<p>Well you don’t have to go to school to become a great writer. Many great writers just honed and mastered their craft on their own. Other than learning the standard screenwriting format and some of the basic fundamentals of screenwriting, it is no different from any other type of creative writing. There are many good screenwriting books (Story by Kyle McKee, Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder to name a couple) with which you can use to better master the craft on your own but if you’re not motivated enough to do so then taking some classes might be a good alternative (or supplement). Some people might just be natural-born story tellers and after understanding the formatting requirements can write excellent screenplays. </p>
<p>If all you’re looking to do is know the formatting then you can easily learn that on your own from a book. Then you can buy (or download Celtx, free s.w. software) screenwriting software that will make formatting a screenplay extremely easy.
If you’re just gonna take a couple screenwriting classes at UCLA then you probably won’t make any connections that’ll get you “into the business.” Even if you did, you’d have to write a good commercial script to get in. However, if you enter the School of Theatre, Film, and Television and specialize in screenwriting then you may get some useful contacts.</p>
<p>UCLA is one of the best schools for the entertainment and media related arts so I find it very likely that the screenwriting classes are top notch and very helpful. Many very successful screenwriters have come from UCLA (including oscar winners Dustin Lance Black writer of “Milk” and Eric Roth writer of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Forest Gump”).
So taking some screenwriting classes at UCLA, if you’re interested in screenwriting, will likely be very rewarding.
(Disclaimer: I’m an incoming freshman and therefore have no personal experience with UCLA’s screenwriting program but have done a lot of research and am interested in screenwriting myself and have read several screenwriting books.)</p>