University of California-Irvine Top Questions

The basketball games and volleyball games. After the sporting events it could be the dance teams.

The popular student activities is the ASUCI.

On our campus we have over 500 registered clubs to choose from. Many people do join Sororities and Fraternities. But if you not interested in those, there are many clubs to join or you can even create you own club! Our Athletics are legit! what is soooooo cool is that Kobe Bryant comes to use our facilities at the Bren Events Center and the Anteater Recreational Center (ARC). You really don't see parties because they are not so obvious. But if that is what you are looking for, hanging with the right people and making connections, you will find what you are looking for. Your experience in college is basically what you make of it.

Some of the most popular activities/groups are: ASUCI, fraternities, sororities, dance groups, Circle K, New University (the school newspaper), and many more. Since we are near the beach (about 10 minutes away), many organizations have bonfire socials which are really fun. I am involved in a few organizations, but I'll just list two of them. I am part of ASUCI. ASUCI is made up of many offices such as Student Services, which is in charge of planning the big events like concerts and Welcome Week. There are many subgroups in each office as well. I am part of the Office of the President.and I am a writer for "The Vine," which is ASUCI's magazine and we put it out every quarter. I am also part of the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) chapter here and I am one of the Internal Public Relations coordinators on the board. So my job is to get NSLS out there and talk to the deans of each school. UC Irvine hosts guest speakers throughout the year. I went to one last year and it was very interesting and full of great information. The School of the Arts has many performances throughout the year as well, which include music and theater. There are many traditions and events here on campus. One is SPOP, also known as the Student Parent Orientation Program. This is the time you get to talk to students that have been on campus for a few years and have all the inside information. You also get to meet new students, have some fun, and see what you have to look forward to. Every year, ASUCI has a few big events such as Welcome Week, Shocktoberfest, and Reggaefest. Welcome Week is a week long full of events. This is the time when all the campus organizations are out in the park and everyone gets to try something new and join a club. There are also dance performances by our dancers as well as a concert. Shocktoberfest is the biggest concert of the year and we celebrate the beginning of the basketball season in Midnight Magic. Reggaefest is a large festival during the spring. There are performances, music, food, and a car show. There are a few other traditions, but they are secrets and one of them occurs during your Freshman year.

Yes, our Greek Life is MASSIVE! Our Student Government is MASSIVE! Our Career-oriented Organizations are MASSIVE! But honestly nothing compares to our cultural organizations; students love learning about their culture here on Campus! We have well over 500 organizations here on campus, and about 75{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of them are closely tied to Culture, from Latin Business Students to Kabbabayan, our campus really has something for everyone and even gives you the opportunity to join other cultural orgs, fraternities, and sororities that are outside of your inborn nature. UCI is a very open and welcoming campus.

Yes, our Greek Life is MASSIVE! Our Student Government is MASSIVE! Our Career-oriented Organizations are MASSIVE! But honestly nothing compares to our cultural organizations; students love learning about their culture here on Campus! We have well over 500 organizations here on campus, and about 75{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of them are closely tied to Culture, from Latin Business Students to Kabbabayan, our campus really has something for everyone and even gives you the opportunity to join other cultural orgs, fraternities, and sororities that are outside of your inborn nature. UCI is a very open and welcoming campus.

One thing about the student body government elections are that they are essentially rigged. There's always a frat guy who becomes president, because all of the fraternities and sororities put their efforts into having a certain frat guy become president, and as a result, the majority of student activity funding goes to frats. I would imagine this happens at other schools as well but it doesn't make it acceptable. I guess that would be good if that was more your kind of crowd. But it makes it a bit unfair because other campus clubs have to resort to fundraisers for funding. One thing that stands out about UCI campus clubs is that there are what feels like hundreds of Christian clubs. In the OC, Christianity seems to be pretty big, especially for Asians. (By the way, I'm Asian myself). But it is sort of nonsensical in that many of these Christian clubs are just excuses for partaking in social activities with the false illusion of "being religious". If you get lulled into the on-campus Christian club bubble (a bubble in itself, inside another bubble, the OC bubble), you'll miss out on a lot of things that university life offers, and you'll lose precious time in building up your credentials to land a job after college. I don't want this to sound like an anti-Christian rant -- if you want to become more Christian or what not, it's better to spend more time at your church than to waste it with the on-campus Christian clubs, because there's nothing too religious about them. On-campus throughout the week there are many events that happen, whether they be in beautiful Aldrich Park or in the nice newly renovated Student Center. There is a good selection of interesting events, guest speakers, plays, movie prescreenings, athletic events, etc. that happen on campus. There's not really a shortage of things to do. The problem is that most students who are not freshmen live off-campus, sometimes a good distance from campus. Many people of those off-campus people do their own thing. If you're looking for parties, get involved with fraternities/sororities. That's pretty much the best way to get in on that. Things to do in Irvine are pretty much just eating out, shopping, and going to the movies. Most of the wilder/more interesting things are outside of Irvine. Fortunately Irvine isn't that big, so going outside of Irvine won't take much time (15 minutes by car).

The most popular groups are by far the ethnic clubs (indian club, chinese club, etc.). Students are very friendly. It's not hard to make friends freshman year in the dorms as there are a lot of activities organized. it can be hard to make friends in classes because of the size of them, but most people find friends in their majors by sophomore year. Dating scene: alive and well. Most people like to hook up with whatever guy/girl is available on a weekend, but there are definitely a lot of happy couples. We have a few traditions. Shocktoberfest, a big concert, is one. Lupe Fiasco came two years ago, and Matt Costa came last year with some hip-hop group. Irvine is basically devoted solely to hip-hop and Christian rock (unless you're friends with some people I don't know about) so Matt Costa did not get a good reception. Frats and sororities are very, very popular. What can you do that doesn't involve drinking...hm. Well, since the party scene is relatively alive here, most people don't really care. There is an awesome dollar theater in Irvine that shows movies that have been out for a month. But generally people party from thursday through saturday, and sometimes wednesday (hump day). Since academics are not a huge concern at Irvine, people are not afraid to blow off work to get drunk. Do not come here expecting to meet people who are devoted to studies and want to be the next Emily Dickinson or Marie Curie.

I would have to say that Kababayan was one of the biggest clubs on campus. We had over 300 registered members and no not all of us were/are Filipino. I loved being a part of it because they became like family to me. UCI does not have big sports teams really except for maybe baseball but who really watches baseball these days? sorry. SO, for fun most people either join a cultural club or a fraternity or sorority. If you join one of these organizations you will have your fair share of partying. A side effect of having insane irvine police who shut down house parties at 10:30 pm is that most orgs have parties at clubs in the area. I don't like house parties very much anyways so I kind of liked that. In terms of annual events, UCI is big on shows: culture shows, talent shows, dance competitions. We are performers. The most outrageous tradition would be the annual Mesa Court Streaking. This is when one particular dorm runs through that dorming area pretty much naked during finals time. We do have other traditions . . . but you have to learn about those when you go to UCI.

A slight majority of students live on campus, with a large minority living at the beach in Newport. Fraternities and Sororities are popular at UCI, albeit they comprise a minority of the students. However, they have long dominated the undergraduate student government. UCI can boast of national champion teams in the "affluent lifestyle" sports of sailing, volleyball, and waterpolo.

As far as I know, Thursdays is THE night to relax...to party. I remember going to the old Anthill Pub every Thursday and meet international and graduate students. There were occasional house parties as well.

Extracurriculars have been the backbone of my collegiate experience at UCI. They have not only given me the chance to meet new people, but also opportunities for networking, leadership, and greater campus/community involvement. I encourage everyone coming to UCI to get involved in something, anything! One extracurricular will expose you to a bunch of new people and in turn other campus opportunities that may interest you. The social scene at UCI is what you make of it. We are by no means a party school so parties won't find you, but at the same time you'll never have to look too hard to find one.

Great late-night eats were rather hard to come by. There was Del Taco, pho (if you were willing to drive out to Garden Grove) and some local Mexican places.

It can be difficult to make friends in class. Most make friends through student organizations or in the dorms. My closest friends came from my association with the honors program and through the housing community where I worked. Party time begins Thursday night and goes through the weekend although people often go home on the weekends, and the campus can seem like a ghost town on a Saturday or Sunday. The most predominant partying does involve Greek life. There is no Greek row, but there are a number of on-campus housing buildings (in Arroyo Vista) that are reserved for individual frats or sororities. In addition to the traditional Greek life, there are also Jewish and Asian-themed frats and sororities. While most of the campus does not participate in Greek life, those that do are very into it and are among the most involved on campus. The housing communities work really hard to develop programming for residents to learn something beneficial or to just have fun. The freshmen generally utilize these activities the most, but they are offered to the upperclassmen too.

If you want to be social and have a good night life, you have to either be on a sports team OR in the Greek System. Then there is always something to do. I waited to join until my Sophomore year and spent my entire first year on campus bored out of my mind, sitting in my dorm room watching movies on my laptop.

I met all my best friends through working on projects together. Spending sleepless hours is the best way to bond. We create our own parties and events and invite others to come. Make friends with art students and you'll never be bored.

I loved, loved, loved, loved, LOVED living in the residence halls. I think it is such an invaluable experience and I think everyone should live in the res halls if they can. You meet so many other people and begin to make a little support network for yourself whether you realize it or not. It also helps you feel more attached to the University. A lot of the people I lived with kept their doors open, but I was not one of the people awake at 2am. And if I should have found myself awake, I know there would have been someone else around to talk to if I was lonely.

There are so many different groups on campus its hard to sum it up. Since I was a part of Greek Life I was exposed to many social functions that kept me busy with sports, parties, and community service. Most of my closet friends I met through this organization. These individuals share many of same ideals and goals as me which I was really looking for being a college student.

UCI is pretty boring. If you want to go to a party, there are parties to go to, but it is not like other colleges where the party is always right outside. UCI is very good at providing speakers and bands for the students to go see. Frats and Sororities have their own cliquish atmosphere and they usually keep to themselves. Everything in Irvine closes at 10pm so except for Jack in the Box and Del Taco, you wont be able to go anywhere if you stay up too late. If you want to make awesome friends, live in the dorms freshman year. You really bond with people as you enter into college. I highly recommend living in the dorms (not apartments) freshman year. And don't live at home, that is lame. Think of it as an investment in your life. The networks that you build will be of infinite value later on.

The greek system is basically the only way someone at Irvine will party and meet other people who want to do the same. Its really the only way to truly experience what college should be like in a different school. But partying isn't all Irvine itself is a pretty big bubble with no culture or anything unique about it (imagine the tv show "weeds" except without the fun and with way more asians). The beaces are by far the best thing about it and is where all the fun happens on the weekends