SJSU or UCR

College Confidential Community
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<p>I looked at the past threads for this topic but I need more information about my choices. I'm considering to work in the field of engineering, I'd say civil/computer/software engineering at SJSU or materials/environmental/bioengineering at UCR. You might tell that I'm a very fickle person haha. </p>

<p>For those that have experienced either campus, can you tell me about your experiences? Pros and cons? I have noticed that most people and students associate UCR and a UC reject school but I believe the school itself is getting a better reputation. I have been admitted to both schools, I just need to make my choice now.</p>

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<p>I’m a computer engineering major at UCR and I think its engineering program’s reputation is steadily increasing every year. Last year, this Chinese billionaire named Winston Chung has funded six, $100,000 grants for faculty at the UCR college of engineering for research that could significantly improve cell phone, laptop and hybrid vehicle batteries. Our faculty members usually work with big companies, such as Boeing, Microsoft, and Google. You might want to read this for more information: [UCR</a> Newsroom: Battery-Powered Building Unveiled](<a href=“http://newsroom.ucr.edu/2787]UCR”>UCR Newsroom: Home)
Also, you’ll have plenty of research and internship opportunities since it is a small school for engineering. So, there are not too much competition for getting those opportunities. I am currently holding an internship near the area of Pomona and I’m planning to go to China for research next year.</p>

<p>For the cons, there is actually not much things to do in Riverside because a lot of big cities and hang out places are more 50 minutes away from here. Also, there are a lot of people who do not really have school pride since it’s not the best UC school out there. </p>

<p>If location and school pride is a big factor for you, I wouldn’t really recommend UCR because it can be really boring. However, that doesn’t mean UCR doesn’t have any social life. Dorm life is really great here so you’ll have plenty of fun with your new friends.</p>

<p>If location is not a big factor for you, you’ll have a great time and great education here. Good luck on your decision ! :D</p>

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<p>Thanks for your reply, I believe UCR is getting a better reputation as each year goes by. My brother unfortunately turned them down when he got accepted since it was a “bad” school to him. I’m very unsure about my declared major as civil (I know UCR doesn’t have one)/biomed/materials/environmental/mechanical/computer engineering may interest me. Those are a lot of majors but I just can’t decide. I got admitted for biomedical engineering though. If I were to switch my major from biomedical engineering to one of the other engineering fields, it wouldn’t be that bad right? The first two years I understand are GE? I heard organic chem is hard…and it is required for engineering majors if i’m not mistaken :/</p>

<p>Location doesn’t bother me too much I’d say. I just want to get away from the fog since I’m in the bay area haha. Would you say the students at UCR are “rejects?” I don’t mean to demean you or your school but I have heard many negative things about it.</p>

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<p>And do you have any tips on housing? I want to make the best choice possible. Also, this may be a very trivial question but is it a good idea to bring a small TV? For my xbox. I rarely play as I last used it back in 8th grade but it may come in handy if friends come over or if I want to play with my friends who are at other colleges, etc.</p>

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<p>It wouldn’t be that bad because you’re only going to be a first year. I switched from mechanical engineering to computer engineering in my second quarter of freshman year. I switched because I found out ME wasn’t really for me when I took the intro to ME course. Now I’m a second year and I’m on track. However, I’m going to warn you that you are going to have to work hard to at least pass all the classes you take. It gets harder for you to be on track once you switch your major because you would have to take all the required courses for your major again. For engineers, not all classes for first two years are GEs. For example, CS majors would have to take three courses of intro to CS courses and EE majors would have to take two quarters of EE courses and a matlab course. Here is a courseplan for Bioengineering majors: <a href=“http://student.engr.ucr.edu/majors/course_plans2011/BIEN.pdf[/url]”>http://student.engr.ucr.edu/majors/course_plans2011/BIEN.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
For other majors’ courseplans: [BCOE</a> Student Affairs: Majors](<a href=“http://student.engr.ucr.edu/majors/]BCOE”>Majors | Engineering Student Affairs)</p>

<p>Many people switch major, then they slack off, and end up regretting about not working hard. Those people usually end up graduating in more than 4 years. </p>

<p>Not too sure about ochem, but I heard it can be really brutal depending on the professor.</p>

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<p>To be honest with you, I would say I’m a “reject” lol. But that doesn’t really demean me because it is true. I worked pretty hard in high school but I still couldn’t get into a UC school that I wanted to go. However, I fell in love with this school because I feel like it’s giving me a lot of opportunities. Like I said before, I have an internship and a research opportunity because of the size of the school of engineering. If I got into better and bigger engineering schools like UCLA or UC Berkeley, then I think it would be really hard for me to get those experience because they are pretty competitive. </p>

<p>Not all students at UCR are “rejects” though. I’ve seen some people who turned down UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCI, and UCSB to go to UCR because of financial aids and grants that the school offer. UCR gives a lot of grants to those who are economically disadvantaged. So there are actually plenty of smart students here. When my fourth year friend from last year told me he turned down UCLA to go to UCR because of grants, I told him he was crazy lol. But he actually ended up graduating with a 3.7 gpa and secured a really fine job at a big company. So college is really what you make of it. Usually the people who turned down better schools to go to UCR and the people who are happy at UCR become really successful after graduation. And the people who are not really happy about the school usually transfer out or end up becoming really miserable… UCR doesn’t have the name, but I think that’s the only thing we don’t have. (And the location of course lol)</p>

<p>For housing, I really recommend you to live in the dorm(AI, Pentland, East Lo, or wherever) because that’s where you’ll meet all of your close or even life-long friends. It’s really hard to make close friends in your classes. So I definitely recommend dorm in your first year. However, don’t bring your xbox! Dorm is really about socializing and getting to know your new friends. If you meet new friends and try to study for your engineering classes, you would have no time to play your xbox. Also, it can kill your GPA! xbox killed my GPA in my first quarter of my freshman year haha</p>

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<p>Thank you so much for the link to the courses. This will help me compare classes with san jose state. I think I’m leaning towards UCR but I actually hope to transfer to UCI (after 2 years is the requirement I believe). I’m not saying that I won’t be happy if I choose UCR but I might as well try to go to my first choice since that is my mindset right now. </p>

<p>There is a campus tour or orientation on April 14th and I might go down to visit but I’m unsure because they have online tours now I believe. Do you know if it’s any different? </p>

<p>For the housing, I meant which dorm haha. I definitely plan to dorm but of course there should be some preferences and opinions on the different houses I’m guessing (location, pricing, etc.) To be honest, I’m not exactly a mathematician but I still plan to pursue engineering so are there some study groups? I know for a fact, I’d want to stay on top of my academics. I’m not trying to hide the fact that I have been slacking off in my math classes that’s why I want to be very active to work hard in those classes especially. What I mean by that is that I may need to be refreshed in my skills and I don’t know if study groups or any type of learning aid will go back to help everyone where they are. </p>

<p>And I didn’t mean to bring my xbox for the sole purpose of excluding myself from everyone lol. I wanted to know if it would be good since friends may come over to my dorm and hang out. Also, since there aren’t many things to do apparently haha. Not to say that UCR is anything but boring. </p>

<p>I plan to bring a bike to whichever campus I will attend so does a bike fit in the dorm? Or do I have to chain it outside somewhere? I don’t know the protocol haha. Sorry about all the questions, I am just ‘scared’ I guess.</p>

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<p>That’s fine. If UCI is your first choice, go ahead and transfer. But don’t let your mindset disrupt your first two years of college experience. </p>

<p>I think the real campus tour and the online campus tour might be different. If I were you, I would go see UCR myself. </p>

<p>For housing, I don’t think there’s a “best” dorm out there. Choose whichever dorm you like because dorm experience depends mostly on your hallmates. Also, each dorm has its pros and cons. For example, Pentland is nicest and the coziest, but it’s the priciest dorm out there. It’s also far from the dining halls from AI and East Lo. AI is cheap, has its own dining hall, and is considered the most social dorm out there. Also, you can’t control the AC in your own room. East Lo is the second nicest dorm and is considered the second most social dorm and has its own dining hall, but it’s a bit pricier than AI. So, there is really no answer. Visit the dorm and see which one you like the best. But if I were you, I’d pick Pendland or East Lo.</p>

<p>There are definitely study groups. Try to make some friends in your classes or email the people in your class to see if they want to study with you. I’ve done some of the study groups, but I’d rather study by myself because I study better when I’m by myself lol Don’t worry about refreshing your math skills. If you’ve taken calculus and you’re starting from MATH 9A in college, you should be fine. </p>

<p>haha if that’s your purpose for bringing xbox, that’s fine. But when you’re by yourself, it can still be really distracting unless you know how to control yourself lol that’s why i don’t really recommend bringing xbox.</p>

<p>UCR can be boring if you don’t have a car. If you do, however, you can do a lot of things. If you’re into dining out for Asian food or Mexican food, I would definitely check out Ten Ren (Taiwanese), Sushi Asahi (Japanese), Korean Grill BBQ Buffet (Korean), Peking Restaurant (Chinese), Gilberto’s (Mexican), Pho Saigon (Vietnamese), and Best Thai Cuisine (Thai). Check them out on Yelp! Also, Morongo Casino Resort is 40-50 minutes away, and LA, San Diego, and big bear are only an hour away. </p>

<p>For bike, yes. You don’t necessarily need to bring a bike because you’ll live really close to campus. But if you think that’ll be convenient for you, then go ahead.</p>

<p>Haha and don’t be scared to ask questions. The more questions you ask, the more information you get and you’ll be well off to go to college ! :)</p>

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<p>I wanted to get a first person perspective on the different dorms haha. </p>

<p>Hypothetically, what if I don’t start at 9A? Aren’t there some placement tests I need to take before/when I go to UCR? </p>

<p>How is their engineering classes? Are they getting better? I just get the impression that everyone thinks UCR is just state level :confused: as some of my fellow classmates have thought</p>

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<p>Also, I’m guessing you were in the enginuity community during your first year? How was that? And are you in the Honors program? I wanted to try it but it says that it is too late to apply</p>

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<p>I lived in Pentland. But for me, I think East Lo is the best dorm out there because it had what I wanted. For example, the dorm itself is nice, pretty close to the science library, has its own dining hall, and has a controllable AC (important for me) in each room. The only thing I hated about East Lo was the doors because they were too heavy for me lol</p>

<p>For math, yes. You’ll have to take the math placement test before you go to UCR. That’ll determine which math class you’re going to take in your freshman year. Here are the math classes:</p>

<p>Math 4 - College Algebra level I
Math 5 - College Algebra level II
Math 8A - Pre-Calculus
Math 8B or Math 9A (8B and 9A are pretty much the same) - Calculus I
Math 9B - Calculus II
Math 9C - Calculus III
Math 10A - Multivariable Calculus
etc…</p>

<p>If you get more than 80% on your math placement test, you’ll be placed in Math 9A. However, if you have an AP credit for Calculus AB, then you’ll be starting at Math 9B no matter what your math placement test score is. If you have a credit for Calc BC, then you’ll be starting at Math 9C. </p>

<p>Don’t worry if you don’t start at Math 9A. My friend started at Math 5 when he first entered college, and now he is catching up on all of his coursework. If you are willing to work hard, then you’ll be good even if you’re not placed in Math 9A. College is about how hard you work not how smart you are. That’s why it’s quite different from high school.</p>

<p>For engineering classes, I’m not sure what you mean by “better”. No matter where you go, every engineering class is going to be challenging and will require you to spend a lot of time studying.</p>

<p>I wasn’t in the enginuity hall in my first year. I was actually in a random hall because I signed up too late for the dorm :confused: But I heard great things about enginuity hall. Most students in there are engineers so they take the same classes and they can form study groups to help each other out. For Honors program, I’m not sure, but you can still contact the honors program coordinator to see if you can still apply.</p>

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<p>Where and when would I take the placement test?</p>

<p>And when I say “better” I mean, is the UCR engineering field in general getting better than previous years. And I’m proud to say that I will officially become an Eagle! I’m still writing my appeal though to Irvine (I might as well try despite the odds). Thanks so much for your time in even responding to this thread!</p>

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<p>I mean Highlander ahaha…</p>

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<p>hahaha it’s cool. Actually, I wanted UCR mascot to be something else (eagle could actually be a really good mascot lol) because scotty the bear is just too lame… and UC Berkeley and UCLA’s mascots are bears too so I wanted it to be something else…</p>

<p>Anyways, for the placement test, I’m not sure. But you’ll get an email about it very soon once you SIR to UCR.</p>

<p>For UCR engineering, yes. I think it’s getting better and better every year. It is the youngest UC engineering school out of all the UCs (only been 20 years, whereas other UC engineering schools have been around more than 40 years), so it needs some time to grow. </p>

<p>However, UCR’s growth works in a way as how the economy of each underdeveloped country grows. If you have taken an econ class, you should have learned that under-developed countries grow at a faster rate than more developed countries (Look at India, Brazil, and China). In a way, UC Riverside engineering is also growing exponentially and is starting to catch up well-known engineering schools like NYU Poly, Rochester Institute of Technology, New Jersey Tech, etc. When our engineering school was first created in the 1990, the engineering school wasn’t even ranked in the US News. Last year, we were ranked #96 in the nation. This year, we are ranked #82 in the nation. You see how much UCR grew within one year? So yes. Every year, the incoming freshmen are getting smarter and smarter and the engineering school is getting better and better.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all your help! I’ll be doing my SIR today or so. I’m sure I’ll like UCR. Maybe I’ll see you around haha.</p>

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<p>Oh, and one last thing? How much is the tuition right now? I am on the SIR but I must pay $100 first to go to the next step.</p>

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<p>According to collegeboard, tuition fee is $12,923 and
Room and Board is $12,092.</p>

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<p>Can I ask you a few more questions? I sent in my $100 deposit for my SIR through mail about 4 days ago and I’m supposed to get my Net ID once they’ve processed it I believe. How will I get that ID though? Will they send me an email or through my UCR account? Also, once I have the ID what do I do?</p>