UCI - An Insider’s Perspective

I wanted to go as far away from home as my parents would let me so that meant SoCal schools were my targets. UCLA didn’t have TAG or an undergraduate major similar to criminology, and actually UCI had the only true criminology program.

I enjoyed the course curriculum and academics. Transferring in as a third year allowed me to bypass the usual general education requirements, and I definitely recommend doing the same in order to allow you to focus on the research that you really want to do.

I transferred in though the Transfer Admission Guarantee agreement that California community colleges have with the public universities. Admission is guaranteed with at least a 3.5 cGPA and completion of general education courses specific to your desired degree program, test scores are not required.

I didn’t visit any companies because of COVID, I wouldn’t be so sure about this. I never heard anything about students being funneled into a particular company or a particular job title, it seems like post-graduation plans varied from student to student.

I never did an internship although I do feel like I missed out in hindsight. Internships weren’t common or recommended to students with my major.

I ended up completing two years of study in one year and a quarter. Summer session is more affordable than others and I believe there is a unit cap per quarter for pricing (for example, 15 units per quarter is charged at x amount per unit but the 16th unit is free of charge). I believe I spent about $4,000 a quarter and then $1,000 per summer session, so maybe $15,000 total in tuition.

I didn’t apply for or receive any scholarships. I think scholarships were available to transfer students but definitely not in the same volume as for regular admission.

I only attended courses through Zoom so I think it was just over a hundred student seats per section of class. Most of the faculty are well-esteemed by students and ratemyprofessor reviews were usually accurate. Many if not all of mine were well versed and approachable.

I never went to the campus physically because of COVID but I’d always hear great thinks about Aldrich Park and Ring Road. The esports team was really garnering support given the lack of physical presence, and many clubs successfully managed to shift meetings and events into an online format.

I never lived on campus or even had to move out in order to attend college so I wouldn’t be so sure about this. I know student housing is reserved for first year students so other transfers who were coming in as third years were telling me about how difficult they found it to get housing because they had already arranged to move.