University of California- UC Riverside

I only ever partied here… the education my friends received have enjoyed the time. I think the academic guiding is totally bogus and they appear to becoming more and more of a money making company rather than an educational outlet. But the parties were fun.

This review is from a parents point of view. Parents, if your child will be dealing with the Financial Aid office at UCR, DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE! If you do be ready for the following:
1. They will find a way to screw up your financial aid (feels like they do it on purpose)
2. They will be non-​responsive to emails when you are trying to inquire about THEIR error or have a question.
3. Their staff will be disrespectful when your student visits their office and tries to inquire about their account.
4. Charges/​credits are convoluted and difficult to decipher on the GROWL system.
5. Do not bother contacting the head of financial aid (Jose Aquilar) to complain, he is too busy or doesn’t care that his office staff is in complete disarray.
If I knew UCR was going to be this much of a headache with administration, my child would of never applied.
Do yourself a HUGE favor and avoid this campus at all cost. Go to CSUSB for Business/​Accounting and Cal Poly Pomona for Science/​Engineering.

I went here on a field trip for school, I’m not actually a student here. The campus is just okay, it has a rather bland and institutional look to it… definitely doesn’t rival the campuses of other UC schools or the Claremont Colleges.
Many of the students that I observed had a kind of pissed off look to them, I’m wondering if it was midterms or something?
However, our tour guide was very friendly and enthusiastic, she really transformed what would have been a mediocre tour into an awesome one.
I don’t think I’ll be attending here… average campus and kinda gross area. I guess it’s a backup for if I don’t get into Berkeley/​UCLA/​UCI etc.

Campus tour was very professional and definitely improved my view of the school! I highly recommend putting this into your list of colleges you’re considering applying to! Excellent school and very nice campus!

It’s a school people. You’ll have boring teachers. Strict ones. And perhaps great professors that will inspire you. But really after graduating from Ucr class 2015… All I can say is… You’ll meet the best people here. Down to earth, open, and funny. Never had a problem with group projects.
Location sucks though. It’s a desert so it gets extremely hot or extremely cold…
WHOS SIDE?! R SIDE

I used to come here all the time as my now wife attended UCR. Sure, it can get incredibly hot here, but it really is a beautiful campus. I came back here as my brother-​in-​law now attends and I was shocked at all the wonderful new additions to the campus that have sprung up over the 4 years or so between visits. It looks even better now!
I also attended some classes with my wife back in the day and was always very impressed with everything. Teachers all felt very down to earth and happy to be there and the students all felt happy to be in class. That’s always a great sign for campus life if you ask me!
But yes, if you’re here in the summertime… be ready to run from building to building because you’ll miss the A/​C the second you step outside.

I think with any university, it really largely depends on your major and area of focus, because that will determine your classmates and your professors. My experience has been in Creative Writing. From everything I’ve heard, it seems that the program has grown tremendously in say the last 10 years or so. To where it is now, they have a huge and diverse writing faculty and many are award winners and finalists for major awards. Just check out the website, it’s easy to find. Also the faculty to student ratio is quite favorable as many classes are capped at 12 – 15. People are serious about the craft of writing and it shows in the classroom. Another important factor is because of the location and culture, it seems many of the faculty are quite hip, meaning, they are into writings that are quite cool by popular culture standards. We totally do not talk about Hemingway all day every day. You can take a class on graphic novels and read Watchman, Killing Joke, and Saga for class. How cool is that? Point being if you wanted to write Harry Potter or Hunger Games you wouldn’t be shunned. Or if you wanted to write a more literary book like a Moby Dick or Ulysses you wouldn’t be shunned either.
So why not 5 stars? Well as much as I love the creative program writing and people, it’s really Riverside that is a problem. Riverside is not terrible by any means. But it’s obviously not the best city in the USA, but definitely not the worst. I’d say almost any city in California is gonna beat any city in North Dakota or other very small /​rural state. So it’s all relative. I don’t like Riverside that much because I prefer New York City. But of course, by comparison, most cities are not New York. Riverside is basically your typical American suburb with fast food chains and strip malls everywhere. And yes it does get very hot in the summers, but the positive is the winters are not really cold at all. You are also less than an hour from the beach, so seriously, it’s not like it’s the smallest middle parts of the US. Also an hour or so from all the cool things in LA. Also if you have the money there are some very nice places to live, and if you don’t have the money, there are some very cheap places to live.
The campus itself is fine. The main problem though however is my mind is two things. On weekends no food is open. So if you want to study on campus, there’s nowhere to eat. I was really disappointed with that. Also there just isn’t a lot of places to «hang out» between classes. However, lots of people do just sit outside and the campus is conducive to that. But I do wish there was a better situation for finding a good place to study between classes. The library is small and tables are limited.
The student body is extremely diverse. It’s one of the most diverse campuses in the country. Whites are the minority here which is quite interesting; maybe 14% on campus compared to 64% nationwide. The two largest groups are Hispanic and Asian, but of course both Hispanic and Asian could be from a variety of countries. There’s a lot of first generation college students here, and hence a lot of upward mobility, which honestly is awesome – the American dream does and can happen when states like California provide reasonable tuition and solid education. Also people skateboard on campus; never seen that before, could be a California thing.
So my experience in Creative Writing has been quite good. I can’t comment on other majors.

UCR is my alma mater. Go class of 2015! It is a wonderful university that cares for its students. For those that call it «UC Rejects» are just bitter because they realized that life isn’t fair. Aww, you couldn’t get away from your parents and party in LA or SD. Granted the location isn’t sexy like those cities but you’re here to learn plus the experience is what you make out of it.
I transfered in from a local community college and commuted for all 2 years. I was still able to «that» experience. I made tons of new friends, had an on campus job, joined orgs, and maintained my GPA above a 3.5. To top it off I am one of the lucky few that graduated without the dreaded student loans. College is what you make of it remember that.
I will always be a proud Highlander.

How do I concisely review my alma mater? Maybe by sharing that I love UCR so much that I memorized our alma mater.
This is truly a world-​class institution that only improves year after year. I was a Creative Writing major at the only UC with such a program, and the faculty was astounding. Published authors working with me one-​on-​one, providing publishing Q&A’s, and following up months after our class to see how my writing is progressing are just a few examples of how committed these professors are to their craft and their students.
I know, I know, «Riverside is so hot and there’s nothing to do and crime and negativity and sadness!» College is entirely what you make of it. If you want to constantly complain about factors out of your control, so be it. If you want to immerse yourself in one of the more than 400 clubs, take a free outdoor excursion to Big Bear or Newport, and take advantage of the pretty freaking fun social scene, so be it. I have no regrets about attending UCR, other than that I graduated in four years and had to leave. I love you UCR!

A really PROUD parent and for so many reasons! My son made his way to graduation this past weekend, 6.13.15 and as there are so many emotions that can come with finishing a degree program, for me it merely means that «You Get What You Give» to yourself and those around you! I think I may of referenced those simple 3 and 4 letter words to a 90s song by «The New Radicals». The college has really come along way since I attended there in the early 90s, and my son is grateful for finishing it here at UCR! If I had to point out one major annoyance, it would have to be the # of parking tickets he received since his initial start in 2013… and just a small distraction of the entire experience which was overshadowed by all positive experiences that he will hopefully hold onto for years to come!

Excellent graduation ceremony UC Riverside! Very well organized and executed. Enjoyed every single moment.

I graduated 4 years ago but can’t help but feel a little bitter. 4 years later and the memory that sticks out most was the # of parking tickets this school gave me.
I commuted here so I spent countless hours on campus finding random places to sleep between classes. Most of the time it was the second floor of the science library.
I remember the countless number of times I’d ordered a rice bowl from panda express and how I had to walk 15 minutes to the movie theater for some random class.
Seriously, I had a love hate relationship with this school but in the end I have to admit it made me a better and smarter person because I accepted the challenge rather than try to skate my way to a degree.
Good times. But I don’t really miss it.
For those of you going thru it now.
Make the most of it. #timeflies

I had great professors and received a great education. This university is very underrated. It’s better than any CSU you can name. I get it, Riverisde may not be as sexy of a location as LA or San Diego but the education here is top notch. They also have one concert a quarter which brings in mega stars. I graduated in 2012, when I was there I saw J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, nipsey hussle, and big boy from outkast just to name a few. I had a great college experience here. This school will definitely prepare you for a great future!

VERY underrated. I’ll give my honest opinion pros and cons and everything.
Pros: It’s not as bad as all your parents make it out to be. it’s better than pretty much every CSU besides Cal Poly SLO. come on now. it has been steadily going up in rank every passing year as well. Admission into this school has also been getting harder every passing year (thank god). the campus itself is very nice. some of the buildings are rather old, but a lot of them have been updated and it’s NOTHING like the rest of the surrounding community. Literally like a diamond in the rough. It also has a very decent business program. Out of all the UCs you only have UCR, UCB and UCI. UCI’s business program is really new so there’s no comparison and if you get in UCB for business than you’re in a different league. Anyways. the professors overall aren’t that bad and there is still plenty to do on campus to keep people busy. Plenty of clubs, frats, and sororities. There’s also plenty of food available on campus and lots of cheap housing in the surrounding area. Dorming is nice as well and it’s a good way to meet people. UCR is mostly asian, but there’s some decent diversity here too. Frats and sororities don’t pose as big of a presence on campus so you won’t feel forced to join one for the most part. (Thank god) career fairs are great! PLENTY of job opportunities. this is where UCR shines above many others. ALOT of employers out here and ALOT of them visit the career fairs. Job opportunities everywhereee! You won’t find that at every school UCs included.
Cons: They call it Ratchside for a reason and rightly so. The surrounding area is very ghetto. I never had an issue myself, but you always hear of people getting mugged and what not. It’s better than the area surrounding USC though. Some of the professors aren’t the best and can’t teach, but then again you have those at any college. A lot of dumb people. You also have that at any college. Much of what I don’t like about UCR has to deal with the surrounding area. it’s BORING! majority of the people that go to UCR end up going home over the weekend. (Me included) this is because there is really nothing to do besides some small shopping, Round 1, and your occasional rock climbing. The food variety also sucks, but you aren’t TOO far off from 626 area and Rowland so a car is a must.
Bottom line: It has everything that most colleges have. and it’s not a bad school at all. at the end of the day it’s still a UC and it’s climbing up the ranks pretty quick. (New medical building) people need to stop looking down on it and actually go to see it for it really is.
I graduated with a degree in Business: Operations and Supply Chain Management and I wouldn’t be where I am today. employed at a good company and saving up for a house if it wasn’t for UCR and their great career fairs.
Side note: It really is what YOU make of it. You can go to USC and get a 4.0, but be jobless or you can be like me. graduate with barely a 3.0 and be employed by a great company with decent pay.

I had a Ball (Pardon the Pun) at UCR first Girls Basketball game of the season against Cal-​Baptist it was not a boring game by any means… quite a few turn overs a lot of action. I hope that UCR has a great season and it would be great if the fans come out to support the team. GO UCR!!!
Oh by the way UCR won. (I never remember the score).

I’ve Worked Here For 7 years. They pay my bills. How can I not give them a great review? I would give them a five but there are thing that must be left unsaid. Plus I have to drive 80 miles to get here. Which says something. You must love where you work to drive so far!

UC Riverside is one of the underrated schools compared to many of the other UC schools. Many people refer to UCR as UC Rejects and though that may or may not be true, this school has quite the personality. I transferred to UCR my junior year from Riverside Community College and UCR was the only school I applied to (and thankfully got in).
THE DETAILS: I actually like the campus, it’s not that bad. It’s not huge but not small either; it’s a decent size and easy to navigate around. Some of the buildings are older than others but their trying to improve. The new gym is going to be completed soon (right when I graduate –_​-​) but I’m happy that other students after me could enjoy this new perk. My only complaint is the bathrooms are disgusting with written graffiti on the stall walls, but hey they are interesting to read and it’s a public bathroom so I can’t complain.
THE FOOD: The HUB food consists of Latitude 55, Panda Express, Habaneros, Sushi by Panda, La Flamma, Subway, The Barn, Coffee Bean, and Bytes. The food is mediocre and we don’t have an In-​N-​Out, but hey, the food options are okay and it gets the job done. My personal favorites are The Barn (turkey burgers), Subway (sweet onion chicken teriyaki), and La Flamma (whole wheat pasta with alfredo sauce, chicken, and mushrooms).
THE PEOPLE: I love the diversity of the people here. There are so many different types of people I can’t even explain it. So many different cultures. So many different personalities. So many different styles. It’s a huge melting pot and I love it. I was in a co-​ed business frat (SHOUT OUT TO DELTA SIGMA PI) and I’ve meet amazing people in that fraternity and outside of it too! I befriended a lot of my classmates and I still keep in contact with them since we graduated. Here’s a cheesy quote: «It’s so true when they say you’ll meet your best friends for life in college.»
THE EDUCATION: I’m a business major and I learned a lot in my classes. A lot of the professors weren’t exactly the best and you have to try to learn a lot of things on your own but hey, we’re all adults and we don’t need babysitting. The classes are usually curved so you more than likely will pass. The core business classes were okay… you have to get through them but I loved the business elective classes! They were smaller and way more interesting, plus the professors were usually better. My favorite business class ever is BUS 143 with professor Li. If you get the opportunity to take that class, do it!
Would I do UCR all over again? Absolutely yes. Thanks for an amazing 2 years (I wish it was 4 but I don’t want to stay an extra couple of years). I honestly did not expect much prior to coming here, but the experiences I have encountered and the people I have met changed my outlook on life. CLASS OF 2014!

A tad pricy due to the slow and steady, greedy privatization of the school, but otherwise a great experience!
Granted, the surrounding entertainment is not as abundant as that of other universities, but it is there nonetheless (e.g. the monthly Arts Walk, the beautiful Culver Center, great eateries downtown, the Botanical Gardens, the Fox/​RMA which are now doing shows through Livenation, etc.).
The campus itself is great and is continuing to improve (e.g. the new gym, improving quality of on-​campus entertainment, those solar panel outlet table things, the new medical school, etc.). As for the on-​campus experience at UC Riverside, it really is what you make it. There are many opportunities and resources available for students of all backgrounds and interests; there is more to UCR than just classes. But speaking of class, there is the issue of getting the necessary classes, even with the help of your advisor, which leads to the unnecessary spending of money and time on summer school to ensure a timely graduation…
Anyway, I had a good time here. 4/​5, would attend again.

I am just shooting 5 stars cuz I got a degree here, but yeah…
read those comments with 1 stars, they are true and I can’t deny those

I have mixed feelings about this place. I attended UCR for my undergraduate education as a Biology major.
So things are really looking up for UCR. Recently ranked top 10 in the world for natural sciences in the Leiden Ranking, whatever that is.

Plus, our med school finally opened up. Engineering and Biology are fantastic here. (probably sciences in general is good) MOST of the professor’s are really amazing. Like any university there are a couple bad eggs. And a met a lot of my closest friends here. The students here are really down to earth and friendly. It’s close to the mountains so you can go snowboarding at Mt. High or Big Bear. Morongo is also a short drive away. The gym’s really good, lots of bench presses and an actual pad for deadlifting or power cleans which I’ve never seen before. That’s the good part.
Here’ the bad:
The rent is totally ridiculous for the area. They are charging LA/​OC prices for a room in an apartment (800+) or a nice 2 story house (2100+) when it’s in an area where a home only costs 200k or less. Looking back, I probably should have told my parents to buy a house instead. It’s also not the best area. I think someone gets robbed or raped maybe something once a week. I feel like fine arts dept. was really lacking here. Most of our buildings and equipment are pretty old and outdated. There’s nothing really around here, takes an hour to get to LA or OC. It’s also kind of a culinary death trap. There are a handful of good places to eat though. So yeah.
All in all, I think the positives outweigh the negatives. If this is the only UC that you got in, then hell I’d give it a shot. The education’s good, the people are chill, and you can pick up snowboarding as a hobby. If you really don’t like it then saddle up, get good grades for 2 years and transfer to another UC. It’s not hard. I had a pretty good experience here and I’m sure I can look back and be proud of where I went to undergraduate. Riverside is growing fast and I’m sure in 10 years will be in the ranks of UCI/​UCD. Good luck everyone! The years fly by!