University of California-Riverside Top Questions

What's unique about your campus?

Deja

The endless number of clubs and groups that each offer unique experiences due to the various amount of races and cultures that come together.

William

UCR is innovative and such innovation is evident in the constant improvements they are making around campus. The science and engineer department exemplify such innovation through the various awards and recognition they receive. The faculty are very helpful and provide constructive feedback to make the learning experience effective. Office hours are flexible to meet student needs. The campus is large and diverse enough for any and everyone to thrive in their unqiue way. They provide many opportunities to get involved in clubs and gain valuable work experience.

Angelica

The diversity.

Connie

The best thing about UCR is the diversity on campus because I was fortunate to have had numerous engaging dialogues with peers and professors who were from different racial and socioeconomical backgrounds.

Carla

The best thing about UCR would be its diversity. Not only its diversity of students, but also of organizations on campus. It is gauranteed that you will find friends, or people you can relate to at this school. You will find people with the same goals as you that can help support you during your academic career. I know my friends here help motivate me to study although we have somewhat different majors. There are many different organizations, that you will find your spot at UCR.

Ariana Jazmin

There are many great things about UCR, but the thing I like the most is the size of the campus. It's really big, so that means, you always get to meet new people.

Kaitlyn

Our campus has many awesome traditions that have been around for many years, like the Scottish theme and some events put on by the ASPB. We have a lot of fun events that many other schools don't have, like concerts out by the Bell Tower, Stress Relief events around midterms and finals weeks, the big events like Heat Music Festival and Spring Splash, which have little events every day leading up to the main parts. There is almost always something going on around campus, which helps pump up energy and allow students to mingle and make friends in a non-classroom environment.

krystal

My school is known for its diversity. Due to its diversity, there are so many cultures and backgrounds. It is so easy to learn new things by simply talking to the students . Its also nice to know that you can relate to someone who at first seemed so different.

Ashlyn

UCR is extremely chill. Everyone is laid back and friendly. We arent shy and we dont mind making new friends and meeting new people or voicing our opinions.

JAMES

The diversity is probably the most unique thing about UCR. It is considered one of the most diverse UC campuses in the UC system.

Gabriel

The scale of the campus is smaller compared to other UCs. So it's a closer community in general. We also have a diverse community of students, from all ethnic and religious which is great for students in general to learn from different people in a neutral environment. We are also the only UC campus with a clock tower.

Elizabeth

Our campus is extremely open and accepting. I have yet to encounter the typical "frat" or "sorority" stereotypes from our greek life, and living in the residence halls has been one of the most enriching experiences in my life. There are all different types of people with the diversity soaring high on our campus, and countless opportunities to make friends with others and learn about different cultures.

Portia

My campus is unique because we have a very large bell tower located right in the middle of campus. The bell tower is where all of the event take place, such as band concerts, club meetings, fraternity recruitments, dance competitions, etc. The list goes on and on, but the bell tower is where everything takes place. It's very tall, and there is a clock at the very top of it. The bell rings every single hour to let students know what time it is. My campus is also unique because we created the cute little baby orange cuties that everyone loves to eat around Spring season.

Kenneth

I suppose there are plenty of things that are unique about Riverside, I'm just not so sure what they all are. Certainly, we have the citrus trees and a slowly diminishing high quantity of them. We have two maskots and no football. There is the creative writing as a full major. That would honestly be what I would say is best about the school.

Leticia

I think its the bell tower and our citrus fruits. its interesting because or school does a lot of work on trying to create different fruits from what i have heard from other people

Arveen

There are many programs everywhere that is very helpful. They encourage you to be involved.

Alvin

Diversity at my University is generally accepted as the best thing. UCR's diverse student population allows one to experience a little bit more of the world, and live and work in an environment that's not entirely in one's comfort zone. Being a diverse campus allows the free flowing exchange of ideas, and cultures, and from that, a little more awareness and tolerance of diversity in general in the world we live in.

Julie

The school has a lot of programs. The campus is awesome. The students are friendly.

roseanne

The best thing about my school is the diversity!!! l love that l can be able to meet different people from different parts of the world.This helps me get to learn other cultures other than my own.lt is so amazing learning about other people .lt makes me appreciate life more than before.Another thing l love about my school is the education.lt is a very competitive school and twice as hard to get in.l love the knowledge that am able to aquire and surrounding myself with people that want the same goals as me.

Vanesa

I consider the best thing in my school to be the diversity it offers within the student body. I feel that through the diversity offered many students are able to feel more out going and also feel more comfortable within the environment instead of feeling like an alien.

Raveena

There are many great things available at the University of Riverside. The people, the food, and just the university as a whole is just amazing. However, the best thing there is DIVERSITY. I feel this university has the most diverse group of people. Everywhere I go, I see someone from a different nationality. This makes my college experience much better, because I get to interact with people from different cultures, and also learn about cultures I've never even heard of.

Yasmine

The best thing at University of California, Riverside would be the wide variety of of mentors at on campus. There are mentors in every corner you turn. Mentors could in all different forms. For example, most commonly mentors are found in any type of club whether it be a pre/health club to a religious club. Students at UCR are always willing to step out and lend a hand to their fellow UCR students. Also, mentors are also faculty members and professors. From experience, I look up a lot of my professors and often come back to visit for advice.

Simone

I consider the best thing about my school is that the staff and faculty work really hard to make sure that every student succeeds. Take me for example. I had my ups and downs academically and financially and the staff never gave up on me. They made sure that I got the classes I needed and the funds to attend college. They were always there when I needed them and to answer any questions I had. The staff is very friendly and are always encouraging. They are the reason I am in this school which is because of their kindness.

Sarah

The diverse population and opportunities as well as encouragement to learn about other cultures and to step out of our norm.

Daniel

In my opinion the best thing about UCR is the feel of the campus. The campus feels laid back and easy going. Because of this students don't feel weighed down by pressure. This allows students like me to think more freely and come to their own conclusions instead of just being spoon fed information.

Daniel

The best thing about my school is the assessiblity of programs or activities to get involved in. In different organizations on campus, everyone is friendly and easily approachible. There is no problem getting to meet people if you stay involved with different organizations on campus. The Best thing for me about my school is the friendly environment in which organizations are assessible.

Jessica

The best thing about my school would be the variety of opportunities the school provides to help students learn and have fun throughout their college experience. First of all, there are supplemental instructions where students can attend to get extra help on classes. Also, the professors are flexible with their office hours. Second, the school holds many social events, where students can attend with their friends and have fun. For example, there is the Block Party at the beginning of the school year where artists come and perform. This is where students get to meet new people.

Sequoia

The University of California Riverside is a highly diverse university with many opportunities for students to achieve academic as well as personal goals when working towards an ultimate career. It is a university with excellent faculty and highly motivated students, and an extremely culture- friendly environment.

Xueli

The best thing about UCR is its people. The students here might not be as brilliant as those who attend an Ivy League school. However, I found friendship and a sense of belong here. Professors and staffs are always helpful. They try their best to help each individual student taking into account of their special cases. Students can easily find sources that would help them to achieve academic and career success.

Silvia

The best thing about my school is the diversity. You can't walk into a class and not notice the many different ethnicities around. This provides a student with a broader college experience. Students learn to tolerate and enjoy the many different languages and traditions that other students have. No person is singled out and no group is not joined. All people seem to enjoy the many different types of friends and classmates. Different cultures help students prepare and understand other people in the real world. It is a great benefit to have.

Katie

The concerts the music department puts on, especially the ethnomusicology ones. Bluegrass, bagpipes, Andean panpipes, taiko, gamelan...

Natalie

I love the diversity at UC Riverside. I've only been here one quarter and I'm already learning about different cultures and traditions that I was never exposed to growing up. Even within races, there's different culture, they especially vary from Northern California to Southern Californina. It's also nice to see that I can relate to so many different people that grew up in differenet cities and have different backgrounds from me. It makes the college experience better and more comfortable since I'm far from my family.

Heaven

Students at the University of California, Riverside all tend to be nice people. It is rare to smile at someone without receiving a smile in return. We are the third most ethnically diverse university in the country, which means that most people here, despire ethnic and cultural background, are good at getting along. This does not mean that we are without conflict but, for the most part, we are able to resolve such conflicts in a healthy manner. Also, students and professors alike are capable of working together to complete important projects and research.

Raegan

The best thing about my school is the access to different resources, such as tutoring services, Supplemental Instruction sections, and Discussion sections. These are all available for students to further their understanding in specific subjects.

Cheryl

The best thing about UCR is their efforts to make the school comfortable for students. UCR offers many resources to allow for students to reach their academic goals, with; free tutoring, free printing (limited pages), textbook reserves, laptop reserves, free transportation, etc. UCR also has many social events with free food, workshops, games, conferences and more. The school is also close to Los Angeles, Disneyland, Hollywood, San Diego and other fun places. But what I consider the best thing about UCR, is that is always sunny ~9 months out of the year.

Cheng-Ting

Even though UCR is not as competitive as UCLA or Berkeley, it is still a good university to go to. There are accomplished faculty and staff members here whom people give little credit for and I find that insulting to the school that I attend. Our campus is open to anyone and very diverse that everyone comes together as a community and I believe makes us work even harder as a team and students. Even though it may sound like a fairy tale college, it is this that makes the students of UCR enjoy it so much.

Daniel

I consider the learning center to be the best thing because it is what has really helped me understand and apply what I learned in my lectures by using extremely effective tutors. It is what has helped me keep my GPA above a 3.7 so far.

Courtney

UCR is very diverse and offers a wide variety of clubs and extra-cirricular activities and they centralled the school around everything a student would need

Rebecca

UCR is a very diverse school in culture that gives you different opportunity to try new things and to feel welcomed. However, there is also a similarities within students where majority of the students are from a middle class background from the suburbans that allow us to relate with one another. I am in a club that is Korean American Christian, so socially I feel that I have a place to feel accepted, but in classes I feel that I am in a diverse group that makes learning more engaging.

Valeria

The diversity.

Danika

There are pros and cons in every decision we make. Each opportunity we are given, offers a dirrerent outcome. The best thing that UCR offers is a homely location. Riverside is a twon with a lot of history if you take the time to explore. The school is pretty centrally located as far as southern California goes. For most students it is just far enough away from home, but not too far! We are about an hour away from the beach, the mountains, and about every major theme park or air port.

Cecilia

I love the diversity on campus, in just my hall there is a rich balance of so many ethnic backgrounds and through thatI have learned so many things already, culturally, in the time that I have been here. It's so interesting to hear the stories some of my hallmates tell of their childhood and the many different traditions that they have with their families.

Chihui

The best thing about my school, is that you get to find a right organization that suits you. It helps you to fit well within the school and help you to get involved in the right organization.

Renee

The best thing about my school is the diversity. You can meet some many different types of people not just ethnic diversity, but geographical, gender, and religious.

Samantha

The best thing about my school is that it is diverse and it makes you feel like you are not being deprived of any opportunities for your future based on race, religion, gender, etc.

Marissa

The best thing about my school is the friendly and inviting environment. There are many programs on campus that encourage students to participate and get involved with the campus life. Which makes the transition from high school to college fun and easy.

Michelle

It is very diversed. No one feels out of place because everyone can get along and understand each other and work together on their academic progress.

Vang

The best thing about my school is that they provide the services to support the students academically as well as financially. One of the service that helped me and other students academically is the Learning Center, a place where students drop in for tutorials and to get help understanding the homeworks. There are computers that students could access in the Learning Center. Another service that I think help students financially is the vanpool service because it commute students from 25 miles to about 30 miles away from campus to the school saving gas by a large amount.

Annmarie

I must say that the best thing about my school is the great desire TA's and tutors have to assist you with any problems. The want every student to succede and I have experinced several TA's take their saturday and help me prepare for a final. These TA's are very respectful and will help studets until they understand the class.

OLAWALE

Strong Community of students who reach out to help each other