I’m able to commute by car to UCR for 20-30 minutes, but I would have to take a 2 hour train route to UCI. I don’t plan on dorming or relocating regardless of where I go. I have not gotten my financial aid package from UCI.
Net Price:
UCR: $36,117
UCI: estimated to be $35,938
I do qualify for financial aid.
Major:
UCR: Computer Engineering, switched from Undeclared/Humanities
UCI: Engineering/Undeclared, aiming for Computer Science & Engineering
Post-Graduation Goals:
I want to hopefully become a game developer or break into the video game industry. I know UCI has a specific major for game design, but I’m hoping to get a degree in computer science or engineering that is broad enough so I can apply it to as many fields as possible.
Preferences:
My parents are fine with both forms of commuting. I don’t care much for the food or location (I grew up in the Inland Empire, I know the whole “safety” disparity between both universities), my main concerns are:
Good Professors: Professors that are accessible through office hours, email, or any other forms of communication. Preferably if they care about the material. I’ve heard from my teachers that attended UCR that they have some amazing professors, but I don’t know about their Computer Engineering professors.
Clubs: I see that both universities have game development-focused clubs, and I want to try and have some form of social life and networking so I can build my skills and stand out from other CSE students when applying for internships and jobs. Commuting should play a factor in this, since the earliest I can leave is 5AM to get to UCI and the latest I can stay is 5PM to get home.
Minor Programs: I may or may not commit to this, but I was thinking of getting a minor related to health or medicine since I do want some knowledge so I can take care of my parents. Any additional information on minors and what I can do with them would be helpful; I’m also considering accounting, management, and creative writing.
Right now, I’ve been considering UCI. I’ve heard it has a lot more connections to tech companies compared to UCR. A friend of mine has suggested UCI to me since her uncle graduated from there. My counselor has suggested UCR because of its financial aid and closer location. I don’t have a dream school. My family and I are going to visit UCI on April 18th, which is the Celebrate UCI day to check out the school. My parents don’t care which of the two I go to.
UCR and it’s not close assuming you have a car. If you live in the Inland Empire, getting to UCI will just be too difficult, as you note.
Life should not have a 4 hr daily commute. It’s not safe. It’s not productive.
That UCI fits better is not of importance in this case.
Btw the ‘celebrate’ days are sales pitches. Many have great activities but know them for what they are. If you want to see how the school really is, go for a tour on a regular day. You can also make academic appointments etc
Tech moves fast. What is today may not be tomorrow. But the issue here is merely transport time it’s simply not feasible to go to UCI both ways (2x a day). There’s study groups, weekend things and more.
The UCI commute of two hours each way seems unreasonable, even on a train (where you can rest or study instead of driving a car). UCI would mainly be realistic if you live on or near campus (if UCI FA for living on campus gives a competitive net price, would you live on campus?).
Regarding major, is your change to computer engineering confirmed at UCR?
I do not have any idea how hard it is to switch from undeclared to CSE at UCI. @Gumbymom can help with this.
S22 is graduating this quarter from UCR and has had an excellent experience with his professors who teach introductory CS classes there.
I do not think getting into a niche field like game design should be part of the decision as the industry is very cyclical. Look at epic games and their announcement this week.
I still wouldn’t live on campus since I hinted at in my post above, that I need to take care of my parents. They’re pretty old and retiring soon, and I do plan on getting a job so I can slowly take over the household in my dad’s stead.
I saw the criteria for changing into CSE (thanks to @ucbalumnus ) and even though it seems like I do get priority for choosing courses in line with the engineering requirements (Math 2A + Physics 7C), the risk would be getting those courses right off the bat.
Thank you for the heads up on the industry right now.
More reason you need to be closer to home. College is not just attending class. There is more. Weekends. Long days for clubs or study groups or maybe two trips a day to school.
The whole two-hours-from-home thing is simply not practical at all. Not in terms of being there for your parents. Not in terms of being able to take advantage of what your college offers. Not in any way. It doesn’t matter where somebody’s uncle went. Your life has to add up. You have to have enough hours in the day to devote to your classes, your family, getting involved in extracurriculars, getting enough sleep, and having a social life. The only way that happens is if your school is within a sane commute radius.
Riverside is an excellent school. (CPP is good too, if it’s closer and/or cheaper, but it sounds like you’ve already narrowed down to UCR as the nearby choice.) There are so many great things you could do with the 3 hrs/day you won’t have to spend on a ridiculous commute. Staying within a practical distance of home is the only reasonable choice.
Four hours of commuting would reduce the amount of time you could spend assisting your parents. It would also make it impractical to come home from a morning class and then return to campus for an afternoon class.