Nothing is automatic at UC Irvine. I know this sounds harsh, but it is very important for you to expect to initiate things for yourself. Don't wait for someone to tell you what to do, find out for yourself what you need to be doing. If you are not already, you need to learn to become proactive rather than reactive in planning your undergraduate experience. Your academic and student life success hinges upon your development or refinement of this personal skill.

You can get advice and referrals from the TSCP for any issue you need help with (and for further tips on what you need to be proactive about). Please don't hesitate to contact us, no matter how insignificant the issue(s) may seem initially. A simple email question/answer sequence between us may prevent future frustration when the "little" things build up--you don't have the time or energy to allow this type of stress into your life!!

Academic counseling appointments are critical to your academic success at UC Irvine. Click here fora list of all the academic counselors at UC Irvine. Plan to see your academic counselor at least once per quarter. Important note: The TSCP does not assist transfer students in planning their course schedules, you must see an academic counselor in your school for this type of help.

Issues pertaining to your financial aid package should not be put off. Make sure that your FAFSA is submitted on or before March 2 (or your package will include "sloppy seconds") and don't wait until the last minute to ask questions. Contact the Financial Aid Office for assistance. You should also research scholarship opportunities that may be available to you. There are far more merit based scholarships available at UC Irvine than were available to you at the community college, so don't let past experience dictate how you perceive scholarship qualifications here. You can look at the Scholarship web site or the Scholarship Opportunities Program web site for more information. Re-entry students should ask the Financial Aid Office for a Town & Gown Scholarship application.

Check out the New Student Handbook on UC Irvine's web site. Further, make sure you familiarize yourself with the academic calendar for each quarter (found at the Registrar's web page), noting your final exam times (that can vary from your regularly scheduled course time, including day of the week changes). If you find that the final exam time is a problem, talking to the professor early in the quarter can often have positive results. Don't wait until the last minute! If any policy is unclear to you, always feel free to ask the TSCP for assistance and helpful referrals.

Connect with the Career Center as soon as possible during your first quarter at UC Irvine. You can get help with career and graduate school planning from the career counselors.

Regarding Graduate School: If you thought the process of transferring to UC Irvine was cumbersome, that experience is a cake walk compared to the long-term preparation required for a quality and competitive graduate school application. Your junior year is critical if you plan to graduate within two years of your transfer (with graduate school as a goal, most counselors will strongly recommend a third year at UC Irvine). Researching the many programs in your field of interest will take a great deal of time and it is best to start early in order to make the most informed decisions. It is also important to research the ultimate career opportunities each graduate degree offers, the results of that research might surprise you. Graduate school is expensive and highly specialized, so don't waste your time and money by making inappropriate assumptions. The resources provided to you by the Career Center are invaluable in this endeavor.

Regarding Career Planning: If your goal is to secure a good job following graduation, you will want to meet with a career counselor immediately to find out more information about the career path(s) you are interested in. UC Irvine may have internships available to you that will help you gain valuable experience in your field of interest, making you more competitive in the job market. Further, it is always a good idea to research what you believe you are interested in doing following graduation. In many cases, certain career paths are vastly different that they are initially perceived. Your future happiness is too important to be taken lightly, make sure you are on the right path as early as possible, and then make the most of your time at UC Irvine by adequately preparing yourself for success.

Take advantage of the tutoring services from the Learning and Academic Resources Center (LARC). Unless you are transferring from another UC school, your UC Irvine GPA begins at 0.00 so whether you are trying to start fresh or maintain a high GPA, this student perk is too valuable to pass up when trying to master needed skills and concepts!

Be prepared for the 10-week quarter system, it is a slap in the face for transfer students used to a 16-week semester system. You don't have a few weeks to ease into a course and you cannot get behind in your reading and/or course work. Midterms creep up on you four weeks into the quarter and it feels like you just started. Don't take more than 12 units your first quarter so you can get a feel for the quarter system and the ways that work the best for you to stay on task. This aspect of your transfer is a killer if you go into it blindly, don't fall victim to the first quarter crash and burn!! If you need help in preparing for the quarter system, especially if you are a re-entry student with children, please contact the TSCP for individualized assistance.

Get to know your professors by visiting them during their office hours and by sitting in the front of your classes. This is by far the most under-utilized resource on campus by transfer students, and often the very most valuable to you if you plan to attend graduate school. Research experience is vital for a competitive graduate school application and your professors are the gatekeepers to the prime opportunities on-campus that are often unadvertised. Read about the research interests of faculty in your school/major so you can go out of your way to take courses with faculty whose research interests mimic your own (as close as possible). You can talk to the TSCP and/or to the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) for more information on how to get involved in research. For information on how to get great faculty letters of recommendation, check out this web site. You can also have the Career Center manage your letters of recommendation, click here for more information.

Study the sections of the UCI General Catalogue pertaining to all UC Irvine students, your school and your major. You are responsible for knowing this information on your own and it will be assumed that you are aware of the policies that apply to you. Also, research the deadlines, residency requirements, and Greek honors policies for graduation applications that apply to your school. Due to their limited time at UC Irvine, transfer students can sometimes be unhappily surprised without proper long-term preparation.

Activate your UCINetID and your UCI email account, and then USE IT!! There is no excuse for not using it now that students have online access to their email account through Webmail. Using Webmail is similar to using Hotmail or Yahoo! to collect your email. Many professors and academic counselors will not answer a non-UCI email because they cannot be sure that you are actually a UCI student. Also, your UCI email address is used for vital information dissemination through your school and major, and you are responsible for knowing that information (it is the same as real life, ignorance of the law is no excuse). UC Irvine is an email campus so if your are not used to communicating this way regularly, you had better get used to it ASAP. The TSCP is happy to help you, if needed.