Concordia University - Irvine

Listen to my advice and really think about what you want out of college. Career opportunities?... don't go here. An affordable education...? don't go here. A sense of purpose?... don't go here. Catch my drift? Lol basically save your money/ your parents money and your sanity and go to a better school.

I attended for 2 years and found it impossible to make quality friends, gain internship opportunities, and MOST IMPORTANTLY make career connections. From the very beginning people acted just like high school. Snooty, arrogant, and privileged. Additionally the core was a colossal waste of time. I'm sorry but studying the sequence of pinecones. WHAT!

I attended this school due to the location, religious affiliation, school size, and scholarships. I will be honest and admit that I did not do enough research with regard to the specific programs offered. However, as an incoming freshman I had no clue what I wanted to study and therefore chose CUI for other reasons.

My first two years I met some of the most immature and insecure people I have ever met. The group of "friends" I made regularly gossiped about me and legit got up from the table when I sat down with them in the cafeteria. It was like re-living high school all over again. Sophomore year I became extremely depressed and really started to stuggle. I felt like no one was supportive or there to help me and the business program left me feeling unfulfilled and meaningless.

Eventually, I transfered to Cal Poly. The connections I made at Cal Poly were irreplaceable. I've made life long friends, held 4 interships, and saved upwards of 40K by transferring. Not to mention, I have been accepted to graduate school at a UC and am proud to be a Cal Poly Aluma. The point of college is to set yourself up for the future with career opportunties, professional connections, and useful knowledge. In my opinion, CUI provided me with none of these things.

2nd Year Female -- Class 2018

Collaboration/Competitive: A+, Useful Schoolwork: F

When I was looking at coming to Concordia, I thought it was amazing and beautiful and exactly where I belonged, that is until I actually started going there. I had multiple scholarships and was a very excited freshman, which I guess came across wrong to a few classmates. Almost as soon as I got there harsh rumors about me and my roommates began to fly making us feel very targeted and unwanted. With it being such a small school, everyone quickly knew everything so we felt like we had no where to go.

Also, while it is a Lutheran university, either the students are no where near godly, or they're condescendingly religious. It was hard to make friends because if you wanted to experiment with your freedom even a little (like most college students do) it was risky trying to confide in people.

Lastly, the on-campus Health Center was the most condescending and least helpful place ever. You couldn't trust a single worker there, especially their head nurse. Twice, a nurse there prescribed medication to me without fully explaining the side effects! Then because of one of those medications, it led to a very severe situation that required me to be hospitalized during finals on their behalf, leaving me with the bill. Because of many reasons, which included bullying, the medical center, inability to maintain my grades and scholarships through both, I decided to leave the school at semester instead of finishing out the year, because I felt uncomfortable and attacked.

Even through all of that, I do visit the school regularly now because I made some life-long friends who I love and miss dearly. I keep in touch with my ex-roommates and a few others who all for the most part enjoy the school despite its flaws. It is very much like high school in the ways that it has its cliques, many of which are hard to break in to or leave without repercussions. While many like the small intimate class sizes, I found them to be a bit draining because attendance can effect your grades.

Last note and it is the most important, NOBODY EXPLAINS CORE. CORE is what you take in place of your general Ed classes, and they are the worst. They are mostly non-transferable credits which basically require you to stay for 2 years until you've finished them. If you want to transfer elsewhere you risk the possibility of having to retake general education classes and throwing away your tuition. While the required bible classes were interesting, there was also a horrendous class called Freshman Seminar which you only had to take for a semester luckily. I would regularly find myself getting upset at the [offensive] views and opinions shared in this class, such as their views on abortion (mentioned as "baby-killing"), immigration, sex, alcohol, etc. and how they were being taught extremely one-sided, and not factually. Many people never really paid attention to these lessons anyways though, seeing that most people either slept through them or used it as a study period for homework and papers etc.I personally think that this school attracts the wrong type of crowd for the type of school it advertises itself as. More cons than pros and not really worth spending 4 years at, unless it's your last resort.

1st Year Female -- Class 2018

Faculty Accessibility: A+, Education Quality: D

Do not come to this college!! It is entirely over priced--$27,000 a year if you just want to be a commuter!! 40,000 if you want to live on campus!!! Again I said a year, that means in four years, if you live off campus for all four, you will have spent (and/or owe loans+grants) roughly $108,000 on just living off campus. If you live on campus those four years=$160,000. This goes to show that if you go to this college as an undergrad and receive your BA or BS you will have spent more in just your BA degree than most people spend going to a Cal State receiving their BA+MA and even doctorate degrees. So the money you spent going to this college for just your BA could have been money well spent receiving your BA+MA+doctorate degrees at a much less expensive university. I wish I had never gone to this school. Yeah, it has a nice campus and some of the profs are nice but it is not worth it. Every college in Southern Cal has a nice campus and mostly decent profs who are helpful. I have taken 3 classes at a JC over the course of my college career and honestly prefer the way the JC helps me with what I need to do rather than Concordia. I have found that Concordia loves to tack on useless things for you to fill out so they can get you to spend more money. Most colleges do not make you go with health insurance that cost $1,600 simply because you do not have your own health insurance, but Concordia does. Every year you have to either have family health insurance or you will be charged $1,600 for health insurance you do not want. Same as filling out the forms, every year you have to fill this form out as well as an unnecessary housing form if you already opted to live off campus the year before. They make you fill out so many forms that you have already said no to the previous year for unexplained reasons to me. IF YOU DID NOT READ MY ENTIRE REVIEW READ THIS....DO NOT GO TO THIS COLLEGE, GO TO A CAL STATE OR CAL UNIVERSITY. DO NOT GO TO CONCORDIA IRVINE.

3rd Year Male -- Class 2014

Campus Aesthetics: A+, Education Quality: B