So I’m deciding between UC irvine and a few other schools and i was genuinely curious what public and private universities UC Irvine is on par with?
It’s on par with whatever you want it to be - and I’d focus more on cost and desirability - what do you desire from a cost or size or urban/rural pov.
Certain schools are maybe better at certain majors. For example, if you were interested in Supply Chain, Arizona State or Michigan State would be considered superior - even though US News would say they are much lower ranked overall.
If you got a $20K deal at Alabama or Mississippi State, which would be more affordable for you, it can be like.
So anyone can say anything is like.
But - if you wanted to do what most do, which is to use US News, it’s #32, tied with Georgia Tech, NYU, UCD, just ahead of BC, Illinois, Tufts, and WIsconsin and just behind UF and UT Austin.
But that’s over simplistic.
It’s a fine school but given its location (so close to population centers), it has a reputation, whether still true or not, that many go home on weekends - so it might be a quieter campus.
Make the decision based on which school is best for you. Many choose safeties over reaches every day. Both my kids did. If another school is right for you (including affordability), no one will care that you gave up UCI.
Best of luck.
It would be a lot more productive to reveal what your other options are, vs. asking folks to play a guessing game and name peer schools that you may or may not have applied to.
Also, tell us what you perceive the pros and cons of Irvine vs. your other options to be.
Then we’ll know something about what you’re looking for, and we can help you determine which option covers the bases best.
5 Likes
UC Irvine, is very well-regarded, as are other UC‘s, in the state of California with employers. I don’t understand the question and the issue. Are you an international student?
I agree it isn’t necessarily an important question, but since you asked . . . .
Irvine is a very good public research university. There are a lot of other public universities I would consider in a broadly similar peer group (to their mutual credit). Just to name a few, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, and Pitt, say. Obviously they all have their relative strengths.
In terms of private research universities, those are harder to compare. But I would be thinking places like Brandeis, Boston University, George Washington, and RPI. Again, each with different relative strengths.
Naming peer schools is always debatable, and people will disagree (as I do in this case). Regardless, I don’t see how this exercise is helpful to the OP. As @aquapt said above, they should instead list the other schools they’re comparing UCI against so we can provide a more helpful response.
2 Likes
From The Chronicle of Higher Education, the schools in this image below selected UCI as a peer school. UCI did not themselves submit a list of peer schools.
https://www.chronicle.com/article/who-does-your-college-think-its-peers-are?sra=true#id=110653
3 Likes
UC Irvine is a very fine school. More important to assess the best fit for you including academics, social fit, affordability and anything else you care about (for example location, size, presence of Greek Life, big time sports, etc.)
3 Likes
How would you compare it with a list of schools like University of Washington, UF, UT, UCSD, etc…?
Very different than the first three; more similar to UCSD.
Why do I say this?
The first three are big athletic powerhouses - and that’s a big part of the community, versus the quieter types.
Listen, you will go to UCI and work for someone from Cal State Dominguez Hills or UNLV, etc.
There’s no rank that says - anyone from UCI will do better than anyone from U of Arizona who will do better than anyone from U New Mexico.
You need to figure out who has what that works for you, starting from affordability.
All five names, including UCI, are fine names…but different in environment (UW is in city but off downtown, UT is smack in the city, UF is in a small city, etc.), weather. Will you get home sick? Things like this.
But it’s like picking gas at Shell vs. Texaco vs. Mobile, etc.
They’re all solid.
I guess in terms of general prestige, is uci behind those schools?
Again - these are silly questions. Prestige isn’t a real thing.
Some would say UT is most. Others UW. Others UF. And others the UCs.
They are all fine schools - all well respected perhaps in some cases with different strengths.
Listen, you can have schools with prestige - look at Indiana business school which many consider top 10. Yet, if you’re a marketing major, you know who pays more - U of Alabama. You know who are the top supply chain schools - ASU and Michigan State.
But none of it means anything.
They are all equal - seriously - and this is the last reason you choose a school. And prestige - which is a made up term and means different things to different people - does not necessarily parlay into a job.
Which school can you afford and of these do you prefer?
That’s all that matters here.
Increasingly prestigious among the boarding school crowd. Considered one of the better UCs.
Are you a transfer student? If you’re a first-year applicant, you must have decided by now… if this is a serious thread at all, which remains wholly unclear.
Not quite sure what you are after here. If you want a “list” you can look at USNWR ranking which has UCSD, UF and UT a little ahead of UCI and a UDub a little behind, but they’re all pretty much in the same ballpark. There are obviously issues with rankings lists but are they worse than asking random anonymous people on the internet what their subjective and possibly biased impressions of colleges are?
The University of California, Irvine is a very good university.
Suppose that I was on a job, was looking to hire someone, and I saw resumes from someone from U of Washington, someone from U. of Florida, someone from U. of Toronto, someone from UCI, and someone from UCSD. I really would not think about the difference between these schools. I would look at other factors. I did happen to work in an area (at least roughly) where all of these schools are very good, and it would not have been a surprise at all to see someone with a degree from any of these schools.
Suppose that a daughter had been accepted to all of these schools. The “prestige” or ranking of the university would not matter to me at all. Again I would look at other factors.
And I could add at least 100 other colleges and universities into the list and say the same thing.
Now, does this mean that UCI would be a good fit for you? I do not know. I do not know your intended major. I do not know what you want in a school. I do not know what each school would cost you.
However, one thing that might be worth saying: Suppose that you have been accepted to all five of these schools. Suppose that you are in-state in California and UCI is less expensive, closer to home, and otherwise a good fit. Then I be quite likely to choose it (presumably if you are in-state for UCI you are also in-state for UCSD, so cost might not matter between these two schools, and to me “reputation” and “ranking” would not matter either). In terms of the quality of the education or the reputation for purposes of applying to jobs or reputation in terms of applying to graduate programs, I would not be concerned at all. You have named five very good universities.
MANY years ago when I was applying to graduate programs my father was trying to convince me to apply to UCI and to Stanford. That might give you a hint regarding what at least one person once thought of the school (I did end up at Stanford – both of these schools had very good programs in what I ended up studying for my masters).