<p>So I've heard fanatics from schools like Davis and SB singing the school's praises, (eg: college town atmosphere, football, spirit for davis) but I haven't heard anything about Irvine. Sell me people! Please!</p>
<p>I second the request. I really know next to nothing about UCI except my parents like that it's so close to home. Which isn't such a bad thing -- staying at UCI during the week, and going home to chill weekends (I'd miss my dogs, anyways). But will a So. Cal. liberal do well (i.e. enjoy) this setting in the bastion of conservative OC? And are the class sizes humungus? I'm gonna go on a tour during Spring break and visited once just walking around (pretty, clean campus). People I talked to seemed nice.</p>
<p>beatchick- see you there over spring break haha.</p>
<p>Now c'mon UCI faithful, do this!</p>
<p>I don't attend UCI... yet... but I will tell you some of the nice things I've noticed from visits:</p>
<p>1) It looks really clean and safe. The weather's mild and the beach is just a short drive away.</p>
<p>2) Pretty campus, very many trees</p>
<p>3) The 2nd newest UC (along with UCSC), but already ranked 4th in the UC system</p>
<p>Yeah, that's all I know for now...</p>
<p>It's hard to just sell to you guys from the top of my head because I don't know where to start. I will answer some of the questions asked though. First off, the political atmosphere isn't really strong at UCI. UCI is known to be apathetic and proud of it haha. The city itself is conservative but not the campus. As you know, the young population is obviously coming with a wave of new liberals so you won't feel out of place on campus. Noone will be challenging you, and, if you challenge others with your liberal ideals, you might be ignored haha. But yea that's not even a problem. The class sizes for lower division classes are definitely large. It's like that for all the UCs. We have physics, chem, bio, anthropology, social science, and etc. classes of 400 people. Once you move into your major you'll be put into smaller classes. </p>
<p>Anyway, power to UCI. I hope UCI entices you! We DO have a new student center =].</p>
<p>the new student center is nice. Originally it was planned to open fall 2008, but they moved it to fall 2007. </p>
<p>the class size is huge(~400 ppl) for lower-division classes, but once you get to upper-division class, it gets smaller (~20 ppl) and you get more interaction with your professor. My friend was in a class taught by the nobel prize winner, and I thought that was pretty crazy.</p>
<p>I friggen LOVE UCI
At first i was massively disappointed that I didn't get into UCSD, but now i just laugh and thought, "man, its great to be an anteater."
Why? Let me provide you with the reasons.
-SoCal. I was from northern california and we had to turn on the heater from october to about february. In Irvine, i can wake up in the middle of december with basketball shorts and go for a sunny jog.
-People. UCI has HELLA chill people. I haven't met one person where i thought, "man that guy is getting on my nerves." Well, i may be exagerrating, but all my suitemates/hallmates are the COOLEST people you can meet.
-Services. I'm sure other uc's have these, but UCI has an online database of jobs that employers from all around submit to. And you can practially find a job just by going online to ZotLink.
-Gym. The gym is awesome. Pretty huge workout room that works out all body parts (yes i do work out, and i find all their machines and weights fullfilling), a pretty big basketball court, an indoor track suspended above the court (i was like, WOW that is neat first time i stepped into the gym), a rock climbing wall, pool, badminton court, racquetball courts, places to wrestle, ping pong, ETC. Its big.
-Modern. Since i mentioned the gym, i'll mention all the buildings. They're MODERN!! most of the buidlings have just finished construction and they are NEW! People get wifi everywhere, lecture halls are all new, clean, etc.
-Services again. Need police? Escorts? Academic Counseling? Asking about ANYTHING? Again, this may be true for other schools, but at UCI, it seems like you can find out about anything with just a telephone call.
-Dorms. They're bigger. I'll discuss this later if any1 wants to ask.
-Environment. UCI's academic environment seems pretty relaxed. You don't get the crazy cutthroat every-man-for-himself atmosphere at UCLA or UCB. At the same time, you're being challenged by your peers and professors, even though you might underestimate them.
-Malls. (requires car). Southcoast Plaza, Fashion Island, The Spectrum, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, ETC@!!!
-Ease of getting around campus. Basically, the structuring of campus is really simple. ALl the buildings are built around a ring road. all you gotta do is walk foward on ring road and you'll eventually get to your classes! :D and the huge 4acre park RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of campus is beautiful too!
-Strong Academics. Bio sciences, writing, criminology all stand out for UCI.</p>
<p>Damn, i could go on FOREVER!! and i typed up this post because i really love UCI. you should come check it out for spring break. Until then, im going to go to sleep because its 4:34 AM. I'll contribute to the list later, hehe</p>
<p>AH yes, i forgot one thing. I just re-read jas0n's post and he hit it right on the spot concerning the UCI political atmosphere.
I forgot to mention how safe it is. I can walk to the University Town Center (which is so conveniently located near all apartments and dorms, walking distance basically compared to UCSD's, where you have to drive) at NIGHT, by MYSELF, at like 2:00am in the morning and be completely safe.
I remember reading the police blotter in the University's newspaper... and the most 'URGENT' crime was like, "Skateboarders reported behind xxx building. Investigation completed." I mean, come ON, i saw a log that said "Caller reports person selling ice-cream out of van." HELLO!? Ice-cream truck maybe!? the stupidest crime log ever i saw was
"Boy reports fly drowning in swimming pool.", etc. </p>
<p>in fact... its too quiet around here.... maybe somethings brooding...</p>
<p>haha I love you iloveants :]. You're so enthusiastic about UCI. I was actually really disappointed I didn't get into the school of my choice but UCI has really grown on me. I'm one of the NorCal people that stay at UCI every single day so I do see the emptiness, but I enjoy it. I have to reiterate that UCI has really grown on me. I really enjoy being here now.</p>
<p>What are the dorms like and do the people actually hang together and barbeque in the pits? Which is better, Middle Earth or Mesa Court? What is up with University Center and happy hour Tues. and Fri.? Can you be under 21 to go?</p>
<p>Also, when you say 400 in a class, are you talking about every single class or just the basic frosh mega courses. Also do they break out into smaller discussion groups? How does that work?</p>
<p>Thanks for all the previous great info!</p>
<p>I'm in the newest phase of Mesa Court dorms (probably the best ones) so I'm really enjoying it. Both ME and MC have four phases each, the later ones being better than the earlier ones. You can go on the website to see the sizes of each rooom for each phase. Mesa Court is generally better than ME in terms of living, but MC is much further from my classes than ME. It's quite a bike ride for me daily. They are both good in their own aspects so it ends up being pretty even. I think the key question is: would you walk longer to live in a better dorm? The later ME phases are pretty nice though. I wouldn't mind going to ME if I were to stay in the dorms again. </p>
<p>The 400 student classes are the basic frosh mega courses. All of them break into smaller discussion groups of about 25. The large classes aren't bad at all so don't worry. Most universities have them!</p>
<p>great post! i have to decided between uci, ucd and ucsd!!! and i dont know where to go =/</p>
<p>what else can you tell us??</p>
<p>HAha, not trying to downplay schools but.. don't go to UC Davis hehe. It really smells like cows sometimes, its getting very overcrowded, (they had to accept a lot less this year because its too crowded), its REALLY dreary, and.. shrug.
You really can't go wrong between choosing between UCSD and UCI.
Every time I go to UCSD i get really ****ed because i love it so much there and i got rejected by them. Yet, when i return back to Irvine, i think, "Why did i ever think that?"
haha, its something like that.</p>
<p>But of course you have to visit and dcide for yourself.</p>
<p>Do you have good rock concerts there?</p>
<p>Concerts...there are so many that take place at the Bren Events center. About two weeks ago Taking Back Sunday was playing at UCI and there was a crapload of cars. I can see the traffic outside my window because my dorm is situated next to the parking lot. There are plenty of other artists that hold a concert at UCI too. In fact, Jolin Tsai and Alan Luo from Taiwan went all the way here to perform at the Bren Center once. </p>
<p>As for UCD, there's this certain type of joy in the small college town UCD has. It's a really great school and I'd also recommend people to consider it. It's true it smells like cows (especially in the Tercero South, a dorm complex situated near a small stable). UCD has this collegetown, tightly-knit community because everyone stays on campus. A lot of NorCallers like to go home on teh weekend though. Those UCD kids in the UCD forum can really sell you UCD, but don't forget about UCI! :].</p>
<p>There's also many concerts at anaheim convention center which is just a short drive away. Because of its close distance, many clubs on campus use StaffPro as its fundraising events. Staffpro is basically you work as ushers for the concert and the club gets paid. </p>
<p>You basically get to see a concert for free, and we had concerts like the killers, metallica, my chemical romance, green day, jack's mannequin, etc..</p>
<p>Ooh, nice, love the Killers, Green Day, etc. Thank god I won't have to go back to L.A. for serious music! Yeah, I know about staff pro my aunt used to work for them and worked Universal and the Wiltern out here. Now she works in management for the Wiltern -- she didn't look all that in yellow anyway!</p>
<p>I'm having the hardest time deciding between UCI and UCSB as an English major transfer. Everyone tells me "you have to go to UCSB for the parties." I like to party, but I'm sure I can find that at UCI too...RIGHT?</p>
<p>CaliCurls.. dont even worry, lol. i mean, come on this is college after all and there are many prominent sororities/fraternities that hold parties. Heck, you dont even to go to a greek party to party. I happen to find suite parties the best anyways, because you are tight and chill with everyone. </p>
<p>Yeah, John Legend is playing at the Bren .. april something. i tried to f'in get tickets but they were sold out as i was in class. thats crazy i tell you.</p>
<p>oh i also got to see 300 like 4 days before it came out at UCI. that was pretty awesome.</p>
<p>i'm seeing john legend! we got sweet tickets too :)</p>