Why UCLA?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
1

<p>It looks like my son's choices for college will come down to several small but very good schools in the Southeast, i.e. Wake Forest, and several large universities like UCLA, Wisconsin, and UTexas - Austin. He's intrigued by UCLA but it is a very big school with large classes. And he'd be one of a small percentage of out-of-staters (we're from New Jersey). Seems from what we've read that many students leave UCLA's campus on weekends to go home. Hard for me to think about UCLA - when I was applying to schools 25 years ago, UCLA wasn't a top school. I think it's moved up the ranks.</p>

<p>So - my question - why UCLA? What are the real plusses and the minuses that my son should consider? (he's interested in biology, bio-engineering, etc. - also may go via ROTC) Expenses, housing, social life, quality of education, size of classes, etc.</p>

<p>also - he's visiting UCLA in the near future - his first trip to LA. Anything special he should see while on campus or off campus? (he is going to do the campus tour while there)</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for any help on this.</p>

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<p>Check this </p>

<p><a href="http://www.studentsreview.com/CA/UCLA_c.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.studentsreview.com/CA/UCLA_c.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Oib1..wow, that is a long question..I am sure you will many opinions here, I myself have to run out the door, but I will try to offer my perspective as an older student that has lived all over California, including near UCLA.</p>

<p>My first thought is, it will be a culture shock for your son..but that doesn't, mean it's a bad thing.</p>

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<p>First off, congratulations to your son, that is a big accomplishment. I am a Junior (in highschool) from NJ, and I visited UCLA over the teachers convention in November. It is a lot different from any east coast school, but let me tell you, it is an amazing school. It is so much more well kept and visually appealing than the NJ schools. The quality of education also seems very high, and they have very up to date facilities too. It didn't take me long to realize it was my first choice. </p>

<p>I visited UVA, USC, UCSD, UCI, UPenn, Rutgers, and NYU and I think UCLA has an edge over all of them. All of those schools were great however.</p>

<p>Just curious, did your son have very high test scores? I know it will be quite difficult to get into from out of state.</p>

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<p>I believe UCLA is best known for its medical program, so if your son wants to major in biology, that would be a good choice. UCLA is a great school in general as well (2nd best UC, and I think it's the 3rd best public university in the nation, below Berkeley and another school I can't remember), so it would be a great choice in any case. Plus, you get the great weather of SoCal...</p>

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<p>UCLA is indeed an excellent school. I think what your son should consider is how his personality fits with going to a large university. The answer to "why" for CA residents is most easily answered by noting the excellent education offered for such a relatively low price tag.</p>

<p>For an out of state resident, that argument obviously doesn't hold. UCLA is a place that offers lots of exciting opportunites in terms of course selection, extracurricular activities, and even research opportunities. The thing to keep in mind is that one needs to be quite proactive to fully exploit these opportunities. For those who are outgoing, opportunities to get involved in activities are abundant given the sheer amount of activity on campus. However, if your son is the type that would do better with a bit of hand holding and who is less given to aggresively pursuing his interests, then he may want to consider the benefits of attending a smaller school. </p>

<p>At UCLA, one can anonmously go to class, take the exam, and never have any meaningful interaction with professors. This is in fact a common complaint often voiced by students. However, there are smaller seminars, that undergraduates can take where there is the oportunity for more quality interactions. As an undergrad a few years ago, I remember registering for a few seminars with less than 20 students and getting to know more than one professor. I even worked as a research assistant for one after college.</p>

<p>Aside from the academics, another advantage of UCLA is its location in such a large city. Again, this can cut both ways, depending on your personality. I personally like the diversity of people and ideas that one is exposed to in large cities, and the student population at UCLA is certainly representative of the cultural diversity that exists in the US. There is also a very large international student population on campus. Interacting with these people can be enriching and certainly broadens your perspective. So, less tight knit, but a great diversity of people. Again, it depends on your preferences.</p>

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<p>since your son is interested in biology, as is a large chunk of the student population at ucla, he'll learn quickly that the science majors at ucla are quite competitive (and are graded on curves). some students can be cutthroat, especially if they want to get into a top med school. intro classes can be big. however, research opportunities are available... i'm not too familiar with it since im not a science major. on another note, there is the fiat lux program, where freshmen can take small 1-unit seminars with professors on interesting topics. </p>

<p>there are several ROTC programs available at ucla, i believe navy and army are two of them. but i dont know too much about them... only that i do see them doing drills and stuff sometimes, and that my roommate was in it (but dropped because he was in it only for financial reasons and didnt really like it)</p>

<p>Housing: try to do a dorm tour too. there's a wide range of housing options, with the prices ranging from around 8,000 (triple in residence hall with 11 meals) up to 14,000 (single in suite with 19 meals) a year and everything in between. many dorms are fairly new (built in late 1990s i think)... the older residence halls are adequate and are either renovated or currently being renovated. two new halls are opening next year. dorms are located on west side of campus, separate from all the classrooms. dorms are also very convenient as they are all close to each other and also close to all the dining halls (by the way, UCLA dining hall food is VERY good). visit <a href="http://www.housing.ucla.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.housing.ucla.edu&lt;/a> for more info</p>

<p>"Seems from what we've read that many students leave UCLA's campus on weekends to go home."
there are many students that go home on the weekend, but UCLA is NOT a commuter school. there are many students (moreso than the commuters) that stay during the weekends. weekend activity options can include visiting LA (if u have a car), just hanging out in westwood... or going to a football game at the rose bowl or a basketball game at pauley. there's always something to do at ucla. </p>

<p>"Hard for me to think about UCLA - when I was applying to schools 25 years ago, UCLA wasn't a top school. I think it's moved up the ranks."
true. ucla was only founded in 1919, which makes it relatively new (i mean, when you applied, it was only around ucla's 60th year of existence!). but as many others will tell you at this board, ucla deserves to be a top 25 school for many reasons.</p>

<p>"So - my question - why UCLA? "
the most popular answer to that is "the balance of academics and social life." there is just so much to do at ucla, you get to enjoy a traditional college life experience, and because of the diverse opportunities of things to do, you'll probably find something that fits you... but at the same time, ucla students take their academics seriously as well. i don't think there's any other school that's so balanced between academics and social life. </p>

<p>i think your son will also enjoy the weather... it was raining last week, but its sunny outside as i type this. californians are also very friendly, so he shouldn't have a hard time adapting. ucla's also a very diverse campus in many aspects.</p>

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<p>Thanks to all for their comments. My son's been in LA the past two days - it'll be interesting to see what kind of take he has on UCLA when he gets back (assuming the snow storm here in NJ lets him back in). I'll also print out these comments for him to read. At the end of the day he'll have to choose.</p>

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<p>it has been the wettest winter in LA history this year. he should've visited during the springtime... or in fact, any other time, he would've loved it. but at least its not snowing here.</p>

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<p>My son also wanted to go to UCLA last year as an out-of-stater (we're originally New Yorkers, now live in a suburb of Washington, DC.) My wife and I were not at all thrilled that he wanted to attend a college so far from home, but we visited the campus as a bribe for him to attend a family wedding in Newport Beach, instead of him staying home alone that weekend. I reassured my wife after the visit (which he loved) that he had no chance to get in, based on his SAT's and GPA compared to others. Long story short, of course, is that he got in (to the College of Arts and Architecture) and is now a member of the class of 2008! </p>

<p>In many ways UCLA has been better than we've expected. He's made lots of friends, many fellow out-of-staters and international students; gotten good grades, and thanks to the miracle of email and family cell phone plans, we hear from him on a fairly regular basis. And when he was smart enough to come home for Thanksgiving, which at UCLA is only a four-day holiday, we were very pleased. He says the dorms are, in fact, "pretty dead" on weekends (and kind of quiet during the week, too--lots of studying going on). He bought himself a bicycle, though, and he and (sometimes) his friends go exploring--to the beach, to Hollywood, to downtown. He plays indoor soccer, and joined the running club and a couple of other organizations. He loves it, and we're happy, too.</p>

<p>One of the things we did that I suggest to you for your son's visit is to take the bus from in front of the school to Santa Monica Pier. The dormitory tour guide said "you can take the bus to the beach for only a quarter" and on the post-acceptance visit (like most colleges, they have a visiting day for accepted students) my son and I decided to see what that was like. He wanted to see the beach: I wanted to help him come to the conclusion he didn't need a car to get around. The ride to Santa Monica takes about 20 minutes, and your son may draw that conclusion as well--which he will become disabused of within minutes of moving into the dorms by the other kids. However, the fact that parking permits are scarce, gas is expensive, and free parking non-existant has kept a car at bay, at least this year. You should also walk around Westwood--a great student area--and in the vicinity of the campus in Beverly Hills and Bel Air to get the sense for yourself of what a great location UCLA is in (we had no idea beforehand.) The other LA tourist stuff I leave to you, except for the Getty Museum, which is fabulous and highly recommended.</p>

<p>Class size in my son's program is small, but it's very specialized and probably not typical of the school. They do have special classes (called Fiat Lux) and make other accomodations for freshmen. We've had good luck on bargain airfares (especially on Jet Blue) from DC airports. And the price--while I wish we lived in state--is still about $7K less than major private universities now charge. Good luck!</p>

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<p>Flatbush: Thanks very much for your very detailed response. My son just got home today from UCLA and very much enjoyed his visit. His interest is in the biological sciences and he was very impressed with the programs he heard about at UCLA. He's also eligible for an ROTC scholarship - and is interested in ROTC - so the financial bite for me will be about 20 percent of a private college. And the ROTC program will likely keep him fit and focused. His only big surprise was the high number of Asian-Americans on campus - not a problem at all, just surprised. Being from NJ we weren't fully aware of the impact of what I think is Proposition 208 to ban race as a criteria for admission.<br>
Again, thanks for your insights.</p>

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<p>Hurrah for out-of-state students! I myself loved the Getty Museum when I visited over the spring break last year... the Rembrandt paintings were beautiful enough to enthuse even an anti-art person like myself.</p>

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<p>The best thing about the Getty, is the Getty...I love where it is and the architecture more than the works of art inside. It really is a treat to check out.. especially around sunset.</p>

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<p>haha, yes, soooooo many asians... (I'm asian myself so I don't mean this in any sort of racist way, obviously)</p>

<p>I think the answer to why UCLA is pretty simple. As people go to NYU for New York and Berkeley for San Franciso, you go to UCLA for, well, LA.</p>

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<p>Berkeley and San Francisco doesn't quite work. With all the work there is, it's hard to make that commute very often. With NYU and UCLA, just step outside and you're in the city.</p>

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<p>not entirely true, a lot of UCLA kids (especially first and second yrs without cars) never go into the "true" city. i myself have never been to downtown LA yet. A lot of ppl who live on campus just go to westwood when they want to go out and never really venture beyond that. UCLA is somewhat isolated in that respect, so it's much different from NYU which doesn't really have a campus and is pretty much integrated with the city around it.</p>

<p>and as an added note, the people i know at berkeley actually go to san francisco and elsewhere, because they have the advantage of the BART which is their mass transit system. it's much better than the buses we have here.<br>
but with all that being said, i absolutely love it here at LA and wouldn't trade it for anything.</p>

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<p>Why would anyone want to go into downtown LA?</p>

<p>Most things worth seeing are within 5 square miles of UCLA. </p>

<p>UCLA and NYU are much more centrally located to the action than UCB. But the BART does make it easier..especially for those without POVs.</p>

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<p>I do think that for being an underclassman, everything necessary is already in UCLA or Westwood, and I prefer having everything so close and centrally located. Make friends with an upperclassman who has a car if you want to go to the real city for fun. </p>

<p>I actually think its easier to get to San Francisco from Berkeley than it is to get to Los Angeles from UCLA. Berkeley kids take the bus for free, and BART is cheap. Los Angeles... have to find someone for a ride. </p>

<p>haha basically whatever brandnew2 said</p>

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<p>"Why would anyone want to go into downtown LA?"</p>

<p>To shop in Chinatown/Little Tokyo, for starters...</p>

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<p>flopsy, you get all that in UCLA. ;) follow my thinking?</p>

<p>I guess those places don't interest me so I don't really consider them. There are so many fun things to do in the UCLA, Westwood, Santa Monica area that I have zero interest in downtown LA.</p>