University of California Los Angeles Review (9)

University of California Los Angeles Review (9)

North America

University: University of California Los Angeles

City: Los Angeles

Country: United States

Continent: North America

Field of study: communication sciences

Study type: Summer Sessions

I attended the C session at UCLA in 2008.

I had 2 courses in total, “Public Speaking for Nonnative Speakers” and “Multicultural Television”. I liked both very much, even if the first course was a bit too big and unfortunately you mostly listened to other lectures. Otherwise, I don’t regret taking this course, because here you can overcome the fear of speaking in front of a large group (and in English too) and also practice structuring different presentations. The other course, Multicultural Television, I liked the most, it compares television programs from different countries and the portrayal of different aspects such as violence or sexuality or specific groups such as women or minorities. A very interesting course. Visit act-test-centers.com to get information about UCI study abroad program.

In my opinion you should not take more than 2 courses if you want to see something other than the university (even if it is beautiful), because the courses have the same scope as the semester courses. You should definitely see as much of LA and the surrounding area as possible and travel as much as possible, the weekends are great for this (especially if you have Fridays off…). If possible, it is best to add a small trip after or before the summer session.

But back to UCLA: the university is absolutely amazing, the campus is huge and beautiful. You feel like you are in a small town: There is a fitness studio, a huge UCLA store, several small shops with and many opportunities to eat out (fast food, salad etc., the offer is more like that of a pedestrian zone or a shopping center). Of course there is also the possibility to eat in a kind of canteen, for example in the Rieber Hall. There you can eat as much as you want three times a day for a fixed price ($8 in the evening if you haven’t already booked the meal with your accommodation). The Rieber Hall really offers a huge selection, from the salad bar to the classic hamburger, and of course there’s no shortage of desserts either.

One thing not to be missed during a C session is a BRUINS football game at the 70,000 capacity Rose Bowl stadium, an absolutely unforgettable experience.
I lived off campus on Landfair Avenue. The apartment was big enough and clean, it takes about 10 minutes to walk to the university (possibly longer, of course depending on where you want to go…. at UCLA you can be on the road for a while if you go from one to the other must-have) the dorm rooms on campus are (at least as far as Sproul Hall goes) but also nice and newly renovated, but of course much smaller than the apartments.

The Westwood neighborhood, where the uni is located, is nice, but don’t expect too much when it comes to evening entertainment. There is not really a lot going on there (apart from the student parties), but the area is very beautiful and quite idyllic. But if you want to see a star, you’ve come to the right place, the Fox cinema regularly hosts big film premieres!

I really had a wonderful time at UCLA and I still miss the city, the school and the people. I would love to go back next year. So if you’re planning on going to UCLA you’re bound to have a great time, I haven’t met a single person who didn’t enjoy it!!

University of California Los Angeles Review (9)