Uci

[hapoo]

Well, UCI finally decided to get off their sorry asses and let me know i got in. I found out on Oct 15, the same day that i was supposed to let all my choices know which University I decided to go to. But i found out in enough time to extend my deadline.

So i'll repeat my question. What do you guys think about UCI? I know some of you go there. What do you like/hate about it? Whats the overall mood like?

I'm going to try and go there on Friday and take a tour. BTW my major is Computer Science. Thanks guys :)

[ufcrusher]

Uci = University of California Irvine?

Also what other schools did you apply to? If you are asking people which school they would recommend, then you should supply a bunch of other information.

Also, other things you should consider is whether or not you are a traditional or non-traditional student? What are your prioritites in terms of your education? Do you want just a good education or are you looking for primarily a good time or a mixture of both?

Just wondering

[hapoo]

Originally posted by ufcrusher
Uci = University of California Irvine?

Also what other schools did you apply to? If you are asking people which school they would recommend, then you should supply a bunch of other information.

Also, other things you should consider is whether or not you are a traditional or non-traditional student? What are your prioritites in terms of your education? Do you want just a good education or are you looking for primarily a good time or a mixture of both?

Just wondering


Sure :)

UCI does = University of California Irvine

I pretty much have 3 choices since since not all schools would let me apply for winter quarter:
1. UCI
2. UCSC
3. Wait and reapply for next fall

I'd rather not wait unless theres a good reason i shouldn't go to either school.

As for my priorities, the most important thing for me is that i get a good education. I'm 95% sure i want to continue my education after i get my BS so the quality of education is important to me. Having a good time would be nice but i'm really not that concerned about it.

[Dave_7]

Have you ever taken a "break" from school? Like taken a semester off, or something like that?

If not... then I'd suggest NOT taking a break now. It can be INCREDIBLY tough to get back into the schooling mood/attitude.

And if you don't like UCI... you could always transfer to another UC after a quarter or two.






Dave.

[ufcrusher]

Well I dont know anyone who goes to UCI but my younger sister went to Santa Cruz. She absolutely loves it. She thinks the education is top notch and she has a great time to boot. From what she says there is more than a bit of partying that goes on there, in both alcohol and greenage. From the sound of it, probably a bit more open on the greenage than other schools.


Now on a side note, there is absolutely no apartments up there at a reasonable price. There is a BIG housing shortage, with some students actually just living in the woods and bathing at campus facilities.

I know that when I picked my schools, I went through the course catalog and checked that the courses I wanted or needed were offered. Once I whittled it down to the schools that offered the courses, I went by name recognition (prestige and just everyones opinion, plus ranking) and location.

So those are the things I would look at. I hope that helps.

[hapoo]

Dave_7: nope, haven't taken a break yet

ufcrusher: thanks, i'll take that into consideration!

[epoxi]

ah the good 'ol university of Civics and Integras, or as some would like to put it university of Chinese immigrants. The demography of irvine is made up of rich old ppl =) so if it doesnt piss you of seeing M3s, M5s, Nsx's everyday, I'm sure you'll find the location of uci very comforting and relaxing. You must already know that the school is around 60% asian? but it seems more like 95% when you walk around.

Education-wise, it's what you make of it. I feel that it isnt impressively great, maybe it's just the standards that i go by. If you have a passion for a higher education, uci is a good place to start if you use all the resources they provide. The GE requirements can be taken care of within a year and a half, assuming you finished 4 years of language in HS.

With the gobs of incoming freshmens, i dont want to imagine the difficulty of obtaining a computer to work on at the Lab. They're computer labs are hardly enough for the amount of ics majors here. Of course not everybody is going to work on a lab project in the labs, but when crunch time comes to copy the labs into the teachers electronic drop boxes...... Some teachers have the option of remotely submitting it which is nice.

if you're an ics major, you'll start off with the 20 series, eg: ics21,22,23. As of last year they opted out for C++ and have turned ics21 into java. 22-23 has always been java before. so you'll get 3 quarters worth. Of the teachers teaching the 20 series, i think Thornton is the well versed one, not that he's more intelligent than the other veteran prof, its just that he's more lucid and more 'hip,' for lack of words, than the other older teachers.

note: when you work on your programs, dont copy and dont let people copy. uci adopted a program, originally created by ucb, that compares every submitted program to each other and to previously turned in programs. if the similarity is strikingly similar, you'll get a nice email from your professor, and you've just been "mossed." all too common. 1st offense = "0" for the project. 2nd offense = "f" in the class with no option to drop out of the class....i know from past experience
:heh:

uci is also Under Construction Indefinately. apparently, uci can build many dorm structures with out complementing it with more parking space, infact the new dorms are built ontop of parking lots. So you can look forward to near impossible parking conditions, no joke.

hope that helped

[Sir_Froggy]

Originally posted by ufcrusher
Uci = University of California Irvine?

*snip*

nope UCI = University of Chinese Immigrants :P

but seriously there are so many asian people at that school. my friend goes there and in the cafeteria, instead of like ketchup and mustard, there is like fish sauce and that one chili sauce with the rooster on it. yea but i think it'd be a good college to go to, hope to go there or UCSD someday....

[epoxi]

if it wasnt lucid ICS = Information and Computer Science for those that didnt know.

also, the teachers on strike is drawing much attention from abc and cbs.

[Dave_7]

Originally posted by hapoo
Dave_7: nope, haven't taken a break yet



I'd check out UCI and if you like it, at least some, dig a little deeper and see which courses are FULLY transferrable to the other UC's that you're interested in attending... and then start out by taking those courses. So if you'd rather not stay after a quarter or a year... you wouldn't have wasted your time.

UCI is a cool place. Very true, though, lots of Asian folks. But hey, my fiancée is Chinese, so maybe I don't notice it, so much.

When I'd visit friends at UCI, we'd play the ever-popular, "Spot-the-White-Guy" game (which is tougher than you might think) :P . But I'm sure you'll be able to find whatever kind of group you want to hang out with.

And I like Orange County... but, that's just me. And, after all, what do I know... I went to a *gasp* Cal State :P







Dave.

[raimin]

i went to ucsc, and would recommend it in a heartbeat. I have to agree that the education is top notch, the partying is not much different from most other schools, and the herbage is plentiful.

[JustAPotato]

Hapoo~~* congrats~* :)

[hapoo]

Originally posted by JustAPotato
Hapoo~~* congrats~* :)



Thank you :D



I actually got my UCI packet in the mail today (I found out on the 15th through their web page). I found out i was accepted for "Computer Engineering" at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering not for "Computer Science" at the school of Information and Computer Science. It was my second major option, and even though i kinda feel weird going to CE, i don't think it'll be THAT much different.

[avlena]

Originally posted by hapoo

I found out i was accepted for "Computer Engineering" at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering not for "Computer Science" at the school of Information and Computer Science. It was my second major option, and even though i kinda feel weird going to CE, i don't think it'll be THAT much different.

It is. One of the defining features of the UCI CS dept (soon to be school! yay! with any luck i'll be the first graduating class of the first UC School of CS!) is that it has a strong emphasis on software. it's rare that hardware ever enters into the course material. versus being a Computer Engineering major where you learn a teensy bit of programming and software, and tons about hardware.

*shrug* i know quite a few CE majors who accidentally chose the wrong major as a freshman, didn't realize how different it was, and now they're kicking themselves cause they really hate hardware. Of course, there's always doing the CE major and getting the ICS minor... that seems to work for some people!

Congrats btw!!

[hapoo]

Originally posted by avlena


It is. One of the defining features of the UCI CS dept (soon to be school! yay! with any luck i'll be the first graduating class of the first UC School of CS!) is that it has a strong emphasis on software. it's rare that hardware ever enters into the course material. versus being a Computer Engineering major where you learn a teensy bit of programming and software, and tons about hardware.

*shrug* i know quite a few CE majors who accidentally chose the wrong major as a freshman, didn't realize how different it was, and now they're kicking themselves cause they really hate hardware. Of course, there's always doing the CE major and getting the ICS minor... that seems to work for some people!

Congrats btw!!


Thanks


Hmm, i was kinda afraid of that actually. They included a form along with my acceptance letter that says what i can do in order to switch majors to CS.
If you don't mind, could you let me know what classes these are?
ICS 21, 22, 23
and math ICS 6A
It basically says i have to get 3.0+ in those classes to be elligible for a petition to change majors.


I'll be stopping by tomorrow at around 12 to check out the campus. (If i can wake up!) :D

[avlena]

Originally posted by hapoo

If you don't mind, could you let me know what classes these are?
ICS 21, 22, 23 and math ICS 6A. It basically says i have to get 3.0+ in those classes to be elligible for a petition to change majors.


ICS 21-22-23 are the intro programming courses... all in Java, starting from scratch. 21 is just intro, 22 introduces you to different search algorithms and stuff like O-notation, and 23 is data structures like queues, trees, etc. 21 was a big shock for me, since i had no knowledge of comps whatsoever outside word processing and playing in the chatrooms. plus, i had this hard a** teacher that prided himself on "weeding out" those he felt couldn't hack it... But, if you can make it past 21, the other two aren't so bad. *shrug* my opinion anyway.

as for math 6a... bloody a i'm glad i never have to take that class again! :heh: it's not that it's hard per se... it's just a type of math that you've probably never encountered before, so it's hard to switch your way of thinking. stuff like probability, combinations, and proofs...lots and lots of proofs. (keep in mind btw, that the ICS major will get you a few classes short of a double major in math... few people like it, but we all have to tolerate it!)

over all, the intro ICS classes are fairly difficult, especially compared to stuff like Soc 1. but, most people get through them, and i doubt they're that much harder then intro to CE! :-p plus, u can always try taking them over again for a better grade if you flunk! lol

hope i helped some!

[ArkiStan]

DAMN! Congrats, Hapoo on getting into SO MANY schools!! You don't know what a wonderful dilemma it is to be able to actually choose which school youwant to go to. And may I say "Welcome to the UC system!!" :D I don't know if you remember, but my old screenname had "UC" in it! :P One of my best friends went to UCI so I visited the area often. I'm sure you've already been there, but it's a farely new city so everything is modern and clean, including the campus; a very pleasant place I must say. And if I remember correctly, you live in the SoCal area, so Irvine might be perfect for you in that it's far enough from home that you can move out into your own place and enjoy the bachelor life, while being close enough to go home rather quickly when you need to. I'd recommend it!!

[hapoo]

Thank you ArkiStan! :)


I actually visited the campus on friday and i really liked it. It seemed like a place i could picture myself going to. Its about 2 hours away from my house so yeah, i'll definately be moving there. Would be nice to get on campus housing but there seems to be a LONG waiting list. I kinda wish the campus was a tad more diverse but its all good, just a new experience. My best friend lived in irvine before he moved off to college so i'm kinda familiar with the woodbrigde area which is always a plus. Its going to be kinda hard getting used to living far from home in a place i'm not too familiar with and without friends but i'm looking forward to it.

You went to berkeley right? Man i wish i could have gone there, but I have so much school left i don't think it makes a difference.

[Sir_Froggy]

hmm....you are entering college? i thought you would be older, as seeing how you have been here so long...

[hapoo]

Originally posted by Sir_Froggy
hmm....you are entering college? i thought you would be older, as seeing how you have been here so long...


i'm transfering to a university.