Is UC Riverside really that bad that many people think it's one of the bottom ranking UC's?

Question

I got my acceptance for UC, Riverside. I really wanna go there, but what are some negative things about the area? I heard that it's too hot there. Is that true? I currently live in Los Angeles. Are there truly not much to do even in the busiest areas? I haven't been to the place. So, please explain how it is like being there.

Answer 1

Depends on what you mean by "that bad". Yeah, it's the lowest ranking UC (not counting UC Merced cuz it's too new). Sure, it gets pretty hot and all the smog from LA blows out there, but in the winter, it doesn't get anywhere near as cold as UC Davis (which gets super hot in the summer too).

It's boring there, but Riverside is growing. Like Davis (another school out in the relative boonies), housing is cheaper. It's not too horrible a drive out to the fun stuff. You live in LA. You'll be able to travel out to what you know in LA on the weekends or even at night.

Basically, it's not the best place, but it certainly could be worse. Unfortunately, because it's a UC, it's compared to the other UCs, most of which have better locations and/or reputations. It's tough because all but Davis and Merced are either on the beach or just a couple miles from it and the fun communities that sprout up along the beach.

Honestly, only Berkeley and UCLA have locations to really brag about and have fun at (altho Berkeley's pretty ghetto). Everyone else would actually be on the boring side. They just have beaches usually.

Answer 2

I can't say anything about the area -- I have never been there. I do know about the UC school system (I got my PhD at UC-Berkeley).

Riverside is one of the lower ranked UC schools. If Merced is open, it is probably ranked lower.

But there are a few things to consider here. The worst UC school is still way better than the best CSU school. In addition, it is probably better than the best public university in many states. US News ranks UC-Riverside at #88. This means it is comparable to schools like University of Tennessee, University of Vermont, University of Kansas, Auburn University and University of Missouri. It puts it ahead of schools like University of Massachusetts, University of Nebraska and University of Arizona.

In short -- it is a very good school.

As for there being nothing to do there -- with 15,000 students, there will be things to do. But maybe it isn't such a bad thing not having many distractions.

Congratulations.