@Raebae I’ll clarify this for ya. Suites do not have ac. Classics and suites have a central air unit that blows ambient air around in vents. It does not actually cool it. There is a heater though. Hope this clarifies things. Suites are more secluded and have plenty of shade so they are cooler than a comparable classic.
@WCbound I also think that your UC Healthcare is included in other. If you have your own personal insurance there is a waiver you can fill out and save around $2,200 per year. The balance is misc personal expenses which is completely discretionary.
@sandiegodad2017, Thanks for the info. Yep, included “other” cost makes sense now with healthcare insurance.
@10s4life, Thanks. I have seen few colleges include only the basic (minimum) cost in the fin aid letter. so wanted to get an idea.
@10s4life I was wondering if you know whether incoming Freshmen can already start classes in the summer? UCLA has such a late start date 9/27, and would love for my son to already get started, rather than hanging around the house most of the summer. Thanks!
UCLA has summer classes. Even better, they have a special 7-week summer session for incoming freshmen only. There’s more info. on the UCLA. We went to the summer session presentation at Bruin Day last Saturday. They said the summer session will include trips to Santa Monica (I presume the beach) and Disney Land. It will also include the 3-day orientation. Cost is somewhat north of $7K. Includes tuition, housing, and meals.
Ok thank you so much !! Rly appreciate it !! @10s4life
@Totoros They have two programs. One is CSI and the other is FSP. Both are similar and allow you to take a class plus some “intro how to survive college classes”. I forgot which but one is for first gen students etc while the other is open to everyone. My honest opinion is those are a waste of money and i think it’s better to either work or enjoy the summer cause once you come you’ll be working hard all three quarters. No need to burn out before the year even starts.
@pvcamom I’m curious, which schools turned your son down, and where will he be attending? Those are great stats. I have a freshman son who will be applying for engineering in a few years, so it would be helpful to set my expectations.
@Pusheen1 - Engineering was a tough “get” this year. My DS applied CS major. He had slightly lower stats and not as many ECs as @pvcamom . SAT 1510, SAT2 Math 800; BIO 760. ACT 34. National Merit Finalist. EC was all band. First Trumpet all 4 years, Jazz and Marching band. We are also in NorCal.
My advice - seek out opportunities to intern or do research. Also, do what you can to get the best test scores you can. In the end, there are no guarantees.
@raebae141 I was saying that you will be assigned one dorm for the school year and then go through a separate application and assigned another dorm if you take summer session.
If you are concerned about the summer heat and if you do not get a/c during the housing lottery for the school year, the summer session housing includes Hedrick Hall and Hitch suites.
@Pusheen1 @usma87 First, want to say that I suspect that you get extra mileage from the National Merit Finalist. I did actually have my son do some online SAT test prep prior to junior year, hoping he would make it (just sitting cold, no, would not make it). The online test prep did little for him and he missed NM semifinalist and first time on SAT Math (took the month after 11th grade PSAT), only 740. Then he worked with a tutor and got 790 and also 800 Math 2. I liked the theory behind the online prep – ie, would feed him only the problems he needed to study – but in practice it did him little good. When the “human” met with him, gave him tips and shortcuts and the tests were a piece of cake. There was one student that I know of at his high school that got into Berkeley Engineering – she was National Merit Finalist. Also, senior year my son could have gone on to linear algebra or whatever the college level math is that they have (the school rotates the offering so not sure which but it is something that follows BC, which he took junior year). Instead, he took AP Stats. You have to remember: UC reads applications by high school … so they are comparing you to your peer group. Fairly sure the young lady that got into Berkeley Engineering is taking the college level math, so in the eyes of UC, she is taking every available opportunity. My son had 11 APs plus 4 AS/Honors … perhaps she has more? I also have to wonder, when they see something like UCLA Nanoscience and two summers in a lab at another university, if they figure that the applicant favors those schools so they take a pass on that kid to protect the yield. Anyway …he got into engineering at UCSB, UCSD, Davis, UCLA, Cal Poly, U Washington (direct to engineering), Honors Engineering program at UT Austin (never visited), Michigan (Early Action – visited in 10th gr), Cornell (he is legacy and we visited). He was offered waitlist at Northwestern (we visited and he did local interview) and Johns Hopkins (he neither visited or interviewed) – so far has not put his name on either list. Think he could have gotten into either ED. If you are a full-pay family (we are), you need to look closely at ED. Otherwise, consider it from the school’s perspective. Do you love them …and are you going to go there? No, because why didn’t you go ED? You are not waiting to compare financial packages – right? That is really the (only?) legitimate reason not to ED. My take is that once you are out in the Regular Decision pool, you are swimming with the sharks as there are many candidates like your child. My son did not get into Stanford, Princeton (we did not visit but he did interview), Duke (we visited and he interviewed – may have gotten in ED, maybe not, we might just not be a good fit for that school), Berkeley Engineering. Not sure where he is going … probably Cornell as he loves that school, maybe UCLA (two totally different choices w/ pros and cons to each). My son applied to Mech E. Think CS is far harder. One more thing: I can see from Naviance that our son has higher stats than all 22 kids that have gotten into Cal in the past two years from his school – plus, he has some very strong ECs. You have to be careful what you ask for (ie, Engineering) because even with great numbers, you might not get in. And my last thought: if you are higher income and live near Stanford but are not a legacy, skip it. There is not a single kid from our (affluent) town who has gotten in who is not a legacy… and kids who have gotten in have appreciably lower stats. There is an opportunity cost each time you throw your name in the hat for a school. Applications takes a lot of time and that particular app takes a ton if you want to do a good job … and it is fruitless. The kids have a full load of 12th grade classes (if they don’t keep up the load senior year they will not get selected by these colleges), sports and music and jobs and whatever and they are doing applications to boot. They get totally sick of it. They have to do the essays. They have to go to the info nights. They have to go for the interviews. I can now see why people do ED! If you live in California, though, you give up your chance to see whether you get into UC if the ED school takes you (ie, you can apply but you have to pull your app if you get accepted by the ED school). Plus, most families need to wait for financial aid offers. It’s complicated, for sure.
I was admitted to L&S for econ as a freshman, but i want to transfer to Computer science in the engineering school. Since I’ll have to take different courses to fulfil the requirements, is it allowed to transfer to Mathematics of Computation WITHIN L&S first (immediately before i start uni) and then in a year’s time apply for a transfer to computer science? Also, do I only have to take the minimum engineering courseload (1 math 1 science) and earn a gpa of 3.5+ in order to be able to apply ? cause the website faq says i need not have completed all prep courses when i apply, only the minimum, and that’s the minimum 
I think @10s4life can help better than I. She is in the Engineering program. At a minimum she can direct you to internal resources with answers. I have a feeling the change to CS in Engineering will be tough.
@pvcamom @Pusheen1 The concept of ED is more challenging than you make it out to be. Many of the programs are restrictive. If you apply ED at school A, you cannot apply anywhere else ED. If you have a clear preference for a school, by all means ED is the way to go. Also, make sure you know whether the “early” program at the school is binding. Some school do Early Action which is more restrictive than Early Decision.
Bottom line, elite/selective schools are a crap shoot. We were rejected from schools that seemed like a lock, based on stats and demonstrated interest. Please keep in mind that every child can find several schools that will be a great ‘fit’ for them.
@usma87 I’d be happy to help except I’m not a she lol.
@blah10blah Yeah you are right except for CS and CSE and CE you need to take pre req courses of CS31-33. And those courses themselves need a B min. For ex if your gpa is a 3.7 but you got C+s and B-s in these CS courses you couldn’t switch.
@10s4life oh so one math one science and finish the three CS courses with high grades to qualify, sounds good, thanks! and what about transferring twice: first within L&S and then to SEAS? is that allowed?
@blah10blah Welll you need to do this for a year since the CS courses are offered not a series and it’s easier said than done. You are not in a major yet in L&S so you technically aren’t transferring within L&S
Hey guys can you double major at UCLA?
I’m going for Bio but also want to do Econ
At Bruin day there was mention of a Parents orientation. Is this necessary and worthwhile?
@10s4life cool thanks. Also, since the minimum engineering workload is 1 math 1 science, AND i have to do the cs courses, do the CS courses also count as the 1 science? Like can i just keep doing one math one comp course each quarter? (along with others for my current major)