CURRENT BRUINS to take questions!

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
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<p>
[quote]
What are the advantages of being in the honors program?</p>

<p>Do you get any "perks" such as priority housing, guaranteed parking, and priority registration? How many students get accepted to the honors program (eg how many freshman get accepted). How big are the honors classes?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Advantages:</p>

<pre><code>* Academic counseling and services
* Priority enrollment beginning the student's second quarter at UCLA
* Extended borrowing privileges at the UCLA Libraries
* Special events and functions
* Eligibility for honors scholarships and awards
* Eligibilty for summer research funding
* Letter of Verification services
* Special Transcript Notations
* Recognition at graduation and “College Honors” notation on diploma
</code></pre>

<p>
[quote]
Is the honors programs just taking one honors class in addition to the others that you take?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Essentially, yes. However, you can fulfill honors units in a variety of ways:</p>

<h1>The interdisciplinary Honors Collegium curriculum</h1>

<h1>Professional School Seminar Program</h1>

<h1>Honors Contracts and Seminars</h1>

<h1>UCLA-sponsored internships</h1>

<h1>Study-abroad</h1>

<p>(Sorry about the cut-and-paste jobs here, folks). I did most of my units abroad and with contracts.</p>

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<p>is the majority of people who attend ucla part of the honors program?</p>

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<p>As far as I remember, no.</p>

24

<p>The UCLA honors program will actually grant you 8 honors units from your community college. I don't know if that applies to any students here that are attempting to transfer into UCLA.</p>

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<p>"is there a variety of students at ucla? i'm sure there has to be because it's so huge...i don't want to party, but i also don't want to study all the time. i want random, wacky, loud friends who i can hang out and laugh with...i also want people to go to concerts with me! will i be able to find enough people like this at ucla??"</p>

<p>One of my roommates studies all the time and plays tekken and smash bros with people on my floor in the down time. Another one of my roommates sleeps a ton and chills with his girlfriend a lot and studies fairly often. I get hammered every night and study the night before.</p>

<p>You're gonna find a ton of people like you no matter what at a school as big as LA, and I definitely recommend this place to anyone who got accepted. It's the best time of my life by far.</p>

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<p>Hey guys, I'm a biz-econ major so here are some answers about that. A LOT of people come in as biz-econ, it seems like every few people you meet there will be a biz-econ major; it's definitely one of the most popular majors in the College of L&S. </p>

<p>To the person who asked what the GPA cut-off is, the answer is not that simple. First, everybody who wants to pursue the major first comes in as pre-bizecon status. First you take the pre-reqs--for a complete list, and a more thorough explanation of all of this, you can visit the department website at <a href="http://www.econ.ucla.edu/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.econ.ucla.edu/&lt;/a>. The econ department uses a system called "primary score" which weights the grades you get in your pre-req classes, your overall UCLA gpa, and your GPA in a select few key pre-reqs. The most important of these factors is your pre-req GPA. The official primary score cut-off is a 3.3 right now (subject to change at any time), so assuming your pre-req and overall GPA are similar, you would roughly need a 3.3 GPA to get into the major. People typically finish their pre-reqs and apply for the major at the end of their second year; of course, this can vary depending on how much AP credit you come in with, etc.</p>

<p>Now since so many people come in as pre-bizecon, some are naturally not going to make it into the major for whatever reason. The most common reason is unsatisfactory performance in pre-req classes--this isn't the end of the world. A lot of people who don't make it into biz-econ go into the regular econ major instead, which has lower admissions requirements. There are also the people who find, after taking some pre-reqs, that biz-econ or econ is just not their cup of tea, and decide to transfer to another major. After all, college is a time to explore.</p>

<p>From my own experience, I've found that the econ pre-reqs aren't too tough if you do your work and have an actual interest in the subject. The lower-division classes are designed to "weed out" those who won't be able to hack it in the major, and are supposed to be tough, but I've found that they are actually easier because there are so many people in the classes who are still exploring and may not be serious about economics; thus, the curve (almost all econ classes are graded on a bell curve) will be easier. I'm taking my upper-division requirements now and everyone in my classes is either in econ or biz-econ, and serious about the subject; hence, harder curve. </p>

<p>As a last note, a lot of people who pursue biz-econ also pursue the accounting minor--this is because the accounting minor requirements overlap with biz-econ requirements quite a bit. You only have to take 2 extra classes in addition to the major to get the accounting minor, so this is a good investment. However, the admission requirements to the minor are quite stringent as well, and a lot of people dislike accounting in general. Again, you just have to find what does and doesn't work for you.</p>

<p>Good luck, and I'll be happy to answer any further questions about the major.</p>

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<p>The major I was accepted for (Biophysics) is not the major I want anymore. I read somewhere that it is typical at the UC's for one to be accepted as "pre-major" and then have to apply for each individual major, and I was wondering, will I have a chance to change my major before (or during) orientation. If not, can I just enroll for classes that are in my planned majors and ignore Biophysics? </p>

<p>Also, how much help will I get planning my academic calendar for the next four years if I am involved with the honors program.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
The major I was accepted for (Biophysics) is not the major I want anymore. I believe it is typical at the UC's for one to be accepted as "pre-major" and then have to apply for each individual major and I was wondering, will I have a chance to change my major before (or during) orientation.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I'm pretty sure you can easily switch if it's a major within L&S, and if by some reason you can't, you just need to fulfill the prereq courses w/ I believe a 3.0 gpa or above and then you can switch out. You should be able to just change during orientation though, esp since somewhere around 1/4 to 1/3 of the students go undeclared (according to the stats when I attended orientation). </p>

<p>
[quote]
Also, how much help will I get planning my academic calendar for the next four years (in honors also).

[/quote]
. Orientation will help you plan your classes for your first quarter. You can see an academic counselor (which are just older undergraduates), or see your own counselor to plan your entire academic career. But you should have an idea of what classes you need and around when you want to take them prior to seeing your counselor (and you'll get that info from orientation if you don't want to do the research yourself- which would just be to google ucla :major: requirements or something along those lines).</p>

<p>Also, no recent admits are in honors yet. You have to apply. That notice you got w/ your admission is only a reminder for you to apply since your stats were prob above a certain point.</p>

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<p>Just about all people who meet the requirements for honors and apply are admitted, so don't worry about that.</p>

<p>And yea, it's not an issue usually to switch majors within the college of L&S. It really doesn't matter what pre-major you're under, you can take pre-reqs for any major you want and apply to any major you want within L&S.</p>

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<p>I appreciate your help!</p>

<p>I just got a letter in the mail with information about Freshmen Clusters and I was wondering if you had any experience with them and if it was postitive or negative.</p>

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<ol>
<li>how competitive is it really? (i plan on majoring in MCDBio) is to the extent that students work against each other? if so, does that imply you have to be completely independent in your studies (i.e. no study groups, sharing notes, etc.)</li>
<li>i'm confused about the housing situation. can someone break it down for me? i plan to eat 2 meals on campus (or more if time permits). as of now, i'd like a private bathroom, but that's mostly because i'm not too sure as to how the shared bathroom deal is.</li>
<li>does anyone know the typical work load for a MCDBio or a related pre-med major?</li>
<li>from what i hear, in some classes it's virtually impossible to obtain an A because of the curves (even though your raw score is an A). is this true? if so, how often? do the curves usually work for or against students? are the professors biased in their grading (to the point that it has a significant statistical effect)?</li>
<li>are the professors passionate or just there for research? do you acutally get to meet your professors sometime or another throughout the semester? what is the best way to become more personal with professors? after completing GE courses, will the professor situation improve?</li>
<li>in retrospect, do you have any advice to incoming freshman with regards to things you would have differently? i know if i could do high school over again, things would be wayyyyy different.</li>
<li>i barely missed the SAT requirement by a few points for the honors program, but i am well above the gpa requirement. is there a chance i could still get honors for the first quarter?</li>
</ol>

<p>i'm sure i'll have another list of questions soon, just to keep you guys busy ;D
thanksss</p>

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<p>I'll answer a few of those.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>In a lot of classes, raw score doesn't matter. Most classes are graded on a bell curve. A typical curve would have the top 15% or so with A's, the next 40% getting B's, the next 30% getting C's, and the rest D's and F's. The curves vary depending on the professor and the class, but the mean in a class is usually curve to a B-/C+. There is no such thing as a class in which it is "virtually impossible to get A's," because the top of the class will always get A's based on the curve. It all depends on how well you do relative to your peers. Thus, the curves really don't work for or against you. And no, I haven't heard of professors being biased in their grading.</p></li>
<li><p>It really, really depends on the professor. There are some great ones that are really concerned about student learning, and there are those who are just there for the research and teach because they have to. It depends. However, since UCLA is known primarily as a research university, it's usually research first, teaching second for many professors. A great site for looking up professor reviews is <a href="http://www.bruinwalk.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.bruinwalk.com&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/li>
<li><p>Yes, you can apply for the honors program after any quarter as long as you meet the min. requirements (I think it's like a 3.5 cumulative GPA).</p></li>
</ol>

33

<p>Hi current Bruins!</p>

<p>I have 2 Q's.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>My friend and I want to room together at UCLA. Are roommate requests for froshies usually granted or no?</p></li>
<li><p>What sort of clubs/teams are there? Which are most popular/influential/fun?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<ol>
<li><p>Yes, they're usually granted.</p></li>
<li><p>That's kind of a vague question. There are too many to name--you'll just have to see once you get here.</p></li>
</ol>

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<p>try <a href="http://www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/&lt;/a> to find student group sthat might interest you.</p>

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<p>yeah i was wondering when is the best time to apply for housing? is it first come first serve or is it just as long as u make the deadline for first semester?? thanks much!</p>

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<p>How many years are you garanteed housing?</p>

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<p>"yeah i was wondering when is the best time to apply for housing? is it first come first serve or is it just as long as u make the deadline for first semester?? thanks much!"</p>

<p>If I'm not mistaken as long as you apply before the deadline you'll be fine. I don't think there's any priority when it comes to first year rooming assignments. </p>

<p>"How many years are you garanteed housing?"</p>

<p>I believe housing is garanteed up to 4 years now with the addition of Hedrick Summit, Rieber Vista and Rieber Terrace.</p>

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<p>*yeah i was wondering when is the best time to apply for housing? is it first come first serve or is it just as long as u make the deadline for first semester?? *</p>

<p>There is no 'best time' - as long as you apply by the deadline, you're in.</p>

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<p>I even applied well after the deadline last year and still got into housing.</p>