University of California--Irvine

About Me

Intro

I know what probably comes to mind when you hear about "the OC"—maybe some real housewives complaining about traffic on "the 405" or Mischa Barton and Peter Gallagher having heartbreaking first-world problems.

Be prepared for a bit of a surprise when you step onto my campus: Brutalist buildings, a physics faculty that gave the neutrino its first big break after the Big Bang, and a slightly odd devotion to anteaters.

I've been defying expectations since 1972 when Conquest of Planet of the Apes was filmed here. Apparently, when filmmakers go on dates with me, they think I'm ground zero for dystopian simian revolts against humanity. I'm actually flattered.

Like the eucalyptus trees that cover the campus, I'm a transplant university, created back in the 1960s when the University of California was bursting at the seams with eager new students. Since then, I've held my own against the Berkeleys and UCLAs of the system: I've got some famous Nobels, I managed to hire and retain Jacques Derrida, and I'm just as ratings-conscious as the rest of the UC system.

These days, I'm a competitive research university. Sometimes, I miss the days when I could go unnoticed, but you know how fame works in SoCal.

Name

The Anteater

Hometown

Dreamed up by the Irvine Company, Irvine has a Disney-retro vibe in the middle of conservative Orange County. Irvine is known for its public school system, ridiculously high median income, and the tech companies that give it a Little Silicon Valley feel. It's a ten-minute drive (this is Southern California, folks—everyone drives) to some glorious beaches.

Birthdate

1965

Body Type

So, I got my start in the 1960s when the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley was making the 'stablishment a bit jumpy. There's a rumor that won't die about Aldrich Park, the green area in the heart of campus. It's shaped like a giant grassy bowl and is completely encircled by tall, Brutalist buildings around its circumference. "Hmmmm," goes the rumor, "Where can we corral these students in case they want to occupy the Chancellor's office?"

Apparently, the rumor is total bunk (the campus was designed too early for that plausible nefariousness to be true). Aldrich Park is actually genius because students from my twelve different schools mix and mingle here between classes—and sometimes after dark.

I've got plenty of students—some 23,000 undergraduates—and a serious dedication to top-flight research in the sciences. People call me a Public Ivy, but I'm so far from the cold of the Northeast that I don't really pay much attention. My students are too busy doing research in between trips to Laguna Beach.

Current Living Situation

I've got a bit of a rep as a commuter campus. Whatever, dude. I'm part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, one of the world's largest, so lots of students are SoCal locals in the first place.

If you live on campus, there are two main undergraduate dorms: Mesa Court and Middle Earth. Mesa Court has themed halls geared toward special interests (Wellness, Emerging Leaders, Visual Arts, Community Service & Social Justice—you get the picture). With names like Isengard and Rivendell, the halls of Middle Earth cater to escapism and fantasy—you'll need a dose of imagination with all the eucalyptus trees blocking your view of the Misty Mountains.

Set off from the main campus, Arroyo Vista is a third community where most of the frats and sororities are located. It used to be a cow pasture, but it's now an expanse of manicured lawns with lots of pick-up volleyball games between classes.

Relationship Status

Since I was born in the 1960s, long after my older siblings Berkeley and UCLA, I've carried middle child syndrome into my young adult years—I totally know how my cow-loving bro Davis and surfing twins Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz feel.

Instead of rebelling and trying to pave a Telegraph Avenue down the middle of Irvine, I went for the pocket protector approach: I've got serious research chops and a rep for funneling students into top graduate and medical schools.

I have an anteater for a mascot, but at least it's a mammal that could conceivably play sports, unlike, say, the banana slug, which completely lacks appendages. So I do sports, but I don't really have rivals. UCLA won't let me.

Politics

UC Irvine is no Kremlin on the Charles, but it's certainly more liberal than surrounding Orange County. In a county where the airport is named after John Wayne and where Nixon learned to walk, orange groves and sunshine have gone hand-in-hand with conservative politics. On the whole, as a university in a conservative oasis, I'm pretty laid-back with the politics stuff. You'll have to decide if this is a deal breaker.

You should apply to me if...

you have serious academic drive and ambition—but you've got a soft spot for relaxing at nearby beaches.