University of California-Los Angeles Top Questions

Greek life

It is really hard to find a "most" popular one because student body here is huge and there are countless options in clubs and activities. But generally speaking, athletic activities and various parties are popular among most people. Greek life is not that valued here as it is in private universities. A lot of students are not at all interested. On weekends, some people go home, some do the laundry and study, some hang out and have fun (there are good places to go in Westwood, Santa Monica, and downtown LA ), some just sleep. For example my roommate spends most of her weekends sleeping and the rest of time watching shows if she does not have homework to do. As far as I am concerned, I sometimes to to parties and club meetings.I spent most of my weekends studying and working in our most popular dinning hall on campus. I meet friends and talk to them by grabing meals and studying together. Because I love shopping and eating, I always try different stores and restaurants on and around campus.

The most popular activity is of course the great Beat SC bonfire rally, which is held annually on Wilson Plaza.

I would say that all the groups like USAC and GenRep that focus on representing the student body and organizing campus events are pretty popular and competitive to get into. I am involved with ICARUS Contemporary Dance Company which is the most low key dance group- we practice about 6 hours a week and have on campus performances as well as exhibitions at some dance competitions around the area. There a tons of dance groups, most of them are hip hop, which I don't do, hence the involvement with ICARUS haha. I was a member of Best Buddies (a club to integrate those with intellectual disabilities) last year and am now in Active Minds (a club dedicated to erasing the stigma of mental illnesses and promote mental health). Athletic events are pretty popular, and tailgating with a group is always fun. Football games are easy to get to without a car because of a bus service you pay for with the Den Pass (if you plan on going to more than 2 football games or basketballs games, GET THE DEN PASS! it's so worth it, and you get a free shirt!). Now, the party scene- thursdays are insane. not really in a good way... basically, frats have a "quarterly" (huge themed party) each quarter, and they always happen on thursdays. So there are usually multiple quaterlies on each thursday since there are 19 frats and only 10 weeks a quarter. if you have friends in the frat, it's a lot more fun, but otherwise, it's just a huge sweaty cramped mess and you usually have to pre-game since they hide their good alcohol, and you need to show an id to BUY alcohol from their bar. Any other night is usually kickbacks at frats or parties at apartments. So you need to know people. Thursdays, you can walk into any frat and hope for the best haha. If parties aren't your scene, there are free movie nights at Ackerman grand ballroom or you can go into Westwood with some dorm friends and get Diddy Riese, or a restaurant, or shop. There is always something to do!

There's so many student organizations/groups on campus that no one group really has the upper hand in popularity. Like I mentioned before, you find the group that interests you most and you make the best of your college experience and career. Student organizations span across a spectrum of choices, ranging from very academic to very social. It really all depends on what you're looking for, because you will definitely find it at UCLA. For example, there's a yo-yo club, several capella groups, pre-health clubs, tutoring clubs, campus events commission (planning large scale events for the entire student body), sustainability, community service, many religious groups, and the list goes on. There's a club/organization/group for about almost anything you can think of.

Although Greek life is not a huge percentage of the student body at large, it is a huge percentage of the white, upper middle class, suburban demographic, which itself is a minority. Like I mentioned, every ethno-specific/national/religious group breaks off into fragments and the remainder (something like {4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}20 or less) go Greek. The Greek system here is really just a support system for the minority of students who haven't found an ethno-specific/cultural group to belong to. Not trying to make them sounds like victims, but in this context they are a real minority, so... take from that what you will.

I love planning concerts with Hip Hop Congress, the committee I'm part of in the Cultural Affairs Commission office (which is part of USAC, the UCLA student government). We've brought T.I., Xibit, Living Legends, Ghostface, etc... It's a lot of fun and gives me the experience I need to get a job in PR! The Undie Run is amazing... it's on each Wednesday of Finals Week, and it was my first time doing it this past Wednesday... I had an amazing time, and I regret not doing it before! Thousands of UCLA students (most are drunk) run from Westwood to the Royce Quad in their underwear at midnight while doing the 8-clap and bashing on USC... it's an amazing time that makes you really feel like one with your campus!!

You asked me if fraternities and sororities are important here. Let me put it to you like this: if YOU think they are important, this is the school for you. But there are also plenty of other diverse groups, almost anything you could want to immerse yourself in. And being in Los Angeles gives you access to nearly any activity that you can enjoy anywhere else.

The most popular student groups on campus are ethnicity-based organizations, though many other groups exist revolving around sports, hobbies, and other competitive events. I am involved with the rock climbing group on campus, and we don't do much other than frequent the rock wall at our fitness center! Students usually leave their dorm rooms open, and the residence halls are very social and friendly. My closest friends are a combination of high school friends and people I met on my dorm floor. If I'm awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I'm probably playing poker with friends. Fun traditions include the bonfire rally before the USC football game, and the Undie Run during finals week each quarter. People party on a regular basis, with most parties revolving around the fraternity and sorority life. I spend all of my weekends working, but there are plenty of things to do when around campus. There is a whole city just off campus, with lots of food, entertainment, and stuff to do.

There are countless activities to do at UCLA. The majority of campus is REALLY into sporting events. Basketball and Football games are usually sold out. There are also alot of music and theater performances, such as A Cappella festivals, choir concerts, and the UCLA Live season. UCLA is also 10 minutes from the Geffen Playhouse, which houses many incredible productions. UCLA has a really active social life as well. Students often leave their doors open in the dorms, or hang out in the floor lounges so the majority of a first-year's friends live in their building. Something that is unique to UCLA is that all of our dorms are on one hill, rather than spread out over the whole campus, so if you have a friend that doesn't live in your building, they are at maximum about 3 minutes away from you. UCLA has a huge greek system, but its also very laid-back. There is no pressure to join, and those who are in it are not considred more popular or less popular than those who aren't. Like I said before, UCLA doesn't have cliques. The greek system is incredibly fun though. Our social calendars are constantly full, plus, we are very close to the sunset strip, an excellent place to hold off-campus events, such as formals or date parties. It's a really great expereince. People here party mostly on Thursday nights, but also on Fridays or Saturdays if the fraternities or sororities are having special events. For those who don't prefer to drink, Westwood has 7 movie theaters, not to mention the free sneaks and $2 movies on campus.

UCLA has a couple different kind of dorm arrangements. In the standard dorms, the students very often form very close associations with their hall mates. In some of the more secluded dorms, with a little more space for each room, the comradery doesn't really develop to the same extent. There is always some kind of event going on on campus, including orchestra performances, dance recitals, theater, celebrity concerts, comedy shows - the list could go on and on. Very often there are also free sneak previews of movies for the students. One of the events that happens every quarter around finals time is the undie run where people run through campus with nothing but their underwear on - this is a time-honored tradition :p Every year, UCLA is host to the Festival of Books where hundreds of book publishers come with their wares and thousands of people show up. Frats and sororities aren't really that big a deal here. But they are the ones who pretty much have the parties. If that's your kind of thing, then it's here for you. If you're not interested in drinking, there's the movie theaters down in Westwood and the Santa Monica pier and promenade to explore. Also, if you are interested in video games, lots of people seem interested in them here. At the moment, there is actually a worry about World of Warcraft and the amount of students actively participating in the game.

My main involvment is with Theta Chi Fraternity, where I serve as the Executive Secretary. I feel that if you are coming in to UCLA not knowing anyone, the greek system is the best way to meet friends and build ever lasting commradary. There are always events going on on campus with the athletic events being the most popular because our teams excell. There are also campus traditions such as Spring Sing and undie Run which have been going on for years and are some of the most fun activities. The party scene seems to be prominent, especially at the fraternities. On any given Thursday or Friday, there are open parties there where people can dance and socialize and possibly meet people of the opposite sex. As long as you are with a group of friends, someone is bound to hear about an event going on.

Activities and social life are what you make them here. You will have the opportunity to make 450 facebook friends in first quarter (I know someone who did!), go out and party, go to all your floor events, and never eat alone. On the other hand, if that's not your style, you don't have to go out, and you won't be disturbed. I find myself somewhere in the middle. I'm a pretty outgoing, social guy, but I do enjoy being alone sometimes. My main method of being social is becoming involved in activities. In fact, I fulfilled the goal I set for myself in high school (enterring college and getting involved in EVERYTHING) by joining chorale, Hillel, Kesher, Bruin Democrats, Scattertones A Cappella, floor government, ballroom dance, performing arts association, campus tours, and I forget what else. It all proved a bit much, especially with 18 units of classes, so I scaled it back the next quarter, but the point is, I COULD have done all that stuff if I had been able to handle it in some other universe. Frat life doesn't disturb, but it's pretty active and easily accessible. You don't have to drink to have fun with or in a frat. You also don't have to drink to be cool. I definitely didn't drink all of first quarter, and I still made friends and got involved in various communities easily. It's easy to make connections and join clubs and groups. There's an "enormous club fair" during the 1st week of the quarter where virtually every club/group gets a table on the field and students go around getting to know each other and signing up. The best thing about UCLA activities and social life is the fact that it's not as hard as you think to distinguish yourself in such a big place; you just have to be you.

Undie run is spectacular!

The greek life looks to be fairly predominant here, but it's not the only way to be involved on campus. There are so many student groups - its crazy!!!

There are a lot of religious organizations, and a lot of frats and sororities, and they seemed to be fairly important. But if you're not into either of those, like me, you just have to find your people. Athetics are also really important, but you don't have to be a fanatic to enjoy your time at UCLA (also, like me). My advice to a freshman would be to join an organization that has to do with something you really like, and make friends in that organization, so that you have similar interests to your friends. A lot of people make the mistake of just partying as soon as they get to college, and they don't form solid friendships, because party people tend to be flaky. If you make solid friends first, partying will be way more fun.

I met my closest friends through the theater department freshman year. I came here as a theater student and had all my classes with the same 57 people for the entire first quarter, and for most of the other quarters for the rest of that year before I dropped the major. There are a lot of different theater opportunities on campus that actually put up shows a lot more often than one would expect. People party a lot. I think everyone thinks of any possible excuse to drink, even if its on a Wednesday at 11am. I don't really hang out with people on campus, most of the time I'm with friends that either graduated or didn't even go to UCLA.

I would love to talk about all this but I don't have the time to write about it right now. Im the president of a fraternity so I have a lot to say. If you liked what I wrote above and found it useful and would really like to hear my opinion on this please feel free to e-mail me and ill write about it soon.

Students in the dorms did leave their doors open and athletic events were very popular. Important speakers were also popular, but theater not so much. I met my closest friends in the dorms. If I was awake on a Tuesday at 2AM, I was either putting together a paper I put off until the last minute, or hanging out with my friends doing all sorts of stupid stuff. People 'party' pretty often. But people don't just 'party' at school though, because since UCLA is in LA, people often go out to Hollywood and go to popular clubs in the area.

As far as social life is concernced, UCLA has nearly everything covered. The dorm life for students is generally extremely close and many good friendships are developed early in the university career. Parties abound on Thursday nights, the unofficial party night for fraternities, and generally die off towards the weekend as many students from Southern California make their way home to do laundry or simply get home-cooked food. Outside of the drinking scene, UCLA is ideally located to take advantage of LA's sporting events, Hollywood clubs and any other productions apparent in the city. For those that cannot get around to everything in UCLA, the university also holds movie nights, theater screenings and a variety of other activities students can embrace if looking for activities to do. The campus generates a great sense of community by students identifying themselves both as UCLA students and USC-haters. The rivalry between USC and UCLA adds a unique element to interactions between groups in LA as almost everyone in LA following sports can be divided into one camp or the other. Overall, the unity on campus is extremely high and just being from UCLA is enough to bring two students together. Displays of campus unity are often seen and the campus generates a life of its own. One such example is the "undie run" which occurs every wednesday of finals week (three times a year) where students dressed only in their underwear run through campus at midnight for what amounts to massive party in the middle of UCLA's campus.