyone there is doing some research you may be interested in?
Or, you could see about dreaming up your own research! The independent study series classes allow you credit hours towards a project of your own. Just find an advisor.
Though, I might try and buck up before talking to one. You’ll catch more flies with honey.

You’re right, UCs can be decentralized. It’s a big place, and you really have to fight for what you want. But there are opportunities: office hours, independent study, support centers (like SOAR at UCI), honors.

One thing to keep in mind, as someone to completed undergrad at a UC and attended grad school elsewhere, the bureaucracy is everywhere. Politics of higher ed is nothing new. Just carve out your niche and ignore it as much as you can.

7

@kuitarin

Yes, I know of the honors program. I’m a little upset that the school just doesn’t do a better job for everyone, and not just those in the honors program when it comes to smaller classes, better faculty and more access to research. In any case, I do not think I will graduate on time if I have to do the honors curriculum, and my transfer gpa was not high enough to get an invitation and based on my attitude towards the school this quarter my Fall grades aren’t going to be perfect either (since I’m a little peeved about everything I haven’t given it my best effort).

I am so disappointed that the UC’s create an environment that is the opposite of what is conducive for success and growth. Instead they create a negative environment in which students fight each other for opportunity, have to deal with intentional failing midterm averages in order to force bell curve grading, and then they have to compete for RA positions. Ya know, all of this goes directly against all of both education and psychology of learning research as to what makes for a good learning environment. It’s completely beyond astonishing to me that the flagship public university of our state, which is designed to educate the majority of students in the state, would be subpar in so many fundamental ways.

Students should not have to “fight for what they want.” We are the students. We pay the tuition and they provide the service. We come to learn as customers, what the hell is up with the public school system in this state?

Anyways, I can think of two schools that I know of where bureaucracy does not exist. Stanford University and Santa Clara University. And, I’d infer that Harvard and Yale have very little of it to go around as well. Friends tell me that besides the core at MIT, students are free to do as they please, and they have full access to lab equipment in their dorms, access to machine shops to build and create projects and etc. Why is UC so far behind in these areas?

It seems like the faculty at UCI don’t even realize how inadequate they are, almost as if everyone is ignorant to what goes on at places like Stanford, Harvard, Yale, and MIT. And on top of it all, I see a bunch of dumb asses doing stupid shit on campus and in the local businesses around campus, giving our school a bad name therein by doing so. I mean, I thought UCI was selective? How the fuck did so many dumb fucks make it passed the admissions office?

Now, it’s true, I did not get accepted to Stanford when I applied, nor did I apply to MIT, Harvard or Yale – and I probably would not get accepted. But holy cow, the UC’s are severely overrated for what they do at the undergraduate level. I mean, this just needs to be said for all who are applying as freshman, it’s really not that good of a school.

And guess what, I just learned that I can’t even enroll in Japanese1a – intro to Japanese – because it’s only offered in the Fall. Guess I need to do an extra year of school if I want to learn a foreign language… ----__—. Just great UCI, fantastic. Oh and that bio sci 35 class I’m in is awfully similar to the psych 9a,b and c sequence. Why the hell is the material taught twice(???) in different schools(???) and why doesn’t bio sci 35 satisfy the requirement that 9a, b, and c does? Honestly, none of this makes any sense and the administration at Stanford or Harvard, and even Santa Clara, would never allow anything like this to happen. UCI’s administrative organization is a complete disaster, and we the students, are let down by their shortcomings. And thanks to the bad teaching and ridiculous forcing of grade curves it’s more difficult for me to transfer out of this hell hole.

I feel like I’m being put through the criminal justice system rather than what is supposed to be a time of great opportunity and intellectual growth. UCI just keeps getting better and better… “three cheers for public school!” I cannot believe I am paying $30,000 a year for this crap.

8

It’s about the same at all college whether you’re talking about UC Berkeley or HYPS. There’s no school where students are super enthusiastic to go to class, where the majority of students are asking questions outside of what is required of them to learn. That doesn’t mean you can’t have some really good experiences, I’ve gotten into some really deep conversations with my economics professors outside of class where we just go back and forth and topic to topic. Go to professors’ office hours and get to know, ask about research opportunities, and join clubs that are doing what you want to do. Club doesn’t exist? Go start it! I spent the last 6 months trying to get the Omicron Delta Epsilon chapter at UCI reactivated(it’s an international economics honor society) and it finally got officially reactivated this week. Now addressing some of your comments:

“Anyways, I can think of two schools that I know of where bureaucracy does not exist.”

You don’t “know” that. I was offered to do a course over the Summer at Stanford (I will note I was NOT admitted, this was a thing for Veterans to do a course or two there over Summer). Ended up not doing it because there was too much bureaucracy. Now maybe they were just having me go through rings because I wasn’t officially admitted, but it still was completely stupid.

“It seems like the faculty at UCI don’t even realize how inadequate they are, almost as if everyone is ignorant to what goes on at places like Stanford, Harvard, Yale, and MIT”

Right off the top of my head I can think of Dr. Julia Elyachar who received her Ph.D. from Harvard, I had her for Economics 152A Economic Anthropology. Brilliant lecturer. Upon a simple google search of JUST the economics department, turns out 6 of our full professors are from HYPS (Drs. Swanson, Neumark, Milani, McBride, Glazer, Bruekner, respectively), with others from CIT, UCLA, Brown, etc. You think these professors don’t know what it’s like at these institutions? You’re delusional.

9

It’s only your first quarter. Everyone starts off super motivated, energetic and feeling like they can get As in every class. But once you start getting really low scores(50%s) for tests you studied really hard for, or get slammed with a stack of homework papers from every class, or just fucked up an important ochem lab, you’ll simply get tired of it all. I too, started off my freshman year the same as you, but eventually wound up just wanting to pass my classes with a C- just like everyone else.

10

Yeah. I know I’m not being completely fair, but when I worked hard to leave CC I was hoping I was going to an infinitely better place where I wouldn’t have to put up with silly people distracting from the “hallowed halls” of a prestigious college.

I just didn’t get that “awe” feeling from UCI.

Its just a hard pill to swallow when I could have just gone to the local CSU for half the price, and likely would have gotten a similar experience.

I mean, oh well. I’m trying to transfer to Reed next fall. Never applied previously, fingers crossed.

I’m retaking the SAT as well, and if I score high enough, I’ll even try for Cornell, Yale, Columbia and Brown.

I guess I expected the UC’s to be more like Ivy League schools, where the students would be proud of their school’s accomplishments, and that every student would be passionate to uphold the school’s good name (etc.).

But what it seems like, instead, is that they are just another bunch of run of the mill colleges where students just try to graduate while doing as many EC’s as possible… not really the environment I was sold, nor is it what I want for myself. And, for many people, it’s probably fine, but it’s just not for me.

I’m trying to get away from people who aren’t passionate, and surround myself with the minority of people who care about nothing more than what they study. I didn’t expect to have to go to the most elite places to find that sort of environment, but I guess it does make sense.

11

Didn’t you visit before you applied? And, I’m not just talking about their generic tours. You would have found out about their system of “colleges”. You also would have found that is is a PUBLIC college and that having 400 students happens a lot in prerequisite classes.

Each UC campus is different in everything!

Read up on your requirements if you plan on transferring because you really seem uninformed about a lot of things.

Once you’ve completed your CC, no one looks at ACT or SAT scores from high school. They want to see what and HOW you’ve done in college. Why would you take high school tests?

12

I didn’t visit (silly me) because I was taking summer classes + working as an RA in a lab at another school.

I am uniformed, and that’s because my family didn’t know anything at all about any school. I’m dead serious, my parents had, and have, 0 knowledge about anything related to education.

Hell, public, private, to me it was all the same. You would not believe it, but when I was in high school nobody living with me knew what an SAT was, nobody knew what schools existed (yeah, not even a clue of what even exists, let alone the ranks, reputation or even atmosphere/culture of a school). If I didn’t take the initiative myself I wouldn’t even be at any school at all. I’d probably be out working not even knowing any different, doing some mindless job – it’s actually pretty scary to think about. Considering, I think I’ve done alright overall in terms of where I’ve ended up now compared to the path I was going down just a few years ago, but realizing this has really been a frustrating experience for me.

It’s just so frustrating. Nobody would understand it. Growing up nobody had any expectations set for me, and the thing of utmost importance everyday was what we were eating for dinner (not as if money was tight, but instead what kind of meat to eat, what side of vegtables and other silly things like this). After high school nobody cared what I did or did not do. My mother and step dad are completely lame nonacademics who don’t even care if they do anything productive at all! A typical saturday is just sitting around on a couch playing virtual slot machine games on a cell phone! Yes, virtual slot machine games!! For hours at a time!

I nearly went insane during my years at CC in this kind of environment. And UCI was a way out, and I hoped it would at least feel special to be there. But then even UCI has its share of mindless people simply going through the motions to go work some mindless job! Honestly, what the heck is wrong with this world?

13

I need the SAT to transfer to certain schools. Just because I’m not a freshman applicant doesn’t mean that I don’t have to have good SAT scores. I’m still in my early 20’s. It’s not as if I am 10 years removed, and even then, the schools explicity require all transfers submit an Sat or act plus two Sat subject tests, and btw, I just figured this out. Last year when I was applying for transfers I assumed I would not need to submit test scores, and as a result was not really able to apply to schools that, well, required test scores(!) Lol. Obviously its up to the school to decide whether or not to require scores, and UC’s don’t, but for example, Dartmouth does require transfers to submit test scores for the above. And, I never took SAT subject tests back in high school, and I am capable of scoring way higher than my original SAT 1 scores now anyway. Why not retake the tests? I think it would show how much I’ve improved.

I also feel like it would help me study for the GRE ironically enough.

14

And since I’ve clearly laid out my frustration, the straw that broke the camel’s back is that UCI covers material at an incredibly slow pace. What we do in 3 quarters at UCI, Stanford does in 1 quarter when it comes to stats.

What we do in 3 quarters, Stanford does in 2 or even 1 quarter (Chem 31a/31b vs chem 31X) when it comes to Chemistry. Etc, and the lists just goes on and on to the point
that I feel like UCI is leting me down by teaching material too slowly. Why are they dumbing down the information?? We should be going full blast and laying it all out on the table. We are in college after all! This is UC, the best public school system in the United States right?

Ya know?

I’m just throwing my hands up at this point.

15

UCs are classic large public schools. I don’t think you had very realistic expectations.

16

@8bagels Your right. Everyone around me plays them up as if there is nothing better, so I was totally blind sighted. Lesson learned.

17

@fleetfeet2016 All in all, it is the best public school system in the country. UCLA and UCB, with their rankings, ensure that. And for Cal residents, they are a very good value.

But they are still giant public schools. They also have some dirty secrets, like the huge number of community college transfer students that could have never gained admittance through the “front door,” very low academic requirements for athletes, overcrowding and impacted classes and majors, funding issues, governance, etc.

There is also a difference in academic from top (UCLA/UCB) to bottom (Merced/Riverside). You can’t compare UCI to Stanford.

18

i read your comments and find you uninformed and deluded. yes, i do sympathize that no one in your family has knowledge about the education system but hey, google can answer almost everything and you can always seek help from your school adviser and peers. i believe many in your situation are doing likewise and i don’t see why you are placing a blame on that.

firstly, you seem confused between opportunity and entitlement. you complained that the school creates a competitive environment (ironic because you found it lackluster) and students have to compete for various positions; i.e. RA. these are supplementary activities and are outside of the normal curriculum. they are not necessarily an entitlement. furthermore, it is impossible to allocate such resources to every student and there is therefore a need to allocate based on merit. such is the same in top colleges. imagine a scenario in which all applicants get the position they want and i am inclined to believe that you will be first to complain about the lack of attention/focus given to you. the very fact that you pointed this out implies that there are indeed opportunities in uci, albeit may not be as luxurious as an ivy’s in your mind.

secondly, you complained that a certain course you wished to take was not offered in a particular quarter. you have to understand that there is a lack of resources and not all courses can be offered every quarters and to your convenience. that is why you have to do your due and make academic plans.

thirdly, you complained that you are unable to take upper division courses as electives due to prerequisites. The prerequisites are there so that students have sufficient fundamental knowledge to learn appropriately. if you are confident that you have what it takes, why not email the professor and request for a waiver. i am sure most will do if you can prove it somehow.

next, you complained about the lack of conducive environment to learn. you must understand that it is the people who makes the school, not the other way round. you have to understand not everyone shares the same goal as you so manage your expectation. alternatively, you might want to spearhead some projects to create the environment you want to be in. initiate something. find like-minded people. form a club.

lastly, you complained that the school has a slow pace of learning. what stanford can do in 1 or 2 quarters takes 3 quarters in uci. the curriculum is made so that it can benefit the large student population. i strongly believe that there will be some trade-of (in terms of content depth) between the 2 aforementioned length. also, ask yourself, have you been acing all your courses? if you have and find this predicament painful, seek a transfer to a higher tier school. it probably isn’t much of a problem since you are backed with excellent academic credential. if you haven’t, think about how you would fare in stanford where curriculum can be more highly rigorous.

it is good you have ambition but i think you are too idealistic and seem to be gearing too much of an elitist mindset. manage your expectation and work out the best way to achieve what you can.

19

Due to financial problems, I would say UCs ability to educate students is going down each year, although it’s getting harder to get accepted. Also, it depends on majors. For example, I heard the students/teachers ratio at many UC colleges are going up and up. Having said this, learning is self motivated and taught at any colleges.

20

Regarding UCs, if you don’t mind not getting into good UC colleges right after you graduate from your high school, it actually makes sense to attend one of “feeder” community college type of schools and then do well and transfer to one of “better” UC colleges. UCs have to offer such opportunity because otherwise, not many good students would attend “feeder” schools.