Student Profile
Adam
- Class: Junior
- Major: Government
- Gender: M
- High School: LACES
- Transfer Student: N
Big Picture
The best thing about UCLA is the diversity and the academics. Next quarter I'm taking a class with General Wesley Clark!!! How col is that??? UCLA is HUUUUUGE, but thats a good thing and bad thing. It might take you a while (maybe a whole year or 2) to find out what you are into, or find some friends, or discover good professors, but once you do, UCLA is a great place. When I tell people I go to UCLA the usual response usually has to do with Asians and the difficulty of the school and people assume I'm smart. If I am stuck on campus, I usually spend my time at 1 or the numerous north campus coffee houses. They are relaxed, play nice music, and I always run into a friendly face. There are south campus spots too, but since my major is north campus, i dont go south. South is also relatively ugly compared to N. campus. Westwood isnt really a college town. It is really expensive and the bar, late night scene isnt so bumping. The biggest "scene", I guess is the nook of apartments around UCLA or the dorms. I guess frats are a thing too, but not my thing. I have no opinion of administration, except that getting classes is a **** the first 2 years and there is always a lot of red-tape if you need to do something. BY FAR, the biggest controversy was the tazering incident last year. There is a ton of school pride, especially whenever UCLA plays USC...the entire campus gets really into it and there are decorations and you basicaly cant hide from it. Its difficult to pin down one experience, but I have had certain professors an classes that will stick with me forever. Also, freshman year welcome week was a blast. The most frequent complaints havbe to do with freshman and sophmore diffulties in enrolling in classes. Also, lecture size and overall size in general. Also, there are a lot of bad, boring, research-interested professors at UCLA...you have to know how to avoid them.
Academic Life
Some professors know me by name. Obviously, my fist 2 years it was rare that a professor would know me personally. Now that I am taking smaller classes, and the nature of the classes I take ( a lot based on discussions and interactions and opinions) you get to connect with your professors more. My favorite professors are either Getty or Lohmann. Getty teaches Soviet history and Lohmann teaches poli-sci with an emphasis on ethics. They both seemed genuinely interested in student learning over grades and had plenty of on-the field accounts to spice up lectures. Getty had incredible stories about times he met important players like Gorbachev and was easily the best lecturer ive ever had- he was realy old school. Lohmann is a gem- she is out of her mind and is obsessed with student interaction above all else. Some people can be annoyed by her tangents, but Im down. She really challenges you and grades are the last thing she worries about. I think her class is how university education should be. My least favority courses are ones where it is obvious that the teachers dont want to be there. A lot of teachers are experts in their fields and do research, and they just dont seem to give effort to class. Jacoby Russel comes to mind...Students study a lot, but my major is unique in the sense that it is sorta easy to bull*** and not dso all the assigned reading. Oppose to something like physics, where I image it is a lot more studying. Intellectual conversations are common outside of class and sometimes creep into parties, but it is more about praising or talking *** about progfessors. I am a double major (history/polsci) and enjoy both. Like I said, UCLA is huge and there are good professors and bad ones, finding and connecting with the good ones is key. The academic requirements are really that bad (but everyone complains about them). For me, I had no idea what I really wanted to study, so why not take a Bull*** science class???? They are for the most part easy and you meet people. Yeh, they are ultimately useless, but I guess I know about dinasours and nutrition now?? I think whether UCLA is geared towards getting a job or learning depends on the major and classes you take. History majors, for the most part, are interested in history and not necessarily concerned with a job. Obviously, Law school is emphasized in polisci courses, but it really depends on the professor.
Student Body
UCLA pats itself on the back for its campus diversity, but there are very few non-athlete minorities at ucla. That being said however, there are clubs and social outlets for pretty much any group imaginable. Obviously, the asian population is huge and can be a bit overwhelming, especially in South campus science/math courses. UCLA students dont seem super rich or overly pretentious oppose to private school colleges (USC). Most students dress really casually to class, a lot of sandals, hats, ugg boots, the normal. Like every other school ive ever been to or seen, people generally stick with their own kind. I think thats the good and bad about so much emphasis on Multi-culturalism. Its cool to identiyt with gay Fillipinos, but if you only talk to other Gay Filipinos, whats the point of diverty? but, athletes talk to athletes, greeks to greeks, jews to jews, latinos to latinos...Most students are from California. Students are politivally active and the campus and professors is definitely Left. But, this isnt the 60s and for the most part, rallies and the like only attract weirdos. I havent found that students talk about how much theyll earn...
