<p>Beyond just faculty to student ratio. Does being in ucla make you feel like you are lost in a large crowd? Or is that just how it looks?</p>
<p>its really up to you. you are as isolated as you make yourself. if you go to office hours, you can get a lot more face time with professors, and if youre social, youll meet a lot of people. it goes the other way too though, if you isolate yourself, nobody will know you exist except for maybe your roommates</p>
<p>^ Pretty much. </p>
<p>As a rather semi-social person (depending on my mood), I feel that it’s incredibly easy to get lost in the crowd. There’s just so many people everywhere. I’ve made lots of acquaintances, but not many I would call friends. In this sense, perhaps I’m just not suited for big schools because I’d much rather spend all my time on the computer than go out and do social things (like clubs, events etc) to make friends. So I guess take what I say with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>About the office hour thing, it depends on the professor and when they hold office hours. Sometimes they hold office hours in times you can’t attend (which has annoyingly been the case most of the time for me), and while you can still make an appointment, an appointment is meant more for if you actually have legitimate questions. I’ve met some professors who learn your name after about two weeks, while others never do no matter how many times you show up to office hours.</p>
<p>I think it’s quite nice seeing new faces everyday on campus. The main reason I enjoy a big school is because you have more freedom to blend in. </p>
<p>My favorite thing about it is I can just go from point A to point B on campus or sleep on the grass in peace without being harassed by people I know. In my high school, if you tried to sleep on the grass you get a bunch of people bothering you and end up looking like a fool. “WhY u sleepin on teh ground lik u homelezz lol?!”</p>
<p>If you want to blend in, you will. If you want it to feel more “personalized,” you HAVE to put yourself out there to meet professors and get involved in campus groups. It’s really the same as any university.</p>
<p>Not at all. Compared to all my friends’ colleges (some of which include other state schools), UCLA is NOT personalized at all. You can make it kind of normal by joining a frat/clubs/doing other things. Oh and going to professor’s office hours doesn’t help. Out of a lecture of 400 people, at least 50-100 go to office hours so there’s no way he will remember everyone. Especially since office hours are only 2-3 hours each week, part of which you won’t be able to go to since you might be busy with other stuff.</p>
<p>Funny thing is that despite the large classes and all of that, you’re still paying more than people are at most private schools. Think that’s strange? Well, that’s Mr. Yudof (president of UC regents) for you.</p>
<p>paying more than most private schools?! if you’re fin. aid then maybe…</p>
<p>Oh yea I was actually only referring to OOS tuition haha (I tend to do that a lot since I’m OOS). If you’re in-state, then its less haha. But it’s still pretty high compared to other state schools</p>
<p>I disagree. Lots of my friends go to private school, and while it’s easier for them to have contact with their professors, the school won’t make friends for them. It’s just as easy to feel like an outcast and have many “acquaintances” but no close friends. In terms of office hours, if you go regularly, the professors WILL learn who you are, especially when you get to smaller upper-div classes.</p>
<p>Well, yea it is ultimately up to a person to make friends. I was just referring to getting to know people (aka acquaintance). After that, its up to that person to change that into friendship. As for the professors, yea it does get better as you take upper-div and major classes. They get smaller and you get to know them. But it’s like that at every college.</p>
<p>When people consider UCLA and its dynamic factors, you should also take into consideration all those city amenities (not necessarily hot spots, drinking binge, etc, but a vast number of job related opportunities, internships, social climates, diverse network, etc). When you fail to push yourself to step outside your comfort zone to make efforts to rediscover yourself against the backdrop of UCLA and its city community, you are wasting valuable opportunities to carve out your own legacy.</p>
<p>For many, academics at UCLA can indeed be very overrated, that is, if your core academics only include attending huge lecture classes and doing problem sets in your own room.</p>
<p>For every “it is hard to get to know professors at UCLA” remark, I have every bit of counterarguments to this myth with my own personal experiences. I NEVER, NEVER had any problem with sitting down with professors and spending ton of personal time with them!</p>
<p>And trust me. I am not that charismatic, articulate, charming, or even that socially apt person at all. Any normal person with driven personality can get you what you want at UCLA.</p>