kfc4u's 10 Things for Freshmen to Do

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
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<p>hey bruins,</p>

<p>well, looks like I’m about to start school soon (studying abroad for fall semester) so I probably won’t be posting here on CC anymore after mid-august (okay maybe ill come back for winter break). Hope you bruins and prospective bruins have enjoyed my advice, and I hope some of you continue to help future bruins out there on CC. But before I leave, I want to give the incoming bruins some tips. </p>

<p>First, read mikemac’s advice for ucla freshmen: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=91059[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=91059</a>. I read it before I started freshman year and found it to be VERY helpful. I particularly found “introducing myself to a lot of people” and “take charge of your life” to be really relevant to my experience at UCLA. mikemac has a lot of the survival basics covered, so here are some of my recommendations on stuff that I either was really glad I did or wish I had done as a freshman…</p>

<p>10 Things to do as a Freshman (or UCLA student):</p>

<li><p>Support UCLA Athletics
We have the winningest sports program in the nation. Go to a football game with your floormates or friends (the USC game is at the rose bowl this year, and the game during the weekend school starts is free for freshmen) or attend a basketball game (our basketball team is really good!). At the very least, watch the games on TV with some friends. Oh and please learn how to do the 8-clap. And have fun, you’ll feel so spirited and connected with the campus. Your friends who go to colleges w/o big-time sports are seriously missing out. If football/basketball aren’t your thing, then try some of the Olympic sports (water polo, gymnastics, soccer, volleyball, softball, etc.), which we dominate in too, and they’re free! Oh and don’t forget that stuff in the student store is 25% off if we win a football game (must have a game ticket stub to get discount)</p></li>
<li><p>Enjoy LA
Yea we always talk about how we have a better area than USC, but it’s not just westwood. You’re so close to santa monica (beach and 3rd st. promenade), Venice beach, Hollywood, Beverly hills, the getty museum, etc…. go visit these places with your newfound friends. Movie premieres frequently take place in Hollywood and sometimes in westwood too. westwood also has tons of good restaurants (as you may already know). Oh and of course visit Disneyland and other theme parks if you’re from out of the area. Finally, you just might never know who you might bump into (Lindsay lohan seems to be a popular figure around the area, among others).</p></li>
<li><p>Explore your interests
This is like one of the most important pillars of being in college. Explore new interests and develop old ones. Get involved. Join clubs, do IM sports, join a frat or sorority, do something career related, do community service, join a culture club, perform in a musical or performing arts group, join a religious group, join an advocacy group, or do whatever you’re interested in. really, try something that you’ve always wanted to try but never had the chance to, cuz this is your chance. UCLA has one of the largest collections of clubs of all the colleges out there (see list: <a href=“http://www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/sgweb/list.asp[/url]”>http://www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/sgweb/list.asp</a>), so do take advantage of that. go clubbing (18+ on Thursdays at many clubs) or partying at least once in a while (if that’s your thing). Please have fun, cuz chances are you will never have so many opportunities and so much free time in your life to do so again. </p></li>
<li><p>See the performing arts (and culture shows)
Don’t just walk by and look at the outside of Royce Hall. Actually go in there for whatever performing arts show is taking place. Frequently check CTO (central ticket office) to see what events are up. They might be free. One thing I really recommend doing is seeing the culture shows put on by the culture clubs (throughout winter and spring quarters). There are a lot of them: Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Indian, Persian, Thai, Mexican, you name it. You’ll not only find there’s some amazing talent here on campus, but you’ll also discover that UCLA is quite ethnically diverse (UCLA gets criticized in terms of percentages, but it’s actually one of very few colleges that have the numbers to put on so many different ethnic culture shows). If you like theatre, get involved with a culture show, a comedy group, or a performance group. </p></li>
<li><p>Take classes that you enjoy
Wow I wish I had done this more. I loaded up on GE’s my first two quarters and school wasn’t very exciting. When I finally started taking classes that I enjoyed (both for my major and electives that interested me) during my spring quarter of freshman year, school (and college life) felt so much better. If you’re undecided or undeclared, please try some different classes out. And knowing what you don’t like is just as important as knowing what you do like. Oftentimes, you won’t really know if you like your major until you start taking classes in it. yes it is okay to switch majors; the majority of college students change their major at least once. For freshmen, I also recommend taking Education 92F with bruce barbee (offered fall and winter quarters). it’s a class on how to be successful academically at UCLA (it’s only 2 units and an easy A).</p></li>
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<ol>
<li><p>Network with your peers (esp. the 2nd years)
Think of the tuition and the housing fees that you’re paying as an investment. You’re going to college and living with the best and the brightest of California. They’re going to be California’s future leaders (and maybe even the future leaders of something bigger). Some of your friends are bound to be top doctors, engineers, lawyers, businessmen, filmmakers, actors/actresses, politicians, scientists, psychologists, educators, writers, musicians, etc. (and even professional athletes!). that’s what makes going to UCLA different than most other colleges. Oh and the best way to make friends (and network) is not through classes, it’s actually through the student organizations that you join and also with your floormates in your dorm. Speaking of floormates, some of the most valuable resources I found were through the 2nd years living on my floor; they know probably anything you want to find out about UCLA. go ask them for advice, cuz they’ve been here longer and just finished their freshman experience. </p></li>
<li><p>Check out the Career center and internships
Mikemac has already covered this, but again, internships (and also research if you’re a south campus major) are really important if your goal is to get a job after you graduate or enter professional school (which represents the vast majority of the students). Do check out the career center (the brick building on the corner of Strathmore and westwood) and see what’s available, not just in terms of internships, but in terms of preparation for whatever your post-graduation goals are. And also sign up for the career center mass email, which notifies you about all the upcoming events like career fairs and presentations. It also won’t hurt to join a “pre-career” group like pre-dental club or pre-law club or the business society or whatever too. </p></li>
<li><p>Consider studying abroad (or other related programs)
I’ve talked with many UCLA alumni. Every one of them said if they could do one thing over again in college, it would be study abroad (or if they did study abroad, that was one of their best memories from college). It’s also a good resume booster, a good eye-opener, and a very popular thing to do for college students these days. There’s plenty of options out there (one of the benefits of the UCs sharing resources), check them out early cuz most people apply as sophomores and study abroad as juniors: <a href="http://eap.ucop.edu/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://eap.ucop.edu/&lt;/a>. note: this option might be tougher if you’re a south campus major. Also if you’re a north campus major, you might consider doing the UCDC program (I’m sure UCLAri will vouch for this one) or the UC in Sacramento program too. </p></li>
<li><p>Go to the gym (Wooden Center)
Seems to be a no-brainer, but for a lot of people, the freshman 15 (gaining 15 pounds as a freshman) is very real, especially when you have dining halls that serve some of the best dorm food in the nation, buffet style to boot. Don’t wait till summer to burn it all off. Besides, you’ve already paid for it with your tuition, so why not? exercise is also a good stress-reliever from class. Plus it’s LA, where being fit is in style (I once read an article by a Harvard student who did summer school at UCLA and was surprised by how everyone at UCLA’s a gym rat). plus you’ll want to be fit for the very fine men and ladies at UCLA, or when you go to the beach anyway. Oh and celebrities do occasionally show up for pick-up basketball games; for example, my friend played basketball with adam sandler and got a picture with him.</p></li>
<li><p>Take part in the UCLA traditions
This is what makes UCLA unique and fun. Definitely go to spring sing (a singing talent show in the spring filled with hilarious skits). Do the undie runs during final weeks of each quarter. Do dance marathon (26 hours of dancing to raise funds for AIDS charity). Go to the LA Times festival of books and also the jazz-reggae festival, both held at UCLA. and don’t forget “dinner with 12 strangers” (with 12 alumni) or Beat ‘SC Week. if you’re the ASB type or want to help put on the traditions, join the Student Alumni Association (SAA). As involved as I am, I missed almost all of the traditions my freshman year and looking back, wish I took part in them. oh and I guess flyering on bruinwalk or engaging in a bruinwalk debate would be a tradition too… haha jk :rolleyes: </p></li>
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<p>And for some college humor and “freshman advice”, read this: <a href="http://www.collegehumor.com/articles/247200/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.collegehumor.com/articles/247200/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Anyway, and most importantly, have fun. College is really what you make of it; you need to take the initiative to make all these experiences happen. the good thing though is that UCLA offers so many opportunities to have fun that anyone can find their niche and take part in whatever is important to them. So do take advantage of this and think about how lucky you are; 30,000+ applicants this year alone won’t have what you have. For those who were disappointed that they couldn’t go to another college, don’t worry, chances are you’ll end up enjoying UCLA. for the rest of you who are excited to come here, wow you guys are going to have a blast, starting with Week Zero activities. Just don’t forget about studying haha. </p>

<p>Again, congrats and welcome to UCLA. Go Bruins! :)</p>

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<p>Excellent, thanks for this! :)</p>

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<p>Wooden is AMAZING.</p>

<p>Almost makings wanting to lose 1,043 lbs not so absolutely heinous. </p>

<p>I agree with all of the above though.</p>

<p>And hey- Where are you going?!</p>

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<p>i'm going to shanghai. it's going to be my first time in china (and outside of north america)!</p>

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<p>KFC4U thanks for writing this, it helped me alot I really appreciate it.</p>

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<p>Addendum: Mikemac is going to write a new one for the 2006-2007 schoolyear.</p>

<p>Thanks for the post, kfc4u.</p>

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<p>haha you're welcome. i felt i had to give something back since mikemac's advice was really valuable to me as a freshman. besides, flopsy has his own CC thesis (6 ways to improve UCLA's ranking) and being a veteran CC'er myself, i felt like i needed to write one too. :rolleyes:</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice. I've been waiting so long to attend UCLA and I'm really excited to start going to school again. I worked my ass off in community college to get accepted to this prestigious university. It really feels like an honor and I know I truly deserve it.</p>

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<p>Further Reading: UCLAri's</a> "How to Enjoy UCLA"</p>

<p>Random Fact: 90% of all CC Bruins will have :rolleyes:'d at least once before exiting CC. </p>

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<p>nice, i didnt see UCLAri's thread. so yeah, basically, recommended reading for all incoming bruins:</p>

<p>mikemac's: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=91059%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=91059&lt;/a>
UCLAri's: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=58888%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=58888&lt;/a>
kfc4u's: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=221567%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=221567&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>
[quote]
Random Fact: 90% of all Bruins will have :rolleyes:'d at least once before exiting CC.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>a.k.a. 90% of bruins will have been influenced by flopsy before exiting CC. :rolleyes:</p>

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<p>oh i forgot to add for one of the traditions:</p>

<p>go to dormal (kinda like prom but only on 'the hill') if you're living in the dorms.</p>

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<p>


Once a year is not enough. :rolleyes:</p>

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<p>kfc4u, flopsy, UCLAri, and all of the veteran CCers are awesome. you guys rock.</p>

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<p>Yeah, they do rock. Thanks for the post man</p>

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<p>Great list! I am a UCLA graduate too. </p>

<p>Another suggestion is to visit your professors’ office hours. Don’t believe the hype about large schools and lack of interaction with professors. I have found that even in large classes the Professors are more than willing to go over class material that may be unclear. Besides, you never know when you are going to need a letter of recommendation.</p>

<p>Visit your TA office hours as well. They are the ones grading your papers and this can really help your grade believe it or not. </p>

<p>One last thing: there is help everywhere but you have to get it yourself. There are multiple resources for tutors but they will not look for you and invite you to come get help.</p>

<p>Good luck and have fun at the best school in the world everyone. For the rest of your lives you will smile whenever that school crossed your mind.</p>

<p>P.S. Why in the world did they get rid of the arcade and replace it with that stupid juice shop? I think I am going to lead a protest! :)</p>

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<p>:UCLAri Seal of Approval:</p>

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<p>wow, hi shyboy!!! havent seen you in a while (2 years?), i remember you used to rescue me out of trouble back when i was a n00b and couldnt hold my own on defending UCLA here on CC</p>

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<p>kfc4u,</p>

<p>How funny. I remember you good. There are a few familiar names on here as I have probably spent like 3 hours on here today. I hope I dont get addicted like before. I guess you are something like an OG on this site now. I kinda miss this place but not enough to spend time fighting with people the way I used to. All this time I have been gone and it seems nothing has changed. Some people still think Berkeley and UCLA suck (and they are still wrong...dummies) and people still think there are only like 5 good schools in the world. How rediculous! Actually, only 3 or 4 people think that about UCLA and Cal and hopefully they dont have any real influence on people's opinions. Once they step in the "real world" hopefully they will see that it doesnt really matter. Or, actually, let me say that it matters less and less as time goes by. I could lose out on a position or promotion to someone who attended a lesser school than I did. Not only does the "WOW" factor wear off rather quickly, there are many shcools that have the "WOW" factor to begin with. If someone doesnt think that UCLA carries the "WOW" factor they need to re-think what they think. ;)</p>

<p>Sorry everyone for rambling and thread jacking. I just wanted to say whats up to an old friend and I got a little carried away. </p>

<p>Have fun kfc4u! Good luck in everything.</p>