Is UCLA all that people make it out to be?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
1

<p>College experience, academics, sports, professors, prestige, diversity, fun, food, location, etc etc?</p>

<p>Can any other college match UCLA and all that it offers?</p>

<p>I hear lots of great things about UCLA; in fact, UCLA is one of the first few colleges I heard about, way back when I was only 5 years old. With each passing year, I found myself more and more attached to the school although physically, I am separated from the school by thousands of miles (I'm from the east coast). Nowadays, I hear the words UCLA more and more often whether its through my family's praise of UCLA's excellent academics or through friends who love are ardent UCLA basketball fans. </p>

<p>Currently, I am just about wrapping up my senior year. This year I applied to many great universities and was luckily accepted to many colleges as well. Among those colleges that accepted me was my dream school, UCLA. I also got offers from University of Virginia, University of Michigan, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, New York University, and UNC. The choice for me was easy: UCLA.</p>

<p>I submitted my SIR about a week ago because my parents wanted me to consider some of the other universities I was accepted to, but deep down inside UCLA was still my number one. Right now I super excited about attending this fall and I am looking forward to the orientation this summer. </p>

<p>Now my question to you guys is, do any of you share my same views for UCLA? Anyone think I was a little foolish with my decision or is UCLA comparable to my other schools? Well anyways, GO BRUINS. U-C-L-A UCLA FIGHT FIGHT!!</p>

2

<p>UCLA was my last choice out of the 6 colleges I applied to (i’m from the east coast as well). Got accepted to UIUC, CMU, UMCP, UCLA for comp sci.</p>

<p>chose UCLA in the end for a variety of reasons, and i’m so glad i did. amazing school :)</p>

3

<p>Yea, my reasons are pretty the same. I’m currently attending Cal for grad, but I chose UCLA for undergrad just because of its location and the amazing college experiences. I was accepted to a lot of prestigious colleges before (Cal, Stanford, MIT, Harvard, Princeton, UPenn, etc), but I picked UCLA because I knew I could enjoy it the most of all other schools. It met both my academic needs and overall personal well-being.</p>

4

<p>^ !?!?!?!?!?!?!? You’re telling me you chose UCLA over Stanford, MIT, Harvard, and UPenn!!?!??!?!</p>

5

<p>fasstrack</p>

<p>what the f bro…ucla over HPSM?!?
some things are better left unsaid…</p>

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<p>@MadeInChina Last year at this time I never would’ve expected that I would choose UCLA, yet here I am with a positive SIR and a lot of excitement. How is UCLA CS? That’s what I’m majoring in : )</p>

<p>@Fasttrack That’s an impressive acceptance list! What’s more impressive to me is that you looked past the prestige to choose what’s best for yourself (not to say that UCLA isn’t prestigious by any means). What did you major in? How difficult was it getting into Cal for grad after going to UCLA for undergrad?</p>

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<p>heh, the main reason I picked UCLA over the privates is because it’s wayy cheaper. I’m in-state, and also I got Regents for UCLA, so that’s why I picked UCLA over the ivy-league and other privates.
@dylpkls91: Cal was pretty easy to get in for grad when I applied it (2 years ago). Almost everyone I know who applied for Cal got admitted. I majored in CSE for UCLA and currently EECS for grad. I would say that if you got a good GPA, excellent extracurricular activities, and have jobs/internships, then getting into Cal for grad is fairly easy.</p>

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<p>Yes, UCLA is certainly a great value. How easy was it for you to get a good GPA majoring in CSE? I’m trying to get a sense of what I should expect the workload to be like. Is it hours and hours of work every night?</p>

9

<p>

I’m currently a 3rd year CSE major. The CS program is pretty decent - you’re able to explore a lot of your personal interests once you start taking upper-division courses (such as AI, security, networking, graphics, …). Most of the CS professors I’ve had so far are great. A lot better than the EE professors I’ve had…</p>

<p>

Getting a good GPA depends on how well you understand the material and your work effort. The workload is going to be tough at times, but for the most part, you will not be working hours and hours every night. You’ll have plenty of time for extracurriculars or other social activities.</p>

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<p>Thanks! Sounds great, I’m really excited :D</p>

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<p>i picked UCLA over wharton…and im out of state.</p>

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<p>Yea so ucla is basically exactly how i expected it to be.</p>

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<p>Yea someone please answer this thread…I hear from many people that they enjoyed their experience (I hear no one liking thier experience at Berkeley lol)…Yet I also hear many people complaining about hard curves, cutthroat competition (premed), problems enrolling, too big, etc…</p>

<p>Do you feel as if those factors diminished your experience at UCLA?</p>

<p>Do you really like the school a lot?</p>

<p>I would really like to know since my high school experience and the people at it, aren’t exactly some of the greatest.</p>

14

<ol>
<li>No</li>
<li>Yes</li>
</ol>

<p>The people complaining are the ones who thought college would be all fun and games. It isn’t.
There is competition and if you’re not ready for it then you’re going to get buried.
Study, work hard, and remember that everyone here is in the same boat as you, some are just better at paddling than others.</p>

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<p>Such a poetic metaphor, TheRageKage</p>

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<p>Thanks ragekage…I came from a really competitve high school class, and I worked hard and did really well. (Ranked near the top)…but my MAJOR CONCERN IS THIS:</p>

<p>How often do those who are fairly intelligent and work hard, do badly (especially in premed)? I am asking this cause I hear 2 stories about college: One that as long as you are focused u do well. The second story I hear is working hard guarantees you Nothing!..Which do you guys find to be more true at UCLA?</p>

17

<p>Well working hard may not guarantee anything, but guarantees are over-rated. All you need is probability. If working hard significantly increases your probability of doing well, then that’s all that matters. Most people will fall in the the statistical category where they work hard and do well…a small percentage will work hard and not do well. Chances are you’ll be in the form category. An even smaller percentage of people will not work hard and will do well. And a very large percentage of people will not work hard and will not do well as a result. Don’t think about stuff like this in such absolutist terms…pretty much everything is relative and in terms of likelihood/probability not absolute terms like certainty or impossibility.</p>

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<p>^i love you for saying that. reallllly well said.</p>

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<p>people told me the girls here were amazing
so i came here expecting 10’s walking around everywhere
sadly, i was disappointed
but the girls here are indeed above average, better than say, ucsd (which is infamous for this)</p>

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<p>haha ucsd… university of california socially dead.
'nuff said.</p>