University of California - Los Angeles Snapshot

Written by Suzy Strutner

Suzy Strutner

Hometown

Newport Beach, Calif.

Major

Communication Studies

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UCLA is a school for people who want to focus mainly on education and still have an occasional night out. There is a reason that UCLA is not a party school; the classes are too difficult to slack off for any prolonged stretch of time. However, being set amidst a Greek system that thrives on throwing boisterous parties and in close proximity to a plethora of dive bars and easygoing nightlife, staying inside all the time is nearly impossible. Add all of the campus events, speakers, workshops, and free shows to the mix, and you have something of interest for everyone in the spectrum.

UCLA challenges the students in many distinct arenas. Academically, students need to be prepared to focus on their classes beginning the first day of school. Classes demand that students study every night. Socially, students are pressed to find a niche amongst a throng of 35,000 students. Student actions tend to feel minuscule in such a large student body. Fortunately, classmates are generally polite and helpful. The first year you make friends helps scale down the exorbitant number of students of the campus and form friendships that endure the college experience. The academic and social challenge that students face is enhanced because there is no school-sponsored programs outside of the dorms that bring students together. On the brighter side, this forces many students to branch out and develop social skills that they would never have learned under the guidance of such programs. Through all of its challenges, UCLA is the ideal school to come to if you want to grow into a stronger person (physically, mentally, intellectually, socially) as students are sure to learn more than just what's inside the textbooks.