<p>My apology. When a person comes from out of nowhere to comment about a school, I always wonder “what is the context of this poster?” So I do a quick check on what the poster has discussed here in the past.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-los-angeles/135736-what-distinguishes-ucla-4.html#post1900217[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-los-angeles/135736-what-distinguishes-ucla-4.html#post1900217</a> </p>
<p>post #48, I completely mis-read “I don’t get it” and saw " I didn’t get in"… I guess I need new glasses, and offer you my apology.</p>
<p>QW is not coming out of nowhere, he has been a regular contributor.
Fight ON!</p>
<p>Oops wrong school.</p>
<p>Other than the fact that it’s not Berkeley, yes UCLA is everything people make it out to be. And I say this as someone who still receives housing applications from UCLA. =P</p>
<p>UCLA is a great school, you’ll love it. There’s little to no reason for you to seek some kind of reassurance from an internet message board, especially one that’s as obsessive as this one. (Been there, done that, I can say it.)</p>
<p>Of course UCLA is everything people make it out to be! Everyone I know that attended or visited UCLA says that UCLA is amazing in every aspect. So I’m sure you’re going to love it there because I know I will. </p>
<p>You did turn down a lot of schools, but I think you made a good choice especially since its has been your dream school ever since you were five years old.</p>
<p>UCLA is one of America’s great universities, maybe one of the top 10 research universities in the country. The problem is that outside of California (especially the further East you go), people tend to think of it as a ‘jock school’ or even a party school with mediocre academics. This is very far from the truth, as can be seen from looking at graduate school rankings. In the areas of law, business, medicine, social sciences, humanities and sciences, UCLA is always ranked at least in the top 15, with a 2 or 3 exceptions. If you look back at the NRC study, UCLA’s history department is ranked 6th, sociology is ranked 5th and linguistics is ranked 3rd. And of course, the undergrad program is ranked 25th in the country (probably underrated). This is no small feat for a university that was established in 1919 as the ‘southern branch’ of Berkeley.</p>
<p>“The problem is that outside of California (especially the further East you go), people tend to think of it as a ‘jock school’ or even a party school with mediocre academics.”</p>
<p>I would agree with this. Its reputation outside California does draw a lot from athletics, not academics. Which is not to say that it doesn’t offer great academics.</p>
<p>Well thats partly true within the United States. But once you consider other countries around the world, most hear of UCLA’s reputation as result of UCLA academic excellence. I know that people in Asia look upon the UC’s very highly.</p>
<p>OP - I think the Wikepedia writeup on UCLA is thorough and encouraging. <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UCLA[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UCLA</a></p>
<p>Considering that UCLA awarded its first Ph.D. as recently as 1938, it has ascended to academic heights astonishingly quickly (but not as stonishingly quickly as UCSD did 
)</p>
<p>The East Coast of the US is culturally more atuned to tradition. A school as young as UCLA (and Stanford, Bekeley and Caltech for that matter) will never evoke a response with the same sense of gravitas as an insitution founded before or near the time of the American Revolution.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the positive opinions.</p>
<p>@ collegeundergrad.</p>
<p>i am also transferring to ucla this coming fall. i really don’t feel like comparing ucla with other schools, because it will become an endless debate. however, if there is one thing that i noticed is majority of ucla students feel very enthusiastic about their school. I dont know why but i will try to figure it out myself. good luck!</p>
<p>No, I never heard anyone make a big deal about UCLA. I thought myself it may lack part of the college experience, social life etc… Just thought UCLA was a low ranked Ivy LAC college… that’s how I view(ed) it. If my view of UCLA wasnt as such, I would most likely have/ start consider it more.</p>
<p>Well, the very thought of “caring what people in Asia think of my school” is itself a very regional phenomenon. There are wide swathes of this country in which “what to the Asians think” is about as meaningless as “what do the Lithuanians think.”</p>
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<p>Easy, Cal Berkeley.</p>
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<p>If you were instate for UVa, UNC or UMich, then Yes, absolutely foolish and wasting your parents’ money. At $50k for OOS, the UCs ain’t worth it IMO (except for a couple of specialized programs, such as film at UCLA).</p>
<p>Personally, I would have chosen Cornell.</p>
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<p>Wow… that’s three things UCLA is not even remotely:
<p>Sounds like you didn’t know anything other than the name…</p>
<p>To post 54</p>
<p>When I mention: I just thought UCLA was a low ranked LAC college</p>
<p>Meaning if UCLA was ranked in LACs it would be a ranked in top 10 ( unlike it being ranked with universities), and I always got the mood that it’s more related to the LACs ( talking about college experience etc…) and… maybe a little hard to explain.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what is LAC like about a flagship public university with 26k undergrads and 11k graduate students.</p>
<p>If anything I would think the biggest misperception about UCLA would be that it was an average state flagship with good sports – not that it was like a LAC in any way.</p>
<p>Quote:
Can any other college match UCLA and all that it offers? </p>
<p>BlueBayou answered: “Easy, Cal Berkeley.”</p>
<hr>
<p>I don’t think so, BB. Geography very different, as is the weather. As is the NCAA championship team culture. As is the film school, the proximity to Hollywood, and the social scene in Westwood, West Hollywood and Santa Monica. As is the co-located hospital.</p>
<p>Though many find these two schools fungible, I don’t at all.</p>
<p>Yeah, I guess I’m a fungible-type guy. IMO, these two are the closest two of any Unis out there.</p>