UCLA c/o 2017 Applicants (2013-2014) Forum

[SupCutie]

That's awesome! I'm visiting with my friend who lives in LA next month and she's going to show me around. She's more into the Hollywood side of things, but has been up in the UCLA area at least. Is the cost of Living astronomical in Westwood? Would there be anywhere at all to live with a dog? (I have a small-medium dog, but my parents have offered to keep her if it isn't feasible). I'm spoiled by a very low cost of living right now.

Astronomical depending on what you're comparing it to. Compared to the US average (I'm assuming where you live now is something like this), yeah it's pretty expensive. But compared to NY or SF it will seem like a bargain.

Plenty of places for a dog... unless it needs a yard to run around in. West LA real estate does not come cheap.

[062914123]

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[joshringu]

I just got waitlisted for UCLA Law!! Anyone in the same boat as me? I applied ED.

[NYC2012]

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[bcoco9292]

I just got waitlisted for UCLA Law!! Anyone in the same boat as me? I applied ED.

i did too!

[akkirk]

I also applied ED. What stats did you guys have who got waitlisted through ED? Mine went complete 11/15. You guys heard through an email?

[joshringu]

Thanks!! And congrats everyone!

[joshringu]

Just wondering, how many ppl are usually waitlisted?

[HYSenberg]

if you want a nice house with a big yard, live in the burbs. col isnt high if you know where to look, and you would just get on the freeway in the morning like everybody else (assuming that driving a distance isnt a dealbreaker for you)

Dat LA traffic.

[okok]

if you want a nice house with a big yard, live in the burbs. col isnt high if you know where to look, and you would just get on the freeway in the morning like everybody else (assuming that driving a distance isnt a dealbreaker for you)

Dat LA traffic.

if you get on the road early it really isn't bad

I grew up way out in the middle of no where, and found the driving experience in LA to be nbd

[HYSenberg]

I grew up way out in the middle of no where, and found the driving experience in LA to be nbd

If you can avoid rush hour, I'm sure its fine. Then again, I live in Austin and we might have the worst traffic in the country, so I can't really pontificate.

[062914123]

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[joshringu]

This is probably going to annoy some of you, but hopefully you guys can shred some light. I live in LA and honestly UCLA would probably be my first choice if I got in and didn't have to pay full sticker. I've recently felt that I probably wont get in and have discouraged myself from even applying since I didn't receive a fee waiver. I was interested in the David Epstein public interest program, but my personal statement is practically the response to the public interest prompt. Do I have to apply to the public interest program to pursue public interest law??

I fell like if I am accepted to UCLA Law it would be on the grounds of my career goals (public interest related) and previous volunteer work. So it may hurt me not to apply to the Epstein program. If anyone has more information on this I would greatly appreciate it.

I have a 164 LSAT, 90th percentile.(I know retake! Unfortunately I already did, my first score was 161, and have come to realize I have some sort of test anxiety I've never had before, since I was scoring in the low 170s on practice exams. I do not feel I will score substantially higher a third time to be honest, so I'm going to work with what I got.)

GPA: 3.5, History Major.

Non-URM, although I am part Native American with no tribe affiliation- I guess that matters. So basically I'm just "white" (whatever that means) on my application.

I do have a good amount of volunteer history and have had a full-time job majority of my undergrad career.

EDIT

[joshringu]

I'm in! So excited. (169/4.0; Non-URM; RD)

I have been to Cali exactly once, and I was about 12 at the time, so I'm going to have to do some major research to see if this is where I want to live for 3 years But the school seems awesome.

Good luck to everyone else still waiting.

It is where you DEFINITELY want to live, but make sure not to call it Cali You will love Westwood. It's fun, amazing, 20 minutes from the beach and the best weather year round.

That's awesome! I'm visiting with my friend who lives in LA next month and she's going to show me around. She's more into the Hollywood side of things, but has been up in the UCLA area at least. Is the cost of Living astronomical in Westwood? Would there be anywhere at all to live with a dog? (I have a small-medium dog, but my parents have offered to keep her if it isn't feasible). I'm spoiled by a very low cost of living right now.

Westwood is in West LA.

[KatyMarie]

That's awesome! I'm visiting with my friend who lives in LA next month and she's going to show me around. She's more into the Hollywood side of things, but has been up in the UCLA area at least. Is the cost of Living astronomical in Westwood? Would there be anywhere at all to live with a dog? (I have a small-medium dog, but my parents have offered to keep her if it isn't feasible). I'm spoiled by a very low cost of living right now.

Astronomical depending on what you're comparing it to. Compared to the US average (I'm assuming where you live now is something like this), yeah it's pretty expensive. But compared to NY or SF it will seem like a bargain.

Plenty of places for a dog... unless it needs a yard to run around in. West LA real estate does not come cheap.

if you want a nice house with a big yard, live in the burbs. col isnt high if you know where to look, and you would just get on the freeway in the morning like everybody else (assuming that driving a distance isnt a dealbreaker for you)

I'm comparing to Atlanta, so I may have been exaggerating saying "very low cost of living." But COL in Atlanta does seem very low when I just got back from visiting Columbia. ($10 for a beer?? I'm not made of money.) Glad to hear it's at least cheaper than New York.

My dog thinks she needs a yard, but she doesn't. We live in a 3rd story Condo now and do just fine I'd rather not live in the burbs I don't think, but traffic isn't a deal breaker for me. Atlanta traffic isn't a joke, so I could adjust to LA traffic. Do UCLA students tend to commute in? Or live closer to campus?

[joshringu]

That's awesome! I'm visiting with my friend who lives in LA next month and she's going to show me around. She's more into the Hollywood side of things, but has been up in the UCLA area at least. Is the cost of Living astronomical in Westwood? Would there be anywhere at all to live with a dog? (I have a small-medium dog, but my parents have offered to keep her if it isn't feasible). I'm spoiled by a very low cost of living right now.

Astronomical depending on what you're comparing it to. Compared to the US average (I'm assuming where you live now is something like this), yeah it's pretty expensive. But compared to NY or SF it will seem like a bargain.

Plenty of places for a dog... unless it needs a yard to run around in. West LA real estate does not come cheap.

if you want a nice house with a big yard, live in the burbs. col isnt high if you know where to look, and you would just get on the freeway in the morning like everybody else (assuming that driving a distance isnt a dealbreaker for you)

I'm comparing to Atlanta, so I may have been exaggerating saying "very low cost of living." But COL in Atlanta does seem very low when I just got back from visiting Columbia. ($10 for a beer?? I'm not made of money.) Glad to hear it's at least cheaper than New York.

My dog thinks she needs a yard, but she doesn't. We live in a 3rd story Condo now and do just fine I'd rather not live in the burbs I don't think, but traffic isn't a deal breaker for me. Atlanta traffic isn't a joke, so I could adjust to LA traffic. Do UCLA students tend to commute in? Or live closer to campus?

Some places in LA has beer for 10 bucks, other places as cheap as 1-2. Depends where you look. But LA cost of living definitely is cheaper than NY!!

[SupCutie]

I'm comparing to Atlanta, so I may have been exaggerating saying "very low cost of living." But COL in Atlanta does seem very low when I just got back from visiting Columbia. ($10 for a beer?? I'm not made of money.) Glad to hear it's at least cheaper than New York.

My dog thinks she needs a yard, but she doesn't. We live in a 3rd story Condo now and do just fine I'd rather not live in the burbs I don't think, but traffic isn't a deal breaker for me. Atlanta traffic isn't a joke, so I could adjust to LA traffic. Do UCLA students tend to commute in? Or live closer to campus?

Yeah.... If you live in the Westwood area the bars are catered towards yuppies, so $10 a beer sounds about right ($8+tip). There are a few college-y bars, but... why? But West LA is very clean, very nice, lots of fun stuff, and apartments/condo's are not as expensive as you'd think given it's one of the richest areas in one of the richest cities.

LA traffic is for the most part overrated. Obviously rush hour sucks, but outside of 7am-10am, 4-8pm weekdays it's pretty manageable. One caveat though, the 405 (runs up and down West LA right by UCLA), is truly hell, basically everyday of the week, 14 hours a day.

[BluePurgatory]

What's up everyone, I'm a 1L at UCLA, just wanted to say congrats to everyone who is already in, and good luck to anyone still waiting. It seems like housing is a big topic here, so I thought I'd give some input on what I've seen. Housing doesn't necessarily have to kill you, especially if you're willing to a) commute or b) share a room. My honest advice: The admissions staff are going to try to get you to move into the Weyburn Apartments. They will sell Weyburn hard. You WILL want to move into Weyburn.
Don't move into Weyburn.
It's convenient for sure because it's close to campus, and it is nice living near a lot of other grad students. If you're wealthy enough to not mind, go for it. But recognize that there are nicer apartments nearby for cheaper, with better landlords, and there are MUCH nicer apartments for MUCH cheaper if you go out a ways. I live in Palms, which is a bit west of Culver City. It's about a 22 minute commute without heavy traffic, 30 minute commute with traffic. I carpool most days, and take the bus when I can't carpool. Transportation isn't hard to figure out, the bus system is surprisingly fantastic in Westwood (other parts of LA are more questionable). I got super lucky and live with a couple in a 2 bedroom, and we split rent three ways. They share a room, I get my own. I pay about 680 a month after utilities and my apartment is pretty nice. If you are down to share a room, or get lucky like I did, 700 is a pretty reasonable expectation. Weyburn studio apartments are about 1200 a month last time I checked. Basically, if you wanna go through law school on a budget, housing is an easy way to save a lot of money.

[Pishee77]

I'm comparing to Atlanta, so I may have been exaggerating saying "very low cost of living." But COL in Atlanta does seem very low when I just got back from visiting Columbia. ($10 for a beer?? I'm not made of money.) Glad to hear it's at least cheaper than New York.

My dog thinks she needs a yard, but she doesn't. We live in a 3rd story Condo now and do just fine I'd rather not live in the burbs I don't think, but traffic isn't a deal breaker for me. Atlanta traffic isn't a joke, so I could adjust to LA traffic. Do UCLA students tend to commute in? Or live closer to campus?

Yeah.... If you live in the Westwood area the bars are catered towards yuppies, so $10 a beer sounds about right ($8+tip). There are a few college-y bars, but... why? But West LA is very clean, very nice, lots of fun stuff, and apartments/condo's are not as expensive as you'd think given it's one of the richest areas in one of the richest cities.

LA traffic is for the most part overrated. Obviously rush hour sucks, but outside of 7am-10am, 4-8pm weekdays it's pretty manageable. One caveat though, the 405 (runs up and down West LA right by UCLA), is truly hell, basically everyday of the week, 14 hours a day.

This. +1 although id make it 22 hours a day

[NYC2012]

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[BluePurgatory]

Thanks for this advice! Do you feel like you are missing out socially by not living in Weyburn? How is parking on campus? (not worried about the price, just worried there will be NO spots similar to my undergrad)

Yeah, honestly the social aspect was disappointing at first when nobody knew each other, but by the time you establish a social circle, which honestly is super easy because the kind of people that go to UCLA law are often hungry for social attention, you won't even care. Most socializing (at least for us heavy drinkers) is done on the weekends so it doesn't make much difference where you live; I don't find myself heading over to someone's apartment to play FIFA on a Wednesday very much anymore since I left undergrad.
Parking is pretty easy on campus. I'm not sure if they rotate garages year to year, but if you sign up for a parking pass (which is really damn expensive. Pro tip, if you know someone who doesn't drive, have them sign up for a carpool permit with you. It's about 2/3 the price) then you'll get put into a garage with the other law students (this year it's garage 3, assuming that won't change.) When we carpool to our 9am class the garage is nearly empty, we can get a spot literally right by the entrance. When we go at 10:20 we've just gotta go up one level. Occasionally they'll hold big events on campus and let guests park in that garage because I think it's usually under capacity, so on those days it can get harder to find a spot, but that's only happened once. There's also pay to park spots all over campus, and a few right by the law school. Obviously those are ridiculously priced (like $20 per day). Big picture: you won't have to worry about driving around trying to find a spot.

[bombaysippin]

Anyone know if they welcome diversity statements or would they rather not take them?

ETA: Like putting it in the Optional Addendum section of their app?

*bumpity bump

[BluePurgatory]

Anyone know if they welcome diversity statements or would they rather not take them?

ETA: Like putting it in the Optional Addendum section of their app?

*bumpity bump

I don't remember if they specifically requested diversity statements when I applied, but I definitely included one. They care a LOT about URMs, so I'd definitely include it in the addendum section if there's no specific request for it.

[Serett]

Accepted by phone today.

[CookieDough]

Accepted by phone today.

Stats?