I have heard from a number of sources that it is very hard to get into classes at UCLA due to overcrowding and that, as a result, many students have a hard time taking the classes they need to graduate in 4 years. Is this really an issue? Given the popularity of Psychology at UCLA, is that major particularly at risk for taking more than 4 years?
Psychology has 7 pre-major and 10 major courses. Even adding general eds, that’s not many when you have 12 quarters and can select two courses every quarter in first pass. It’s only the second pass classes where it might be harder to find a spot.
Not finishing in four years if possible if you change majors or fail classes, but if you don’t do either of those then with good planning of your required courses you shouldn’t have a problem.
Thank you, @Twoin18! That’s good to hear. This is the first I’m hearing of first pass/second pass. How does that work in practice?
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Here is the description: https://www.registrar.ucla.edu/Registration-Classes/Enrollment-Appointments-and-Passes/Undergraduate-Student-Enrollment-Passes
You sign up for 2 courses (up to 10 units) in your first pass time, when most if not all classes should still have open spots. Then you see what’s left to add a third (and if desired a fourth) course in second pass. You get a specific time, which is randomized within your enrollment group (usually it’s about 1 day per enrollment group) for each pass (a bad time in first pass won’t get you a better one in second pass or vice versa), with freshmen at the bottom of the heap unless they are Regents scholars (AP credit doesn’t count for standing unlike at some schools). You log on at your designated time and pick from the classes/sections with open spots.
It’s slightly different at freshmen orientation, there your orientation leader draws lots amongst your group of about 8, and you log on one after another to pick all three of the first quarter’s classes. So no first/second pass, but everyone should get something acceptable (maybe the last one or two to choose will see some constraints).
Perhaps you ought to reconsider this and anything else you’ve heard from these “number of sources”. HS kids confidently tell each other lots of things, some of which are even true 
Here is what UCLA has to say:
Easy to get out in time. I’m an engineer. Used no AP credits. Will graduate in 4 years taking 3 classes a quarter last two years. 4 classes a quarter first two years.
I agree with @10s4life. My son is also an engineer and he’ll have to screw up pretty badly the last couple of years to not graduate on time easily. I’ll admit I don’t know about Psychology, but I’ve noticed for our son’s classes that they are offered multiple times a year so that if you somehow failed one or missed taking it, you wouldn’t have to wait a year until it was offered again. Put a little thought into class planning and it should work out. UCLA offers plenty of info on past quarters enrollments to see how full a class gets and how often it is offered.
My daughter is a first-year, has completed two quarters (College Summer Institute, Fall 2018), is currently in the tail end of the Winter 2019 Quarter, and has enrolled in the Spring 2019 Quarter. She’s been able to get the courses she needs so far, and I anticipate she’ll be able to graduate in four years. If necessary to graduate in four years, one can go to the UCLA summer sessions, which offer many of the required lower division courses (math, chem, physics, life sciences, psychology, sociology, foreign languages, and much more). However, while getting the required courses to graduate in four years is very doable, one has to be flexible with respect to professors and the dates/times of lectures and discussions. For example, in the upcoming Spring Quarter my daughter had to settle for a discussion section that meets at night, from 6 - 9 p.m.
My son graduated a couple years ago. All his friends easily graduated in 4 years. He could have graduated a quarter or two early, but chose not to because he was having a great time. He had a little stumble freshman year and failed one class so was short on units, he had to go to a special counselor to ensure he got back on track. UCLA doesn’t want you to stay longer than 4 years because they need to make room for new students.
If you’re L&S and doing just one major, I don’t see how it takes you more than 4 years unless you’re failing a bunch of classes and having to repeat them.
My son is a freshman in L&S and has had no problem getting classes. He has was able to use a lot of AP credits, so the number of units from he will need to graduate will be relatively low. Plus, he’ll probably get a science GE out of the way at a community college. No one he knows has had a problem getting classes, as long as they are flexible about the professors etc.
@Interested_Dad - ha! My son would happily take a night class, but he would gripe up and down if he had to take an early class!
I have two at UCLA. One is third year and is on schedule to graduate in 4 years. Biology major. No AP credits. He hasn’t had issues getting glasses but mentioned you have to be flexible with times. Second is finishing 2nd quarter so time will tell.
My daughter is a junior math major and is on track to graduate in 4 years. She has 20 AP credits and has taken 3 classes/quarter the entire time, which is the course load she feels comfortable with. She took 2 classes during the summer last year and will take 2 more this summer. She has priority registration through the student disabilities office, so getting the classes she wants hasn’t been an issue.
You mentioned AP credit. My D19 was accepted and I have been looking at the AP credit. It says AP credit can’t be used for general requirements, but then list a bunch of AP’s and what they are worth. I counted up 44 credits and 4 requirements my daughter has already earned and 28 additional credits and the last requirement (foreign language) if she passes her AP’s this year. Can that be true that she could potentially have 72 credit hours and all requirements met? What would that mean in terms of quarters saved?
My son is a freshman at UCLA and went in with 14 APs. I believe that translated to about 89 credits. What that means for him is that he is seen as a ‘sophomore’, which helped him NOT being in the last group to register for his Fall and Spring quarter, but being in the pan ultimate group. He was unlucky his first semester at UCLA, when he drew the last registration straw at orientation, which meant that he couldn’t enroll in any science classes (they were all full) and only could take GE classes. He is a double major in Marine Biology and History. He plans to finish in four years, but to do so for his double major, he needs to take 4 courses per quarter, be very flexible as described in previous posts, and attend summer sessions.
@Totoros @19parent Quick clarification on AP.
- APs only count for English (writing 1 req) and classes needed for your major. So each AP exam will correspond for a class but it will only fulfill a major req on your Degree Audit Report (DARs) on myUCLA if it’s for the major. It won’t fulfill GE credit even if it’s listed as a class.
- AP credits if they don’t count for a class will count as empty units to help someone graduate. They won’t hurt you by counting against the unit cal though.
- As of AY 2016 UCLA no longer counts AP units for class enrollment. Only units taken at UCLA it community college units count for enrollment standing. Enrollment is based on UCLA and cc units standing then within the let’s say “freshman block” times are randomly assigned.
- AP exam credits do count towards class standing. So it can make you a grade level ahead. This will allow you to enroll in classes that are restricted for grades higher while you are still a lower grade. But it does not give you a better enrollment pass
Hope this helps as it’s pretty confusing
@Totoros and @10s4life thank you. Clear as mud. 
You mention that AP’s only count for Writing 1 Requirement. The sheet I downloaded has a American History, Writing, English Composition, Quantitative Reasoning, and Foreign Language requirement that can be satisfied by AP’s. Is that not correct? Also, I notice that only 8 units of Physics can be used. My daughter is signed up to take AP Physics 1 and 2 but can only apply 8 units. Do you know how UCLA feels about only taking selective AP tests.
I hope I am not highjacking the thread and this is still betting the OP!
@19parent Foreign language also counts. American history is also satisfied by only taking high school us history so it’s kind of redundant. Quantitative is math and math also counts. Physics 1 and 2 count only if the major requires algebra based physics. It won’t count as a physical science Ge. It also won’t count for physical science majors and engineers (they take another series) and pre meds (med schools don’t take AP exams). UCLA set this policy so I’m sure they feel fine. It is justified because AP classes and exams are really not college level tbh.
http://www.admission.ucla.edu/Prospect/APCreditLS.htm is UCLA L&S AP credit chart.
Pretty much any AP credit with a score of 3 will give you units toward the 180 quarter units needed to graduate. But only those where a specific course number is listed are counted as equivalent to a UCLA course, and only those where a specific GE requirement is listed can fulfill that GE requirement.
The only ones that really count as equivalent to a UCLA course are the economics ones (score of 4), the English ones (score of 4), calculus AB (score of 5), calculus BC (score of 4), psychology (score of 4), and some foreign languages.
https://www.seasoasa.ucla.edu/curric-17-18/12ap-17.html shows that UCLA engineering AP credit may differ.
@ucbalumnus AP credits can not satisfy a GE req. only classes needed for the major and language and English. But those aren’t GEs