I will say this, of all the UCs we visited my kid felt that UCI had the best variety and options. Just on the strength of that alone UCI became a top option for her! I remember back in the day when I was at UCSD, we had 4 choices…mexican, chinese, sandwiches, and Wendys(!!!). Kids now have way more food options and dont get me started on the amenities in the dorms! I wish I was a college kid again!
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First of all, congrats. I have lived close to UCI for over 40 years and my brother went there. I will say the notion of it being more of a commuter school is definitely dated. I was on the UCI online parent orientation yesterday and one of the staffers said over 80% of freshman live on campus. UCI has changed a lot over the years. Please define what you mean by “college experience”. Generally speaking Californians dont really get totally invested in things. For example, unlike other areas of the country we are not fanatical about sports teams and this applies to colleges to. Kids are not as invested emotionally. There is just so much to do and see. So in this sense, I would say that none of the schools in California will have the stereotypical college experience. Now if you mean by college experience living on his own, making new friends, and learning about himself then yes, UCI would give that. Of course it doesnt have a big time sports program so its missing that aspect of the college experience.
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Did any male student get regents without committing to selective service as part of the FASFA process? The UCI AO mentioned all male applicants are required to commit to SS before they can award any financial aid including Regents scholarships. I find that odd because my son got regents and honors at another UC without committing to SS. Please help… Thanks.
@bandd if your son got into UMichigan, I would pick UM over UCI any day of the week based on rep, employment placement, and Div 1 sports school spirit (that’s incredibly important sometimes and I will mourn my son not getting it if he goes to UCI).
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Sorry to be clear and I realize using abbreviations may not have been best - he is going to check out two Florida schools so UM was Miami in that context…sorry for confusion. He was also waitlisted at Michigan but I think he would prefer FL or CA weather.
In this context, I meant not having the college experience if many of the students were not living on campus but you clarified that point about it changing. The information I received was from someone probably having gone over 15 years ago.
I do think not having a big time football team is a shame - though it does sound like basketball can be fun. Do kids in the UC system tend to support UCLA from a football perspective?
Speaking as someone who went to a Big Ten school and loved going to games but has now lived in California for twenty plus years, I’d say that college sports aren’t as universally important here. For some they are (my DS who will be looking at colleges next year will be factoring that in to school choice), but my DD who is a first year (remotely) at UCI they are not. It was a bit of culture shock for me when I first came to CA.
we are visiting tomorrow …very excited. S21 already said that after the visit, we will go ahead and submit the SIR for UCI 
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I applied for CS but was accepted undeclared. I was going to decline the acceptance, but then I found information that sounds like UCI has a low threshold to switch from Undeclared → CS. Could this be true? Their automated chat says UCI has no impacted majors! CS is highly selected but not impacted! The bar for switching to CS does not seem high
https://changeofmajor.uci.edu/school-of-information-and-computer-sciences/#computer-science
@Gumbymom is all this true?
Here is the information to switch. The threshold to switch majors is not high in comparison to other schools, but you are not in the CS major so getting some of the pre-req courses could be more difficult since CS majors get priority. My suggestion is to contact the department and ask many students successfully switch majors each year.
Computer Science:
Requirements:
Cumulative UC GPA: Students must meet BOTH requirements:
Minimum of 2.7 GPA overall
Minimum GPA of 2.7 in the quarter immediately preceding the change of major
Course grades: A minimum GPA of 3.0 and no grade less than a C in ALL courses taken from those listed below. Completion of the following:
ICS 31 and ICS 32, or
ICS 32A and ICS 33, and
One or more of Math 2A, Math 2B, ICS 6B, ICS 6D, ICS 6N
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I spoke with a UCI advisor on Monday and was told that as long as an Undeclared student meets the requirements (pre-requisites and minimum grades) they will be able to declare into CS. The biggest issue is getting the CS prerequisite classes as CS major students get priority. I was informed that the first couple of quarters may be difficult but that they should eventually be able to register. In the meantime they can complete GE and electives. You may want to call UCI and confirm again but it sounded like at UCI at least this is easier than at some of the other UCs. The advisor also stated that even as Undeclared, there is no reason not to be able to graduate in four years.
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Thanks, Gumbymom. This is very helpful. Also, @sd4586 I understand from Reddit discussions that if you have AP Computer Science then you can get a head start with the pre-reqs.
Son received an email today offering him his intended major today instead of Undeclared (which he received in his acceptance). This was a surprise and we didn’t even know this was possible. The email states that space had opened up and he just needs to reply if he wants his intended major.
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@sd4586 Thats wonderful!!
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That’s great! Do you think it is because you called and spoke to an advisor?
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I don’t think so because I didn’t give my son’s name in the conversation.
Thank you! We love UCI but were apprehensive about him going there as Undeclared. S17 is a senior at UCI and has really thrived. It’s a wonderful school!
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I just remembered that last year, my son was accepted to physics at UCSB instead of ME. About this time last year they sent an email saying that students could request a change of major via email and they would do their best to accommodate. He sent an email and they replied the next day with no because it was from letters and sciences to engineering. Then literally one day later, they emailed with yes. This was before the SIR deadline. It was so easy. I know I’m talking about UCSB but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to ask UCI? It sure would be nice to commit as your intended major!
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Congratulations to your son. I think it is great that they arewilling to consider the Undeclared admitted students first to offer them their choice major. Best of luck to him.
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