It's March 24, 2008, 11:37 PM here in San Jose.
I've been accepted into UCIrvine, UCLA, and UCSD: Muir.
My majors are Biological Studies, Biochemistry, and Biochemistry, respectively. (I think? Haha)

They're all really good schools.
And they all seem to be extremely beautiful.
And they're all down south, far far away from home.
(I'm still waiting for UCBerkeley's acceptance/rejection letter,
but I highly doubt I'd go there, even if accepted.)

My biggest concern at this point is the people.
What are the people like in each UC?
I've heard that UCLA people are shallow.
I've heard that UCSD people are too into their studies.
I've heard nothing about UCI people.

What's really up? I hope some of you college kids can help contribute so I can make a better decision.
The people I expect to meet at college are going to make a big difference in my decision.
I perform according to how well I get along with the people around me.
I've attempted working with people I couldn't really agree with, and I fail x1013068913068.

Please and thank you! (:

whoa whoa... chill out mate.


My advice is to visit them ALL.
I was down to 2 choices and went to both. I decided on the one I felt most comfortable with.

UCI: a huge asian population... so if you're comfortable with asians and you prefer being around them a lot... then it's not a bad choice. (: my friend who goes there really hated it first quarter, but she now she loves it more and more after she got to know more people. their system seems kind of different from UCSD's so i don't really know how academics work out. there seems to be a lack of a party scene there, if you seem to be into that kind of stuff. hahaha. but i don't really know whether that's true myself. just from what i hear. haha.

UCLA: you're going to meet a really big variety of people, that's most definitely. my friend knows a lot of quirky but brilliant people that go there. hahaha. but anyway, it's a HUGE campus with lots of people so if you're down with that, you should go for it. classes are definitely more competitive. expect your grades to drop much lower than what you usually expect in high school. don't know about the party scene though. heard they're very strict with some things.

UCSD: i go there, so i should know a little more about this university. first of all, there are six colleges, which makes it SO easy to meet people in your own college (or rather, the college where you reside in-- there are students from other colleges living in revelle). it's a suite-style rather than dormitory hall style, so even easier to get closer to your suitemates. academics aren't that hard, especially since you're in muir. your GEs are rather nonexistent. hahahahaha. if you try really hard, you might just graduate early if you're a non-science major. but since you're biochem major, you'll have to take the chem 6 series and perhaps the math 20 series. stuff like that. you just need to look up the recommended courses. overall, academics aren't as hard as UCLA as long as you study and keep up with things. party scene: UCSD = University of the Socially Dead. hahaha. no frat rows and such, so there are just smaller parties going on. you'll be able to find things to do here though. we're near SDSU and they seem to know how to throw a good party. oh, and--there are six colleges, and every year every college throws their own semi-formals and they're really fun. other than that, UCSD is a healthy medium of fun and studying, and you'll have fun here as long as you're outgoing and friendly. (:

hopefully there are people from UCI or UCLA that can tell you more about their own college because i feel like a walking advertisement for SD. hahaha. :x

In regards to UCLA, I wouldn't really rely on the stereotype that it's shallow and base my decision off that. There is a large diversity here and if there are certain people you click with you will most likely find them if you look. If you want to party, there are partiers. If you want to study, there are studiers. If you want to do both, there are people who do both. I've met tons of awesome people and not so awesome people. But you'll get that everywhere. It depends on you but whatever type of people you click with I'm sure you'll find them here.

The campus is gorgeous but there is a lot of walking. The upside to that is that you get to avoid the freshman 15, most of the time hehe.

Westwood has plenty of yummy food places and if you want to shop or go to the beach it's only a bus ride away.

We also have dining halls and some mini restaurant things such as:
Crossroads - burgers/shakes/fries
Bruincafe - Sandwiches/coffee/tea/smoothies/cereal etc etc
Rendezvous - Mexican food and asian food
Puzzles - pizza/burgers/fries/haagen daez (sp?) ice cream

Mmm sleepy. PM me if you have questions or anything. But I really would recommend visiting each campus if you can. Kuku's right - you should pick whichever one you feel most comfortable in. I was kind of like that too - I got lucky though and picked a school I felt at home in once I got there. My final decision was between sd and la b/c berkeley was too far and irvine wayyy too close. I didn't get a chance to visit LA, but I did visit SD and I felt instantly that it wasn't the place for me. Maybe for grad school or something, but it wasn't an environment that I could imagine myself being in for undergrad. So very lucky with LA considering that I never visited. But yes, definitely visit each school if you can. The atmosphere brings a huge difference o.o

Ahh, thank you guys. As for UCI, who goes there? What's it like?
I need some people's input as I can't visit any of the colleges until late April. >_>

Mmm...I have a couple of friends who go to UCI.

It's...asian. lol Lots and lots of asians. :]

The science library is very nice though. I'm quite jealous. Very very nice there. You will like that library. At least I like it, it's modern and there are many study rooms and tables. There are also areas that have glass windows to the floor and you can look outside and feel the sun coming in. Absolutely amazing, but it gets really hot fast if the weather is sunny that day.

And there's a lot of greenery too. Lots of it. o_o

There's a theater nearby, as well as an in and out and jack in the box. I think there's a lee's sandwiches there too and some other stuff. You have to cross the street for those. Food is kind of inconvenient b/c you have to pay for it. (er scratch that part my friend just informed me he got swiped o_o although I'm not sure how it works there) At UCLA you have a swiping system which is awesome b/c if you get premiere you can swipe other people in and the like if your family ever decides to visit.

Parking there is a pain from what I hear b/c my friends get parking far away from their classes.

The campus is a circle I believe so in the middle of the circle is greenery and the outside is buildings.

I think they're getting a bowling alley too and they have a large gym?

Correct me if I'm wrong someone. I'm just trying to recall things my friends told me.

The things I liked about UCI the few times I visited were the buildings and the greenery. .

If you're going for a pretty campus with lots of things to do nearby though - UCLA is your best bet. You can walk or bus anywhere, whereas at UCI and UCSD you kind of need a car, at least for UCI I'm pretty sure you do.

But for UCI - the people. Mmm...lots of my high school friends go there. They are mostly asian and are mostly majoring in the sciences. It's pretty competitive because my friend told me that out of all the asians he knows there (and he knows a lot of people) many are bio majors. Lots are going for prepharm and such, but you'll find that at LA too. I think it's just a taddd more visible at UCI b/c it's known as the university of chinese immigrants.

Anyone from UCI can correct me on any of this - this is just from my personal observation and recollections o_o

Hope that helps a little ;

I don't know if you saw this thread - but I think it'll help give you a better overview of UCI :]

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=203810