University of California, Riverside

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Electrical Engineering
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: Southeast Asian Heterosexual Male

Summary

I’m in an engineering fraternity and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Background

Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Southeast Asian
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual

Entered in the Fall of 2018 as a transfer to start his sophomore year
High School Experience: Public school in Los Angeles, CA with about 300 students in the graduating class. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: Yes
Major: Electrical Engineering
Minor: None

Extracurricular Activities: I’m in an engineering fraternity and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience? In what ways?
Definitely joining the fraternity. Since I’m a transfer and started with a blank slate, joining the fraternity helped me feel more at home at Riverside.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
We usually have a lab every week, two midterms, and every class has problem sets due every week. The exams make up the bulk of our grade.
Is there anything you feel that your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
I wouldn’t say they do anything especially well. They are very unorganized and the labs need to be updated. I say they are unorganized because each professor grades each class differently when we’re all studying the same material. If you take a certain class with two different professors, you could get a completely different grade. That’s also because TA’s do most of the grading, so depending on your TA you will be graded entirely differently.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s definitely collaborative at UC-R. That’s probably the main thing I like about UC-R. Everyone’s willing to help each other and figure out problems.
How accessible are your professors?
I can’t say they’re all helpful, but if you need to talk to them they’re always reachable. Usually, the TA is a little easier to reach and if you have a problem they can’t help you with, they’ll tell you to go to the professor. The TAs and the professors have separate office hours which is also helpful. The TAs are also just easier to talk to since they’re a younger person.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I’ve known I want to be an engineer since I was a kid. I’m definitely happy with it. I like figuring out how things work and making things better. I also like how there’s always a right answer and there’s never a gray area.
How do you like the quarter system academically? How has it impacted your experience?
I transferred in from a community college on the semester system, and coming from the semester system to the quarter system makes me feel like I’m never caught up. It keeps life exciting, but it also can feel like 24/7 stress. Also, most classes are skippable if you want to put in the work another time because they’re so big and most of the time the notes are online. You just have to remind yourself to teach it to yourself later.
How often do you go to your classes?
This quarter, one of my classes has a quiz every class so I have to go to that one. With the rest, if I didn’t care about going to class, I could just show up for the midterm and final and be okay. Every once in a while, I wake up and don’t feel like going and I don’t freak out about it. If I have a question about something, I have to go to class and ask the question. It wasn’t until this quarter when I’m taking mostly [upper-divisional classes] that attendance isn’t mandatory. In the lower-divisional classes, they had random attendance checks or mandatory attendance, and I felt that I shouldn’t have to go to those classes since I was better off teaching the material to myself. [In 2018-19, there were 204 classes with 50-99 students and 201 classes with 100+ students.]

Reasons to Attend

1) The people. The community is awesome.
2) If you get involved on campus, it’s a lot of fun. There are a lot of different organizations you can join and it’s super easy to get involved in them.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) The weather is bad. It’s really hot out here.
2) Parking is difficult.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Sophomore & Junior: Off-campus house with three other roommates
How was transitioning from Los Angeles, CA to Riverside, CA in terms of location?
The weather out here is a little less forgiving. It’s super hot, super dry, and the air quality is pretty bad.
Can you describe the level of safety you have experienced on and around campus?
I’ve never felt in danger. But, I’ve had a couple of run-ins with drugged out homeless people and I know that you should not be walking around Riverside at night if you’re a smaller person.

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I’m 21, so sometimes I go bar hopping or to parties. Sometimes I just chill and kick back with my friends and have a few drinks.
What nights of the week do you regularly go out?
You could go to a bar any night of the week if you wanted to. If I have a morning class, I wouldn’t go out of course, but I don’t have morning classes this quarter. Also, most classes are skippable, so if you wake up and don’t want to go, you usually don’t have to.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
We don’t have a frat row but there are off-campuses houses where multiple members of a fraternity live and they have parties, but you have to be part of that frat or friends with someone in that frat to go. My [engineering] fraternity usually just does smaller parties where it’s members of our fraternity, friends, and housemates. If I’m bored and want to find people to hang out with, I usually can.
How happy are you with the weekend options at UC-Riverside? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
I definitely wish there was more stuff to do, like more places to go eat at. Most times when we plan a fun weekend, we’re driving far to Santa Monica or driving far somewhere else because you can’t spend too much time outdoors in Riverside because it’s usually too hot. [See average temperature data for Riverside here. The drive from Riverside to Santa Monica is about 1.5-hours long.]

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
Through my engineering fraternity.
How would you describe the overall social scene at UC-Riverside?
It’s pretty friendly. Everyone has their own group of friends but usually has friends outside of it. Like, I spend most of my time in the engineering building where everyone else is also engineers, and we all have the same classes and know the same people, so it’s really easy to meet people there.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
A lot. My fraternity is super diverse and it’s a really diverse campus, which is pretty cool. We have a few gay people and nobody cares. [The undergraduate population is about 41% Hispanic, 34% Asian, 11% White, 3% Black, and 3% International.]
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
I have friends in different fraternities and I think that’s pretty common. Some people have their group of friends in their fraternity and then have a personal group of friends who they either met in class or knew before they joined. Fraternities will do socials with other fraternities, so there’s no bad blood there.
How do you like the size of UC-Riverside in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [There are about 20,600 undergraduates.]
I feel like it’s way too crowded. They’ve let in so many people and now the parking situation is horrible. You have to show up at least an hour and a half or two hours early to find parking for your classes. Also, when I was taking lower-division classes, I had to stay on top of registration because if I was late I wasn’t going to get into the classes I need. [See Inside UCR article, “Student growth studied in UCR’s Long Range Development Plan,” and article, “Campus begins planning for the next phase of growth.” See The Highlander article, “Congestion on Campus: the future of UCR parking and TAPS’ push for alternative transportation.”]
People say that UC-Riverside is a commuter school, do you agree with that? Why or why not?
Compared to other UC schools, we don’t have the infrastructure for students to live and stay on campus. You can’t do that at UC-R. A lot of people live off campus. [About 30% of undergraduates live on in college-owned housing.]

Careers

Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
If it wasn’t for my fraternity, I would say there is no alumni network. My engineering fraternity creates our own alumni network, but UC-Riverside as a school hasn’t shown me any alumni network.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful are they?
I haven’t used it yet. It’s never been brought up to me in class.
Have you learned any computer languages or software that will be helpful to you professionally?
Most engineers are required to take an introductory programming class, so I know C++ and a little bit of Python. I also know MATLAB.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, how easy is the office to work with?
They’re pretty easy to work with. Even if you’re a little late, they’ll still give you loans. I don’t think I’ve ever had problems with them.