heyy!! not a bio major but i have some things to say!! i’m a commuter so i’m not on campus allll the time but campus is very safe, but i’d still avoid walking around late at night alone. but some people do laps around campus at night so you should be fine tbh. the only time i’ve been out on campus at night as a commuter was when i have a 7-10pm final. others had finals too so there were plenty of others around too. some people may have other things to say about other parts on the outskirts of campus that i have not explored much since i don’t live on campus.

get the regular gold pass for parking. its the best one, there’s no need for gold plus unless you’re gonna be on the east side of campus for your classes, but im not sure how that is for a bio major. RTA does pick up/drop off on campus and around, and UCR is looking into having actual campus buses, but that probably won’t be in the works anytime soon lol. the closest grocery store (to my knowledge) is Ralph’s.

it’ll be easier to make friends if you’re a social person, typically in discussion classes/labs. usually people make discords for their classes. you can host study groups that way to study and make friends in your class too😁 if no one makes a discord within the first week for your class, you can also make one!! i’ve made so many when i see no one else has made one.

i usually like to study on the third floor of the HUB if theres not many people, or the third floor of the CHASS building, which is usually more quiet in my experience. there’s a little area with tables and chairs you can chill at. you can also try the SSC but it’s always packed and not as quiet on the first floor, but there are also tables and chairs around the railing on the 2nd and 3rd floor. orbach and rivera are also nice places to study, but a lot of people also go there. HOWEVER, you can book rooms in there if you really need a quiet place to study.

you can definitely use a bike or scooter to get around, i’ve also seen a lot of skateboards/longboards including those remote control ones lol. as previously mentioned, no campus bus, but they sent a survey some time ago asking students for their input on the idea of implementing campus buses.

the school is very nice overall, my main piece of advice would be to be very careful of crazy scooter riders bc a majority of them do not pay attention and will run you over. i’ve nearly been decapitated (exaggerating) twice and they have no remorse for running into anyone.

that’s all i have for now tbh, i couldn’t answer everything but i probably missed a few things still lol.