Safe, Asian, and Controlled by the Irvine Company!!

Introduction
The more outgoing you are, the better time you're gonna have. Don't lock yourself in your dorm room freshman year, or you won't make any friends. Get to know people in your hall, don't just stick with your highschool friends. Go to the basketball and volleyball games...you get in free, plus you get free CIA (completely insane anteaters) shirts, and other free stuff too.

I decided on Irvine because I liked the climate, the atmosphere, and the fact that the weather reminded me of San Francisco. And because I didn't get into Cal, and didn't want to go to UCLA. Pretty much everyone here got rejected from Cal and UCLA, so you'll share a special bond!
And take advantage of the beach. Newport Beach is 10 minutes away, and Laguna Beach is about 25 mins away. Also, Hunnington is pretty close, about 30 mins north on 405.

Watch out for the cops. There is no crime in Irvine, so the police are bored and they'll ticket you for anything.

If you're looking for a hardcore party school, UCI is not for you. If you want a completely academic and no social life school, UCI probably isn't for you either. It's pretty laid back, and the more you put into your college experience, the more you'll receive.

Campus Life and Social Life
Everyone goes home on the weekends, so theres not much to do then. Freshman year you'll have lots of dorm parties, and you'll get caught by your RA multiple times, depending on whether or not your RA is cool. Just for future reference, don't post videos of you drinking in the dorms on youtube, b/c they will find them, and you WILL get written up (trust me, it happened to me and my friends). Just deny all the charges, be appologetic, and say it was a one time thing. Remember, if they don't have proof that you were actually drinking, just say you weren't! But I definately encourage you to get drunk in the dorm and do stupid stuff, and then take photos and put it on facebook. A handle of smirnoff costs $20 at Albertson's...and you'll get sick of it REAL quick.

Other than that, there are lots of frat parties off campus. They usually bus you to a secret location like a club. Drinks are always provided on the bus, since the locations of the parties usually check IDs. Get drunk before you get to the club. SAE has this great stuff called The Force that they pass around in water bottles. Tastes great! If you're a guy, its a pain to get into frat parties. If you're a girl, its easy. Advertisement
Academics
Most of the professors are pretty helpful and easy to reach. In every class I've taken, the professor has extended an essay or research paper deadline for no reason. Usually, if you complain that a paper deadline is too close to the midterm, they'll change it! Some profs are picky though, so definately check ratemyprofessor.com before enrolling in classes.

Bio majors are assholes. They think they're better than you because they're going to be doctors. The great part is, most of them will switch majors or drop our completely by 2nd year. Engineering majors are just as bad, but they stick with their major for all 4 years and don't wimp out like the bio people.

Student Body
EVERYONE goes home on the weekends. UCI is definately a commuter school. Oh, and the people who pass out flyers on Ring Road get annoying. Especially when they profile you and give your asian friends flyers and invites to clubs, but totally pass over you if you're not asian! Definately join the CIA (Completely Insane Anteaters). It's the rally group on campus. All you have to do is take your student ID to a basketball or volleyball game, and you get in free, and get a bright yellow shirt to wear. They hook it up.

The sorority chicks get annoying real fast. 88.7% of them are complete airheads. You'd think that was jsut a stereotype, but it's actually true. And the asian sororities are just as bad. Also, the LaRouche cult people will bug the hell out of you, even if you're liberal like me. They make outrageous claims and try to recruit you to their orgaization, but none of them are actually IN college.

Also, theres an ongoing fued between the Muslim Studen Union, the conservative groups, and the young democrats. The conservatives will host a speaker who will make rascist claims about Islam, and make then talk about zionism. This will piss of MSU, who will protest. Meanwhile, the young democrats get behind MSU and complain about the conservative organization through article in the New U. Then the conservative club will dismiss the claim that they had a controversial and racist speaker. As a rebuttle, MSU will host an anti-Israeli speaker who is probably a known anti-semite, thus angering the conservatives, who take this chance to attack MSU as racist. And again, the liberals will get behind MSU for the most part, claiming that the speaker didn't make anti-jewish remarks at the event, thus making it ok. and the entire process will repeat again. Its actaully amusing in a messed up way if you follow the events. It's like a mini political soap opera.

In Closing...
Request a co-ed suite when you apply for housing. They're only in Middle Earth, but the same sex suites are so boring! Less drama, more fun.

As for off-campus housing, it's really expensive. Expect to pay about $1,500 for a 1 bdrm. The Irvine company has a monopoly over everything in Irvine, Newport, Laguna, and the rest of Orange County, and they rip you off. You'll learn to hate the Irvine Company real fast.

Also your roommate will most likely be asian. Take advantage of this opportunity and get them to bring food from home! Especially if they're Korean, because Kimchi is amazing!