UC Riverside vs. Community College

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Riverside
1

<p>I was accepted to UCR but I'm not sure if its worth the money. I want to go into Computer Engineering or something similar. Everyone says UCR is the low end of the UC system, someone even said "The "R" in UCR is known to stand for rejects, or retards, for a reason." There is a good community college nearby my house and i'm not sure if I should attend DVC (Diablo Valley College) for 2 years and then transfer to a more well known UC such as Irvine or Davis. I am worried if I attend UCR for 4 years, graduate and receive my degree, that my education simply will be outshadowed by those comming out of more well known UC's as UCB or UCLA. </p>

<p>So the question is, UCR or CC? All your input on the Cons and Pros of the situation are greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>There's always going to UCR and transferring another UC</p>

3

<p>If your goal is to transfer to another UC, community college is a better path.</p>

4

<p>That's what i'm thinking because if im going to be transferring to a better UC, why not save a few thousand dollars while i'm at it.</p>

5

<p>So you do not want to go to UCR because everyone says it is one of the lowest UCs, and you want to go to a better UC because people say it will be better? I think you need to spend some time thinking what is best for you.</p>

<p>Two years of your life is a long time. Living at home with your parents, taking boring classes with people who do not have any direction in life, missing out on the college experience. The higher ranked college is not necessarily the best option for YOU.</p>

6

<p>UCR vs. CC is a very valid question. </p>

<p>But trashing UCR because a friend of friend said it is a "bad" UC is definitively not a valid argument and it shows some "immature" thinking (sorry for being blunt).</p>

<p>My advice, go visit UCR campus, talk to teachers, ask attending students, visit dorms, feel the air, make your own mind and stop listening "too much" to what the others think. </p>

<p>my two cent...</p>

7

<p>I think its more important to ask " What is your opinion of UCR" , at the end of the day the only person you have to answer to is yourself. </p>

<p>I am actually a fan of UCR, my doctor went there. and they are opening a med school soon.</p>

8

<p>Cost is a very important factor in the decision. A CC would be close to free where as UC R would be quite a bit of money. My parents income combined is probably around $75,000 so I would have to take out a loan. If I attended a CC 2 years money saved would make a difference.</p>

<p>By the way, if I transferred to UC junior year, would I live on campus?</p>

9

<p>I think you should go to UCR.</p>

<p>There’s quite a few students that transfer from a CC and then drop out because they can’t handle the curriculum.</p>

<p>Might as well go to UCR, get good grades, and go to a good grad school.</p>

10

<p>So xAbre, I could not agree more with rimas as far as UCR is concerned, but if cost is an important factor as you stated, CC is a viable option. My dad had a similar situation and went to CC and then Cal Poly SLO and now has a good job.</p>

11

<p>I went to a CC first two years and am now going to UCR for Fall 09. To be honest, I regret making the community college choice. I have friends who went the route of going straight into 4 years and they raved non stop about their Freshman year experience. If you are a freshman, live in the dorms and experience the college life. That is something I’ll never experience now (the whole new Freshman, dorms, ‘college’ life) or at least I won’t be experiencing it in the same way and I’ll be honest…it was depressing hearing their stories then comparing them to my lame CC experiences. </p>

<p>I went to Mt. Sac and was apart of the student government, I was embedded into the roots of my school but it still didn’t have that real ‘college’ feel. CC was so much of go to school, go to class, go home, repeat. There wasn’t a will to associate with one another on the campus nor the will to want to hang around the campus for an extended time.</p>

<p>If you can afford it, I HIGHLY suggest going straight to a 4 year. The experience is something that my friends say has no price.</p>

12

<p>I understand the money situation. In that case, going to community college would win over UCR.</p>

<p>I also understand the reputation situation. A lot of my close friends got into top notch liberal arts/private schools and UCs - Wellesley, Princeton, USC, UCLA, UCSD etc. When they asked me what college I was attending and I answered with “UCR,” their response was somewhat sympathetic, like “Oh… well, UCR is a good school.” At first, I couldn’t understand why they were so disappointed. If they thought it was such a good school, then why wouldn’t they attend here? (It’d be cheaper in comparison too, since I went to a high school close to UCR.)</p>

<p>I’m now in the last quarter of my freshman year and I have grown to love it here at UCR. I used to consider transferring to another UC or college, but I no longer think that.</p>

<p>What people don’t understand is that ALL UC campuses are held to the UC standard in providing quality professors - they all go through the same application and tenure process. A professor of mine (former professor at Columbia University) said that she didn’t understand why people were calling the campus “UC Rejects” because all the faculty are trained together, were often colleagues and graduated from some of the most prestigious universities/programs. She said that professors go where jobs are available and actually left Columbia for UCR. Another one of my professors attended UC Santa Cruz for undergrad, went to Harvard for masters and Berkeley for doctorate. Some professors here have done some impressive research and are authorities on their field of study. </p>

<p>Sure, not all the people UCR enrolls have 4.0 GPAs and are extremely motivated, but I personally feel that the reputation that UCR is a “bad” school is partly due to the less competitive applicant pool. Student laziness doesn’t make the professors lazy and lower the quality of education. I’ve taken some challenging classes. You’ll find both horrible and amazing professors and students at EVERY campus.</p>

<p>I also stress that I like the small population (in comparison with other UCs). Yes, there are general education classes with 500 students. But I enrolled in a class with about 60 students and still had the chance to work closely with my professor to conduct research for a paper I submitted for potential publication/contests. I like that I can bump into a friend from a class I took a previous quarter. I like that you actually get to KNOW people - professors and students alike - especially if you’re in a smaller major. This also ties in with the college experience as well - you get to know everyone from the get go instead of starting over because of transferring.</p>

<p>On transferring - Yes, it is easier to transfer from a CC to a UC because there are more reserved spots for CC-UC transfers than UC-UC transfers. But remember - it’s still a matter of applying, getting accepted and then transferring.</p>

<p>Follow the advice of Cali Trumpet and rimas. But in the end, it’s up to YOU.</p>

13

<p>The transfer admission almost same as first-time freshman admission. They pick the transfer student to make up the first-time freshman enrolled students dropped out or transfer. </p>

<p>Look into the flyer at UC Berkeley: <a href=“http://trsp.berkeley.edu/Transfer%20Admissions%20Flyer.pdf[/url]”>http://trsp.berkeley.edu/Transfer%20Admissions%20Flyer.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
Range of GPA’s 3.69-3.75
Applications: 12,357
Admitted: 3679 (29%)</p>

<p>Look around other top tier campus like UCLA or middle tier: SD, Irvine, Davis,…: high GPA again and low admitted percentage. Even transfer to UCR from CC or other university, you should have 3.0+ GPA.</p>

<p>If the GPA in the first two years in community college is same as in high school, your chance to get into Cal, UCLA, UCSD, UCD, UCI,… is nothing. You still cannot get into better school. Student need to work hard, very hard (harder than in HS) to show that you can MAKE CONTRIBUTION to the reputation of Cal, UCLA,… Otherwise, you may end up back some campus in Cal State system which accept any transfer student with 2.0 GPA.</p>

<p>So if the cost of education is not the factor, you should attend UCR . UCR is UC Respected :)</p>