Why I Chose UCLA – UCLA Bruin Blog

How I Got to UCLA (And Why I Stayed)

I don’t know exactly when UCLA became the dream school in my head. Maybe it was the field trip in middle school when someone told me it was good luck to rub the Bruin Bear’s paw. Or maybe it was that one drive through campus in high school, Frank Ocean’s Blonde was playing in the…

Searching for today, but instead I found tomorrow

Early on in my schooling, I internalized messages that college was not for me. As a first-generation, low-income, non-traditional Chicano student, I clearly remember being told by my high school science teacher to “get used to taking order at McDonald’s” after him accusing me of being drunk. In addition to these messages, I was also…

Learning and Growing at UCLA

At nine years old, a random thought popped into my head: “I’m going to go to UCLA.” I have no idea where this idea came from. No one I knew had ever gone to UCLA. Quite frankly, I do not know when or where I heard about the university, but I knew wanted to be…

What UCLA truly offers

I first stepped foot on UCLA’s campus when my older brother was touring colleges to try and get a sense of where he would apply. Although I was only a freshman in high school at the time, the campus had alluring control over me. I was aware of UCLA’s historically dominant academic and athletic programs…

Choosing UCLA: My Perspective as a Nursing Student

I did not know much about UCLA when I applied. All I knew was the name – it was a UC school in Los Angeles. My older brother attended another UC when I was younger, so my perceptions of a UC school were very limited. All I remembered from roaming around the huge campus was…

Adventure: How I Chose UCLA

Two years ago, I was in your same position reading the same blog and deciding whether to attend UCLA. I still clearly remember reading this post by our director of Undergraduate Admissions the day after I got in. These words stuck out to me then and have proven to be true: “Remember that there are…

Finding My Bruin Family: Why I Chose UCLA Over An Ivy League

Decision season is upon us, which means it’s a reflective time at UCLA. My friends and I have had conversations over the last few weeks talking about our acceptance stories to UCLA- where we were, who we cried tears of joy with, and who we thanked immensely for their mentorship and guidance the next day…