University of California-Irvine Top Questions

The school is populated with the majority (43{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}) of the school being of asian background. There is plenty of a social life at UCI. The problem is students are not very actively involved with the school. Coming from a high school that had a lot of pride, UCI shows no pride in itself. The students themselves make fun of their own school. Not enough people go to sporting events or any events held at the school.

There are definitely some hits and misses. UCI does have a good academic reputation and in comparison to the other schools in the UC-system, is not as exciting. This is not to say that that the school is inactive. Like any other school, there are pockets of mass activity. Halfway through my freshman year, I discovered that there was a pretty large party scene, though they mostly took place off-campus, mostly in nearby Newport Beach. That?s the thing about Irvine, the city itself is not that exciting, but since Southern California is full of commuters, much of the excitement can take place pretty much anywhere. Regarding the political scene, UCI as a whole tends to be politically-apathetic but the students that are active are very visible on-campus and make their presence known in the area surrounding the student center. Controversy tends to remain low but it happens. I remember driving on the freeway one day and being surprised to hear a mention of UCI in an NPR newscast. This was back in 2006 when the UCI College Republicans displayed the controversial Muhammad cartoons at a campus forum on Islamic extremists. Of course, there was a lot of outcry from Muslim students. Regarding the Asian stereotype, coming from a mixed background that includes an Asian heritage, hearing the racial comments can be unnerving but they?re easily brushed off because once you?ve been at the campus long enough, you realize that the school is actually very diverse and you forget about it. Living in the dorms, I made friends with everyone from pretty much every background.

some of them are but others are perpetuated by the accompanying ones. For example, because people think that its a commuter school, people are more likely to go home because they think everyone else goes home on the weekend.

Well, there are a lot of Asians. But Asians are not all the same, and there is a lot of diversity on campus. Otherwise, the stereotypes about UCI are false. Perhaps UCI used to be a commuter campus, but I have lived on campus all four years and love my time here. I don't go home on the weekends because I am having so much fun and am so involved in campus life, and my friends are all the same way. I also was accepted to Berkeley and UCLA, but did not decide to attend those places. Irvine feels much more comfortable to me, the campus is beautiful, and living in the OC rocks. Plus, the honors program here is far superior to that at any other UC.

I believe these stereotypes are accurate. There are a lot of asian students, but there is great diversity just within the asian community at UCI. It is not just chinese students that are abundent, but as well as southern, south eastern, and mid south asians. Also, there are A LOT of rich kids, plenty of your stereotypical orange county people.

Refer to above.

While it is true that the majority ethnicity at our school is Asian, it is definitely not 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}. One of the really cool things about UCI is its diversity because it breeds the type of environment where everyone has to get along, that is, if you're willing. On the issue of being a commuter school, well, that is a stereotype that holds up to scrutiny. Irvine is situated in south west Orange County, which if you've never been here, feels like one giant, clumped together city. If you're lucky enough to get housing near campus (it can be pretty expensive) then you won't have to have a car, otherwise... There have been stories lately about anti-Semitic or anti-Muslim sentiments existing on our campus but those have proved to be entirely false. There have been a few incidents where speakers have come and said some pretty crazy things, but everything that has happened has been within the realm of free speech. Sometimes it feels like people just want to stoke the fire but it's been pretty cool to see how the students have defended UCI against these accusations. I do wish there was more school spirit at UCI. You'd think that after going to the College World Series in baseball and winning the NCAA National Championship in Men's Volleyball last year that we'd have a little more school spirit but it's been slow coming. The good news is that more students are getting involved and more people seem to be coming to the sports games.

Some of the stereotypes are accurate, however, that doesn't mean that everyone fits into the mold of the stereotype. I think that the stereotypes are partially correct.

The numbers might speak for themselves, but the fact of the matter is that the student population at UCI is by far the most diverse in the UC system. This allows for more opportunities to meet more people and of different backgrounds.

Somewhat. We have the highest percentage of asian students out of any UC campus, but thats reflective of the local population. It is a commuter school to some degree, but there is a pretty vibrant night life if you get plugged into the social scene here. Greek life and other clubs on campus are large and diverse, and provide more than enough of a social conduit for most people who are extroverted. Irvine isnt much of a college town, but UCI is basically located in Newport Beach and most social students live at the beach where there is a lot going on.