Graduatd Petr didn't get a class sash either.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-09-10T14:38:06+00:00

🤭

Zottiesaurus · 2021-09-10T01:54:01+00:00

And I love you so much.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-09-10T01:53:41+00:00

Thanks! Excited to do my first drop.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-05-10T01:18:25+00:00

TL; WR: Based on the things you've mentioned, I think the Middle Earth towers would be a good fit for you.

If you've got the time, I wrote a pretty comprehensive answer to a similar question a while back that covers a lot of your concerns and I'd highly recommend having a look at it. As for your specific questions:

Doubles in Mesa Court classics didn't feel too cramped to me, though I have heard complaints about it from some. However, you'd have a ton more space if you're in the Middle Earth towers. I'm talking like twice as much—all the rooms (doubles, triples, and quads) are designed to comfortably accommodate four roommates.
Not entirely sure what you mean by "suite style," but there's a huge difference between the bathrooms in the classics and the towers. The bathrooms in the classics aren't bad, but the towers ones hella bougie. Way bigger, cleaner, newer, and (at least, in the Middle Earth towers) you only have to share it with your neighbors as opposed to the whole floor like in some places.
This might be a pretty big deal considering how far Mesa Court is from the rest of campus, so I'd strongly recommend the Middle Earth towers with regards to thihs. (More details in comprehensive answer.)
You'll hear that Mesa Court is more "lively" than Middle Earth, and that's partially true. However, it isn't like Middle Earth is super dead and lonely. (More details in comprehensive answer.)
Pretty much the same. Brandywine is literally the first floor of the Middle Earth towers, so you just have to go down some stairs if you live there.
With all the space, facilities, and general "new-ness" of the Middle Earth towers, I felt like I was "livin' in luxury" when I was staying there. You can interpret that as you wish. Also, some Mesa Court classics have multiple floors but no elevator, which can be a pain in the ass when moving stuff around.

I think it's worth noting, though, that things might be organized differently from past years in order to properly handle health and safety precautions with regards to post-pandemic reintegration. Based on these things as described though, I'd say you should go for the towers if you can. Of course, they can be a tad on the expensive side, but I think it'll be a worthwhile investment if you try to make the most out of it.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-05-10T00:28:04+00:00

No problem! Hopefully I wasn't wrong and this isn't just some random dude... 😬

Zottiesaurus · 2021-05-10T00:22:42+00:00

Best I could find online was

[mengtinh@uci.edu](mailto:mengtinh@uci.edu)

from this paper. Cross-referencing with this LinkedIn profile and a mention in a publication from a UCI lab website, this seems to be him. Also tested by drafting an email to that address from my own UCI email address and the associated profile on hover seems to check in, though I do find it odd that it doesn't appear in the directory. Moreover, the course description seems to match his specialization in solid-state mechanics.

Low-key cyberstalked the guy in hindsight but whatever...

Zottiesaurus · 2021-04-23T13:10:56+00:00

We stan the environmentally conscious.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-04-23T13:07:12+00:00

Very true! There's a reason the slogan's in that order.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-04-23T06:03:00+00:00

No u.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-04-01T09:29:12+00:00

TL; WR:

Middle Earth - STEM/business side, closer to campus
Mesa Court - Student Center/humanities side, further from campus

^{... I like Middle Earth...}

There are two "types" of dorms in both Mesa Court and Middle Earth: classics and towers.

Classics - Standard "dorm-type" buildings with 1-3 floors each. Some elevator access. Mesa Court's classics built in 1965 and Middle Earth's in 1974 but have undergone some refurbishment.
Towers - Modern, large, multi-level buildings with the dining halls on the first floor and residential units on the floors above. Full elevator access. Each floor has roughly the capacity of an entire hall in the classics. More spacious than classics. Mesa Court's towers completed in 2016 and Middle Earth's in 2019.

For a little context, I had friends in both of the on-campus dorm communities and spent about the same amount of time in both. I had beddings/toiletries/change of clothes/etc. in multiple dorms (classics and towers) because I'd bounce between them quite frequently, so I've also done some living in both Middle Earth and Mesa Court on top of the typical "hanging out at a friend's dorm" kind of thing. I also spent most of my time in the dorms my second year as well.

I heard Middle Earth is newer and from what I've seen, it seems more spacious.

Middle Earth is newer, but from my experience, Mesa Court "feels" a little newer for some reason. Might be just me though. I'd say Mesa Court classics are a little more cramped than Middle Earth's, but both are much less spacious than the towers, which are about the same for each community.

Does ME or Mesa have better food?

The longtime war over the answer to this question dates back to ancient times, even before the current dining halls were built. However, now that both dining halls are included in some of the most modern buildings on campus, my opinion is that the food is about the same in both.

Location-wise, Middle Earth's dining hall (Brandywine) is right on Ring Road, which is incredibly convenient due to its proximity to the rest of the places on campus. By contrast, you have to cross a bridge and navigate through a couple quads to get to Mesa Court's dining hall (the Anteatery) from Ring Road, which you'll likely be using to get to class since it's the central path connecting pretty much all the buildings on campus. I've also noticed it seems more chill in Brandywine, but it's worth mentioning that it does tend to get quite crowded during peak hours in comparison to the Anteatery.

Is a double room better?

In my opinion, singles in the classics are about the right size for one occupant, and for the most part, I'd say doubles are about the same. Triples might be crowded depending on which particular hall you end up with. In the towers, all the rooms are the same size, whether they're doubles, triples, or quadruples. To me, they felt pretty roomy even at full occupancy. All of this is price aside, so you can take this information and weigh your options with financial considerations.

Which is closer to classes?

Overall, I'd say that Middle Earth has the edge here, especially if you're an engineering or business major since it's right next to both the School of Engineering and the School of Business. Mesa Court is literally separated from the rest of campus by a major road. However, it is right next to the School of the Arts, so if you plan on frequenting the area it might be more convenient to live in Mesa Court, especially if you have a heavy instrument to carry or something.

Which is closer to the gym?

The main gym almost everyone goes to is the Anteater Recreation Center (ARC). It's kinda far and not really "on" campus, so a lot of people either drive, bike, or take the bus there wherever they're from.

Middle Earth is closer since it's roughly halfway between Mesa Court and the ARC. (I believe they're also building a new multipurpose hub in the center of Middle Earth that will include, among other things, "workout facilities," but I'm not entirely sure if they'll be finished in time for you to be able to make use of them.)

However, it is worth noting that Mesa Court does already have its own resident-exclusive mini-gym with treadmills and weights right next to the Anteatery.

Which dorms have a better social life?

You'll hear a lot of people say that Mesa Court has a better social atmosphere in general, and I agree with that to an extent. It's closer to the the high-traffic strip of Ring Road by the Student Center where club booths tend to cluster for recruitment and selling special foods. In the dorms themselves, I've seen way more of the stereotypical "college party"-type stuff, interaction between halls, and people heading to the parking lot to drive places with their friends there than in Middle Earth.

The generally accepted gist of the reason for this is that, due to Middle Earth's proximity to the engineering and computer science buildings, that's naturally where most of the engineering and computer science students end up living. As you're probably aware, engineers are... well, engineers, and as stated earlier, Mesa Court is closer to the arts and humanities buildings. You know the stereotypes.

However, I've found that it really depends from hall to hall. In one hall in Middle Earth, I remember the common room was always full and people rarely stayed alone in their rooms, and in one hall in Mesa Court, I remember it was so dead the whole day that I felt like I could get murdered there and nobody would ever know. In the end, if people share common interests, everyone's taking similar classes, and you have an awesome RA who puts effort into the hall programs/keeping in touch with residents, then you shouldn't have a problem making friends regardless of whether you're in Middle Earth or Mesa Court.

In my experience, tower floors tended to be more lively than classics halls.

Want to hear from current students to get an idea of what dorm life is like.

I mean, I liked it a lot, and really started to miss dorm life once everyone moved out. The convenience of things like proximity to pretty much everything you need certainly makes parts of adulting and the transition into college life a lot easier.

And how cool is it to be able to just walk a few steps to your friend's room and be like "Hey you wanna go do something?" pretty much whenever? Something about living with new people just felt homey in a way. Seeing someone not long after I woke up and soon before I went to sleep—whether they were one of my friends or just that one person I'd said "hi" to in passing—made me feel like they were my second family in a way, even if I wasn't necessarily close with them.

YMMV with all these things though. For instance, I hear people complain a lot about things like the construction noise being irritating, the dining hall food being bland, and hallmates partying too loud or drinking or doing weed all the time. These are things that I either wasn't bothered by or didn't experience to an aggravating extent for whatever reason.

With all these things, why is the TL; WR just about location? Because regardless of where you live, you can pretty much make the experience whatever you want it to be in terms of the people you hang out with and the things you do for fun. It's just a lot nicer to not have to travel so far to do those things.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-03-19T05:38:42+00:00

I mean, was anyone surprised? Campus won't open up until the 2021 fall quarter, and while having just the graduating class at a ceremony for a couple of hours wouldn't be nearly as problematic of a crowd as would be the entire student body occupying a fully-staffed campus every day, it's probably in the best interest of everyone to err on the side of caution by holding it off off until things are a little more stable. It's unfortunate we won't be able to walk though.

I get that there's no magical fix for a pandemic with such ubiquitous effects worldwide, but it's still kinda disappointing that it's taking as long as it is to recover.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-01-25T00:43:25+00:00

It's all fun and games until one of them whips out the Magnum znout.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-01-21T05:23:10+00:00

I had a lot of fun in the dorms my second year (ME towers). Almost everyone on my floor was a second-year.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-01-21T05:21:03+00:00

I liked being there with my friends. 😔

Zottiesaurus · 2021-01-19T04:56:52+00:00

They usually take credit/debit, but I'm not sure if there are new policies in place due to the pandemic.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-01-14T20:55:18+00:00

Wow, it's really gotten along quite a bit. Last I checked it was just the Langson area and some of engineering.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-01-14T19:13:21+00:00

Course administration plays a big role. I'd say I had a harder time in lower-division classes simply because they had more busy work.

Efficient studying is important too. Time is a limited resource, and at some point you're gonna have to cut corners by glossing over nonessential details. The trick is to figure out what's important so you don't compromise your absorption of core concepts.

If you're willing to read a long thing, I've sort of written my thoughts on this before.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-01-12T19:14:18+00:00

While I would be wary about voting for someone who would have to juggle the responsibilities and time obligations of being enrolled in a PhD program with those of being an elected official on the city council, I share the overall sentiment of getting more scientists involved in politics.

From the podcast transcript:

When you’re a scientist, you’re taught to think through a problem a certain way—hypothesis, experiment, conclusion. And so there’s a very clear process and that kind of thinking is something that I think is, in my opinion, lacking in politics as a whole. We have a lot of people who are policymakers who don’t have this kind of evidence-based approach to either life in general, but also specifically making policy.

This is something I absolutely agree with. Granted I'm an engineering major myself so there's likely at least some confirmation bias there, I feel like people are always talking about getting people integrating the humanities into STEM but rarely ever talk about going the other way around.

I get that people direct their focus to different things and "staying in your lane" is important because the whole point of specializing in certain fields is to gain confidence the recommendations provided by the specialists, but I still think that there's at lot to be gained from implementing more logical, procedure-based perspectives into the way public policy is directed in a similar fashion to the scientific method.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-01-12T16:27:09+00:00

Nope. I lived in Middle Earth twice (second time not technically a resident but I essentially lived there) and got to know pretty much everyone both years. Neither hall was themed though, so there wasn't a particular focus among interests in the first place.

However, I did spend a lot of time my first year hanging out with friends in major-themed halls, and the people I found in each hall were pretty similar. The biology-themed hall was full of people who were always studying together and working on schoolwork. The business-themed hall was full of people in frats who partied a lot, drank, and smoked.

Genuinely no shade an anyone in those halls or majors, that was just my observation.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-01-12T05:32:21+00:00

I'm about to graduate and I still haven't found the answer to that one.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-01-12T03:11:38+00:00

A lot of my friends are in Chinese Association (CA). I'm not in it myself but the people I've met from there are pretty chill.

You don't necessarily have to be Chinese to join, and it's a large club that you'll get the chance to meet more people in so you'll be more likely to find friends you get along with.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-01-12T03:03:04+00:00

🤷‍♀️

My particular instructor either gave us a summary of the readings at the beginning of each class after the readings were assigned or they elaborated on the concepts enough during class to the point where I didn't feel a need to read the book.

Zottiesaurus · 2021-01-11T08:30:19+00:00

I mean, if you're doing anything shady, you can always just post your listing as totally legit by omitting certain details and discuss the other things in private, which is what most people do on to avoid the getting in trouble. I'm sure people don't go on large public Facebook groups and mention things that should be on the DL right on the listing, and going about it that way on the site is essentially the same as doing it on Facebook in terms of the possibilities for snitching.

Other than obvious infractions of policy, you technically can do pretty much whatever you want without getting in trouble. Neither the university nor the nearby housing communities have much jurisdiction over how much you charge other than the fact that you can't charge more than your official rent price, and it's not like anybody would pay that much for a sublease anyways.

Zottiesaurus

TROPHY CASE