UCLA is a big school with nearly 35,000 undergraduate students. Naturally, we can’t all reach a unanimous decision on everything. Even so, people seem to hold the same opinion on a few aspects of this school, uniting students across grades.
For example, everyone agrees that walking up hills all day sucks, that North Campus is exponentially better than South, and that class enrollment is actual war. There are some stances I hold about UCLA, however, that feel like hot takes, although they may or may not be as hot as I think they are – maybe some of these are more lukewarm than expected.
- Study Spots
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Firstly, I feel like a lot of the mainstream study spots on campus aren’t my favorite. The Study fishbowl is far too hot and suffocating for my liking, and although I don’t frequent the Study, I hugely prefer the couches or tall tables to the fishbowl.
I have a strong distaste for Powell, especially Night Powell, that many of the people around me don’t quite share. Being on campus late and past midnight while in a room of anxiety-ridden colleagues only makes me feel worse and full of doom and despair.
One of my roommates really likes studying outside, which I have been enjoying a lot recently. My favorite study spots tend to actually be dorm lounges or different cafes.Â
- The Quarter System Isn’t That Bad
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My biggest grievance with the quarter system is its absolutely horrendous lack of harmony with semester system schedules, but past that, I feel like I’ve actually been enjoying the benefits of a quicker-paced school year.
From all of the classes I have taken so far, I have yet to observe that there is an insane amount of learning for 10 weeks per quarter. In my opinion, each class is adequately adjusted to have 10 weeks worth of material, although some concepts definitely are a bit rushed.
Taking 3-4 classes per quarter has worked very well with how I prefer to learn – spending more time focusing on each class rather than being spread thin across 7 at once as in high school, or 5+ in a semester system.
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- Dining Hall Takes
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As far as I can tell, students tend to like quick, to-go options on the hill for food – like the Study, Bruin Cafe, and Rendezvous. Personally, though, I hugely prefer going to an actual dining hall with friends. Perhaps it’s more of a time-saving matter for others, but I always find it worth it to sit down and relax, and to have a larger spread of options, instead of having to commit to one type of food.
Building off of that, I am not a big fan of the food on campus, although I haven’t tried many options other than Epicuria at Ackerman and Greenhouse. Perhaps my opinion would change if I had, but as of right now, I’m sticking to having most of my meals at BPlate and De Neve.Â
At the end of the day, college (and other experiences) are unique because everyone perceives things differently. What I like and don’t like are different and may not work for other people, and that’s kind of the point. My hot takes are someone else’s absolute no’s, and vice versa. I’m curious to see how my opinions change over time, or if I have more people that agree with me than I think.Â