Q&A for Class of 2012

<p>thanks jas0n, but how does the money get paid. is it automatically? do i have to do anything?</p>

<p>kevinf:</p>

<p>My roommate was sleeping last time I answered your question, but he just gave me some information. Every quarter, financial aid will kick in and pay for your tuition automatically. The money left over is then transferred directly into your bank account. This is done automatically as long as you have filled out FAFSA and confirmed the financial aid given to you.</p>

<p>how easy is it to change majors? i requested a change right now, but i was wondering if it is easy to change if my request doesn't get accepted?</p>

<p>Well, I requested to change it within my school, and they confirmed the change the next day (so I was able to switch quickly).</p>

<p>akashanksta:</p>

<p>If you request a change now, and it is to a non-impacted major, your request will most likely be granted. Extra screening will need to take place for switches into impacted majors. If you are not granted it, you will still have the opportunities to switch majors at UCI. Fulfill the requirements which are found somewhere online, and you will be granted a major change.</p>

<p>is informatics an impacted major?
thank you!</p>

<p>hwama: If you are in CHP they will let you switch to any major pretty much.</p>

<p>Thats what I did at orientation. I tried to switch to biomed engineering: premed but they first said no then I told them i was in CHP so they said okay.</p>

<p>thank you again! for all the useful info shoefactory~
i can't wait for college!!!! CHP sounds really awesome!</p>

<p>I doubt I'm in it, but when do you find out if you're CHP?</p>

<p>I think they notify you with your acceptance so it's safe to say if you got CHP you would already know.</p>

<p>Oh. Ok. Thanks!</p>

<p>Oh. And I forget if I asked this, but what computer is generally used around campus? Mac vs. PC; do any of the schools in Irvine tell you which computer to get/are there requirements for classes? Also - laptops - are they stolen frequently? My dad seems to think I'll get mine stolen. I think otherwise, providing I get a laptop lock/not leave it alone in a public area, etc.</p>

<p>It won't get stolen if you don't leave it in a public area. (Don't take it to cafeterias; if you must, ask the cashier to let you bring it in with you.)</p>

<p>As long as you're smart about protecting your laptop you should be fine. I rarely ever bring mine to class so it's mostly in my dorm or the library. I'd say the majority of students have PC's while Macs are steadily rising in popularity. A lot of PC companies like Dell and HP will sell you a program called Lo-Jack for laptops with your laptop. I got it with mine and if it ever gets stolen the software will track your laptop and help the police recover it.</p>

<p>Wow. That sounds really helpful (the lo-jack). I love Macs, but they are kind of extremely expensive. I dunno. We'll see. Thanks!</p>

<p>A well deserved bump :D</p>

<p>how do i know which placement tests i will need to take.</p>

<p>Kevinf: </p>

<p>UCI</a> Testing Office</p>

<p>Hey, any insight would be great.</p>

<p>I was accepted to UCI under mechanical engineering, but I am thinking of changing my major to a computer science major. </p>

<p>Would it be difficult to change to computer science and is the UCI computer science program a reputable/prestigious program for employers? I heard that a new and huge CS building was just built. Will simply having a dedicated CS building and school bring UCI's reputation much higher in the eyes of current and future employer (google, etc)?</p>

<p>Are there many internships in Irvine?</p>

<p>UCI's computer science programs (notice the plural) can get very specialized, which is great for employers. We have the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Science that works in joint with the Henry Samueli School of Engineering. UCI's compsci program has been around since compsci's rise in the industry.</p>

<p>There's a new engineering building being built right now as you said, but it probably won't be used until next year. We already have a building dedicated to CS, but all programs share classrooms. I still have classes in the social science buildings although they are my engineering classes. </p>

<p>There are many internships in Irvine. Compsci has a demand right now since programming is reaching higher complexity levels (ie 64bit is kicking in). There are definitely a lot of program based firms around here. Let's just say this -- UCI's compsci is really good.</p>