IAMA graduating senior at ucla. Ask me anything.

<p>You mentioned that UCLA doesn’t give out special treatment, but are there still resources or services that will guide you through classes, study abroad, help with internships and jobs through all your four years of college?</p>

<p>I would like to know the following:

  1. How easy is it to get undergraduate research?
  2. What is the typical class size from sophomore year onwards
  3. How easy is it to get interships during undergrad years (in the field of bioengineering, aerospace and computer science)</p>

<p>How are you paying in state tuition now of you’re an OOS student?</p>

<p>How did you manage to pay in-state tuition even though you applied as an out of state?
Is it common for out of state UCLA students to become california residents and pay in state tution? How difficult is it?</p>

<p>Do you know any Nursing School students? Just wondering if you have an idea of how hard/competitive it is.</p>

<p>@CuriousJDG9513</p>

<p>“You mentioned that UCLA doesn’t give out special treatment, but are there still resources or services that will guide you through classes, study abroad, help with internships and jobs through all your four years of college?”</p>

<p>Yea, there are tons of resources available, you just have to usually find them yourself. Lots of different tutoring services and counselors are also available, but again you have to book appointments and introduce yourself to them. Usually google will do the trick. For example, if you wanted to know about the study abroad program, you would have to go and talk to the people at [UCLA</a> IEO-UCEAP - index](<a href=“http://www.ieo.ucla.edu/eap/]UCLA”>http://www.ieo.ucla.edu/eap/)</p>

<p>@Andy2017</p>

<p>"I would like to know the following:

  1. How easy is it to get undergraduate research?
  2. What is the typical class size from sophomore year onwards
  3. How easy is it to get interships during undergrad years (in the field of bioengineering, aerospace and computer science)"</p>

<p>1) There are lots of student research positions available and it shouldn’t be too hard to get into one as long as you apply. I did a random Neuroscience research as a sophomore and took it Pass/No Pass. Different departments probably have their own student research programs, so talk to your own department counselors for positions. Also if you took a class with a particular professor and did fairly well, you can usually email them about possibly researching for them directly.
2) Class size varies by department. For a general idea, just choose Spring 2013 and a random major. Classes in the 1XX are upper division courses which you would be taking junior/senior year. You can see the class sizes. My upper division CS classes usually range from 70-125 people per class. [Schedule</a> of Classes Home Page](<a href=“http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/schedule/schedulehome.aspx]Schedule”>http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/schedule/schedulehome.aspx)
3) There are many engineering career fairs in fall/winter quarter where 100+ companies come and look for potential recruits. This is a great way to give out your resume and try to land an internship. As a freshman, it’s much harder to get an internship at these fairs because your resume is usually pretty empty. I filled my resume with as many class projects and leadership activities and applied to as many start-up looking companies as possible. I ended up getting two offers as a freshman. I ended up taking up an internship located in LA that was part-time. I also took a summer school class at SMC during the time of my internship.</p>

<hr>

<p>@beautifulchaaos -
@Demisoda -
“How are you paying in state tuition now of you’re an OOS student?”</p>

<p>I went to high school out of state, but my father lives in california for work. After 1 year of living in california, I had him file me under his taxes while also applying for a CA driver license and registering to vote in california. I also had to print physical records of my debit card purchases giving proof that I stayed in california the entire time and didn’t just go home over the breaks.</p>

<p>I didn’t think it would work, but I got a reply from the admissions office within 2 weeks saying I was now an in-state student :)</p>

<hr>

<p>@Treadmill “Do you know any Nursing School students? Just wondering if you have an idea of how hard/competitive it is.”</p>

<p>I do know some, but I have no idea how competitive it is. I could possibly forward you to some people in that major via facebook if you would like. PM me your details if you want.</p>

<p>How hard is it for you to get into the classes that you want?
What is the daily routine of a computer science student?</p>

<p>Is there anything you can tell me about aerospace engineering at UCLA? Advice, observations, anything like that? I’m worried I’m going to be in way over my head, especially since I want to maintain a solid social life and join a fraternity</p>

<p>@usuniversity2017</p>

<p>“How hard is it for you to get into the classes that you want?
What is the daily routine of a computer science student?”</p>

<p>You usually take 3-4 classes per quarter. You can usually always get into 2 of your desired classes every quarter. The last one/two will be tough and you usually need backup plans in case that class becomes full. I always try to stagger my difficult courses with an easier one, and also try to take the more difficult classes on quarters where I only take 3 instead of 4 classes. Class difficulty is 90% determined by which professor is teaching the course. In my opinion, it is much more important to enroll in a class with a good professor, than to choose a class that “fits” your time schedule. I would rather take a class at 8AM everyday with a chill professor, than someone I can’t understand at 2PM.</p>

<p>My routine may not be the best, as I’m normally an average/B ranked student in most of my CS classes, but it’s gotten me by…</p>

<p>I usually attend almost all my lectures, and then go home to relax. I try to never be more than 1 week behind in course material for a single class, although this will often happen inevitably. I don’t read ahead of lecture, although it definitely helps. I use the weekends to re-read what the professor has taught throughout the week and catch up. I usually allocate 3 entire days to devote to a CS project and also 2-3 days to a midterm. This can get tough if you have back to back midterms or even 2 on the same day. I usually give 3-4 days of studying for each final.</p>

<p>@jacoba</p>

<p>“Is there anything you can tell me about aerospace engineering at UCLA? Advice, observations, anything like that? I’m worried I’m going to be in way over my head, especially since I want to maintain a solid social life and join a fraternity”</p>

<p>I’ve had a few classes with aero engi friends, but I haven’t been in too much contact with them since sophomore year. As an engineer, you basically take the same identical classes of lower division math, physics, ge’s for the first two years. So even if you decide to switch to another engineering major as a sophomore, you won’t be behind at all. If you decide to switch outside of engineering, you should probably make that decision before the end of spring quarter. Still not too big of a deal though… most non engineering majors can graduate in less than 4 years.</p>

<p>I say give it a shot for 2 quarters and see if you like it. Don’t be too discouraged if you get bad grades in the lower division math/physics courses. Those classes are made to weed out people and are very competitive in grading. If you score an average in calculus, you’ll end up with a C+ grade. In upper division courses, the teachers are much nicer in grading… at least that was the case for me. Median scores were B’s instead of C+'s from the lower divs. And they were much more interesting too…</p>

<p>What is key to getting an internship in freshman year?</p>

<p>Do you have a favorite/secret spot on campus to study? Also, can you explain how office hours work? Is the professor just in their office waiting for kids to come in? And what happens if more than one student is there?</p>

<p>@usuniversity2017 “What is key to getting an internship in freshman year?”</p>

<p>Yup, just start making a resume. When starting out, just have filler stuff so it’s roughly 1 page long with high school achievements and recent school projects. The first internship I did was unpaid, but after the first summer, they wanted me to return and I was paid 16$/hr. Not bad!</p>

<p>Many top companies like Microsoft/Facebook/Google also have “freshman only” internships where they try to scoop up some bright individuals early on. Apply to anything that might interest you.</p>

<hr>

<p>@Treadmill
“Do you have a favorite/secret spot on campus to study? Also, can you explain how office hours work? Is the professor just in their office waiting for kids to come in? And what happens if more than one student is there?”</p>

<p>All depends on what you like. I enjoy doing computer projects at home in front of my computer, but when writing essays or reading, I sometimes go to the library where it’s less distracting. There are tons of different libraries from the business, research, main powell, engineering, etc. I’ve heard of some people even going to the Hammer Museum in westwood and studying in the quiet cafe inside.</p>

<p>All professors are required to have a certain amount of office hours per week. It is exactly what you think it is haha. If more students are present, they usually take turns asking questions.</p>

<p>Are there limits to how many work studies you can get? Even after earning the maximum amount of money through work study, can you still work on campus and earn money to pay for day-to-day expenses and textbooks?</p>

<p>@CuriousJDG9513</p>

<p>Sorry I don’t know about work-study. There are also non-work study jobs on campus, so if you hit the max, I assume you can just have another regular job…</p>

<p>How easy is it to switch majors from aerospace engineering to bioengineering?</p>

<p>How about switching from Aerospace engineering to Electrical Engineering?</p>

<p>When I submitted my application I selected Aerospace, but now I know it’s not my preference. Can you change your majors within Engineering more than once? I am not sure what the courses will be like and what if my interests change as I learn more? Right now I don’t feel like I have a good grasp on which particular branch of engineering will appeal to me.</p>

<p>Can I switch before Orientation itself or am I bound to Aerospace because that is what was on my application?</p>

<p>Hi, I was accepted into UCLA, and despite Forbes’ List for Unsuccessful Majors and my mother, I am definitely going to pursue English as my major. I love, love writing and literature. </p>

<p>I looked at the UCLA English department, and it looks extremely promising. But so do Cal’s and Swarthmore’s, two other schools that I was accepted into. Could you please tell me more about the English department at UCLA. I would be thankful for any information.</p>

<p>Is it more easier and interesting if you study with a group than by yourself?</p>