My D applied to UCLA for no good reason, OOS, never visited, but was fortunate to get in. To me, it is one of her better options (weather, cost, perhaps not as intense as Cal). She is undeclared, not going to decide a school based on academics, so I think she is going to decide based on “feel” and “friendliness.” What should we do on a quick visit to capture this? Also, since she is OOS, and there are tons of Californians, will she have good social experience in the dorms, basically being stuck there on weekends? When I was undergrad, most everybody was from all over. The dorm provided an essential social unit for parties, intramural sports, dramatic/musical productions, musical groups, social competitions (trivia bowl etc). In a big school I think the classmate social bonding is really important early on because the classroom experience will be pretty impersonal.
I wouldn’t worry about the dorms clearing out on weekends. CA is a big state, and UCLA is a big school, I doubt they all go home on weekends! Are there any students she knows there who could show her around during her visit? My son was assigned a “student ambassador,” but he’s a grad student, not sure if they do that for undergrad. I was surprised as an east-coaster by how friendly people were when we visited UCLA. And it’s a beautiful campus - I’m guessing she’s going to love it!
My son lived in the dorms two years at UCLA and loved it. Even though we are only an hour away he rarely came home. I got the impression most students spend the weekends on campus. A good way to get a feel of UCLA would be to walk around campus on a weekday, maybe attend a sporting event, and have a meal in one of the dining commons.
UCLA definitely isn’t a commuter school - most kids will be on campus over the weekends. I’d recommend taking the official campus tour; we did it last year and the presentation and tour were both quite good. Wear comfy shoes and cool clothing for the tour as you’ll do a lot of walking and it’ll likely be pretty warm.
There’s also a dorm “tour” you can do which wasn’t that great IME, but is worthwhile if you’d like to see a couple typical dorm rooms. The housing village area isn’t part of the standard tour so you might find the dorm tour helpful as far as getting a better feel for the social environment.
The campus vibe is really easy to pick up on. It’s a fun, high-energy campus which should be readily apparent during your tour. Also plan some time to check out Westwood if you’re able.
And gratz on your D’s acceptance!
Hi! I’m currently an undergrad at UCLA, and I visited the campus a couple times before I was accepted just to tour it and check it out every time I was in LA. I took an official tour too, but I talking to current students here actually introduced me to a perspective that I wasn’t getting from tour and brochures. I just stopped a few students who were walking around (and even walked with them to class so I didn’t stall them) and asked them what they liked and didn’t like about the school. It was really helpful and I really recommend it to students who are trying to make a decision. As for dorms, the hill is well populated with students (and super social depending on if your daughter is social) and there’s always stuff to do, it never really clears out until finals week when people go home for breaks.
My daughter is a firat year student. We live about an hour away from campus, and she rarely comes home. She attended the admitted student day at UCLA (and Cal) and found that helpful in making her decision. Also, many of the friends she has made at UCLA are from out of state - eventhough it is a “regional” university, my impression is CA students are very welcoming to out of state students. My daughter loves UCLA and is very happy with her decision.
Congrats to your daughter!
I agree with @Cheery1 - No need to worry about being an OOS…my instate freshman this year has made so many OOS friends. Most kids stick around on the weekends, the quarter system is FAST and UCLA is hard so there is a lot of studying, activities etc. Congrats to your daughter. UCLA is a great place.