University of California--Los Angeles
Hallmarks and Quirks
Things I'm Good At:
- Clinical psychology and the fine arts. Whatever soothes you…
- Men's basketball, football, and women's water polo
- UCLA's official charity, Unicamp (which unfortunately does not involve prancing around with a horn on your head)
- A yearly dance-a-thon to support the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Get your groove on for a cause.
- A supreme student newspaper, The Daily Bruin.
- The library system—and I do mean system (Biomedical, 17th century, Music, East Asian). Only thirteen other libraries in the country have more books. So you can leave your Kindle at home, Shmoopers.
My Top 5 Must-Haves:
- A swimsuit. Malibu is only fifteen minutes away.
- A megaphone. I have some big-time sports fans.
- A sense of comfort in crowds. Some classes have five hundred people in them.
- Good walking shoes. You're going to log in some miles getting from Biomedical Engineering to Advanced Afrikaans.
- School spirit wear. People are crazy about this stuff. At the very least, get a baseball cap and a hoodie.
Why You Might Have Heard of Me:
- The John Wooden Recreation Center, named after the famous basketball coach and the site of way too many NCAA championships to count. It's got racquetball courts and rock climbing in one place. Swanky.
- Location, location, location. UCLA is surrounded by Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood…I'm on Sunset Boulevard, for crying out loud.
- Thursday night parties on Fraternity Row. Just don't schedule early morning classes on Friday. (You can't say I didn't warn you.)
- Jim Morrison took a few film classes here. Need I say more?
- Cross-town rivalry with the University of Southern California. It's serious.
- Amazing fine arts department faculty with people like Catherine Opie, Barbara Kruger, Charles Ray…
- I have the largest student union of any U.S. college or university.
On a regular Saturday night, you can find me...
I might be at a falafel restaurant or a microbrewery in Westwood. I might also be at Sigma Chi hanging out with friends, or at a basketball game. But take note: It's not uncommon for me to be standing with a bunch of on-lookers at a red carpet movie premier at the Mann Bruin Theater. I'm kind of a big deal.
Favorite Hangouts:
- Barney's Beanery. It's a legendary LA restaurant.
- Sepi's, a great sports bar…but if you like anyone but UCLA, stay away.
- The Apple Store. It may not actually be a dining spot, but it's definitely popular.
- Noodle Planet. That place has great Thai food for cheap. A+.
- Kerckhoff Coffee House. Great coffee and a Baskin Robbins.
Quirks:
- I work on the quarter system, so my academics get real. Mid-term exams and finals are, like, a week apart.
- North Campus has the humanities people, South Campus is for the sciences, and there's a lot between.
- Forget about free parking here. In fact, just forget about driving altogether.
- One of my geography professors was able to isolate Osama bin Laden's hideout within a few hundred miles.
- UCLA did the first hand transplant. Like I said, I'm pretty impressive.
Famous Alumni:
- Funny guys like Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Will Forte
- James Dean. You know, the James Dean.
- Musicians like Jim Morrison and Anthony Kiedis
- Mariska Hargitay, for all you Law and Order: SVU fans