ONE BILLION DOLLARS.That’s the amount UCLA received
towards research projects each year
for the last three years.

At UCLA, our 290 medical research centers and distinctive institutes are defining the role of a great research university in the 21st century. After all, this is where the Internet was born. Where desalination was developed in its first practical form. And where technology is reshaping our world — from software clouds that monitor electric vehicle charging stations to devices that deliver transplant organs warm and beating.

http://www.ucla.edu/research/

Seriously, the amount of research and hard work that UCLA professors and students do is astounding. In my experience, you can start research as early as freshman year, but most people start their second or even third year. Exactly? It depends on what you are interested in and what the researcher assigns you. I suggest that you search the SRP (student research project) site, there is a ton of information here http://www.ugresearchsci.ucla.edu/srppositions.htm. 

Some of you may start off washing lab-ware, which may progress into working with mice, running experiments, working with children in the psychology labs, and seriously I can’t even list them all because the possibilities are endless. Choose a field that you are interested in, most likely concurrent with your major, and go from there. Ask a professor of yours, even some of your Teaching Assistants may know of a few opportunities. 

As for me, I worked under an actual pathologist for the Jules Stein Eye Institute, so he wasn’t a professor. I wish I had more research experience but right now I don’t have the time! Good luck to you :)

There are many different avenues to receive counseling for financial help. Here are a few that I found. 

http://www.studentincrisis.ucla.edu/resources.html

Options for On-Campus Financial Assistance at UCLA

Many UCLA students have been impacted by the current economic crisis and the UCLA Economic Crisis Response (ECR) Team wants to assist you in staying in school. If you are in financial distress please email ECR@saonet.ucla.edu. It is important that you email us directly, so that the ECR Team can take a comprehensive approach to your situation and can help you determine as many options as possible. 

And I knew about the short term loans you can obtain in need of an emergency, but this site also provides a lot of information about planning. Take a wander this way. 

http://www.loans.ucla.edu/index.html

You can manage your debt here 

http://www.loans.ucla.edu/dms.html

You can see all of the loans you took out here

http://www.loans.ucla.edu/myloandata.html

There is basic information about repayment (eek) here

http://www.loans.ucla.edu/repayment.html

A financial deadline planning calendar for each month for Bruins here (WHATTT I didn’t even know they had this for us)

http://www.loans.ucla.edu/calendar.html

And seriously there is so much more. I’m scared to click on all the links because of my overwhelming amount of student debt but hey, we have to face it eventually. 

A lot of Bruins will agree that the quarter system does sneak up on you. The good thing is that with more time in the quarter system and after getting used to it, you can learn how to balance your time between activities and academics. What I’ve seen in my experience as a student is that it’s always 2/3 that get fulfilled per quarter: academics, social life, sleep. Social life includes clubs/volunteering/extra curriculars, not even just hanging out with your friends. And if you have a job (like most Bruins do), it gets even harder to manage your time.

In pure honesty, I’ve had the worst past 2 quarters of my time here at UCLA when it came to balancing all of these things because of personal issues that I’m facing. That’s another thing that’s hard.. if you are having personal issues that are out of your control, it is hard to manage your grades and take care of yourself at the same time. Of course there are resources such as CAPS, ASHE, the UCLA Medical Center, OSD, etc to help you, but in the end, you’re accountable for your own actions and what you do. Other people may be facing problems too but still excel. That’s what’s terrifying. 

All in all, I did struggle my freshman fall quarter and a lot of my other friends did as well just because UCLA is so exciting and fun. Be responsible, make good choices, and be accountable for your own actions and you should be okay. Surround yourself with good people who have the same goals as you do and that makes it even easier. Don’t go out too much if that’s what’s affecting your grades. If you have any other questions, let me know because my goal is to be honest as one student to another.

I actually went to the Aveda salon in Westwood recently and I enjoyed my experience! It is actually a cosmetology school so they are students practicing giving hair cuts/ coloring/ hair treatments so it’s relatively cheaper. Don’t worry, they are supervised by their professional teachers and they consult them before they do ANYTHING to your hair. Because they are young and hip, they can tailor to your every crazy hair dream haha :) In addition, if you post your “after” photo to your Facebook wall, you get an additional 20% off your service. The downsides are that your haircut may take a long time (you should allot around 3 hours for your consultation and appointment), again, they are students so they are learning so you’re their “guinea pig,” BUT don’t worry because they have a lot of experience practicing on other people and models as well.

http://www.avedainstitutelosangeles.com/service-menu/

Here is a menu of services and prices. A simple haircut is ~19, and I got my hair colored and cut for ~45!

Another place I went in Westwood was Sigal Genovonyan next to Victoria Secret to cut my hair off for Locks of Love. Something I did not appreciate was that the man who cut my hair (Sam) took a long time because he was distracted and talking to other people and his hands smelled like cigarettes which was nasty because he was touching my hair. He did give me a great haircut though but even though their sign says that a haircut is $20, it does not include styling so in total my haircut and styling was $45.

There you go! Those are my two experiences I’ve had with salons near UCLA but I’m sure if you are willing to pay more and go near Hollywood or Korea town there will be even better places for your hair! Somewhere I really want to go is to Guy Tang’s salon because he does crazy beautiful coloring jobs. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btHz4Ylntj0 but his services are in the $500 range -__-

Good luck! Tell me what other places you guys like in Westwood!

Hello! Congrats on being admitted to UCLA :) 

As a Resident Assistant and a residential hall resident for almost 3 years now, I really recommend living on the Hill for an awesome experience. When else will you be able to dorm and live with a bunch of people your age right there on your floor? You are also given access to lounges, an endless amount of programs, computer labs and of course our AWESOME dining halls. Right now I am loving the Hedrick Test Kitchen which features so many different types of healthy foods, and next year Sproul will have a whole dining hall committed to healthy types of meals!

I vanpooled from Orange County every single day during the summer, and I can honestly say that I did not enjoy it. The convenience of living so close to campus is well worth the money and being able to go back and forth is great if you have late night club meetings and study groups. I use Vanpool on Friday nights when I want to go back home, but I would not be able to do that everyday because even though you’re just a passenger, commuting is tiring!

Let me know if you have any other questions :)