has your son been notified of acceptance for the current admission cycle, or are you talking about a previous year?
UCLA decisions will be in March usually the 3rd Friday of the month.
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Good morning! Now that our EA decision cycle is complete, we are looking ahead to RD decisions in March. My daughter is from Baltimore and we don’t know anyone who has attended UCLA, although it is at the top of her list (art major). For those who have attended, can you speak to the social aspect of out of state students? Given that approximately 75% of students are from CA, are the friend groups well formed before they move in? Our state university has a similar ratio and one complaint I’ve heard (even from in-state students) is that high school friend groups continue to stay together during college. Does anyone have any insight into that potential issue? Thanks!
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I can’t speak to UCLA specifically, but I have a kid at another UC and would say generally no - the year my kid graduated from high school (a fairly average public school from Northern California) , there were only a handful (2-5) of students going to each of the UCs. My kid know 2 other students from her high school and chose to room in the dorms with people she’d never met. All of her closest high school friends went to other UCs. Perhaps if they’d been at the same school they would’ve roomed together, but they were not likely going to be accepted to the same UC.
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Good to know - thank you! I guess with so many great in-state options, it would make sense that friends end up in different places.
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My daughter is a freshman (in state) at ucla. 17 kids from her high school class went too (a very large group in comparison to most other UCs). She occasionally sees them around campus but is not friends with them. She made all new friends at college—some are out of state and some are not. Her closest friends are from CA, NJ, NY and Turkey. CA is a huge state and ucla is a huge school—most people find friendships on their dorm floor, classes, orientation, clubs, etc.
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Super helpful! Thank you for sharing your daughter’s experience - it makes me feel better about the possibility of my daughter attending (now if she can only overcome the single-digit acceptance rate …)
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Fingers crossed for her! It’s an amazing school—and LA is a terrific place to go to college, too. Especially for art, I imagine. So many museums, fellow artists, and opportunities. It’s also a very friendly, social school—hard to be in a bad mood when you’re hanging out on the lawn in your t-shirt on a gorgeous January afternoon! (She sent me this the other day)
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Very different than the views from the cold-weather colleges she has been accepted to so far!!
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My son is a sophomore there (from the Bay Area near SF), and at least three of his closest friends are from Maryland, including his girlfriend. Everyone hangs out with anyone. I’m not sure he sees many kids from HS. Maybe to play ultimate frisbee since our HS has a lot of kids who play ultimate? Otherwise he met his friends including all the MD kids (who didn’t know each other prior!) in marching band.
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Is UCLA a big commuter school?
It’s a really big school so there is a little bit of everything, but I would say no. Maybe for some transfers coming in junior year from local Community Colleges, but even then there is a lot of housing for transfer students. It’s also the only UC that guarantees 4 years of housing if you want it.
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That’s great that housing isn’t an issue as it is with UCB.
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So funny that your son has friends from MD, and we don’t know anyone who goes there! I guess with a school this size it really is a random experience - which is good!
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Yep! I can promise you there are lots of kids coming from MD and other parts of the country (and international students). Next year I think he’s rooming with another student from our hometown, a student from Orange County, and a student from Cincinnati. One of his freshmen roommates was from Florida, the other from San Diego.
Sounds perfect for what my daughter is looking for!
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My daughter is a sophomore. Her freshman dorm mates were from Alaska and CA (Ventura). We live in the Bay Area. I know one of her current suite mates is German and her friend from Ventura is still rooming with her but the communication has dropped significantly sophomore year and I’m not sure about the rest of her suite mates. Lots of California kids from all over and lots of kids from everywhere else too! Good luck.
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Starting Fall 2022, UCLA guaranteed 4 years of housing for in-coming Freshman and 2 years for New Transfers.
According to the Daily Bruin,
48% of all students live on-campus, 98% of First years and 56% of new transfers for the 2020-21 academic year.
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Thank you @Gumbymom — I was hoping you would magically appear with the data!! That sounds about right.
And just to add that students who do not live on campus are not necessarily commuters—there are tons of apartments off campus in Westwood. Lots tend to move off in their third year. My son is starting to look at apartments now already to sign a lease for his junior year.
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It’s a great school. He’s very happy there. Would absolutely love for his sister to be able to join him, but sub-10% acceptance keeps it real! 
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