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Congratulations Class of 2027!

Dear future Anteaters, 

First of all, a huge congratulations for committing to this special university! You should give yourself a pat on the back for all of your hard work! (Also, enjoy your last couple of months of your high school senior year as well:)) 

Although I was an Undeclared major for about two weeks, I want to still reflect and share my tips and advice from this year. This first year in college will always be a core memory in my life life as it was not only a new chapter, but I feel like it was the year that I learned the most about myself and started taking steps toward my journey to my future career. It has been an exciting year and experience in college. I am grateful for my friend group, the UCI CalTeach program, and club organizations on campus. I want to emphasize the importance of getting involved on campus, as it will help bring a healthy balance of school and the social aspect of college. 

While I know it is quite early on to decide what major you are interested in, I want you to know that you have the support of your Undeclared Advisors, and that they are there for YOU. Please, take advantage of them, especially because their offices are on campus in Aldrich Hall. As an Undeclared major, you have the opportunity to explore different majors and take a variety of classes. The advisors are there for schedule planning and will answer any questions that you may have. In college, one of the best pieces of advice I would give to you is to not be afraid to ask for help. It is important to advocate for yourself and ask for help because it can relieve stress and give you insight and clarity in different situations. 

Another piece of advice would be to attend office hours that are led by your professors, TAs, and Learning Assistants. If you are interested in Biology or Chemistry, there are General Chemistry Peer Tutors and they are wonderful tutors because they have most likely taken the same professor and understand the same material that you are learning in class. They also lead helpful midterm and final review sessions. In my experience, attending these office hours have helped me understand class material in a smaller setting and there are usually no more than fifteen students in these office hours (which is way smaller than the 100-300 student lecture halls! ) 

I cannot believe that this quarter is coming to a close, but I just wanted to again say a big congratulations for committing to this university! 

#ZOTZOTZOT

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Welcome to U/U!

Hello, new Undeclared student and welcome to UCI! I hope this letter finds you well and not too burnt out in your final year of high school. My name is Teresa and I’m a first-year U/U student as well as a commuter.

My first real taste of UCI was during the summer when I had to attend freshman orientation or SPOP (Student Parent Orientation Program– no one calls it that, though).  I actually didn’t realize that the program was overnight until the week that it happened, so I had to quickly rearrange my packing list (notably adding shower shoes) a few nights before.  I’m someone who is quite shy and would rather not stand out and SPOP gave me my first chance to practice adapting that to the independence of college: one of the first things I learned is that at UCI, your time is pretty much completely your own (with the exception of mandatory things, in which case you probably owe it to others to be somewhere). With that being said, my introverted self has found this meme to unironically be a pretty good piece of advice.

There’s a lot going on at UCI all the time: you’ll get upwards of ten emails a week inviting you to various campus events and I’d highly recommend going to any ones that seem even a little interesting to you, especially if a) they’re free, and/or b) you have friends who are willing to go with you (my friend and I went to a tote bag decorating event the other day and let’s just say I am now richer by one more cute tote bag and two more free notebooks).  As a commuter, events like these have gave me a chance to be part of the greater UCI community, outside of my own little bubble of activities and classes.  However, since coming to college, I’ve spent a lot more time thinking about what I want to do every day, rather than just following the daily bell schedule and being where I need to be like I did during high school.  So, try new things, but still make the most of your time: succinctly, if it sucks, hit da bricks!

Moving along, I hope you enjoy your time as Undeclared; whether you’re coming in with a major in mind or eager to find a direction to take your life in, this is a chance to explore new interests!  Sometimes, you won’t be able to register for the exact classes you want due to them filling up before restrictions drop, but this just provides you with the opportunity to try something new; UCI has a lot of different classes and gives you many chances to learn that thing that you kinda maybe sorta found interesting when you were younger but never got to fully dive into.  I’ve been taking a lot of Linguistics courses – something I definitely didn’t learn about high school – and I’ve found it so interesting that I now intend to double-major in it.

I guess what this post boils down to is that the best part of my first year in college has been being able to get to know myself; UCI is like the world’s biggest sandbox, letting you play around and experiment, building tiny castles and destroying them or reforming them once they no longer serve purpose to you.  Being aware of that fact has helped me enjoy college even more, and that’s why I want to impart that knowledge on you.

With that being said, I remember being in your place, just a year ago: I hope you’re all excited to get here in the fall, but I also hope you all make the most of all of your final days in high school (without failing your exams, notably).  Enjoy your super long summer! UCI will be waiting for you on the other side.

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To the 2027 Anteaters:

Hey y’all!

It’s me, Ian, and this time, I would like to talk about my (almost) year here from the point of view of an upcoming freshman. That means if you are a high school senior, this one is for you. I’m going to go over a few questions that I think will be helpful, as well as share some of my defining experiences over the past few quarters. 

So let’s get started, shall we?

Q: What should I expect from my first year at UCI?

A: Overall, I think going to UCI will give you the stereotypical “college experience” people talk about. As long as you make sure to balance work and fun, your first year will go smoothly. One thing to note, though—you will get sick. Living with four roommates and interacting with so many people daily, it is almost guaranteed that you will get sick. When you do, it is important to take that time off—buy some cold medicine, and take care of yourself. Even though you might miss events, remember that you are the number one priority. On a side note, try your best to stay healthy. The dining halls offer a plethora of desserts, and while they’re great, it is important also to eat fruits and vegetables to maintain your health.

Q: How hard is UCI academically?

A: This question varies, depending on what major you are taking (or trying to get into). As for me, I feel like my classes have been just hard enough—hard enough to challenge me but not too hard as to be impossible to do well in. However, certain classes are generally known to be hard classes, and others are known to be what I call “free classes.” If you are taking a hard class, such as Writing 60 or most chem classes, I would recommend taking a “free class” as well, such as Anthro2A (the online version). The easier class can help relieve stress from the harder class, as you don’t have to spend as much time learning the material for that class. 

Q: How is UCI socially?

A: This also varies, depending on how much effort you put into socializing. UCI is often stereotyped as a less social school, but I would say that is only partially true. In my opinion, UCI is only socially dead if you put no effort into socializing back. My biggest recommendation for upcoming freshmen is to prioritize being social, especially in the first few weeks. During this time, everyone is more willing to meet new people, and as long as you actively socialize, people will be receptive. After the first quarter, people tend to fall into their own groups, but that doesn’t mean meeting new people is impossible. In fact, I’ve gotten to know so many new people this quarter, so if the first quarter doesn’t go well for you, not all hope is lost. As a whole, I wouldn’t put very social as one of UCI’s best traits, but there most definitely is a community for everyone here—you just have to look for them.

Now as an upcoming freshman, one of your first UCI experiences will be SPOP (The new student orientation in the summer). If you can go to SPOP, I would 100% recommend going, as not only do you meet your advisor and choose classes there, but you will also meet your fellow freshmen for the first time. As this is your first time, make the most of it! Talk to as many people as you can, and start practicing the introductory phrases that you will be saying countless times in the future:

What’s your name?

What’s your major?

Where are you from?

What dorm do you live in?

It may feel awkward to ask at first, but trust me, you’ll get used to it after the 100th time or so. But TLDR: have fun! The vibes at UCI are great, so make the most of it.

Anyways, thanks for reading, I hope this helped, at least a little bit. That’s all for this week, so see y’all next week!

Zot Zot Zot,

Ian