dawritingmachine

i hear that they aren't accessible! and i also hear that their office hours have lines of students waiting for their chance to answer questions. to what extent is this true at ucla??

also, are the TAs adequate enough to answer questions about assignments as well? to what extent are they available?

how often do profs and TAs answer student questions via email? can we stay b4 or after class if we have small questions if office hrs don't work w/ our schedule?

in the lecture halls is there a usual group of ppl who sit up front? are ppl fighting for the spot in the front for more attn? i would like to sit in the front every lecture and is that possible? or would i hafta go a few mins b4 class starts to get my spot?

bruinboy

1) It really depends on the class and the professor. Some professors love their teaching and students (Pires) and stay in their office till 11pm to help students. Others may be complete a**es in office hours. it's too variant on the professor but the majority of professors ive experienced are pretty accessible.
2) Email is the best way to get things done.
3) TA's are also really useful in their office hours (usually 2 hours a week) because they will deconstruct difficult topics into a "student" friendly way. I would much rather see a TA than a professor.
4) Yes you can stay before and after class for some simple questions. also if office hours don't work out, you can usually email the professor to set up an appointment.
5) haha, umm...yeah you could sit in front for every lecture. but in large lecture halls, you aren't gonna get noticed anyways so it doesn't really matter. If you HAVE to sit in the front, it's a first come first serve type thing.

BoelterHall

In your general courses, if the professor is decent, every seat should be filled up the first few weeks. UCLA has a tendency of lifting caps and making the size of the class to be larger than the maximum occupancy of the room, due to overenrollment.

After a few weeks, people start skipping lectures, so the room is still full, but no one is sitting on the stairs.

You should have no problem getting a seat at any time past the 3rd week.

However, if you want to sit in the front, you have to arrive 5-10 minutes earlier than the scheduled start time. There are always people who "save seats" for his/her friends, sometimes 5 at a time.

In some cases, it makes me angry when someone "saves a seat" and his/her friends never shows up .

dawritingmachine

Thanks everyone! Could a UCLA student easily get privacy despite the big population? Have you ever had any problems finding a quiet place to study?

Has anyone lived in a themed housing designed for study habits? I signed up for it (I am a freshman in fall 2007). Is this form of lifestyle recommended for bookworms like me? Or would a non-residence hall living be okay if one easily makes friends in another place?

dawritingmachine

(sorry if this is going off tangent from the subject. But it is the "learning" section of the title)

peanutgallery

You should have no problem finding privacy in a plaza or suite, and no problem making friends in a residence hall. That being said, you can still have a social life in the first two if you put yourself out there, and hang out with people on your floor. In a hall, the party pretty much comes to you, whenever you leave your door open or walk to the bathroom.

BoelterHall

Themed housing does not exist anymore. The name is there, but there are close to no activities that correlate to your building/floor theme.