It is totally acceptable, may be just have summer class online and stay at Bay Area 
1 Like
Do they really have summer online classes? That would be great, hard to give up Bay Area weather despite the severe wind warnings. I never really appreciated this weather until I started googling weather in Merced and Davis. We’re (kids and me and enough friends) unfortunately conditioned to only stand up to mid 70s.
Actually is UCM similar to other UCs? Do TAs teach the beginner classes and class sizes are upwards 200+? I’m not sure if 4/22 visitors day means we get to look in on live classes.
The weather is definitely leaning toward “Fresno hot” in the summer. Compared to the Bay Area it is a little dryer. However, it is very close to the Sierras, a fantastic area for off sites, hiking, and wilderness.
3 Likes
Good question.
There is a Bay Area event, can’t remember the exact day, but we’re going to attend and ask some questions. I really don’t quite understand the way people perceive UCM. Is it the weather or the farmland? Is the teaching subpar? Is it unsafe campus? It’s a top 100 school. No one disparages University of San Francisco given that it’s like 103 (we got in and D really likes the school and she likes UCM too). But I don’t know the UC system at all so there must be something as to why kids say they applied to all UCs except UCM. It’s way worse listening to real life friends.
1 Like
You might be interested in this thread. A Very Honest Opinion on UC Merced
1 Like
April 1st Santa Clara Convention center. We will go as well.
1 Like
It’s been awhile but I do remember those posts! D visited in July 2022 so not the most ideal time as it would have been great to attend a class. I do think there’s so much opportunity at UCM and really wish people would stop judging it so harshly. In real life that is. I don’t see many opinions here about it.
1 Like
We toured with our S23 last Saturday. We were impressed by the campus, the engineering department and the amazing research and internship opportunities. The only major downside we saw was the location. It is far from Merced if your student doesn’t have a car and there is not much to do in the surrounding area. Our son is still waiting on a few more admissions, but right now Merced is one of his top 2 choices.
5 Likes
Thank You for the update! What major is your son planning on?
We applied as biomedical engineering mainly bc there was an additional application for bs/md that required choosing one of the limited majors for that track. Preference for SJV students which makes sense but D thought it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try. We’re in the Bay Area so not exactly what they were looking for. What I’m really hoping for is attending a class. I don’t really think another open house will help us much. D is really easy going but I know her enough to know that she won’t do so well in huge 200+ classes. She does best when she gets to know her teachers. As of now I don’t think we’ll be going to UCI despite it being in a great town. If UCM has huge classes we would need to give up on that too not because of whatever others think of the school but it would be the lack of personal interaction with her teachers.
1 Like
Electrical engineering, however since the program is new and not ABET accredited, he may switch to mechanical engineering. He really liked Merced, but is also leaning more towards UH-Manoa. I can’t blame him for wanting to live in Hawaii.
2 Likes
Classes for lower division GE classes will be 100-200+. That will be true of any school. Once you get into your major classes, class size will be 10-30 students.
1 Like
We are in the Bay Area as well. There is the admitted students reception at the SC convention center on 4/1. Should be professors and students there to answer questions.
1 Like
Yes we’ll be there! Unfortunately 100-200 is going to be too big for D. Of all the UCs I really thought Merced would be different since no one seems to want to go there, and we would be happy to go there if class sizes were small. Or maybe 100-200 is considered on the better side if the other UCs have even higher numbers. I should probably ask them if professors teach beginner classes.
I think you will find most universities will have large classes for the required freshman and sophomore level General ed classes. All of the students are required to take these GE courses so the class size is always large. If the class requires a lab, the labs will be 20-30 students. It’s not until you get into your upper level major classes that the class size will shrink to 10-30 students. Unless your D decides on a very small university, she will have to take some of these lecture type classes. My own experience in college ranged from classes in giant lecture halls (Film 101, Art History 101 etc) with 200 students to 8 students in my Senior Year thesis class. Definitely worth going to the April 1st event to get more clarification on this issue, but sounds like your daughter might be better suited to a smaller school. Don’t forget that all of her professors will have office hours (often underutilized by students) which will give your daughter the chance to connect with them.
1 Like
I can answer this for my daughter…she didn’t apply to Merced because she is a city kid, and if she didn’t get one of her preferred UCs near a beach and in a big city, she could go to Riverside and commute from home, while Merced is very far from our home. Also, it is not near some things on her “must have” list for college towns (health and other reasons). Otherwise Merced is a great option for anyone who enjoys a more rural campus!
1 Like
I just saw their email about dropping in on live classes from 4/3 to 4/28. If choosing the right day, there could be multiple classes that the student can attend. Parents have to stay outside as there is not enough room in the classrooms.
Has anyone SIR to ucm yet?