This week is NACAC week (that’s the National Association for College Admission Counseling), and this year’s conference is being held in Los Angeles, CA!
Yesterday, I visited USC and Chapman. Today, it’s all about…
UCLA!
UCLA is the #1 public university in the United States, and the most selective of the nine UC campuses. A perpetual favorite of many students looking for a big school in a big city, they have an intense rivalry with USC, and our tour guide made sure we learned all the reasons why UCLA is better than their cross-town rivals.
The life-sized UCLA letters greeted us when we arrived on campus this morning!
WHY IS THIS SCHOOL AWESOME?
Olivia: Three words: Big. School. Energy. If you want a sprawling, beautiful campus, an upscale college-town neighborhood, a ubiquitous fight song, and professors who are top researchers in their fields, then UCLA is the place for you. Bruins bleed blue and gold from day one, and during their “Bruintism” (basically “Bruin Baptism”) in the inverted fountain, they vow to uphold the true Bruin values and never set foot on the USC campus. (Though I imagine they make an exception for football games…)
The Inverted Fountain is home to the time-honored UCLA tradition of “Bruintism.”
FAVORITE SPOT ON CAMPUS?
Olivia: I had two favorites, I think (and it’s such a huge campus that I could choose even more!): the Tongva Steps, where you can get a great view of the central part of campus and the Hill; and the trees surrounding the sculpture garden on North Campus.
The Tongva Steps were recently given that name to honor the indigenous people who were the original stewards of UCLA’s land.
The School of Theater, Film, and Television (or TFT) has this lovely shaded space in front of their main academic building.
5 WORDS TO DESCRIBE CAMPUS?
Olivia: Upscale, Blue-and-gold, Sprawling, Diverse, Spirited
THE "TYPICAL STUDENT" IS...
Olivia: Intense and independent. These students are all top of their classes, and as such, competition in the classroom can be a challenge, particularly for classes graded on a curve (the administration is actively discouraging grading on curves though, in order to promote more collaboration among students). To succeed here, students need to know how to self-advocate and seek help, because while the university has loads of resources to support student success, no one is going to hold your hand and lead you to them. You need to be prepared to lead yourself.
Kirkoff Hall is the only gothic-style building on campus, so naturally it’s appeared in plenty of films meant to portray a certain prominent Ivy League university…
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE?
Olivia: UCLA is an extremely challenging place to get admitted to as an international student. A few years ago, all UC campuses were mandated to cap their out-of-state enrollment at no more than 18% (including international students). This means last year’s overall 9% acceptance rate at UCLA was more like 4% for out-of-state and international applicants, and competition for those spots is fierce. If you are an out-of-state or international student with a GPA below 3.4 (or equivalent), your chances of admission are next to nothing.
On the flipside, UCLA does emphasize study abroad opportunities for its students to get out of LA and see the world; they partner with the other UC campuses to provide over 115 programs across more than 40 countries, including a brand new program that allows first-year students to study in Italy during their very first quarter. More than half of UCLA students take advantage of opportunities to either study or complete internships abroad.
Royce Hall was built with 52 intentional “imperfections”—how many can you spot in this photo?
SPECIAL PROGRAMS/OFFERINGS APPLICANTS SHOULD CONSIDER?
Olivia: With 140+ majors and 90+ minors, UCLA offers something for just about anyone—however, they do not have an undergraduate business program. You can study Business Economics here, but no true traditional Business degree.
While many intro classes are large, they get smaller as you move into your upperclass years, with ⅔ of classes having less than 30 students. Some other notable programs include:
Fiat Lux Seminars: Small seminars open to all students (capped at 20 students max), offering up to 200 options to study and discuss niche topics
Cluster Program: Allows students to take 3 clustered courses (1 per quarter) that share a common theme. These courses are usually capped at 100 students, and are team-taught by 4 different professors
School of Nursing: Perhaps the single most competitive program at UCLA, with an approximately 1% acceptance rate. This is because the program is capped each year at 70 students total (50 first-years and 20 transfers), which, for a university of over 33,000 undergraduates, is TINY.
School of Engineering: This is the only school besides the College of Letters and Science in which you can start undecided and choose a specific major later on—great for students who know they want to study engineering but are unsure what specific type!
This plaza (behind the big tree) just hosted the annual Enormous Activities Fair (EAF), which showcases all of UCLA’s more than 1,300 student organizations.
TIPS FOR THE APPLICATION PROCESS?
Olivia: UCLA’s application process is a challenge—there’s no other way to put it. With over 146,000 applications per year, admissions officers can usually devote no more than 5 minutes per application. All apps are reviewed twice, though, and blindly, meaning the second reader is not influenced by the opinion of the first reader when making their own assessment. Whenever readers disagree on a decision, that application gets sent to a manager for further review.
Like all UC campuses, UCLA uses the UC Application (not the Common Application). This app is unique in that it does not involve any letters of recommendation (from counselors or teachers) and includes 8 personal insight questions (of which students must choose 4).
You may choose only one program to apply to, or you can apply Undecided in either the College of Letters and Science or the School of Engineering. About 20-30% of first-year students enter UCLA undecided, so it’s quite common.
UCLA went test free in 2021 (along with the entire UC system) and has no plans to return to allowing or requiring test scores. DO NOT try to slip your test score information into other parts of the application (like activity descriptions or essays). Believe me, UCLA does not want to see them anywhere.
The university does want to see your voice and personality in your application though, as expressed through your activities and essays. “Now is not the time to be humble,” they said; make sure you show them how awesome you are!
UCLA students are expected to advocate for themselves and grow independently during their time here.
FUN FACTS?
Olivia: The Lettuce Club meets only once a year in the spring, when it hosts a competition to see who can eat a head of lettuce the fastest. The winner then becomes president for the next school year!
UCLA guarantees (but doesn’t require) 4 years of housing for all first-year students and 2 years of housing for all transfer students! 90% of students live on campus at least for their first year, so students definitely take advantage of the opportunity.
The internet was supposedly invented in the basement of Boelter Hall.