<p>Simple question: why UCI?</p>
<p>Money is a huge problem, and UCI would be the best school for our budget since I live very close. However, I'm having trouble getting into the mindset about being excited to attend this school. I've heard all the complaints about it, but after poking around I realized they're not much to go on though. I've never heard anything positive about UCI and I'd love to hear any positive comments here..</p>
<p>why UCI? cause UCSD rejected me and USC has a letter with my name and rejected written all over it waiting on the desk of some adcoms desk</p>
<p>I would categorize that as a negative comment, so that's not particularly helpful ;)</p>
<p>I picked UC Irvine over Davis and Santa Barbara since I felt I would have a better chance at undergraduate research, especially with their Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program. Even though Davis and Santa Barbara probably had better rankings in math and physics (my majors), those only matter once you're in graduate schools, and graduate schools, if I recall, do consider the applicant's research experience and accomplishments.</p>
<p>I would love to get my name published on a research paper (either as an assistant or my own work) even though I did not yet earn my B.S degree :P</p>
<p>sorry, but honestly, i like uci because i got rejected everywhere else, and now im rejected from uci too. sighsighsgihsgih.</p>
<p>visited uci yesterday. campus is really nice.</p>
<p>@ BirdKiller: THANK YOU for actually responding to what I was asking for. Every little bit is helpful.</p>
<p>I think it's important to note that all UC's have undergraduate research opportunities.</p>
<p>Going along with what Birdkiller said, UCI has a really good Bioengineering program for undergrads. I know a girl who was accepted to UCLA, but chose UCI because of its program. UCI is also pretty big in the arts department, which kinda attracted me to it before. The campus is also relatively new, so the gym is reeeaally nice. Lol the student tour guide at UCSD kinda complained to us about UCI's state-of-the-art gym that barely beat out the one at UCSD. Umm like I mentioned before somewhere, the student tour guide at UCI said it was one of the safest cities in the nation. Hope that helps. :] I think the dorms are pretty nice too. People like UCI for its close proximity to shopping malls, restaurants, etc.</p>
<p>it has a nice campus and it's a safe city.</p>
<p>plus, I got rejected everywhere else...</p>
<p>I don't............Anymore...</p>
<p>lol it seems like irvine is every1's backup</p>
<p>
[quote]
I think it's important to note that all UC's have undergraduate research opportunities.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yup, sorry if I somewhat implied unintentionally that it was the only UC that offered undergraduate research. To me, UROP seemed to be the only formal program that I knew of. All other opportunities seemed to rely on ad-hoc methods by the students, at least to me right now until I get to junior year.</p>
<p>@ EdibleEgg: Thanks! I agree it's in a nice location. The flip side though is that I live here (haha) so that doesn't weigh too heavily on my list :P My father's niece turned down Stanford for UCI, but I can't tell if it's because she wanted to get away from home or if she really did like it better at UCI. Yeah, I heard the bio program is very good, so I'm hoping that will extend to the other science majors as well, hmm.</p>
<p>UC's are all good for science. It is a major strength of the UC system, so you should be in great shape.</p>
<p>I think UCI is one of the UC's that receive a lot of funding for their bio program. I didn't pay much attention to that, unfortunately, since that's unrelated to my major. All in all, I felt that UCI was pretty nice (clean too), but the adcom is now tainting my opinion. <em>sigh</em> Oh lol apparently there's a pretty large Asian population too, if that'll have any affect on your decision. </p>
<p>I was a little surprised to hear that UCI was socially dead, though, because it seemed pretty busy when I visited. The students there seemed to be having a good time and people were pretty friendly.</p>
<p>It's busy on weekdays of course, but during the weekends, I get some gitters of being the only student walking across a bridge (high traffic on weekdays) on a Sunday afternoon.</p>
<p>Half of the people that are in my dorm are either from the OC, LA, or San Diego, so most of them do leave during the weekends. If you're entering as a freshmen and going to house at Mesa Court, take note of the number of parked cars during the weekdays and weekends.</p>
<p>I rather liked the feel of a small campus with great acads when it came to UCI.... :)</p>
<p>And just a question, is it possible to switch majors once you've gotten in? I got into my first choice major. But now I am having doubts about it.</p>
<p>You could do it immediately if you attend SPOP or whatever that freshmen orienteering event is...if that major is in the same school as your current. If it's from a different school, I have no idea.</p>
<p>Once the school year begins, you have to complete a number of courses and maintain a minimum GPA to change or add major. </p>
<p>Oh. I got into Civil Engineering. But then, now I am swaying a bit more towards Bioengineering. I am not very sure if I will be able to attend Campus Preview. But Orientation is sometime in June/July right? Before the Placements and stuff?</p>
<p>June - August, maybe September. Placement tests can be taken during this period or the week when the school year begins I believe. Check the respective websites and make your reservations.</p>