Hi all! Original poster here. My D25 is about to head back to UCI for her second year, so I’m doing as promised and circling back to give an update about her impressions about UCI. She can’t wait to go back in a couple of weeks to see her friends. I asked her what people should know about UCI. Here are her responses, followed by some of my observations as a parent:
-It’s a “chill” campus. There’s a huge grassy park in the center of campus that’s used for events, hanging out, etc. It’s honestly a much prettier campus nature wise than I (mom) had expected it to be. It’s lovely, the weather is pretty perfect if you like sunny and ~70 degrees almost the entire school year. It’s fifteen minutes to the beach, and kids take advantage of this.
-Kids are academic, but not competitive.
-Her roommate did go home on weekends, but none of her other friends did. I point this out because I know UCI has a “commuter” reputation, but I think things have changed over time. My kid was involved in a club that got together on Friday nights, and she didn’t find that people weren’t coming because they were headed home.
-The weekend vibe is quieter than during the week. D25 says, “Mom, you hang out with your friends.” Her knowledge of Asian cuisine skyrocketed this year (everything from Hotpot to Japanese Curry to Korean BBQ to sushi), and I choose not to think about her investment in boba tea. While she did head to the occasional volleyball or hockey game to chant “Zot! Zot!” with friends, she spent more time hanging out with friends–watching movies, playing games, dorm parties, or exploring the various eateries, thrift shops, and farmers markets locally–than she did with organized school events on weekends. Mom note: I feel like the fact that through this year “all” sophomores lived in apartments that seem to be a ~25 minute walk from where her frosh dorm was affects the weekend activity level on campus. (And housing is not guaranteed after sophomore year, so most students beyond 2nd year do not live on campus.) My understanding is that as of next year they are allowing sophomores to stay in the dorms, so maybe this will change over time.
-This is not a party school. Yes, you can find alcohol like you can at any college. But D25 kidded just now, “I like that I wasn’t surrounded by debauchery.” There is a Greek system, and I think there are more parties through it, but D25 was not interested in pursuing Greek life. (Her friends that are not Greek still acquired alcohol when desired. I asked no follow up questions there.)
-Sections/Discussions, when offered, were small (her writing class section was 20 kids). Lectures were at least 100 kids, sometimes significantly more. Interestingly enough, for my kid that early in her college process thought she was going to prioritize small classes, this has been a non-issue. She doesn’t mind the big lectures, liked her sections/discussions, went to office hours for at least some classes, and feels like she is learning and growing. To be fair, it also probably helps that one of her majors is dance, where classes are smaller and she knows all of her profs well. So when her GEs are huge, it doesn’t faze her.
-She loves it there. Watching her this year, she jumped right in: joined a faith group, ran for an elected position in her major’s student council group, auditioned for club and other performance opportunities for dance, etc. She would recommend joining clubs, because it is a big school and you have to make it smaller to find your people.
I’m happy to answer any questions people have about UCI either now or in the future. Until then, zot! Zot! Zot!