What distinguishes UCLA?

<p>everything is going to be from my perspective at uci, with a couple experiences from ucla</p>

<ol>
<li><p>How big are the undergraduate classes at UCLA and USC
at uci, my lower divison econ class was pushing close to 400 students. no joke. i could tell you why, but that would be whole discussion in itslef. at USC the largets biz class i had was about 150. the largest ge i had at uci was around 200. the laregst ge i had at USC was around 100. even my upperdivision classes at uci were huge: about 200 students. econ was a pretty impacted major over at uci. but the bio sci classes were of similar size (i was orginally a bio major). advantage: USC</p></li>
<li><p>How many classes are taught by professors vs TAs?
profs give lectures, while TAs have discussion sections to suppliment lecture material. however, at USC our lectures tend to be longer (about 2 hrs per class for a class that meets twice a week), while at uci classes tend to be shorter (about 3 hrs a week) and always have TA’s. i think theres some kind of corelation maybe. TA’s at uci were horrible, sometimes they would decline to show up for discussion themselves, since most students didnt show up anywya. at USC, discussion is a part of your grade, you are kind of forced to speak up, but no USC student really has any objections about this. Because our classes weres smaller, i think the admin didnt really see need to have discussion sections for various classes. advantage: USC, but slightly, as this issue really shouldnt be much of a concern.</p></li>
<li><p>For a person who values close friends and relationships, does the “bigness” of UCLA, USC --or both schools-- impede making close friends.
very interesting question. this depends on the person, not shcool. i cant say much about the atmosphere about ucla, except that it does feel like a disconnected city, some people prefer that though. USC is more social for a fact. but there is enough social activity at ucla, just more at USC. advantage: neither, depends on the person. i would be happy at either, thats just b/c i tend to make the most of every situation.</p></li>
<li><p>Which is better in terms of future networking 10 - 20 years down the road.
school’s irrelevant 10-20 yrs down the road. again its gonna be on the person, and job experience will take precedent over school. however, netwroking straight out of college WILL be stronger at USC, its what we are best known for. there are many resourcs for student to take adaventage of succesfull alum. like the TROJAN NETWORK and greek life. the job oppurtunities were more plentiful and easier to come by at USC than at uci. my cousin went grad school at ucla anderson school of biz, he would hang out with me at our career office b/c he thought it was much better. he would look for job listings through my monstertrak login through USC. i even posted his resume on my monstertrak. imagine that. there are some incredible resources here at USC if yoor willing to put in the effort, which doesnt require much effort at all. i remeber spending about 10-20 mins a day just browsing and submitting my resume to various emplyers. i was constantly getting ineterveiws. i could not say the same about uci. advantage: USC right after college, thats where school networking matters most.</p></li>
<li><p>Does the bigness of the school affect students getting their classes when they want it?at uci, YES. i was forced to take 12 unit course loads b/c i couldnt get into any other classes b/c they were packed. i had to pick up the slack by taking 20 unit course loads of classes i didnt want to take (but had to in oreder to cathc up). the difference at USC is like night and day. over here, they encourage you to take on double majors and minors b/c it is way easy. thsi has to doi b/c of various reasons, such as the semester sytem is easier to navigate and overall size. ucla is pushing close to 25000 stidents while uci has only 19000. i have yet to have problems registering at USC, and i have never been shut out of a class that i wanted to take. </p></li>
<li><p>Is it easy to graduate in 4 years, or harder because the school is so big that you can’t get the classes when you want.
there is an alarming amount of 5th/6th yr seniors at uci. in fact its a major reason i was not able get the classes i wanted as they were the students pakcing up all the classes i had to take. its an evil cycle, the 5th yrs screw the freshman and sophs, who in turn screw the new freshman and sophs b/c they become 5th yr seniors too.</p></li>
<li><p>How easy is it to have your professors know you on a name basis.
haha. i love this question b/c the profs are a huge reason why i transfered. the profs at all uc’s generally suck. its a fact, jack. the profs there just wnat to their research and go home, thats it. their not there to teach. i could give some great exapmles, but im a busy guy. let me say this, some of my profs didnt have regular office hrs ( i can name 4). let me tell you about the profs here at USC…theres thsi one guy (mendy fygenson) who will not leave his office unitl there are no more students the night/morning of an exam. hes helped study for a midterm at 3:30 in the mroning at leavey library. that guy is legit. heres another one…my accountng prof called me 1:00 in the morning after i emailed him at midnight to amke sure i was able to do a certain accounting problem(merle hopkins). after semester, he took me to a dinner that nly accounting majors could go to to meet various recruiters b/c i had told him i was interested in switching my major to accounting. another prof actually brought a camera to take pics of all the students so he could remember our names and faces. i forgot who that guy was. actaully there was another prof who did that too, he taught a physics ge course. adavtage: USC no doubt</p></li>
</ol>

<p>thats all for now.</p>

<p>MrTrojanMan,</p>

<p>I thought your post was for the most part extremely insightful and well-made. The only thing I have to disagree with is professor contact.</p>

<p>Every professor I had at UCLA would go out of their way to hold regular office hours. If they couldn’t meet you during regular office hours, they would schedule to meet you at a better time. I even had professors offer to just sit around and chat on nice days if they had free time.</p>

<p>This was in a variety of departments as well, not just poli sci. </p>

<p>Other than that, I can’t say how UCI was, but I think a lot of the problems you suggested there are slightly less pronounced at UCLA. Maybe I lucked out or something, but I never really had problems getting classes I wanted. Then again, I had priority enrollment and everything…</p>

<p>Otherwise, thanks for your insight!</p>

<p>Here’s how I feel the two relate to Berkeley (as some people might care).</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Less pronounced at Berkeley.</p></li>
<li><p>More similar to USC than UCI, with some amazing TAs (some more interesting and better than profs, even).</p></li>
<li><p>Same</p></li>
<li><p>I’d say USC over UCLA or Cal. They’re propaganda seems so believable, and I have no reason not to believe it.</p></li>
<li><p>I’ve gotten every class I’ve want. Most people seem to get most of the classes that they want.</p></li>
<li><p>Interesting cycle effect. I’m not sure if it’s here . . . perhaps. I think not, overall. Many things have be done to increase graduation rates, and they should be showing results in a few years. UCLA just did some stuff, too. I think the lesser cost makes people less concerned about graduating as quickly- it can be done, and some people do it in three years, but some people aren’t worried about a fifth year, because they want to study more, or sometimes, because they can’t get a particular class they really want, or sometimes need.</p></li>
<li><p>Profs at UC’s generally suck? C’mon, now. That’s a harsh judgement, especially considering the range of people involved. Have you had first hand experience with more than UCI profs in a few departments? Have all your friends at other UCs across the board said that they’re profs all suck? The professors I’ve had here so far have been amazing. I think it depends on your field. It seems that, generally, people in the humanities and social sciences like their professors more. Now i’m not saying that the profs all UCs are amazing, but to say that they all suck, that seems unfair. All the profs have to have office hours, as do the GSIs (Graduate Student Instructors, or TAs, if you will). It sounds like the profs at USC win, but to say that all UC profs suck, it’s a fact, jack? That’s harsh. There are some profs who do similar things to what you’ve said, but you’re right, it sounds like the USC profs win fairly easily.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Trojan, why wouldn’t you say they profs at UCI suck, instead of saying that the profs at UCs suck? Are you really going to try to tell us that the quality of profs. are the same at UCI and Berkeley? Even if they were, how would you know? I’ve never had a problem getting in touch with a prof. here at Cal, so I can say that you’re wrong on that front, also say that the vast majority of my teachers have been excellent. I can’t speak for UCLA, but I’d be more than willing to put the credentials and abilities of my teachers up against those from the same departments of USC. And that goes for every department here, with the exception of film.</p>

<p>

My TA for CS 131 also did that last quarter. :rolleyes:</p>

<p>MrTrojanMan, I agree w/ your comments for the most part:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>There’s no doubt that USC classes are smaller than UCLA classes because it’s a private university and you expect that for the extra amount of money you’re paying so I agree the class size advantage would go to USC.</p></li>
<li><p>There are plenty of qualified and enthusiastic TAs at UCLA. I don’t know why that TA at UCI was hired in the first place, because they’re paid to teach their discussion sessions and so they’re required to show up, even if only 2 people show up to class, like what happened for my roommate- so it turned out to be a 1 on 1 tutoring session rather than a generalized review. Depending on the class, the some of the discussion sections are mandatory as well.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>3-5. I agree</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I don’t know about the other UCs, but UCLA has actually been addressing this issue so there’s a declining number of 5/6th years.</p></li>
<li><p>That’s just a full blown generalization. Of course there are some bad apples, but I’m sure they’re there at USC as well. I can just as easily pull out examples from my past experiences. One of the physics professor (Arisaka) holds at least 3 review sessions prior to his midterms and exams and made sure that every single last person in each of his 150 class (he had 2 that quarter) was able to attend. Two of the life science professors (Banerjee and Olson) are teaching a course that is sponsored by Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professors Program, and they take pictures of their students every quarter and post it on a website so they could remember the name, and they have published their students’ works as well.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>One of my profs held PRIVATE review sessions with students. Everyone got up to 30 mins or more with the professor one-on-one or in small groups. I don’t know how much more he could have offered.</p>

<p>I don’t get it. Answers to all these questions should favor USC, slight or huge, otherwise what advanatges can USC still have as a private? </p>

<p>But UCs do have their unique qualities, one of which is the established science research reputation and tradition. USC is rapidly catching up in this category, but the reproduction cycle in scientific industry is longer than engineering and professional fields. It takes some more time for non-insiders to see the effects. Although I know USC is excellent in lots of science majors, I think MOM of 4 should give UCLA more thoughts if your daughter REALLY wants to get into research and academics in Physics and Math. </p>

<p>As for TAs, their quality depends on the school’s request very much. If schools ask more, they can do more. But for professors, that is a different story. I personally know some UC professors because of research collaboration. One guy from Davis teaches 300+ class, he gets headache whenever he get into the hall. Another one from UCLA needs to teach an undergraduate class with about 250 students, and one graduate class, sometime 2. So he put them all into one quarter, and can’t have them to finish quick enough. He doesn’t like teaching as it has little to do with his research, which is most important thing for him. I don’t know any of the 4 professors I know at Berkeley teach undergrads.</p>

<p>I think faculty at Berkeley hold edge in research over USC and UCLA’s on a whole, not in some particular cases. But professors at USC and UCLA are very much comparable in ability and research capacity. The students in my department can get into research labs working with professors, get very favorable recommendation letters when applying for med schools and grad schools. This is not like you apply and get selected by that professor, it’s the department chair responsible for finding you one. I know my supervisor had to take one and helped her:)</p>

<p>QW553,</p>

<p>Just because USC is private doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better in these aspects. There are some privates with some shoddy atmospheres.</p>

<p>But USC happens to be one of them that is good.</p>

<p>UCLAri, are you in Japan right now? You have an advantage over us talking and thinking at midnight here:)</p>

<p>I didn’t mean privates are necessarily better in all aforementioned aspects. but they have to strive to achieve those. They have to put more efforts into those, especially competing with UCLA, and the likes. I believe in efforts make difference. Otherwise, USC may lose every recruiting war in a landslide, except maybe for football:)</p>

<p>I think USC is succeeding nowadays because its priorities have changed. Prior to the 90s or so, USC’s reputation was for the most part deserved. These days, however, they’re making huge inroads toward becoming a serious research institution with good programs.</p>

<p>look, as far as my experience is concerned, i have never had a good prof at uci. never. not like the legends that lectured me at USC. i extol those guys, they are solid profs willing to go the extra mile to make sure their studnets are prepared, in life or for an exam. but im just assuming all uc’s have very similar profs, which is probably true. i had to hunt my profs down. i had to email the dean of the econ dept twice on two different occasions with two different prfos to get them to reply. that wasnt the worst of it…</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I don’t think so, and I’ll tell you why. I had two friends transfer from one UC to another. One from UCI to UCLA. The other from UCSB to UCLA. They both said that the differences were night and day.</p>

<p>agree to disagree. let me just ask this: are there any profs at any uc willing to stay up all night and sacrifice their comfort to help their students?</p>

<p>Sorry if that was your experience w/ UCI, but that is not true for every single UC. There are plenty of enthusiastic professors here, and I know of at least 3 undergraduate professors here who are teaching w/ a Howard Hughes sponsorship for their undergraduate courses because of their dedication to teaching (3rd guy is goldman). But irregardless of whether they actually receive some award for their teaching, there are still professors here who genuinely want to see their students succeed here and actually get to know the people who actually stop by their office hour that they heavily advertise on the first day of class. Also, for those who take the optional honors class addendum to the regular class, those professors will definitely know you on a name basis. None of the professors are hard to hunt down, because they all have office hours, so its just a matter of wheter you want to actually exercise your option of going down there, because they won’t drive down to your apartment room or personally walk up to every student everyday and ask them if they have any problems.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Sure. I had professors host all-night study sessions. I had one prof meet up with students in private for tutoring.</p>

<p>Again, UCI is not every UC.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>That’s an unfair and unreasonable way of analyzing the professors. Most professors have lives and a family outside of the classroom. I’ve had plenty of professors who will accomodate outside appointments if you ask by email, and they’re prompt at responding to any email by questions. They also hold extended office hours, as well as reviews, before any exam. Also, if you’re up asking a question at 2am the night before the exam, that just shows poor preparation on your part. </p>

<p>And let me ask you this, does every single last professor at USC stay up all night to comfort their students?</p>

<p>It is absolutely insane that you think the profs at UCI are as good as the profs at UCLA or Berkeley. Did they not teach you common sense at USC?</p>

<p>hey, lets keep it polite and happy here, okay?</p>

<p>How about you keep it polite so the rest of us don’t have to, okay?</p>