University of California - Irvine
Reviews

Drugs

Its college. Theres tons of alcohol. Many people smoke weed. Ecstasy is also popular.

At Night

Nightlife is good if you know where to look, or know people that know where to look.

Asian

the campus is filled with asians but they aren't difficult to get along with

Mediocre

You'll find a variety of people, but UCI is heavily populated with Asian males and females.

Typical Student Looks

As I walk around campus I notice how other students are dressed. The majority of students dress casually, but in very nice clothes. Most wear sandals, and jeans but in a very fashionable sense. I sense that most are very fashion conscious and careful to look good.

In the name of "diversity," true diversity has disappeared.

UCI has accepted an enormously disproportionate number of Asian and Asian-American students. In fact, less than 5% of the entering freshman class was of a race other than Asian. I've visited other local schools and none are as racially exclusive as UCI.

Academic Quality

The academic quality at UCI is excellent. The professors are experts in their field and are passionate in helping their students. There are a wide variety of subjects that are offered to students to help students find their interests. One negative would be the large class sizes.

All Southern California

What can I say? We get many cloudless and sunny days that are perfect for hitting the beach. Winter's not too cold and Spring weather is usually fantastic. It does get a little too hot over summer, however. But I suppose that can be remedied by a quick trip to the beach!

UCI Police/General Administrative Experiences

If you have had experiences with Irvine cops in general, you'll kind of begin to realize that such manners carry over to the UCI Police Department as well. It's not to say that all of these cops are bad people. However, a majority of them are clearly intent on upholding the clean 'Irvine' image.

I've personally had some unpleasant dealings with UCI's strict adherence to their administrative policies, especially when it comes to money. However, I've had some positive experiences such as having successfully contested multiple parking tickets.

It all comes down to you - if you mess up once in a while, you should float on alright. But if you're counting on the school being relaxed on its policies, then you're probably better off partying somewhere else.

Campus Safety

Considering Irvine is one of the safest cities in the nation its pretty self-explanatory. There really is not that much crime on campus, everyone seems to have come from a good background.

Many on Campus, Even More Across the Street

There are 3 on campus buffet type dining halls and a number of small dinners that offer tacos, burritos, pasta, salads, hamburgers and so much more. In the food court there is a Wendy's, Wahoo's Fish Tacos, Quizno’s, Panda Express, Jamaba Jucie and the Anthill Pub & Grill. Across the Street there is a Jack-In-The-Box, Taco Bell, Lee's Sandwiches, Del Taco, and In-N-Out

Great for All

Irvine is only minutes away from everything and anything you could want.It is surrounded by great shopping centers like South Coast Plaza and Irvine Spectrum. And if you like outdoor activities Crystal Cove offers some great hiking.

Soccer and Baseball at UCI

UCI has a great soccer team and a baseball team. A lot of students attend these games because they are pretty intense but also fun to watch.

VERY SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE

The line was very small. I had no problems with any paperwork. All of it came on time.

Financial Aid at UCI

I did not qualify for any of their scholarships so I did not recieve any financial aid.

Satisfied

I've received very good amount of financial aid this year and hopefully, the same goes for next year!

Good Weather in Irvine!

So-Cal weather is just the best isn't it? It's always either just plain sunny!

Pretty Okay

Everything is within reach and a car is nice to speed everything up, but students do not mind walking. And besides, walking promotes healthiness!

Awful and Horrible

It's really sad that you have to pay an outrageous price to park (in addition to tuition), and then have to deal with a very small parking lot. Student drivers are horrible and even worse when frustrated. Frustrated drivers go quickly when they can't find a spot. After you finally do find a spot, it's usually very far from class. It was terrible and often ruined my day.

White and Asian

The entire campus was mostly White and Asian-Americans. There was a lack of diversity, and this was reflected in the clubs and activities. These demographics did lead to there being stereotypes about the school.

Strong, Helpful but Impacted and Crowded

The academics that are offered at my school are very good. There are many help options available to students for all kinds of classes. They have tutoring centers, mentor programs, office hours and extra class help. One of the things that I disliked about the academic situation at my school were how big the classes were. Especially with budget cuts, professors are having very impacted lectures which makes it difficult to fully understand the concept of some classes. Also some of professors are using recent technology (such as powerpoints, etc.) as a crutch instead of engaging the students in the topics. But overall UCI has a strong academic background and very good networking for the future.

Money Leeches

I hate the parking situation. The campus tries to suck all of the remaining money we have from tuition through parking permits(too many different types) and parking tickets (which they try way to hard to give). There are about 7 different zones, which means 7 or more different permits (zones + options). The options are for if you are a professor, staff (yes these two are different), commuter(staff), commuter(student), resident(undergrad), resident(grad student), resident(professor), and of course visitor options(week, month, day, overnight, then pick a zone). The university purposely makes it difficult to understand so you're more likely to make a mistake on where you can park, then you'll get a ticket because you have the wrong permit in a zone the permit is not for during a time you can't park in that zone. For example, I have a resident parking permit for Campus village, which is marked for a brown R zone. After 5pm on weekdays and on all day on weekends I can park in any open lot. However, if I have an Arroyo Vista resident parking permit marked for a red AR zone. Then after 3pm on weekdays and after 5pm on weekdays I can park in any AR short-term lot on campus. It's too confusing and I have never received a ticket in my life, but on campus I have received a total of 7 tickets since I've had my car here, which has only been a year.

Academics

UCI has an excellent academic program that it is well supported by excellent staff of top notch professors and researchers.

Sports Are Not That Important

Sports at UCI are not as important when compared to UCLA or USC. We do have a great baseball team and some less popular sports. We are known for our academic performance rather than the athletic's.

People

The people in UC Irvine are really nice and welcoming. No one is really stuck up or anything. Everyone is interested in new things which I love!