<p>Hello!</p>
<p>One of my friends recently enrolled into UCLA (biochem). Was wondering if anyone could answer some (or all) of the following questions to give him an idea of what to expect next year.</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Academic:
How big have your classes been in the past year (the candid answer,
not the advertisement brochure answer! :P)?
How helpful have the discussion sessions been in helping you
understand the lectures? To my understanding, these sessions are
usually taught by TAs - is this a hindrance? Have you had any really
bad experiences in this domain so far? (Do professors ever teach
seminars?)
How often last year have you been lectured (i.e. not sessions) by a TA
(in comparison to your course load)?
What kind of academic advising do you get, and is it helpful?
How much written commentary do you usually get from each assignment -
and who marks the assignment: TA or Professor?
Does UCLA have a writing center and, if so, is it generally
helpful in terms of improving assignments?
How many professors, if any, do you have a good relationship with so
far (i.e. know you by name, know your academic strengths and
weaknesses), and how hard was it for you to foster these
relationships?
How available are professors - do they have a lot of office hours
allocated for undergrads, or do these hours usually get snatched away
by TAs and PhD students?
Are UCLA undergrads allowed to take grad level
courses? If so, how easy is
it to apply for this?
How hard is it to get into required classes to fulfill your major/
non-required classes that you really want to take?
Is there a lot of room to experiment academically?
How hard is it to double major?
How hard is it to maintain a 3.5 GPA?
I heard that IB credits give students a slight boost in terms of
course selection - how significant has this boost been for you?
I heard that UCLA has a sink-or-swim mentality towards its
undergrads. Is this true? If you are struggling academically/
emotionally, are there any adults that you could consult? How
accessible are these adults?</p>
<p>Career-oriented:
Do you feel that UCLA has been helping you achieve your career
goals so far? I.e. in the form of resume writing, career fairs, etc
What resources are available for people interested in med school or
any other kind of graduate program?
How easy has it been for you to obtain internships/ research
opportunities? Are there a lot of internship fairs?</p>
<p>Social:
How helpful has dorm-life been for your academic life? Do older
students (juniors and seniors) generally help the freshmen on their
floor in terms of academics/ advice, or is there more age-segregation?
What is your relationship with the older students on your floor? Is it
necessary to join a frat/ sorority in order to make connections with
older students, and how hard are these frats/sororities to get into?
(I heard there are academic frats/ sororities?)
Is there a lot of racial segregation on campus?
How are your roommates?
Given the UCLA workload, how much time do students have to pursue
and excel in extracurricular activities? Are extra-curricular
activities hard to get into?</p>