<p>hey guys, I’m a student from Germany and want to spend a year abroad in the US next year. I don’t have much choices, because my school only has exchange programs with UC Riverside, U of Nebraska, U of Delaware and Western Illinois University, so i would not have to pay anything for the whole year for going to any of this schools.
My first choice would be UCR because its Cali and its near to LA, SD, Vegas etc. and its also a UC (even if not the best one). But after reading your posts I’m asking myself whether its a good school. Do you guys think its just said to be bad because you always compare UCR to other UCs (which are the best schools in the country) or because its REALLY bad. I dont really want to go to the worst school in Cali but I’m not keen on going to Midwest either</p>
<p>UCR is not the worst school in California. Granted, it's not exactly on par with some of the other UC's, but it is by no means "bad". I'm sure many people wouldn't rate it as low on their lists if it was, say, located on or near the beach. But it's like you mentioned, you'll be within close proximity to everything. Los Angeles, San Diego and Big Bear (mountains) are all just an hour away, with only three hours to Vegas. The school has a lot to offer, you just have to know how to take advantage of it. </p>
<p>If you're garaunteed a spot and it's for FREE, I'd say it's definitely worth giving a shot, that is if you are really set on coming here.</p>
<p>Ucrla in a previous thread said, " I completely agree with UCstudent above. Unfortunately, all those rankings have serious flaws with them. Don't base your perception of a university on what a magazine says or even the popular opinion of people who never attended a given school. I have attended 3 UC schools- one supposedly at the top tier, one in the middle tier, and the other on the bottom tier. I got my BS at UCLA in Neuroscience, took summer classes at UCI, and am currently working toward a PhD in Neuroscience at UCR. And let me tell you, people's perceptions of UCR are totally wrong. At UCLA, you will get absolutely no attention from professors, most of whom look down on undergrads (I'm NOT speaking of any personal experiences). Teaching is definitely not a priority there. The competition at UCLA is fierce, and I have heard of several students getting kicked out for cheating. I had a friend renting a studio apartment in Westwood for $1200/ month! A studio! Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVED my experience there and wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING. At UC Riverside, there's no big name, but that's changing, and changing quickly. Teaching is much more of a priority there and you are more likely to learn. I've seen the undergrad classes at both schools and there is no difference in the difficulty between the two. As more and more people realize this, UCR's reputation is likely to grow. Indeed, my neighbor is a computer science professor there and told me of a discussion he had with a UCI computer science professor, who told my neighbor that within 3 years, UCR will surpass UCI. So to all of you reading this, the quality of education is pretty much the same between all tiers of the UC. The only difference is the name. Although, a bigger name school like UCLA, SD or Berkeley will likely have more options for majors of study, simply because they have the population base to support it. As UCR expands, as it is aggressively doing, admission will become more and more competitive as it runs out of room to grow. This is what happened with LA and Berkeley. They couldn't build more, so they couldn't admit more students. As a result, only the top applicants could be admitted. In summary, just about any UC will give you a great education. Pay no attention to subjective surveys like US News. One possible source to look at is a 1997 book called "The Rise of American Research Universities". Its rankings are based purely on hard facts, not public perception. Spread the word."</p>
<p>Looking at your post and the schools that you listed, I believe UCR is your best option--academically speaking. UCR is not a bad school. The UC system has the best public school system in the nation and all their schools are regardly highly from an academic standpoint. While it is true that UCR is not as prestigeous as Berkeley, UCLA or UCSD, it is still a great school. There are many people who wished they had the option to attend a UC. Do yourself a favor and go to school in California. You might die of bordom if you decide to go to one of the other schools. Choose UCR hands down.</p>
<p>Public Universities in California are like our daily weather, our worst is better than the best of the other states. Come to California....leave your winter clothes in the closet (unless you want superior skiing).</p>
<p>I would also suggest going to UC Riverside. It isn't well-regarded here on collegeconfidential because everyone aims for the higher UC's, but UC Riverside is still better than a lot of colleges in California and in the United States. U of Delaware is actually a little stronger than UCR though, but I doubt you'd be able to feel the difference. </p>
<p>But if you're coming for the experience, then I suggest UC Riverside. It will take you more than an hour's drive to Los Angeles, Orange County, and even longer for San Diego and Las Vegas though. But still, I think you will enjoy your experience with UCR being somewhat close to those areas. </p>
<p>University of Delaware isn't a bad choice though. You could also take somewhat short trips over to Philadephia, Washington DC, and maybe even New York City. But Delware isn't in the metropolitan area of those cities, whereas Riverside is usually considered to be in the metropolitan area of Los Angeles/Orange County/Inland Empire.</p>
<p>UCR is relatively the easiest UC to get into but even the "worst" UC is like among the top 10 public university in the nation.</p>
<p>You need a MINIMUM gpa of 3.1 to even apply to UCR.....it's getting tougher and tougher.</p>
<p>"You need a MINIMUM gpa of 3.1 to even apply to UCR.....it's getting tougher and tougher."</p>
<p>Not true... One can apply to any UC with a minimum of a 2.8 gpa, and might I add that UCR admits several students with gpa's less than a 3.... It is still a good school, but it doesn't carry prestige like the other UC's.</p>
<p>Since you'll be on an exchange program, you don't really need to concern yourself with the "prestige" of the university you study at. All of the schools on your list will likely have very good instruction. </p>
<p>Rather, I recommend that you make your choice based on what part of America you want to live in for a year. After all, you wouldn't be coming here on an exchange program if you didn't want to experience the culture and climate of the United States. </p>
<p>With that said, I offer this information: Riverside has better weather than the other three schools on your list, especially since you'll be coming here during the school year and avoiding the summer, when it gets unbearably hot in some parts of California. There is a lot of smog that blows into Riverside from LA, however.</p>
<p>California has Los Angeles, San Diego and a days ride up to San Francisco. The east coast offers NYC and Washington, DC. Weather on east coast will be more extreme, while the west coast is usually milder spring/summer like weather, with snow in the mountains where you can avoid it or play in it.</p>
<p>Los Angeles is really far from UCR by little more than half an hour......... so you definetely need a car if you want to drive around the "exciting parts" of So Cal/LA area of Cali.......</p>
<p>If you don't like cold weather, UCR is your choice but make sure your dorm room has an air condition. Nobody at UCR likes play outdoor activities there....</p>
<p>mrxalleycat wrote: "If you don't like cold weather, UCR is your choice but make sure your dorm room has an air condition. Nobody at UCR likes play outdoor activities there...."</p>
<p>This is pure heresay. I have been going to UCR for 3 years now and everybody plays outdoor activities like intramurals and work out/play tennis/rollerhockey/jog/basketball/football/ultimate fisbee/everything at the Rec Center. You will have fun at UCR. Trust.</p>
<p>And every building at UCR including dorms has air conditioning. We are a UC campus and all our facilities are state of the art. People act like the students live in bungalos and drive around in tractors. This is rediculous.</p>
<p>And from a foreign exchange student's standpoint, you will probably get a lot more attention from the professors and administration because the student body is a lot smaller than UCLA or Cal. Most classes are still under 30 students and everybody is more accessible than these huge behemoth schools that the other big name UCs have become. Plus, everything is way less expensive in Riverside. Try paying rent, eating out, or fighting traffic in LA or Berkeley. Those places are some of the most expensive and congested areas in Cali.</p>
<p>rock on razor rich! :D</p>
<p>Riverside is an excellent choice. Aside from the ridiculously warm weather around summer, this is a fine institution to be at.</p>
<p>It's sort of odd (and probably unfounded) that everyone seems to think that Riverside is such a horrible university. It's nice to see someone defend it every once in a while.</p>
<p>"Don't believe the hype." Riverside is underrated by ignorant fools who know little about it. It would work well for you and your situation, and give you a taste of American life.</p>
<p>Well, in the UC system, Riverside is not exactly among the top schools. In addition, it doesn't exactly have the most desirable location either. That means, among the UCs, Riverside is probably the least desirable. But that does not mean that it is a bad school, since it still "ranks" relatively high.</p>