<p>So...just got home from a great 3 days at UCLA. I'm exhausted, but it really was a fun time. I felt it would be a good idea to relay my experience so that people who are signed up for future orientations can get an idea what it was like.</p>
<p>I got there on Monday, July 6th at about 7:30-ish AM. I went to the check in place, got my room key and went into Rieber Terrace. BOTH elevators were broken....so I had to lug my stuff up 5 stories to my room. And I was one of the lucky ones, some people were on the 7th floor. When I opened the door to my room, my roomate was already in there with a couple of his friends from high school. We talked a little and then went down together to the meeting area (which was outside of Rieber Terrace and down a long flight of stairs near Covel). </p>
<p>They had a little continental breakfast there - just an assortment of donuts, pastries and juices. I got in line for the registration and they told me I needed to get my Bruincard. For those of you who won't have their Bruincard by your orientation, don't fret. I didn't and they made one for me in like 5 minutes. Get there early though because the line gets long! When I registered I got a convenient storage bag, a schedule (AKA your bible for the next 3 days), and a survey to complete...yes, it's long and a pain in the ass.</p>
<p>They then split us up into very small groups (mine had 8 people), each group with their own orientation counselor. Because I am a chemistry major, I got paired with other physical science majors. You will get to know your group and counselor really well in the three days. We talked within our group for a bit and got to know each other, and then it was off to Moore Hall for lectures. Many, many lectures. As for the entertainment level of the lectures, it all depended on the speaker. Simply...some were good and others weren't. </p>
<p>Our counselor took us to a place on campus with Sbarro, Panda Express, and a Mexican restaurant...can't remember the name. I bought pizza at Sbarro. This is definitely a good time to talk with your group. After lunch there were...more lectures. After these lectures, people that needed to took the Math or Music exams. Lucky people like me who had their AP scores already updated on MyUcla page had some free time. (Don't think this will be as much of an issue in later sessions because there will be more time for the AP scores to be updated.)</p>
<p>With my free time my roommate, his friend and I went into Westwood. It is a very wealthy area...we had a good time looking at all the nice cars and interesting stores there. I recommend going there whenever you get some free time.</p>
<p>On my way to dinner, I got lost with one of the guys in my orientation group. One of the booklets they give you has a map, but it is still quite confusing finding the various buildings. Expect to get lost at least once. The "barbecue" dinner was a joke; it was 2 pieces of dry chicken with a small piece of bread and a cookie. When I imagined the barbecue, I thought there would be a grill with hotdogs/hamburgers....nope. On the bright side, it was a good time to look at a small sample of all the clubs/organizations offered. </p>
<p>After dinner there was another lecture and then a show put on by some of the orientation staff. Some parts were pretty funny. Afterward there was poker, a club (LOL), and some other games. It went till 1 AM but I made the hike at about 11 to Rieber. And yes, it is an annoying hike back. </p>
<p>Went to sleep. Mattress was very uncomfortable and I lost track of how many times I woke up in the middle of the night. Probably about 8-10 times....no joke. Got up at about 8 and went to Rieber Hall at like 8:30 for breakfast. I was one of the last people to get there so the selection wasn't very good. </p>
<p>Basically the 2nd day is dedicated to getting your schedule ready to go for the 3rd day enrollment. I got lost again trying to find Covel even though it's right down the steps (sigh...). There was a big computer lab that I used at Covel but it fills up. Bring your laptop if you have it. I was waiting for a computer for a long time. You will have 2 meetings with your orientation counselor to get everything set. There are various workshops as well but to be honest I was too lazy to make the trek down the hill to go to them. I was preoccupied with my schedule anyway. There are counselors available to talk to that help with your schedule, but you have to be patient because there are many many people needing the same help, and only a few counselors.</p>
<p>Lunch and dinner were both also at Rieber Hall. Decent selection of food, but long lines (it was not only orientation eating, there were a few sports camps as well as all the summer students). At 11:30 PM there was a scavenger hunt...I didn't want to be running around campus until 2 in the morning so I passed on that. </p>
<p>On the 3rd and final day, we had to eat breakfast at Rieber Hall again. After that it was enrollment at 9 AM in our counselor's room. I luckily got all the classes I wanted (math 31b, chem 20a, and arts&architecture 10). After this it was back to good ol' Moore Hall for the umpteenth time. They did a presentation on sex, drugs, and alcohol. It was a good time because they passed microphones around and let people tell their stories and voice their opinions on the matter. </p>
<p>The last part of the day is just a big campus tour. Bring good walking clothes/shoes. You'll be walking for a good 4-5 hours. We ate in our orientation group at a place called the "Bomb Shelter" in South Campus. The counselors tell us about all the myths and legends about the campus. It is a really well done tour and a great relaxing last day activity to make up for all the stress of signing up for classes. </p>
<p>So yeah, that is basically it. I then just packed all my stuff, said goodbyes to my new found friends and went home. Sorry about the length of the post...just thought it could be useful to some people. Probably went into a little too much detail but oh well, there was a lot to say. All in all a great experience and I'm kinda bummed that I now have to wait until late September to go back. Good luck getting your classes to anyone in later orientation sessions...and I'll try to answer any questions you may have about it. Thanks for reading... if you got this far!</p>
Kind of hard to do with a roommate and all…lol. </p>