<p>In the process of choosing between Cal and UCLA, I asked a bunch of friends who got into these universities out of high school how their first year is going. I got a really great reply from a friend currently attending UCLA and figured the info would be useful to all the transfers planning on going to UCLA or weighing the option of LA like me. Remember though that I graduated in 2008, so she’s a freshman and can’t give any perspective on what it’s like to be a junior. And if you disagree, this is all her. She’s REALLY social and happy all the time and loves everything, so your mileage may vary. Also let me know if you want me to ask her anything. Honestly, she should get paid to promote the school. Okay, what she wrote, verbatim:</p>
<li><p>Yes, I live on campus in one of the residence halls - sproul - which was just re-modeled for the past two years so its really nice. i got lucky! ok about roommates… i love mine. I live in a triple, and they’re friends from high school so i was a little apprehensive at first but we get along great. its a really good roommate situation. we’re not bffs or anything but we live together really well and honestly, thats the most important thing about roommates. then on the otherhand there are people living with roommates and they’ve become best friends and hangout all the time. i’ve heard roommate horror stories but generally people are pretty happy with their roommate situation. about plazas, they are nice because you have more room, but if youre looking for a more social environment the dorms are the place to be. i have lots of friends who live in plazas and they don’t really know any of the people that live on their floor whereas i know almost all of mine. it really depends on what you’re looking for tho and how well you get along with people. they dorms are mostly dominated by freshman though so a plaza just might be the perfect place for a second year. i know a lot of people live in the dorms their first year and then move up to a plaza or a suite their second year. i would recommend deneve (i think that’s the majority of the plazas anyways?), because its the closest to campus and there is a dining hall right there. saxon and hitch are way up the hill so if you don’t mind walking, and canyon pt is pretty close to campus as well. </p></li>
<li><p>THE FOOD IS SO GOOD!! there are four dining halls on campus, so basically u can swipe in and eat as much as you want. they have all kinds of stuff… go to [Leaving</a> Facebook… | Facebook](<a href=“http://www.facebook.com/l/579bf;http://149.142.49.118/foodpro/todaysentrees.asp]Leaving”>http://www.facebook.com/l/579bf;http://149.142.49.118/foodpro/todaysentrees.asp) or if that link doesnt work go to [Leaving</a> Facebook… | Facebook](<a href=“http://www.facebook.com/l/579bf;my.ucla.edu]Leaving”>http://www.facebook.com/l/579bf;my.ucla.edu) → menus → res halls. basically there are some things the dining halls always always have. salad bar, burgers, grilled cheese, soup, cereal, eggs - hashbrowns - oatmeal - toast - bagels - french toast - etc (breakfast), pastries, pizza, fruit, french fries, rice, and then there are different items on the menu each day and they vary by restaurant, such as pasta or mexican food or whatever. in addition to the dining halls, there are other places you can use your swipes on the hill. rendezvous has breakfast things in the morning, and then for lunch they have mexican food on one side and asian food on the other. in my opinion the asian food is a bit too greasy for me but its still really good and i looove the mexican food. then there is bruincafe “brucaf”, which is open til 2am every day. there you can get smoothies, coffee and pastries, salads, sandwiches and soups. its really nice that its open til 2am… and the foods really good too. across from brucaf there is a place called puzzles, and they have pizza, chicken nuggets, salad, nachos, french fries, icecream, etc. basically a bunch of food thats not good for you lol. lastly, there is deneve late night which has burgers, french fries, and milkshakes. you can good on goodle and type in , for example, “ucla bruin cafe menu” and you can find all the items. i am definitely going to miss the food next year when i don’t live in campus anymore. i have eaten in other schools dining halls and i don’t want to sound biased or anything but ours is amazing :)</p></li>
<li><p>class size. im maybe not the best person to ask about class size bc my classes have been pretty small. for example, my friend class has seven people. of course, that is not normal for class sizes but generally language classes are pretty small. 20 or less. also my rotc classes are really small, 20 or less. generally though, ge classes are prob around 180, but your discussion sections will be much smaller like 20 or 30. i am not taking any english classes… but i know that my roommates english classes are about 20 people. if you go to ucla registrar and look up classes you can find the class capacity and that will give you more of an idea. im not sure what classes you need as an english major. i have really enjoyed all my classes (except math!) and i also took four classes last quarter and it was definitely manageable.</p></li>
<li><p>ok first of all people here are definitely not smarter than you! there are all sorts of people who get into ucla and its not all based on grades. ive met people who are reeeeally smart, and ive also met people who i wonder how in the world they got in. haha jk. well, not really actually 
basically, if you are not an engineering major, or you don’t have to get perfect straight As to get into med school, classes are not that difficult. i really don’t spend that much time studying and have plenty of time to work and have a social life as well. people are really happy here, and yes of course there is competition academic wise but people here really like to have a good time and know how to separate their studies and their social agenda. for example, wednesday of every finals week there is an undie run where everyone gets drunk and runs around the school in their underwear. well, not everyone, but its pretty fun 
and its a good way to get rid of that stress during finals week. so many people go here that you can find a group of people who are just like you. i know people whos lives consist of sleeping, partying, sleeping some more, cramming for midterms, then back to partying, and then cramming for finals. then i also know people who rarely party and spend more of their time with schoolwork. everyone is so friendly and helpful… i don’t even think ive met a person that i don’t like yet!</p></li>
<li><p>haha does the campus go dead. there is ALWAYS something to do. in fact, there are so many things i never know what to do! generally, thurs and fri are the big partynights, but of course people party on saturday as well. im in a sorority, so we party in the middle of the week too. besides parties there are always floor activities and club activities and $2 movies and concerts and im sports and westwood… so many things happening all the time. ucla is also located in a very safe neighborhood so u can walk down to westwood (town were right by) and walk back late at night and not worry. in westwood there are lots of shops and restaurants. during midterms and finals people party a bit less, but theyre are always people doing activities… its never dead! studying for finals and midterms can be a social thing too… like you can get study rooms with people from your classes or friends and you can study in your floor lounge or in powell, the big library. its really funny actually… there will be people who don’t crack a book all quarter and then suddenly during midterms pulling an all-nighter in powell is like “the cool thing to do”.</p></li>
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<p>alrighty i hope ive answered all the questions you had…
yes, i visited before i applied actually. and i fell in love. i definitely recommend visiting both cal and ucla before you make your decision. like for me, when we visited cal with csf i knew that it wasnt the place for me and didn’t apply, but when i visited ucla i felt like i belonged at this school. visiting is def very important!
also, lemme give you my view of the quarter system v the semester system. you might hear from people that 10 weeks goes by waaaay too fast and its hard to keep pace with the class but i totally disagree. when classes are just 10 weeks, you only need to remember the material for a short amount of time so its easier to recall for tests. also, if you don’t like the class its over quickly! that goes vice versa as well but if you do find that you like the class you can take more classes from that professor. the quarter system also gives you the opportunity to take more classes. after this quarter i will have taken 11 classes in my first year and thats hard to do with the semester system. i think the quarter system is great - big fan!</p>
Im also so glad i joined pi phi. we have lots of events with frats but we also do sisterhood stuff as well. most of my best friends ive made here are in pi phi, and thats where im going to be living next year. I also have a job on campus and a job off campus. on campus, i work graveyard shifts at the bottom of my res hall. its basically just doing security makin sure no creepers come in the building but its a really chill job where i can get my hw done, watch movies, whatever! i have a really busy schedule and i can’t do every event or activity but i manage to make it work and i’m having the time of my life here! whether its math study groups in my lounge, or tanning at sunset rec, or walking down to westwood to go shopping, or running around the school with nrotc… im in heaven. i couldnt have picked a better school for me.