<p>Wow... that was an interesting experience. I went to the Explore UCI thing in the Crystal Cove Auditorium and left when they got to the part about financial aid and went on my own little tour. I never actually took an official tour, but I found that the campus was really pretty. The park was nice and the view of the campus from the 5th floor of the library rocked. The little major advice sessions sucked and so I ditched those. I found that the best way to enjoy the campus was to do your own thing. The bookstore gave a 15% discount on all sweatshirts, etc.... so I bought that and a UCI keychain..... can't wait to go to UCI.... a friend who goes there warned me that it won't be that nice on other days... this was a one day thing... here's to hoping she was kidding :-)</p>
<p>I was there selling cookies at the CHP booth.</p>
<p>UCI is pretty good academically, and i was considering going there instead of Cal because it would have been easier to get a high GPA at irvine, but i decided not to. I used to live in irvine for 12 years and now i live in adjacent Newport Beach. Irvine is probably one of the most boring cities in Southern california. All the stores, restaurants, and clubs close at about 9PM. It is extremely conservative and very family oriented...not a college town at all. UCI is a commuter school and thus the campus is empty everytime i've been there(probably 100 times). Also, the campus is over 45% asian. I have nothing against Asians, in fact a lot of my closest friends are asian, however it becomes quite irritating for one race to be so overwhelmingly predominant in one area. There are virtually no parties i have ever heard at UCI and i have many friends who go there. The social scene is not very good.</p>
<p>Dont get me wrong..I think irvine is a very good school, but i just wanted to warn people from my personal experiences here.</p>
<p>Yes, UCI is not exactly Isla Vista, but I think it is all relative. In a UCSD thread, someone was discussing different UC's and referred to UCSD as not as lively as UCI, UCLA or UCB. </p>
<p>I think the increase in on-campus housing and the opening of the University Center (with a much larger pub) in the next school year will definitely help.</p>
<p>Yeah everything is relative...party-wise and everything. Berkeley is almost as Asian as UCI too although I would agree that the town of Berkeley is more college-y and has more of a "night life".</p>
<p>I dont think the increase in on-campus housing or the university center will very much. The campus will still be boring. For example, when i lived in irvine, i had numerous neighbors that didnt even where the UCI campus was. The city of irvine is just not meant for a college. I understand everything is relative, however UCI would be considered boring relative to ANY UC. </p>
<p>Yakityack, I agree that the percentage of asians is only about 5-10% more at UCI than at UCB, but it feels much worse in UCI because the city of Irvine is also HEAVILY Asian. The city of Berkeley, on the other hand, is not very Asian. Im not sure about the exact percentage of Irvine residents that are Asian, but it is very high(i think its nearly 60%).</p>
<p>it's what you make of it. I have a blast at UCI. Just because Irvine isn't a college town doesn't mean you can't make it out to parties and hang outs with your friends. Personally, I enjoy the conservative nature of UCI.</p>
<p>I'd also agree that UCSD has been known to be not so entertaining. I have friends there who have said that it's quite isolated but they make the most of it, partying it up with the friends they've made. It should be the same everywhere you go. College shouldn't be handed to you on a silver platter with friends; your college experience is crafted personally by you.</p>
<p>Ab-med- good perspective, but the University Center with new and much larger pub will definitely help. When they added the pub in the past upgrade to the student center, it became a popular destination and added a new element to the school. It really added a spark that was widely recognized. It was very popular to students and there was much concern that with the new center, the pub would no longer exist. </p>
<p>This, in and of itself won't change the campus overnight, but the overall social aspect of the campus continues to grow. The popularity of the pub is an indication of students' interest in a more lively campus and in time, you see more changes in this direction - such as the possiblity of a designated greek village, which was written about recently.</p>
<p>Here is a link about the soaring interest in Greek, Ethnic and Cultural groups and proposed "Greek Village"</p>
<p>yackityack or Sonic One,
in Destination UCI. dated April 2, 2006 at Doubletree Hotel, Berkeley Marina,
UCI rep highlighted UCI' s opportunities of doing research and internship by undergraduates. Any experiences/advices on that.</p>
<p>I haven't done research yet but will be doing it my senior year for my thesis so I can't really say too much about that right now either. Also, I'm going to be interning in DC as part of the UCDC program next winter quarter. So I guess I am going to be doing both of those things but haven't done them yet so I can't really tell you much.</p>
<p>Well I also cannot speak to the research side, as I'm working towards a business career.</p>
<p>However, as I've said before, internships are plentiful and I firmly believe in the value of them. You find out what you really like and dislike through an internship because there is no substitute for real world experience.</p>
<p>The first place to start is the UCI Career Center. They are by far a UCI student's biggest asset career wise.</p>
<p>ucparent - </p>
<p>I am an alumnus of UCI (class of '00) and I did research for over 2 years in biological sciences. The opportunities are plentiful. I actually worked in three different labs during my time at UCI. I was able to switch labs until I found one that I liked.</p>
<p>Research isn't something that's going to be handed to you as a student. Although the opportunities are definitely out there, it is still up to the student to pursue them. They'll be the ones who have to contact professors, set up meetings with them, and read some of their publications to show that they're interested in the subject matter. It's like applying for a job - they might have to apply to five or six to get one offer. But if you're persistent, things should work out.</p>
<p>Also, the students get to do meaningful research, not just washing test tubes and stuff like that. At first, you'll probably just help the faculty member with his/her research, and ultimately you can do your own project. In fact, UCI has a big research symposium every year that is open to the public. It'll allow you to see what kinds of projects students from all different majors can do. I'm not sure of the date, but it's usually the Saturday before Mother's Day. You can probably find out about it somewhere on the UROP website (<a href="http://www.urop.uci.edu)%5B/url%5D">www.urop.uci.edu)</a>. UROP stands for Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program.</p>