My son got accepted to UCLA and we would like to visit the campus but before i book a flight I want to make sure we can take a self-guided tour. Is the campus an “open” campus?
Yes, you can take a self guided tour. The majority of buildings on campus are closed but you are able to walk around campus, the hill (dorms) and the neighboring college town of Westwood.
Thanks! We are coming from NY its a long flight not sure its worth the trip if most buildings are closed. He is deciding between UCLA and one other school and really want to give both colleges an equal analysis.
If you haven’t been to Los Angeles and you don’t mind flying during a pandemic, I think the trip would be worth it. You can see the inside of buildings from videos posted online (example: student tour). However, you can’t get a feel for the location, size of the campus or proximity of surrounding amenities (Westwood, vs DTLA vs beaches) if you don’t visit.
You’ll likely see quite a few students hanging out on the grass right now. A lot of the upperclassmen stayed because they had apartment leases and have now been vaccinated so are starting to socialize more.
So basically the spring semester is entirely remote and the campus is pretty much empty?
Many of the students are there doing remote from the dorms.
UCLA is on the quarter system. This is the beginning of the 3rd week of spring quarter.
The classrooms are empty but there are many students living in apartments and a small number of students living in the dorms.
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About visiting… I also think it’s worth it. We toured pre-pandemic and it is a hustling and bustling environment. We visited last week and it was much easier to appreciate the beautiful buildings, green spaces, neat and tidy landscaping, and we felt comfortable finding our way around. Just keep in mind that in typical times UCLA, Westwood, and of course LA is busy, busy, busy! Don’t be deceived by the way it is now. It’s perfect for a person that thrives in the big city! My daughter just SIRed yesterday and is super excited to do something very new and different from her brother in SLO and where she grew up in a small community in SoCal. Best of luck!!
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Thanks for your valuable insight. We are from a suburb of NYC and understand how these big cities areas are now not reflective of a normal pre-covid pace. My son prefers to go to a school in a fast pace environment and combined with better weather it certainly is a big draw.
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We visited a week ago (also checking it out for son who was admitted – very likely to commit this week), and the campus was definitely “open” enough to get a feel. You can walk around and see the outsides of all the buildings, walk through the area with dorms, get a sense of the differences, peek inside ground floor windows to see what the rooms look like (small!), etc. And of course walk around Westwood and drive around the surrounding area if you have access to a car. We drove to Santa Monica and checked out Hollywood, etc. Luckily for us it was just a long drive form NorCal, but if you want to really get a feel before choosing, I think it’s worth the flight. Unlike the small private schools we were also checking out in SoCal, UCLA didn’t have any “campus is closed” signs or anything like that. One thing I recommend is to download the UCLA Map app from the App Store (I assume there is an Android version too – I think my son downloaded it but I have an iPhone). It was really useful to be able to search for whatever building we were looking at (e.g., Royce Hall) and it pops up to tell you a little about the history and/or what happens in that building (e.g., performance hall or economics classes or whatever it happens to hold).
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We flew out last week to see the campus - we are from NJ. It was worth the trip. We had never been to L.A. with my daughter - though both my husband and I did live there for a time. It really helped her to make her final decision by going there, seeing the campus. We walked everywhere. There was a film crew taping a TV show so that was fun to see. The student center, where the book store is was open too which was great to buy T shirts and all that. We actually had a great time.
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Thanks for your advice. We booked a flight to LA and plan to do a full day tour of the campus and the surrounding area. Very few kids from our high school go to UCLA so at some point we may want to reach out to some students to get their perspectives on the school.
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I don’t know if it helps at all but there seem to be quite a few You tube videos of the dorms, student perspectives (there was one on Pros and Cons) etc. We are about an hour from NYC and my D always thought it was NYC all the way - she loves the energy there - but UCLA has the program she wanted so she applied to round out some choices - honestly the program is so competitive, and being OOS - did not think she would get accepted. But she did and once she saw the campus, the surrounding area, the weather, Santa Monica beach (there is a bus that goes from the campus there each day and regularly) she was made her decision while we were there. I will say - the webinar tour was pretty good too - just hearing the students give you insights and tips about the campus. Well, enjoy the trip and good luck!
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Any insight on best places to park If heading there for a self guided campus tour?
We usually park on the top level of Lot 8. You can pay in advance for 1 or 2 hours or choose the all day option. The machines take credit card or cash.
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Park in Westwood apartments for free. And walk from there through the strathmore gayley intersection to campus. Good way to gauge what the real student walk is post dorms and see what it’s like. From there you can go straight to Bruin walk if you go through the latc wasserman football center walkway
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Thank you!
Thanks for the help!
We were there and parked at the top of P8 parking - it is located right adjacent to the campus hotel and a great location to enter campus. The store is right there and the Bear for a great photo op.