UCLA

More tips from current students and recent graduates. The insider information on UCLA:

Recommended Dorm – Sproul, closest to campus.
Dykstra – rooms face each other on both ends of the hall. Longest hallways. This makes it so you have to see your neighbors = meet more people = more social.
Rieber – food is in basement.
1st years should pick Dykstra, Rieber, Sproul, or Hedrick because they are traditional “dorms”. They have multiple rooms and communal bathrooms which forces people to walk in the halls and meet people. 1st years should stay in dorms to meet people who are also looking for friends.
Newer “suites” like DeNeve, Saxon, and Sunset are quieter, full of 2nd and 3rd years who already have friends, and not social. You can hear a pin drop there. Good for 2nd and 3rd years with friends already who don’t want to meet new people, and who might just want a nicer place.
Worst Dorm – For 1st years, the suites suck because people are not social.
Best Bar – Westwood’s bar scene is kind of pathetic for 35,000+ students. Maloneys and Westwood Brewing Company (“Brew Co”) are the only two real bars in a “college town”. They are only busy on Thursdays for the most part, and some Saturdays. The rest of the days are for the after work crowd and locals.
Best Mall – Westside Pavilion 10800 W. Pico Blvd, LA, CA 90065 - this one is closer to campus than the Beverly Center. It’s on the corner of Westwood and Pico a few miles south of UCLA.
Bar none, 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. This is more than a mall; it has a great selection of shops plus street performers that perform break dancing, singing, painting, sculpting, etc for tips.
Century City mall is nearby too. More upscale. Westside Pavilion – standard mall
Beverly Center – more upscale, in Beverly Hills
Rodeo Drive – Touristy, expensive, first class stores (Gucci, Tiffany, etc)