Hello. I am first year student at UC Irvine for engineering, but I feel like I should be at UC Santa Barbara instead which i also got into for engineering last march surprisingly. The reason is because I feel like I chose Irvine for all the wrong reasons, such as staying close to home and feeling like I would have fit in better since I succombed to the stereotypes surroundig SB which was a huge mistake. While I never got to visit UCSB, I feel like going to the college closest to home was the worst decision of my life because it the decision ran on me being afraid of the challenge and proving to myself that I am not an adult. I even asked them for an sir deadline extension once and they did give it to me but I still didnt take it and it kills me to think that I went through all that effort only to still do nothing in the end. Im worthless I should just end myself. Oh well. After researching more post acceptance, I found SB’s clubs, particualry the adventures/excursion and robotics club something I would join, but there is nothing like those in Irvine. Also I feel like the location on top of the fact that the engineering school is really small would have been perfect for me to get in touch with faculty better for new opportunities. But alas I’m in quite a pickle and don’t know what to do. I was thinking of dropping out and cheating my experience by just going to SBCC, but even then after emailing the transfer advisor, they said they only let in 30-50 people in from 3000 applicants which makes me feel like it isnt worth it since I could be at my par and still get rejected, making the drop from UCI pointless. I just want a better life is all. Is it so wrong to want to leave now? I need new experiences, not old Irvine and orange county for the rest of my life. It’s a good school don’t get me wrong, nice people but no matter how many social events and clubs I go to, I find myself unable to make close acquantices. After having probably the loneliest thanksgiving of my life brought this back to attention for me.
I think i vented which is what I tried not to do but man I really dont know what to do. I feel awful for throwing away the only chance in my life to go out for a new adventure. Does anyone know who I should talk to to help understand my situation? Is there anyone I could talk to who have had similar experiences picking what the thought was the wrong college and know what you did and whether UC-UC trasnfer are possible too? Thank you
I’m not sure if UC-UC transfer is possible, but you can always ask them. Don’t worry, there are probably many more who chose the wrong college they want to go to. I feel you’re just feeling ‘down’ that your life isn’t coming together as you’d hope to be with the new college life. My advice is: follow what you love to do, no matter what stereotypes there may be. If you can’t, try to adapt and find people that match you. Freshman year of college should be about exploring, so explore 
I am also hoping to get accepted into UCI for the same reasons as you haha, but I’m going as an undeclared major in the science field (hopefully).
It’s easy to imagine how great life would be if only we had made a different choice, or if only something had gone differently. But the reality is that you had a hard time making the choice because there were pros and cons for both decisions. You are feeling the cons of Irvine right now, but there would have been cons at SB–you know that’s a fact. I think you should just try to appreciate the good things about your choice, and get on with being successful at Irvine. As for clubs, it looks as if UCI does in fact have an outdoor program:
http://www.campusrec.uci.edu/outdoor/adventure.asp
And I’m sure there’s a lot of robotics-related activity in the engineering department. And maybe if there isn’t an actual club that does the type of robotics you want to do, then you can start the club yourself? Take on the mindset that you will go out of your way to have new experiences and to challenge yourself, and it will happen for you. Think of the university as a playing field. Whether the game is in Santa Barbara or Irvine, you’re the quarterback of your life–make it happen.
Many college students have some sort of regrets about the college they chose. Rather than focusing on the negatives, why not look at the positives? There must be some things at UC Irvine that make you happy. I felt the same way as you did a year ago. I choose UC Berkeley over Carnegie Mellon due to cost. I hated the idea of going to public school. I hate the masses of students, the 500+ lectures, the enormous size of the campus. I hated the Berkeley street life with all its filth and homelessness. I could have been on the East Coast with my friends. But rather than dragging myself on these issues, I looked at the bright side. I got to study alongside some of the brightest young minds in the world. I lived in a dorm with amazing people. There is always something going on in Berkeley, like a concert or a networking event or a club dinner. I met my girlfriend here. There are so many positives, and arguably many negatives coming to Berkeley. But I learned to not regret the choices I made because regretting the past gets me nowhere when I could focus on the future spread out ahead of me.