UCR/Santa Monica College

<p>If you can choose between UCR and SMC, which one would choose?</p>

<p>SMC is a community college and have a high rate of transfer into other UCs while UCR was been looked down on.</p>

<p>Please make strong points on why you made your decision.</p>

<p>Please help me out because there is only 14 days left.</p>

<p>um.. that choice can only be made by you...
definitely take the time to visit, look around the campus/city. it'll give you a better feel for the school. </p>

<p>Obviously UCR isn't your first choice, do you plan on transferring later? A comminty college will be easier to transfer because they get first priority and classes aren't very difficult. Transferring from UCR is possible, but it'll be tougher.</p>

<p>PM me or post any questions youmight have, i'll try to answer them.</p>

<p>Thanks hobofromdowntown, its not me that's facing the problem, it's my friend, and i really wish he can go to UCR.</p>

<p>I have visited UCR and it wasn't as bad as i thought it would be. Although i plan to transfer, but i just think it is more reasonable to attend UCs rather community college. Doesn't matter if it is the last place of all UCs, it is still a UC.</p>

<p>I have collected some positive comments and facts about UCR, planning to help my friend out, but there are too many people giving out negative comments and totally looked down on UCR, which killed my confident and interest in UCR. First, people judge others by school and not the person. Second, some of the comments are just unneccessary.</p>

<p>transferring out of UCR will take a lot of motivation. a majority of UCR students aren't interested in studying and it WILL affect you if you aren't hellbent on getting out. </p>

<p>The campus itself is alright, its undergoing constant rennovation. It's a pretty small campus for a UC, takes about 10-15 mintues to walk from one end to the next. The area surrounding UCR is just plain bad; you really don't want to venture past chicago. If you don't have a car you will want to shoot yourself because 90 percent of the people go home (of course i'm just making this statistic up but a large majority of people go home on the weekends). I personally don't like the climate of Riverside; its HOT during the spring/ summer and some of fall and its cold during the rest of the times.</p>

<p>Yes, I understand that people in UCR are not interested in studying, but doesn't that apply to Community College, too? If they have failed to get in other colleges(of course, there are exceptions like people who wants to save money for their parents), and get their motivation up in SMC, couldn't that apply to UCR too?</p>

<p>Well, I heard that the weather is bad in Riverside, and I think it is true that people go home during the weekends and holidays(a lot of my friends do), but that is not why my friend is being forced.</p>

<p>As for myself, I don't mind having a car or not, because I plan to learn some bboy in Riverside, so there will always be something for me to do.</p>

<p>Once again, thank you for your reply and your help. :)</p>

<p>The thing about UCR is that you will be dorming and that can be a big distraction. </p>

<p>Community college is full of unmotivated students, however, most of the time you don't really interact with them since you are only there for school. Also, if you're at a community college there is a sense of urgency (i messed up in highschool and i need to transfer out is the mindset of many motivated students). I would say its a bit harder at UCR to get motivated since you're surrounded by friends that want to constantly party, play or waste time. I didn't do as well as i hoped my first quarter freshman year but i got my act together.</p>

<p>And trust me, the weekends are REALLY bad. What is "some bboy"?</p>

<p>Breakdance, and yes, i heard it's really bad....</p>

<p>Going to UCR is already bad for me, i messed up on the SATs and i should have choose undeclare for other colleges like what others did. Not that UCR is bad, it's just that the people around me are going to good colleges, and for being a competitive person that I am, I just don't feel too proud.</p>

<p>Don't feel bad, KaiDante. Most people who go to UCR really didn't want to go there either, but at least they have a positive attitude about it. Most of them don't really want or care to go to a university with a "name." Many of them are from the Inland Empire and come from hicktowns, and to them, UCR is prestigious! So once you go to UCR, you probably won't care that you "go to UCR." As long as you don't interact with people who know about the other UC's and know about UCR's reputation, you'll be fine. Hang in there.</p>

<p>909</p>

<p>Thanks Nine, I will keep a positive mind when I am there.</p>

<p>If you're not going to be happy at UCR then it would be a better idea to go to community college. Keep in mind though, that if you do go to a community college, you'll need to put a considerable amount more effort into your classes than you did in high school if you wanted to get into a better UC school, otherwise you could wind up at no UC school..</p>

<p>I disagree with the comments in this thread that UCR students aren't interested in studying, and I'm not sure where he gets that impression. From my experience, just about everyone in my dorm hall studies frequently. In fact, I have a 3.8 GPA, and my roommate has a 3.9. The study hall is always packed, so much so, that I've decided to only study in the libraries.</p>

<p>Is there anyway to bypass the santa monica college system and add a class without placing into it or not doing a prequesite for it</p>

<p>How easy is it usually to raise a GPA after first quarter?</p>

<p>I might get a few A- for fall and my GPA’s going to be around 3.8-9ish…</p>

<p>not that I believe I can get higher than a 3.9 by senior year, but because I’m bound to get a B sometime later in college - so I have to get my GPA as high as possible in the meantime to make up for it</p>

<p>It’s as easy as your classes are for that quarter.</p>

<p>Of course, UCR is your best choice. SMS is community college, it belongs to third level of public college. First, UC system, secon, CSU system, third, community college</p>