A Day in the Life at University of California, Irvine

A Day in the Life at University of California, Irvine The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach theyre sharing their college experiences as well. Wyatt is currently a junior at University of California, Irvine majoring in Mechanical Engineering. He is a Los Angeles tutor specializing in AP English tutoring, Calculus tutoring, Essay Editing tutoring, and more. Check out his review of his school: VT: Describe the campus setting and transportation options.How urban or safe is the campus?Are there buses or do you need a car/bike? Wyatt: I go the University of California, Irvine (UCI), and the campus is definitely very beautiful. It is centered around Aldrich Park, which is a large circular area roughly one mile in circumference with trees, open grass, and paths snaking through it. This makes it easy to get anywhere on campus; simply walk through the park and you'll reach basically anywhere in five minutes or less. The main options for transportation are commuting (which I do), living in on-campus dorms (and therefore needing no vehicle transportation), and living in slightly off-campus dorms. For the slightly off-campus dorms, and for anyone who needs to use them, there are shuttles that go from UCI to various housing areas to enable faster transportation. There are also bike racks on these shuttles so that you can ride your bike down to campus and then have the bus carry the bike back up when you aren't in a hurry to get to class. The downside to this is the shuttles are packed, and unless you have the schedule memorized, you can arrive at a bus stop right after a bus has left, and you have to wait for the next round. Personally, I have to deal with commuting and parking on campus very frequently, and I find that to be the one thing I like least about the campus. You have to pay a pretty hefty amount each month to get parking, but unless you actually live on campus, you cannot buy overnight p arking without paying $14.00 each night you do so. This makes studying all night with friends very costly, even though it is quite necessary sometimes. In sum, you do not need a car or bike, but having a bike is definitely nice for those times when you're out of sync with bus arrival, and having a car is great for exploring Irvine, as there are many great places to go if you just look around! VT: How available are the professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants? Wyatt: The professors and TAs (teaching assistants) are very helpful in general when you go to their office hours and e-mail them. There has only been one professor that I've had so far that didn't respond to me within three to three hours via e-mail during the school week (of course, on the weekends it can take a little longer), and I am currently finishing my junior year here. Oftentimes, TAs are extremely crucial to your learning, and I've found that the people who think TAs and professors aren't available are really the ones who haven't taken the time to go meet them at their office hours or talk to them after class about their problems; most people are very shy in that regard. My advice, regardless of where you end up going for school, is to make sure you ask questions the second you don't understand something. The only dumb question is the one that isn't asked, and if you don't get it, there's a high probability your classmates don't either (unless you're consistently missing c lass). VT: How would you describe the dorm life rooms, dining options, location, socialization opportunities with other students? Wyatt: I have commuted for all three years, so I do not have a great deal of information on dorm life. However, rooms are shared generally between two to three people, and are rather small. Dining options are usually pretty good, since it is a buffet at most places, and the food has a lot of variety, including themed buffet bars like Mexican food day, Chinese food day, etc. However, some days their food of the day can be underwhelming, but their burgers are always really good! Dorms are located on either side of Aldrich Park, although between the complexes Middle Earth and Mesa, there is a trade-off. Mesa has much nicer dorm rooms, but is about five to ten minutes further from everything (except for the School of the Arts) than Middle Earth is. Middle Earth is close to most things, but the dorms are much smaller. However, each dorm has Resident Advisors, RAs, who keep you involved in various dorm activities and provide socialization options, so the dorms are very rich in that regard. VT: Which majors/programs are best represented and supported?What did you study and why? Did the university do a good job supporting your particular area of study? Wyatt: I am not exactly sure which majors are best represented/supported. I know there are many Biology majors, and many Engineering majors, but that could be simply because I basically live my life on the Engineering side of campus. I study Mechanical Engineering, as it is a field in great demand in society today, and there should be a good amount of jobs open when I graduate. I think there are many options open for people to get involved in extracurricular activities and learn more about new facets of their major, including ESC (Engineering Student Council) events, ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) events, Engineering fairs, and many more activities, so in that sense I think the university cultivates great interest in my major, and supports it well. VT: How easy or difficult was it for you to meet people and make friends as a freshman? Does Greek life play a significant role in the campus social life? Wyatt: It was very easy for me to make friends as a freshman. I looked at the club fair when I was a freshman, and immediately found ASME and VeVo (Vermillion Vocalists, an acapella group). Once I joined ASME and auditioned for VeVo and made it in, I made many friends, and also made friends with classmates in my major-specific classes, as we began to see each other every quarter for freshman year (and for the next two years). So making friends as a freshman is not difficult, it just requires you to go out and explore your options, and do what interests you. By doing that, you'll automatically find people who share hobbies with you, and that can be the beginning of a great friendship. Greek life can be either a big deal and a huge commitment or almost non-existent, depending on the people you hang out with and what you choose to do with your spare time. I personally am not affiliated with any fraternities, and so it does not impact my life at all. However, a friend of mine is in a fraternity and spends much of his free time planning and going to events for it. VT: How helpful is the Career Centerand other student support services?Do many reputable companies recruit on campus? Wyatt: I've heard many great things about it, and have been meaning to check it out, but I personally have not been to the Career Center. They do have a lot of information, though, and companies do recruit on campus at places like the Engineering fair. VT: How are the various study areas such aslibraries, the student union, and dorm lounges? Are they over-crowded, easily available, spacious? Wyatt: The libraries are usually pretty empty in the early weeks of the quarter, but from weeks five through eight (midterms I and II) and week 10-finals week, the libraries can get very packed. You can always find space there, even if it is very packedyou just might not get to go to your favorite spot. There are many other random places on campus that have lounges, however, and some are quite comfy, quiet, and conducive to studying. I have a personal favorite place that I go to that has excellent wi-fi signal, free printing, long, luxurious sofas that I frequently nap on, and tables for working, but I seldom reveal where that is; I don't want it to get crowded! If you end up going to UCI, you'll have to explore to find it. VT: Describe the surrounding town. What kinds of outside establishments / things to do are there that make it fun, boring, or somewhere in between?To what extent do students go to the downtown area of the city versus staying near campus? Wyatt: UCI is set in a very urbanized area, with downtown Irvine nearby, and many food options within a five to ten mile range of the campus, especially at the Irvine Spectrum, Diamond Jamboree, and The District (shopping centers). Here are a few suggestions for delicious food or a fun night that most people don't know about: -Mick's Karma Bar, about six to seven miles away. This place has burgers that are absolutely off the hook, amazing steak fries, and is set in the middle of a bunch of big business buildings, with a huge ring of palm trees encircling two half-circle pools of water, with neo-art benches situated on the outside. It is absolutely beautiful, and needless to say, it is a great place to take a date. My favorite is the fiery habanero burger with the strawberry-basil lemonade. -Cafe Rio, about ten to twelve miles away. A little bit further than Mick's, but this place is insane. Think of it like Chipotle, but with authentic Mexican food, even bigger portion sizes, and handmade real flour tortillas. Furthermore, they feature a delicious, creamy queso sauce that addicts every single person that I've had try it (including my lactose-intolerant girlfriend). -ImprovCity, less than five miles away. Located upstairs in Irvine Lanes, it's a little hard to find. However, for $10.00, you can have two hours of straight laughing, as these guys put together a great improv comedy show. Definitely merits a visit. These are just three places that stand out to me, but there are almost infinitely many to go to if you just drive down a major street like Jamboree and look at the places you pass. In sum, UCI is situated very nicely, due to its close proximity to many exciting, fun, or delicious establishments. VT: How big or small is the student body? Were you generally pleased or displeased with the typical class sizes? Wyatt: The student body is pretty huge, sitting at about 27,000 students. My class sizes really vary depending on what class it is. For a lot of Math and Physics classes, the classes were anywhere from 100-300 people. However, for Writing classes, I had 30 people in there, if that. Major-specific classes tend to be big as well, since everyone in that major has to take them, so an average Engineering class has about 300 students. This is good when you want to text or look up something on the internet or accidentally doze off, because its harder to be noticed, but this is bad for the same reason. I would advise, as I stated before, going to the professor's office hours to at least get some sort of facial recognition going (and to not sleep in classyou don't want to be the guy the professor notices and calls out in front of 300 people), so that you can possibly ask the professors for research advice/positions in the future. VT: Describe one memorable experience with a professor and/or class. Perhaps one you loved the most or one youregretthe most. Wyatt: While good experiences are definitely enjoyable and worthwhile, I find the most learning through my mistakes, and so here is the thing I most regret. The first quarter of my freshman year, I took entry-level physics (which everyone needs for general requirements). It was exceptionally easy, and without even studying, I aced the final and the class. To top this off, I had done well in all of my other classes that quarter, and so I grew complacent with Physics. The next quarter, I took Newtonian Mechanics. Still in an over-confident mindset from the past quarter's success, and unwilling to wake up in the morning at 6:00 or earlier in order to get to campus in time for my 8:00 a.m. class, I put the class on the back burners and missed many lectures. I scored a passable grade on the midterm, but still didn't realize I was making a huge mistake. Once the final came around, I tried to cram a bunch of end-of-quarter material, but was unable to do so, as Physics picks up in difficulty very quickly. I ended up doing very poorly on the final, receiving a D+ in the class (my first and only failing grade). I was absolutely livid (at myself) f or having done this. I spoke with my counselor, who said that a D+ in Physics was actually passing by the standards of the Physics department for that course, but I was obviously unsatisfied. I ended up retaking the course, actually trying this time, and got an A. From then on, I almost never missed class, and I take each class very seriously. The moral of this story is simply to not be lazy or complacent with any class, regardless of previous performance. Waking up for class at 8:00 is a real drag in college for some reason (it wasn't this painful in high school...), but it's just something that has to happen. Being there at every class is the only way to ensure that you can be as prepared as every other student in the class, and that you can therefore beat the curve. Check out Wyatts tutoring profile. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

How Easy Is It to Learn Japanese

How Easy Is It to Learn Japanese If You Want to Learn Japanese, Will It Be Difficult? Chapters Japan’s Relationship with English Words There’s No Gender in Japanese! What About Conjugations in Japanese? You Don’t Always Need to Use the Subject and the Object There Are Very Few Ways to Pronounce Syllables in Japanese Pronouncing “R” in Japanese Unlike Chinese, the Intonation Doesn't Change the Meaning of a Word  How to Learn Japanese: A Logical LanguageWith very little in common with English, learning Japanese can often be seen as an insurmountable challenge.  Just like Arabic, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese, Japanese doesn't use the Latin alphabet. It uses its own writing system made up of kana, Japanese Kanji, and romaji. These complex differences when compared to English often put people off learning Nihongo.However, there’s an increasing number of students wanting to rise to this challenge. And luckily for them, there are now a number of ways to learn Japanese.More and more people are becoming interested in Japanese culture and the popularity of the langu age is subsequently increasing. Japanese classes are getting fuller.Thus, despite being a “difficult” language to learn, gaining a deeper understanding of Japan’s fascinating history and culture is worth the work you’ll have to put in.Are you interested? If so, let’s have a look at why Japanese isn’t actually as difficult as it’s often made out to be. NanaJapanese Teacher 5.00 (3) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YukoJapanese Teacher 5.00 (3) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EllyJapanese Teacher 5.00 (1) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MomokoJapanese Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MelanieJapanese Teacher £14/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JamesJapanese Teacher 5.00 (5) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors PippaJapanese Teacher £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarikoJapanese Teacher £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Japan’s Relationship with English WordsUnl ike what people often thing, Japanese actually uses plenty of English words!  This is something that you’ll learn when you start taking Japanese classes in high school, or if you learn Japanese with a private tutor.You don't need to remember as many conjugations in the Land of the Rising Sun. (Source: negativespace.co)As you already understand English, you’ve got an ace up your sleeve when it comes to learning the Japanese language!Not only do we use many Japanese words in English, you’ll soon see just how many English words have been borrowed by the Japanese. Just like Japanese culture is popular in many English-speaking cultures, English-speaking cultures are also very popular among  young Japanese people.These foreign words, known as gairaigo (???) will give you a huge advantage over other learners who can’t speak English. Make the most of it! Before you’ve even seen any of the grammar or kanji (the characters used in the Japanese writing system), you’ll be familiar w ith the vocabulary for a large number of topics.How do you say “Isn’t that just swell?” in Japanese?  Let’s have a look at a few of the words that Japanese has borrowed from the English language:“ending” ? endingu“soccer” ? sakkaa“half-time” ? haafu taimu“referee” ? refurii“mic” ? maiku“table” ? teeburu“Internet” ? intaanetto“romantic” ? romanchikku“driveshaft” ? doraibushafutoOf course, every student should make sure that they adopt the Japanese pronunciation of these words when they’re speaking the language.You should know that these words won’t be written using the Latin Alphabet, they’ll be written using a Japanese writing system, something you'll need to master in order to read and write in Japanese.Where would you like to live in Japan? (Source: negativespace.co)There are three main Japanese writing systems: kanji (Japanese characters which evolved from Chinese characters) and kana (which includes the hiragana and katakana syll abaries). However, for words of foreign origin, you just need to learn the katakana writing system and familiarize yourself with the Japanese way of pronouncing these English words.Romaji is the third part which is how Japanese is written using the Latin alphabet so that foreigners, plus any new learner just starting their Japanese learning, can understand. It is often suggested that you don't rely on romaji alone, and that you take the time to learn kanji. This will help in your later Japanese progression as your proficiency grows. There’s No Gender in Japanese!Did you learn French or Spanish in school and get sick of masculine and feminine nouns? One of the first things you’ll learn about Japanese is that there’s none of that nonsense!Unlike the Romance languages, which are made more difficult to learn by gendered nouns, there are no genders in the Japanese language.  When you learn new Japanese vocabulary, you’ll do that! You won’t need to learn the masculine or feminin e versions.  That’s a whole lot of time you won’t be wasting learning several versions of all the Japanese phrases you learn. What About Conjugations in Japanese?As soon as you start studying Japanese in middle school you'll see that there is another aspect in which Japanese is much easier to learn than languages like Spanish and French. While learning conjugations and verb tables might have been the stuff of nightmares during school, you can forget about them in Japanese. There aren’t conjugations for each personal pronoun in Japanese!Life is quite different in Japan. (Source: pixabay.com)In Japanese, you won’t need to change the verb when speaking about different people.  In comparison to the 6 different conjugations in each tense in Spanish and French, Japanese uses one solitary conjugation for each verb tense. This can make Japanese grammar much easier.Still think that Japanese is too difficult?Let’s have a look at the verb “to eat” as an example. In Spanish you’ d learn 6 different versions just for the present tense (not to mention all the other tenses). In Japanese, you’ll just learn the one conjugation for the present tense, saving you lots of time during your Japanese lessons London to focus on learning new Japanese words, verbs, adjectives, and expressions.It doesn’t matter who’s eating, you’ll just use the verb taberu  (???) and you won't have to change it.For example:“I eat.” ? Taberu “You eat.” ? Taberu “He / She eats.” ? Taberu “We eat” ? Taberu “You (pl., fam.) eat” ? Taberu “You (pl.) / They eat.” ? Taberu NanaJapanese Teacher 5.00 (3) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors YukoJapanese Teacher 5.00 (3) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EllyJapanese Teacher 5.00 (1) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MomokoJapanese Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MelanieJapanese Teacher £14/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JamesJapanese Teacher 5.00 ( 5) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors PippaJapanese Teacher £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarikoJapanese Teacher £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors You Don’t Always Need to Use the Subject and the ObjectWhy make things complicated when we can keep them simple?  This should be the advertising slogan for Japanese in certain cases.When you speak Japanese, you can drop subjects and objects if they’re not necessary. This makes Japanese a “pro-drop” language.If somebody asked if you’ve already eaten, you can just use tabeta (???, “ate”), the past version of the verb taberu (???).  Since both parties know who’s talking and who they’re talking about, you don’t really need to say who “ate”.This is a huge advantage when it comes to learning the language as there’s less to think about when you’re speaking basic Japanese. There Are Very Few Ways to Pronounce Syllables in JapaneseUnlike English, the Japanese language is put togeth er using syllables rather than individual letters. This means the number of possible sounds is limited.How do people in Japan celebrate big events? (Source: pixabay.com)It is a syllabic language, after all!With just 45 basic syllables, you’d think that Japanese would be harder to learn than English which has 26 letters.  If you take into account that each syllable can only be pronounced in one way, you’ll see how this is much simpler.This is sort of a linguistic blessing from the gods of languages. Especially when you consider how terrible native English speakers are at learning foreign languages...Consider the letter “e” in English:It has a short pronunciation like in the word “empty”.A long pronunciation like in the word “key”.A long pronunciation like in the word “résumé”.It can also be pronounced as a “schwa” (/?/) in words like “taken”.Or silent at the end of certain words like “case”.That’s quite complicated.Japanese makes things a lot easie r for us. Take any symbol from kana. It doesn’t really matter where it appears in the word. You just need to pronounce it the way you always have. For example, take the letter “e” (? in Hiragana). Pronunciation doesn't change regardless of where you find it in Japanese sentences. This makes it much easier when it comes to learning words and phrases. Pronouncing “R” in JapaneseThere’s a myth going around that the letter “r” in Japanese is really hard to pronounce. Superprof would like to bust said myth.Did you know you can use video games to learn Japanese? (Source: pixabay.com)In fact, pronouncing the letter might be easier than you think and can be done with minimal effort for anyone who’s grown up speaking English.The Japanese “r” sounds: ra (?), ri (?), ru (?), re (?), and ro (?), for example, can be made by imagining that you’re saying the “t” words like water, letter, meter, and cutter. Your tongue will lightly touch the roof of your mouth.  Practici ng the sound and listening to it often will help you perfect it. Unlike Chinese, the Intonation Doesn't Change the Meaning of a WordLanguages like Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Thai are all tonal. Japanese, however, is not. This means that you have one less thing to worry about when learning the language.  Japanese saves the day once again!The way you speak Japanese should change depending on the situation you're in. (Source: Ghost Presenter)While you’ll sometimes hear Japanese people making a distinction with their voice (often called a “pitch accent” by linguistics), this isn’t really something that you’ll have to worry about.The only thing you’ll need to remember is that you won’t need to learn several tones like you would if you were learning languages like Mandarin Chinese.In most cases where this occurs, context will probably do most of the work for you in figuring out what they mean.For example, the word hashi  can be used to mean “chopsticks” ?, “b ridge” ?, or end ? depending on the intonation (high-low, low-high, and flat in this case). However, it’s unlikely you’re going to be having a conversation where the meaning isn’t obvious.  If you’re in a restaurant, they’re probably talking about chopsticks rather than a bridge...  How to Learn Japanese: A Logical LanguageWith fewer conjugations and different grammatical structures, it can be difficult to translate from English to Japanese in your head.Japan has a rich history, culture, and cuisine. (Source: Valeria Boltneva)Learning Japanese at university, or at home with a private tutor are just two ways that you can  move away from “English mode”. By doing so,  you’ll be able to learn Japanese without too much difficulty. When you go to Japan, you'll see that speaking Japanese involved a lot of etiquette.Japanese logic focuses on the speaker and means that you do your utmost to never offend them when speaking to them.  This rule, which originated in ancient Jap anese tradition, is a sign of courtesy for the Japanese.Japanese is a very polite language, and this is why honorifics are always attached to the ends of the names of the people we’re speaking to. The most common, san, is commonly known among English speakers. You might have also heard of ones such as kun which is used for teachers and students.One last thing: don’t forget that you can also learn Japanese through video games and chatting to people online.