Hey y’all. First off: Congrats on getting in! You have all worked hard to get here and have earned your place on this campus. I thought it would be nice to share some of my experiences from my first year as it might ease your transition and help you make the most out of your first year here. I realized it might be more helpful to have multiple perspectives, so I asked a few friends to contribute. I’m sorry we’re all women in STEM, but I do not have male friends who would take this seriously enough to meet my high standards.
Consider this site a capture of what it may be like to be a first year at UCI. Some of the experiences may apply to your own, but we're mainly sharing our stories with you so you can have some assurance that you too will be able to survive this time. Things around campus change quite a bit so some of this information may be outdated by the time you stumble upon this guide. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope this helps you in whatever way you need.