It’s pretty shocking that I never wrote anything about my experience at UCLA till now, but the system kept me really busy to think about something substantial which could be comprehensive and useful in general. Now that I’m nearing the end of my Graduation and have been here for 2 Quarters, I do have a good overview of the University and write stuff which could give an unknown person a good insight about UCLA.
There are various aspects about UCLA which I always thought about writing on which I think can give a better perspective to the incoming batch about the University. I personally did not find much information when I came here but have learnt a lot over a period of time which I think I should share with everyone. There are various things which I think can give a person a good overview of the University and life here at UCLA. The Bharatiyam Group’s Website: http://www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/bharat/index.html has a good FAQ as well which talks about the stuff that you need to bring and some topics that I have discussed as well. You can contact the current members listed on their Website and you can contact them as well since they are the seniors who have been here for a long period of time :
The Quarter System
The basic questions that people have is that what is the Quarter System. When I decided to come to UCLA, all I knew was that it gets done in 10 weeks compared to 14 in a Semester. However, no clue did I have of how harrowing and hectic it might turn out to be. Keeps you on your toes all during the 10 weeks, at times even awake. Weekly homeworks in most of the courses and projects, man it was really demanding. Especially my First Quarter when I had no clue about the System and coming from a University which does not work on the GPA System. Faced a lot of challenges and throughout my life here and every day came up with something new. Sometimes, at that level which forced me to think of returning back after the first month itself.
But the good part of this system is that you never get a break and you are always busy which can be helpful at times since you don’t get time to get diverted from your Academics. Also, at UCLA, one major advantage is that you can take as many courses as you want as long as you are a Full time enrolled student. And you can drop the courses till the last week. So in general the trend is that enroll in many courses at the start if your not sure of what courses or area you might be interested in, and drop some after the first couple of weeks depending on the load of the course and the interest it rises in you.
Housing
One of the major concerns when one comes here is how to go about the housing hunt. As I told earlier, come early and then go about all the nearby streets like Glenrock, Landfair, Gayley, Kelton etc. You need to look out for the various postings. You can also check Craigslist for the listings as well. Generally, it turns out to be around $ 2200-2400 per month for a 2BHK, and is reasonable compared to the prices in Westwood, the area of UCLA.
This was if you’re interested in renting a place. Another good option is the Co-op which is on Landfair Avenue. A senior at UCLA has made a good compilation about this place and heres the link: http://www.cs.ucla.edu/~mohit/co-op1.html. I would personally prefer staying in a rented place as you have generally bigger rooms compared to the Co-op. But again, you have food during the night at Co-op which helps during the Exams when you might not get the time for cooking. Again, refer to the link that I have given.
Locality ( Food Stores, Restaurants and other Amenities )
The area is pretty good, one of the best in LA with all the possible restaurants walking distance. Mind you, all of them are expensive, but you will get used to it. Unlike colleges like USC, no Indian stores nearby here. So you might stay away from GOOD Desi food for a long time, unless you’re a brilliant cook and have the time to cook.
No Walmart, no Cost-Co Etc, which are the cheaper stores since somehow UCLA Area is the place where higher class people stay so high class and expensive stores are there in the area. So be ready to dish out some money man
The Bharatiyam Group
Personal experience as well of that of my Fellow batchmates, the Indian Student Association called Bharatiyam is pretty much useless. According to them, arranging the Airport pick ups and Temporary initial accommodation is the only responsibility of the seniors, pretty unlike the other Universities which have a very well organized Indian Associations. You will not have any Welcome or any events Celebrated here, unless there is a new Team that is there, who might be interested in making some bonding among the limited Indian Graduate students at UCLA.
Grading System
The Grading System is relative grading as in every other University. But some professors do have absolute grading as well as all depends on the Professor. Generally, students land up with atleast a B unless you really screw up badly. It is difficult competing with the fellow students and to get a A-, you generally need to be above the class average.
Courses in Electrical Engineering
The courses in the Electrical Engineering Department are really competitive with you being among the best students from all over the World. Remember, UCLA is a research oriented School. So youre gonna compete with the Phd Students if you plan to do a Masters. Now, if you’re coming here for a Masters without Aid, the best option you’re Advisor might tell you is to complete your MS in 3 Quarters and leave. Now that means that you need to do 3 courses a Quarter. Remember, you’re in a System where there is relative grading. Majority of the Phd students go for 1 or maximum 2 courses a Quarter. So you’re bound to get screwed unless you really know the subject really well and have the capacity to keep up to it. So there are a lot of factors you need to take into consideration before choosing UCLA.
Personally, I would not advice to go for a MS in 9 months since an internship experience is a very very good thing if you plan to work in the core Technical Area since that not only adds to your resume but also gives you a direction as to which area you really want to work in. Also, if you plan to graduate in 9 months, you will have to start your Job Search in the first quarter itself and possibly secure one till March at the Max. The reason is the issues of H1-B Visa Sponsorship as an international student which makes it almost a compulsion to secure a Job to be eligible to be a part of the initial Quota. To know more about the H1-B issues, you can Google it and know more about the procedures
Taking courses outside Electrical Engineering
I think I mentioned it somewhere else. Again, its about filing a petition, which needs to get approved by the Department
General Class Structure
The size of the class if different in different courses. Most of, you have classes 2 times a week for 2 hours each with no TA’s for graduate courses in EE. So you will not have any discussion sessions as they are in the Undergraduate courses out here. You would ideally have weekly homeworks and some projects depending on the course and the professor. What I would recommend is to get in touch with some of the seniors to get their homeworks and notes since that might help you understand the subject better and help you in the Homeworks too 
Professor Experiences
My experience with the professors has been really awesome. Most of them are really good at teaching and if you do your homework weekly and study the stuff taught in the week, you will be able to keep pace with the class. Also, most of them are very helpful during office hours. I would just say that be frank and approach the Professor with the smallest of doubts and they would be more than happy to help you out.
Books
I am a person who reads from books and would recommend you guys to buy some books from your home country since the prices here are really really high. I am writing a list of books that I used in my courses and will keep on updating the list as and when I get alist from the other students in different Departments. I am just writing the course number and you can check the course names from the catalog available from the address: www.registart.ucla.edu/schedule
Course: Book
EE 232A Intro to Stochastic Processes- Gallager
EE 232B Queuing Systems-Gross and Harris
EE 230A Detection of Signals in Noise- R.N. McDonough and A.D. Whalen
EE 230B Digital Communications-Proakis
EE 231A Elements of Information theory- Cover and Thomas
EE 236A Prof’s notes
EE 236B Convex Optimization- Boyd and Vandenberg
Also, the following link might be useful for some course descriptions in the EE Department. http://www.eeweb.ee.ucla.edu/catalog_descriptions.php?grad=1
Assistantships
The aid scene at UCLA is pretty good. Even if you do not have any aid from your professor, it is easy to approach other departments. I did get a TA from the Sciences Department and UCLA being such a diverse college, it is about your hard work to approach different departments if you decide to come here without financial aid. Also, in the Electrical Engineering Department, you cannot apply for a TA before the start of the second year. The fees are fixed per quarter and from what I know, only the EE, CS, Math and Chemistry Departments pay the TA’s the Non-Resident Tuition. So my advice, come early and start hunting for some good offers. Again, to get an insight, best way is to reach me directly ?
Job Prospects
The job prospects are really good if you are good in the field that you major in. But remember, in EE, there are many job limitations since a lot of jobs require a US Citizenship or Permanent Residency. In CS on the other hand, lots of jobs but again if you’re doing a Masters, and that too in 9 months, there is going to be a lot of fight.
Now if you plan to complete your MS in 9 months, you will start interviewing ideally in the first month of the Quarter here since it makes sense of securing a Job early on. So you need to know which area you want to work in. Also, you need to know which companies you intend to target and make a good Resume and Cover Letter early on. You should get used to the US System on interviewing and know how to talk in an interview and how to talk to whom. To be better, you need to interact with some seniors. I personally interviewed with some Companies but did not find luck and landed with a Job in February. Although rejections can cause depression, you need to try and learn as much as possible from them and make your next interview better than the last one. But never give up. You will be basically applying through the Career Center of UCLA. Remember, a lot of Companies come in the Fall Quarter and you should try your level best to secure a Job then. To get some help on your Resume and other application process, you should go and consult the Career Center’s services, the counselors are really helpful and knowledgeable.
Again, you can contact me for any help you need and I would try to help in the best way I can.
Advice for Masters Students
Personally, I would say that all students coming to UCLA for a Masters Degree, don’t come unless you have aid for your MS. The thing is that UCLA is perceived by the Industry as a Research Oriented School. Very few companies come to recruit Masters Students here. Either they are looking for Undergraduates or PhD’s. And the school being pretty expensive, it forces one to complete their Masters Degree in 9 months which as I have mentioned elsewhere is a pretty demanding task. On the other hand, if you have funding, then it makes more sense to stay for atleast 1.5 years, do an internship and take some good courses which will improve your overall understanding of different subjects, which is a very important thing atleast in the EE Field.
Some students might get interested in taking some Business courses from the renowned Anderson School of Management. One can do that but has to file a petition which needs to be approved by the Department. Basically, you need to justify why that course is going to help you in your major requirements, some shit that one needs to prove.
Overall, I would summarize that if you intend to come to UCLA for a MS Degree, you might be in a position repenting it unless your basics are really strong in your field. For CS Students, I don’t think it’s much of a fight anywhere in the US, since coding jobs are aplenty.
Overall, I would advice that if you are coming to UCLA on Financial Aid and are inclined towards doing a Phd, it will be a perfect decision since UCLA is known in the industry as a Research University. Amazing work is done by the professors in the different Departments.
The best way to get an overview about the work in your Lab, if you are joining one is to contact some of your seniors in your Lab which will give you a good idea of what work you might be doing early on and what will be expected from you from the start. This is because all professors have different methods of working and it is useful to know your group before coming here.
I think I’ll keep on adding new stuff as and when I think of something useful. I hope this helps the new batch. I would be more than happy to help the prospective students. You can find my Email in the ‘ Contact Me ‘ Section.