University of California-Los Angeles Top Questions

The one main thing I have received from attending UCLA was the ability to multi-task. Being at UCLA is fast-paced, and it allows students to be involved in as little or as much as she wants. This could be a little daunting as it is ran in a quarter system instead of the traditional semester system, making the workload much faster. However, this proves helpful as one learns to manage their time wisely as they balance school, work, friends, clubs, meetings, and free time. Furthermore, with UCLA's large campus, it provdes resources such as buildings for studying or meeting and many people who are supportive to your cause. Finally, as UCLA is a research-based school, the academic faculty are heavily involved in research, which is again helpful as they are very knowledgeable and served a good mentors.

The degree I earned after high school helped me to excel in my military career. Now that I am leaving the Marine Corps, I am going back to school to become a helicopter pilot. I have been applying for scholarships to help cover living expenses since I have a family to support. I hope that you can use my survey answers for your research and I ask that you please consider me for the $5,000 scholarship. Thank you.

Throughout my first year of college, I have the opportunity to experience freedom, independence, community, and diversity. Before going to college, I was always bounded to home; I did not have any say once my parents? decision was final. On the other hand, while in college, I have the authority and final judgment in everything I choose, but freedom also comes with responsibility. Consequently, I taught myself to be responsible. Independence became a huge part of my college growth as well. Because my parents' constant involvement in my life, I became a very dependent child; thus, after going to college, I had to learn how to live on my own and wisely manage my own time. It was difficult at first, but I managed to pull through. Furthermore, living in the dorms promotes community; I discovered that instead of individual lifestyle, everyone lives together as a whole big family and helps each other out. Lastly, since colleges are composed of students from all over the world, I have many opportunities to interact with various students who came with different culture backgrounds. Those consequential aspects I attained in college are the reasons why I perceived it is valuable to attend college.

I have gained many things because of my college experience at the University of California Los Angeles. First and foremost, I have received an excellent program of academics. The material learned in my lectures and discussions have been not only been relevant to the career I want to pursue, but to life itself. I have accumulated countless facts, equations, and processes, all of which I will be able to apply to the sciences of life. Additionally, the number of people I have met has opened my eyes to the many different paths that stem from the world, and I have my college experience to thank. Those from different backgrounds and walks of life have allowed me grow as a person and understand why people do the things they do and think way they think. My college experience has taught me how to grow and find myeslf and place in the world, and by what process I must go through to achieve this. It has allowed meet people I will never forget, and experience things one can only do when their young. It has given me the opportunity to live.

College for me was a huge wake up call from high school. High school was about getting good grades, going to a good school and going far. But with college, its different because its more hands-on. College is still hard since I struggle with speaking aloud since I stuttter all the time, but I'm learning to speak out more. I am very lucky to have been accepted last year, since I have heard that College of San Mateo, for the first time ever, has rejected people due to budget cuts all over the state. College has given me more freedom to explore what I will or could be doing for the rest of my life. All the different classes, teachers and activities, are so different then high school. Im not sure as to what I want to major in, but thats why I'm attending a community college. Its smaller, more one-on-one and way less expenive then a 4-year school. What I've learned about the "college experience" is to have fun, meet new people and get as far ahead as you can in your short years in school.

I am a first generation college student, and coming to UCLA has awakened my senses to a whole other world. I have never been in a more diverse and exciting atmosphere with such intelligent people. I have gained so much life experience and such a wealth of knowledge by attending. I have been in classrooms with fantastic professors and students learning about such fascinating things. I have grown as a person and I look forward to continuing my education in graduate school. UCLA has provided me with such an excellent education, I would have never dreamed of having the experiences I have had in their classrooms. I will always carry with me the values that my school has instilled in me.

I have learned to be indepent from my parents. At UCLA I have my own room and dont have to answer to anyone if I dont want to. There I find the time to study and focus on my education.

Being at UCLA, I have gotten a look at real-life situations. Being a pre-med student, I must deal with the competition against thousands of students who want to enter medical school even though my particular school only accepts less than 150 students per year. Not only that, but I have dealt with people who are not concerned for others because they have too. These experiences have exposed me to the realities of how the work force is because though a work environment may be inviting, to be able to participate in that environment is difficult when there are so many highly qualified candidates. But the best thing about attending UCLA is that students are able to "practice" here by trying out different ways to become successful in highly competitive environments.

To me, my family is paying an incredible amount of money just for me to put the words "UCLA" on my resume. In terms of my educational experience, it isn't spectacular as the teachers aren't all that great and the classes aren't all that "hands-on." However, the real value that I've gotten the past couple of years in college is the improvement of my social skills and independence. There is a wide variety of interest groups and clubs, but it in the end it was still up to me to be proactive in pursuing these interest groups. I learned to utilize my resources, instead of being too shy or too intimidated to inquire. Socially, I've matured, especially having to deal with a large, dense student population in the dorms. I've learned to deal with and adapt to many different personalities that often clash with my own. But I've also met some incredibly awesome people with incredible talents and ambitions and life stories. There are people here with limitless ambitions, a zest for life, and an awe inspiring friendliness. The wonderful people I've met here have made the heft price tag bearable.

I have learned more about myself in college than I ever could have in another setting. Going to school at UCLA was challenging academically and liberating socially. It was the first time I had been away from home for longer than a week, and on the first day of classes, I made friends I know I will keep for life. I struggled many times through my studies, but the classmates who challenged me and the teachers who encouraged me picked me up when I thought I could never get through it. In the end, I survived and learned not only how to challenge myself, but also what I wanted out of life and an idea of who I wanted to be. My volunteer activities taught me that I wanted to help people, my classes taught me that I needed to be mentally challenged, and my relationships taught me how important it is to have a supportive network. Now I get to incorporate all these things while I study for my Master's Degree in Public Health: I will help people, be mentally stimulated by global health challenges, and help build a community network focused on healthcare around the world.