University of California--Irvine | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

Tate

Class: Junior
Major: Anthropology
Gender: F

High School: Bear River
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

My favorite thing about UCI is being close to Newport, Laguna, Corona del Mar, etc. I lived off campus my 2nd year in Costa Mesa and rode my bike to the beach when i didn«t have school. Something I would like to see changes in is the counseling.. everytime I go in to ask questions I feel like I get general answers, nothing too specific to my situation and that they dont really care.. I guess it«s hard to with so many students but it feels too impersonal. Not so much a college town except for the off campus housing around the campus. Another great thing about our school is that we have an AMAZING gym. The ARC is big, has everything you need from yoga and other classes to a lot of basketball courts, indoor and outdoor, a pool, indoor track, rock climbing wall, machines, etc. Sometimes it is hard to take advantage of when you live farther off campus but totally worth it and better then the 24hr across the street. There is good food options right around campus and now there are more on campus. I am studying abroad for my Junior year but I hear the Student Center is great. Speaking of studying abroad, the CIE office has a lot to offer although there are some issues with communication but, definitely study abroad.. I had to have a good GPA to leave for a year and when I was a little short, they worked with me and helped make it possible to go to Spain for the whole academic year. Ring Road is great, easy to get to classes, and I like the booths always set up and the events they have for students.. One thing that bothers me is they outlawed bikes on ring road because, rumor has it, the Dean got hit.. Well that is a lame excuse and now they give tickets out and actually have people enforcing it. I wouldn«t say there is an extreme amount of school pride, but we can«t all be USC right? I do wish we had more focus on sports and supporting our athletic teams because sporting events always create more school pride, maybe it«s because our baseball team and volleyball team are the only ones known, oh well, you should still go to the baseball games, they are fun, we are good and the field is beautiful. The Greek system is pretty big, although I am not into it at all because personally a lot of the frat and sorority students are so wrapped up in the Who«s Who and its really lame, especially their parties. I haven«t had too many issues with the Administration, and after switching majors from Humanities to Social Science, the SS faculty was very welcoming and I continue to get loads and loads of emails with updates, events and anything related to Social Sciences. I plan on getting more involved my 4th year, I do suggest that of everyone. There are more clubs then you know and I am eager to do so. It will be hard returning to Irvine after being in Barcelona for a while, but hopefully I can find more diverse opportunities when I do so.

Academic Life

I changed my major to Anthropology because there are so many interesting classes. I did just find out that UCI has the highest requirement of General Ed classes in California which sucks because I feel like half of my classes have been pointless busy and tedious work for nothing. I would like to take a bigger variety of classes within my major instead of something I am doing just to satisfy the state. Students are competitive in certain majors, School of Social Sciences, not so much, and I have made a lot of friends in my classes. I do not spend a lot of time with my Professors outside of class, only when necessary but I am sure they are willing to help. I would say some majors are geared toward getting a job, Anthropology not so much, although I receieve a LOT of emails with opportunities for internships, jobs, etc. My favorite class that I«ve taken is what made me change my major to Anthro, but that is soley because of the teacher and I don«t know if he still teaches. Anthro 2D was very interesting but Professor Boelstorff was equally incredible. Anthropology offers a LOT of different classes and encourages students to study abroad and I now have the travel bug which will make my Anthro degree and future a lot more interesting. I am not sure how much research I would like to do, (most majors at UCI are research based) but I definitely want to travel and see the world and study other cultures. Class participation is somewhat weak, I«m not much of a talker but there is always that one student that will dominate, just like highschool. But I have learned that you should always say what you feel, you learn so much from other people«s opinions.

Student Body

I don«t think there is any student out of place, there is definitely a mixed culture, and more then just the stereotype of Asians. Not just cultural/race differences, but sexual differences as well and a variety of clubs for different interests. Four tables of students at dining hall would be, Asians, Middle Easterns, Greeks, Others. I think that the students for the most part are politically active, there are always events, guest speakers and political movement issues and demonstrations happening on ring road. I love it that finally we can all speak our mind, we were so censured and limited in High School but we are older, wiser, learning and growing and no better way to do all of those things then with a huge mix of people with different stories. I don«t know what everyone«s financial backgrounds are, that is a useless question. Oh and back to the political atmosphere, I would say the campus is more liberal then the actual city of Irvine (Orange County...most republic in the state) but remember we«re still in Orange County...