<p>Can anyone give me opinions on both schools? I am transferring as a business admin major and I think I got into LMU and I got into UCR but hypothetically lets say LMU does accept me..I think I will have a hard time deciding on where I want to go.
So any input/comments would be helpful ! Thanks!!!</p>
<p>would say cost plays in heavily however if that’s not an issue LMU>Riverside…would you rather be on the ocean or up in the desert?</p>
<p>^ Also, LMU is a tiny school and Riverside is a huge one. I attended LMU for a semester and hated it…so yeah.</p>
<p>why did you hate it?? where did you transfer to after your semester there …usc?</p>
<p>I hated it because it was cliquey and I knew everybody and as soon as I did something stupid EVERYBODY knew about it. It was ridiculous how small my freshman class was (smaller than my high school population) and while I met some really great people, a lot of them were spoiled rich kids (cue international students)… Granted, it’s a beautiful campus situated in the perfect area, but to be honest, classes are kind of a joke there. <em>shrugs</em> It’s not even in the same ballpark as a lot of the other schools in Cali, you know? Also, it didn’t help that I got ridiculously low financial aid.</p>
<p>I haven’t transferred yet, but applied to go to USC this year. We’ll see what happens, lol.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, I think I should tell you that in spite of how much I disliked my time at LMU, I would NEVER choose Riverside over LMU. LMU has a better campus and a better location, and those were two of the biggest important deciding factors for me. A lot of my friends dropped out by second semester, but then again, a lot of my friends who decided to stay now love it.</p>
<p>yeah thats why im somewhat contemplating and having such a hard decision ugh!! but what do you mean “classes are kind of a joke there” as in theyre taught at a community college level? or really easy? or maybe youre just a super intelligent girl…
haha</p>
<p>The surprising thing is, I think I had a harder time adjusting to community college classes than LMU classes. BUT THEN AGAIN, I was an English major taking liberal arts related courses (no science/math) and I heard the science classes are killer, so who knows? I haven’t taken one personally. The semester when I was there, I drank frequently and slept about 3 hours a night (woo 8ams!) but still somehow almost managed all A’s with minimal effort, so…lol</p>
<p>LOL!! know anything about the business department? i was looking at pics and the campus looks gated? or maybe its js me…haha</p>
<p>Yeah it’s gated, but they’ll let anyone in during the day. After hours you need your ID. It’s a safe area anyway
I didn’t know any business majors well so I can’t answer for those areas :(</p>
<p>i was looking at the demographics and diversity…theres not much diversity i guess? well according to their percentages.</p>
<p>There’s a lot of white people, a moderate amount of Hispanic/latinos/Asian and two black people. :P</p>
<p>OMG! haha i think i would probably feel somewhat out of place…cus i felt that way when i visited UCSB even though the campus was beautiful too!</p>
<p>I don’t understand why everyone hates the location for UCR, I drive by there everytime I go to San Diego. It looks like a campus that’s in the heart of Riverside. Seriously, what’s wrong with it?</p>
<p>I would go to LMU. Hate to say it but it is true that there is a sort of stigma that comes along with attending UCR which is frequently categorized as a “low ranked UC.” If cost is important, however, UCR would be much cheaper I imagine.</p>
<p>@smurray09 theres nothing wrong with it…its just i cant decide between the two. I personally have visited UCR. but ugh! cant decideeeeee!! since i guess both schools are good for business.</p>
<p>Apologies on the bad grammar. I am rather fatigued and well… this topic got me hyped and I started typing really fast. (lol) Hope this helps you in your decision making…if not for this years students … but next years.</p>
<p>yes, it is in the heart of Riverside…but… there is nothing in Riverside. From a current student attending UCR, i advise you… if you got into LMU… I really hope you went there. UCR is not a school if you plan to have the “college experience”. I came into UCR with high hopes “making the best of whatever situation you are in”. and well, I did it to the fullest. I tried my best to have fun, being involved, joining a fraternity, etc etc. the list goes on an on, BUT… along with the current low level of prestige my university has, the social aspects are even worst. Neighbors of UCR are currently on a crackdown of basically all “college parties” (the only outlet for stress you have in Riverside). Along with the death of the miniscule party scene we possessed, the amount of commercial venues (clubs, movies, concerts…etc) is basically at zero. A typical weekend at UCR consists of looking for parties, sitting in your dormatory, smoking hookah, or as many students are driven to do is try hard drugs due to the lack of social stimulus we have… and this is coming from an extremely social being affiliated with what is considered one of the top house fraternities. Attending UCR can be damaging if you do not enter with a mindset such as mine… if you go in not sure about the school… like many of my dorm mates… you will likely end up getting on the list of academic probation or trying drugs you’ve never even heard of. UCR is not for students who need stimulus socially and cannot get it themselves… trust me… after 3 weeks… you wont even want to go to the parties thrown… and don’t forget… GENERALLY… you will not be attending fraternity parties unless you are affiliated or are a female. Good Luck. I hope you all picked the right school. Personally… I am actually on trying to transfer to USC or even LMU. I would much rather be in LA due to the amount of fun we can have… as a UCR student… you will find that most people are in LA on the weekends anyways. </p>
<p>No… I don’t hate the school. It’s more the people in riverside and lack of areas for students (ex. fraternity row… or something similar to Isla Vista.) Your parties WILL get shut down on average… maybe 12pm. if your lucky. Fraternity parties tend to last later … but who is to say if you will even get into the house. I can say from experience… you wont get into any of the top houses, and thats where the decent parties are at… </p>
<p>Summary:
Riverside is boring
If you are the type of person that needs social stimuli… this is not for you unless you can get into fraternities…but even then… our parties tend to be sub-par…tbh//
Academically…the school is meh.
The city sucks. There is NOTHING to do. in 3 weeks you will be bored…
Crime… laptops stolen at 3pm from starbucks, asian girls trying to get current lovers to kill ex ones… it’s a mess. if you attend UCR or are going to… DO NOT WALK AROUND AT NIGHT alone… make sure you have a rather large group… and maybe some pepper spray.</p>
<p>Positives:
… well. if you were like me… living in mid-upper class Los Angeles my whole life. This is really eye-opening to see how some people live … can be a good life lesson… it was for me… I definitely do more charity work and try to help others as much as I can .</p>
<p>Good Luck Kiddos.
Hopefully I’ll see ya’ll back in LA next year
If you did make the decision to attend Riverside… BRING A CAR, it’ll keep you sane allowing you to LEAVE</p>
<p>@UCRStudent5 Whoa man. Hang on. There are some big generalizations in this post and I am concerned like what. Also, I had to decide between LMU and UCR when I was transferring, and it boiled down to cost and opportunities within my major, so I feel obligated to chime in with my two cents.</p>
<p>
This rustles my jimmies because the “college experience” is SO subjective. How do you define it? I’ve heard everything from living in a college town to being able to eat dinner at your professor’s house to having raging keggers every night. This is such a huge generalization because everyone’s “college experience” is case-by-case. I attended ASU for a year - the perfect place to have a totally stereotypical “college experience,” right? In reality, I didn’t feel like I got to experience college life until I came to UCR. Your results may vary depending on what you want to experience and how to choose to pursue it.</p>
<p>
Yeah, this is true, and the local newspaper has published a series covering the local neighborhood’s complaints. Basically, UCR has been partying too hard in the residential neighborhoods around campus. Complaints include people bonin’ on lawns, peeing on neighbor’s houses, etc. Basically, a rowdy few over the years cast all college kids in a bad light among Riverside’s neighborhoods, and in response, the city passed an ordinance placing heavy fines on homeowners/renters/landlords found distributing alcohol to underage students. The city police is also increasing drunk checkpoints around problem areas. This isn’t anything catastrophic to the party scene. Don’t be a jerk, leave your neighbors with contact info if you’re going to have a big party, and try to keep people from driving drunk. We’re students, but we’re also citizens of Riverside if we’re living in off-campus homes, and we need to maintain a level of responsibility like any rational adult. End rant.</p>
<p>
The party scene can’t die with so many students living in the areas surrounding campus. Simmer down. Commercial venues: bars, local bands, and shows happen all the time downtown. What do you mean, movies? We have TWO of SoCal’s last remaining drive-ins! Yeah, you need a car. But there are still lots of things to do if you’re willing to look. It’s not as easy or ready-made as LA - not at all. But there ARE things to do if you’re willing to explore with people you enjoy.</p>
<p>
Two roommates are sitting in their dorm smoking hookah with the window open.
Roommate 1: Hey man, I’m bored and I lack any social stimulus.
Roommate 2: Me too, man. Let’s try hard drugs.
Roommate 1: Okay! </p>
<p>No. This is just. What. THIS DOESN’T HAPPEN. You know what my bored friends do? Hike up Box Springs mountain at night, or drive up to the grocery store and buy brownie mix and booze. Maybe you know people who happened to try hard drugs and smoke hookah because they were bored. Different people have different responses to weekend downtime and you simply cannot generalize that your example is a “typical weekend.”</p>
<p>
What mindset are we talking about here? “I’m not sure about my choice to attend UCR, so I’m going to land myself on academic probation and try drugs.” This doesn’t make sense what in the world oh my goodness. You can’t blame AP on your enrollment at UCR. This is a University of California campus and every department/class/professor has to meet certain standards established by the University of California system. These are UC classes, man. Sure, there are some really great ones and some really easy ones (like you’d find at any college), but if a student can’t make things work at a campus with so many resources – and without a competitive environment like you’d find at UCLA or Cal – then maybe that student should pursue free tutoring, meet with their adviser, tone back the partying and peeing on lawns, and so on. There are more solutions here than just, “Oh, I’m on AP because UCR sucks.” </p>
<p>I had to choose between LMU and UCR when I was transferring, and I chose UCR. I’m in the humanities and I knew I couldn’t manage as much debt as I would receive if I attended LMU (they gave me approximately zero financial aid). On top of that, my major at UCR had a greater number of classes I wanted to take, professors I wanted to meet, and opportunities I could pursue. Sure, I’d be able to have more fun on the weekends in LA. But if I hadn’t attended UCR, I never would have been able to meet some truly amazing people in this city’s arts scene, worked with brilliant minds in my major, and spoken one-on-one with professors at the top of their fields who wanted me to succeed. </p>
<p>Maybe I just got lucky, who knows. I know people who have had the same negative experience UCRStudent5 shared, but I also know people who love this campus as much as I do. It’s about being willing to do some research, meet with professors, join some clubs, maybe go Greek (and not just for partying, for the entire social aspect of it – community service is taken really seriously here), and carve a niche in a strange and developing city that is best explored by car, is halfway between LA and SD, has its mix of highs and lows, and will only provide as much as its residents are willing to put in. But if you’re willing to explore - like I said earlier, this is best done with people whose company you enjoy - you’ll find something, whether it’s a great club, good people, a faculty mentor, anything. </p>
<p>Like anything in life, your results may vary.</p>
<p>thanks you both for the long responses! I already committed to UCR and am looking forward to it. :)</p>