<p>My daughter has been rejected @ UCD & UCLA & waitlisted @ Cal Poly. Even w/a 4.0 UC GPA! It's maddening! She's applied to UCR & we'll probably go there for Engineering. Tell me good things about this school, please. Thanks.</p>
<p>When I visited the facilities were great at Bourns. Also the school is really diverse and despite what others may say Riverside's not that bad of an area and LA is only an hour's drive away.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>08mom:</p>
<p>My husband and I both graduated from UCR (many years ago...). </p>
<p>I will admit UCR is not the most prestigious school in the US. However, I can assure you that UCR is not the "dump" that some mis-informed CCers claim it to be. It is generally considered to be in the top 100 national universities...which is not too shabby, when you think about it. I feel it served us pretty well. </p>
<p>Among many benefits of attending UCR, here are some that come to mind...</p>
<p>1) You do get more opportunities to interact directly with your professors, instead of having to deal with TAs (grad students), as you would in larger schools. </p>
<p>2) You are more likely to get "personal" letters of recommendations, which will count more when you apply to professional/grad schools.</p>
<p>3) Many UCR students do attend prestigious grad/professional schools after graduation (many of my friends attended UCLA med school, and other equally impressive professional/grad schools)</p>
<p>4) It is a UC school! You will get a GREAT education for your $!</p>
<p>This sounds like a cliche, but you do get what you put in...If your daughter works hard, she will be successful even if she does not graduate from "IVY league" type of schools.</p>
<p>Let's face it...most of us (including the ones who make employment decisions - both my husband and I do...) did not graduate from these types of schools.</p>
<p>I understand that it is frustrating and difficult for your daughter to face "rejections," probably for the first time in her life. Please help her understand that it will not be the last time she will face these challenges, and be "rejected." We all do...time after time. Part of growing up is learning to face these challenges, and make the best of what you are dealt with.</p>
<p>I am sure your daughter will find her niche and thrive, regardless of which school she attends. </p>
<p>I wish your daughter (and the mom...) best of wishes as she enters a new stage in her life!</p>
<p>I keep reading how UCR is, as you say, still in the top 100 (or less) public universities in the U.S. I appreciate the good thoughts. UCR is a serious possibility right now, and I'm working on pumping it up!</p>
<p>Here are some reasons why I like the school: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Diversity - It's great to be able to meet students from different backgrounds/cultures/religions than you. Plus, there are many different ethnic clubs that provide something for everyone. </p></li>
<li><p>Size - It never really feels like the school is overcrowded (except when parking...) and at the same time it always feels like there is a good amount of people that attend the school. However, your daughter's preference for size could vary.</p></li>
<li><p>Faculty - I've taken classes at UCLA and always had a horrible time getting in contact with the teachers. Most of the time it seemed as though they were so busy with everything else that they couldn't reply to me. On the other hand, at UCR I've usually had amazing teachers who are quick to help me out when I need it. (Not to say that EVERY teacher is great at that). </p></li>
<li><p>Location - Again this is a personal preference but I really like the location of the school. I really enjoy having most of southern California in a reasonable driving range. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>( I may add more when I'm less tired. Jury duty took a lot out of me today!).</p>
<p>Since you want to hear the positive aspects of UCR, I'll refrain from my numerous criticisms of this university.
1) yea its really diverse. But this is not necessarily a favorable quality for everyone.
2) its supposedly easier than the other UCs, yet still has the "UC" name
3)its cheaper than a private
um.. yea sorry but that's all the compliments I can really think of.
Its still one of the "better" universities of the world so do not even think that its a crappy college. Just remember there are people out there who turned down every other UC for this school.</p>
<p>i was told by a current student that the crime rate is the highest in riverside than all of the other UCs. he said one student had been sexually harrassed at 1pm</p>
<p>All the smog from LA goes to Riverside which is great if you like cloudy gray skys</p>
<p>Well Trip7s, that is merely a rumor. Crime rates in theory would always be there at the Universities located in the city, such as Riverside, LA, and Cal. The 1 pm comment sounds possible, but it is more likely that it is a rumor. You do not want to scare a mom from having her daughter go to Riverside over rumors. </p>
<p>And besides, these schools have escort services that her daughter can call if she has to roam around the campus at night.</p>
<p>Go to students reviewdotcom, and look for Riverside very helpful concerning what UCR has to offer: </p>
<p>I cannot provide the specific link for some reason, sorry.</p>
<p>I couldn't place those two words together because CC places asterisks instead, why?</p>
<p>I think its funny how people complain about the crime in riverside because I've grown up in Washington, NYC and D.C., and wilmington DE. All of which have HARDCORE Ghettos. Riverside is a paradise in comparison.</p>
<p>Here's a comparison between L.A. and Riverside using FBI crime indexes:</p>
<p>Crime Rates Riverside, California Los Angeles, California United States
Violent Crime 6 7 3
Property Crime 6 6 3</p>
<p>"The crime indices range 1-10. A higher number corresponds with more crime. Our crime rates are based on FBI data."</p>
<p>Some other notable southern California areas:</p>
<p>Irvine has a violent crime rating of 6 (same as Riverside) and a property crime rating of 4 (2 lower than Riverside but still higher than the national average). </p>
<p>Santa Barbara ranks in with a rating a violent crime rating of 5 (1 less than Riverside) and a property crime rating of 5 (1 less than Riverside). Both of those ratings are higher than the national average.</p>
<p>San Diego has exactly the same violent and property crime rating as Riverside. </p>
<p>Now this doesn't mean that Riverside is crime free or it's smart to walk down a dark alley carrying high-end electronic equipment at 2 in the morning. However, the crime in Riverside is relatively similar to those of the other large UC schools.</p>
<p>the weather is riverside is sooooo bad.
i went to the discover day on saturday, and that kind of makes me reluctant to go to riverside, but i have no other choice T_T</p>
<p>How hot was it? I heard that the weather varies, so don't worry</p>
<p>If you went to Riverside last Saturday, then I'd like to inform you that the weather was unusually hot. It was hot for me down in San Diego as well, in the 90's.</p>
<p>^ really? ohhh okay.
cus i read from somewhere else that winter only lasts a month in riverside while summer lasts the rest of the year.. and i was like x_x;;</p>
<p>We visited Riverside last wk & were impressed w/the inner campus being closed to traffic & having lots of trees & grassy areas. We could not tell we were a few blocks away from interstate 215. The weather was just like San Diego (where we live) -- light jacket weather in the early a.m. & evening, t-shirt weather in the middle of the day. We did see the smog of LA on the way up 15, but it was not noticeable on campus. My daughter will probably go to Riverside in the fall. Please keep up the positive posts.</p>
<p>My son graduated from UCR last year; I feel he received an excellent education. He has been accepted to several MBA programs, so I think UCR prepared him very well.
The neighborhoods immediately surrounding UCR are very nice. A few miles away is Moreno Valley, which is not as nice.<br>
I really think UCR has an undeserved reputation as being at the "bottom" of the UC's; unfortunately, reputations tend to stick, whether accuarate of not.<br>
The only complaint my son had was about the hot weather and the smog.
We all tend to put such emphasis on going to a "prestigious" college, but in the end, with a few exceptions, it doesn't matter all that much.
Good luck to your daughter!</p>
<p>It's a freacking UC!</p>
<p>Non west coast people don't realize how good California colleges are.</p>