Overcrowding/Overenrollment Issues at top tier schools

[Anonymous]

So far iI’ve yet to hear that any of the complaints about the UCs aren’t true but only that they shouldn’t matter or that people should instead rely on Parchment data or US News.

Of course east coasters are going to be more likely to expect more of the school because they are paying a lot more for the same product.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of them, including Cornell, are lower rated than Berkeley and UCLA .. ?

Are people seriously choosing schools that are lower rated, and in places like Ithaca, NY, over higher rated schools in California?

USC is fine as a proxy (but without the NM pricing, more than 2x the cost), but anybody choosing NYU or especially BU over Berkeley or UCLA really isn't suitable for either of the latter schools anyway.

Consider that decision a test-out ...

Not everyone is blinded by a single publisher's ranking.
There are many factors to consider when choosing a school, and these schools are comparable options, especially if you are an OOS student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hearing disturbing things about overcrowding in dorms/not enough housing at UCLA (3 freshman in a double etc)

Hearing about scheduling/class issues at Michigan, with kids not getting into required 1st year classes for majors etc.

What other schools have these types of issues? What’s the best way to find out?

Not sure UCLA and Michigan are truly top tier...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cornell, USC, NYU, BU (larger privates)
Vs
UCLA, Michigan, Berkeley (extremely large, but highly ranked Publix that are comparable in cost)

Hmmm. I don’t think I would go to any of the California schools to be honest

DP

The cross-admit data that I’ve seen doesn’t seem to align at all with any of the anecdotal noise here …

UCLA 63% vs. Cornell 37%

UCLA 56% vs. USC 44%

UCLA 83% vs. NYU 17%

UCLA 93% vs. BU 7%

Due to instate price

The data isn’t confined to CA applicants. Cross-admitted applicants simply choose UCLA by a significant margin.

80 percent of ucla students are Californians. One wouldn’t expect them to be picking the more expensive cross country option.

Forget it, waste of time.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Omg this sounds awful.

I now understand why no kids from our private go to UCLA or Berkeley

They are great if you are In-state. But definately not worth OOS prices. If I'm paying $60K+, my kid will have smaller class and the ability to get the courses they need when they need them.

Let's be honest. They are not great in-state. The price is right for in-state. And the name is great on the diploma. But the student experience sux.

Except UCLA is an absolute monster when it comes to outlasting literally every other university in the country when it comes to the core student rankings, including quality of life and overall experience.

But yeah, other than that …

Oh for sure. Other than the 5 pages on this thread of complaints. No, definitely.

https://www.niche.com/colleges/university-of-california-los-angeles/

Now show us the schools that are so much better!!!

BHAHAHAHHA!! You're citing Niche?! Hahahahahah!!!!!!!

Cool! Show us the “real” rankings that count now! Niche is trash, so looking forward to seeing the treasure you bring forth to settle this!

Oh, wait - what’s that? The “real” rankings are the ones you see in this thread, comprised of parents whose kids were rejected by UCLA and some fugazi pre-med lecturer who claims that 1,200 student classes are commonplace?

Just curious what you are claiming is not true. Which of the following do you dispute

--UCLA regularly puts three freshmen and/or sophomores in dorm rooms built as doubles

-- There is an even greater housing shortage at the other UCs

-- The list of impacted majors at most UCs include popular majors like computer science, engineering, psychology. . . .

--It is very difficult to transfer into an impacted major

--There are some classes in certain majors with other 1000 students enrolled, at least at Berkeley

--It can be difficult to register for required classes

What about incoming freshman with 50+ units already banked via AP testing and matriculating into a major that’s not impacted? Do they have a chance of graduating in less than six years?

I don’t know, where above did I mention graduating in six years?

The only undergrads that I knew who took 6 years to graduate from UCLA had changed majors fairly late in the game. But it was really common for pre-meds to need more than 4 years to fit in the impacted labs and pre-med requirements. Some managed by taking a summer session, but others extended into a subsequent school year.

This is really concerning. An extra semester almost never happens for premeds or anyone at my kid's ivy and their bestie's T10 private. Heck at William and Mary , a public uni, it does not happen either. This is a size and resources issue. Huge red flag to me and glad mine never applied to the big publics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m struggling to believe some of the antidotal stories.

DC is an incoming freshmen student at UMich. Registration began this week. DC registered yesterday. He had no problem registering for the classes he wanted. CoE if that matters.

I agree. It’s funny how Michigan is lumped in with UC schools as if all publics are exactly the same.

My DC is double majoring (Math and CS) with a minor at a top UC and has had no issues so far and is graduating on time. I am glad I was not aware of this site when older DC applied because I woulf not have sent him but his experience has been very good. He is a resourceful kid who could navigate the school despite coming from a very small HS.

Nobody should EVER take threads like this seriously nor let it influence their choice of schools. As a PP said above, visit and ask a ton of questions. Talk to current students as much as possible. Most of those blathering on about the hellscapes of the UCs have never stepped foot in CA let alone on one of the campuses. True - the UCs have their blemishes and I agree with those who complain about lack of student advising. That's my biggest complaint and I complained about it strongly on the end of the year parent survey I just submitted. My DC is a senior at UCLA and didn't sit down in person with an actual (not student) advisor until getting admitted into her major Junior year. But her undergraduate experience has been NOTHING like what everyone is posting here. Seriously. Nothing. Largest class was around 200 but those were online her freshman year because of Covid. Double major and is graduating on-time, as are all of her friends/roommates, etc.

It's not a school for students who need hand-holding and can't hustle. I've met a ton of DD's friends and classmates and they are incredibly smart, ambitious go-getters.

Oh - and the selling of seats in classes gave my DD a hearty laugh!

Not sure if you’re questioning this happens, but my kid is at UCLA too and I have no reason to lie about it.

Here’s just one link from Reddit discussing the “system” there are plenty others

https://www.reddit.com/r/ucla/comments/zxfs48/how_does_buying_a_class_work/

[Anonymous]

Is it throwback Thursday? My freshman year at Amherst in the 90/ they were putting three people in each double. And my friends at Berkeley had an impossible time getting classes.

[Anonymous]

I also have a DD graduating from UCLA this year, and her experience is aligned with the reports of other actual UCLA parents in this thread. She's graduating in 4 years, in one of the typical pre-med majors, with a foreign language minor, and has completed additional courses to fulfill the college honors program requirements. It absolutely took careful planning and flexibility, but it wasn't as daunting as has been presented here (and, yes, that includes the chem 20/30 series).

The largest lecture hall at UCLA holds 442 kids. So, tales of 1000+ classes there are simply untrue. However, I agree with the PP (19:14) who noted that after a certain point, it just doesn't matter. The nature of the lecture doesn't change beyond about 50-100, and there are simply more discussion sections available.

I haven't seen this myth in this particular thread yet, but to head it off, there seems to be a belief that the top public universities primarily use graduate teaching assistants to lead classes. In my daughter's experience, this simply was not true. All of her seminars and lectures were professor-led, often with associated TA-led discussions and labs. She took a class taught by a Pulitzer Prize winner, and another by a Booker Prize winner. She worked in the lab of a National Academy of Sciences member.

Did she have to advocate for herself? Yes, strongly and repeatedly. Did she learn how to politely decline to take "no" for an answer in doing so? You bet. These are skills she never had to acquire in her private high school, and they will serve her well.

My biggest complaint (consistent with PP 19:54) is the serious lack of advisement. This is a legitimate issue, and not easily circumvented (although being in the College Honors program does provide students with staff advisors, which can help a bit).

As for housing, yep, most freshmen and many sophomores are in tiny triples. There are larger, double rooms available as students gain seniority, but the first year is very tight. This is the trade-off for having 4 years of guaranteed housing, something that is not available anywhere else in the UC system, nor at many elite private colleges. I must say, though, I have not heard the horror stories about rats, mold, etc., that are frequent in discussions of private colleges on this board.

Whether it's worth the cost OOS is a personal question. I do know that my daughter's OOS friends are glad they made the choice. Given the below 10% rate of freshmen admission, few will have to entertain the question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also have a DD graduating from UCLA this year, and her experience is aligned with the reports of other actual UCLA parents in this thread. She's graduating in 4 years, in one of the typical pre-med majors, with a foreign language minor, and has completed additional courses to fulfill the college honors program requirements. It absolutely took careful planning and flexibility, but it wasn't as daunting as has been presented here (and, yes, that includes the chem 20/30 series).

The largest lecture hall at UCLA holds 442 kids. So, tales of 1000+ classes there are simply untrue. However, I agree with the PP (19:14) who noted that after a certain point, it just doesn't matter. The nature of the lecture doesn't change beyond about 50-100, and there are simply more discussion sections available.

I haven't seen this myth in this particular thread yet, but to head it off, there seems to be a belief that the top public universities primarily use graduate teaching assistants to lead classes. In my daughter's experience, this simply was not true. All of her seminars and lectures were professor-led, often with associated TA-led discussions and labs. She took a class taught by a Pulitzer Prize winner, and another by a Booker Prize winner. She worked in the lab of a National Academy of Sciences member.

Did she have to advocate for herself? Yes, strongly and repeatedly. Did she learn how to politely decline to take "no" for an answer in doing so? You bet. These are skills she never had to acquire in her private high school, and they will serve her well.

My biggest complaint (consistent with PP 19:54) is the serious lack of advisement. This is a legitimate issue, and not easily circumvented (although being in the College Honors program does provide students with staff advisors, which can help a bit).

As for housing, yep, most freshmen and many sophomores are in tiny triples. There are larger, double rooms available as students gain seniority, but the first year is very tight. This is the trade-off for having 4 years of guaranteed housing, something that is not available anywhere else in the UC system, nor at many elite private colleges. I must say, though, I have not heard the horror stories about rats, mold, etc., that are frequent in discussions of private colleges on this board.

Whether it's worth the cost OOS is a personal question. I do know that my daughter's OOS friends are glad they made the choice. Given the below 10% rate of freshmen admission, few will have to entertain the question.

Gross - mold and rats in the private schools?! I had no idea! Is that really a common problem???!!!

Thankful beyond belief right now that my DS didn’t choose any of the privates because I could not imagine having to worry about the risks of respiratory illnesses and rodents scurrying around for the next four years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also have a DD graduating from UCLA this year, and her experience is aligned with the reports of other actual UCLA parents in this thread. She's graduating in 4 years, in one of the typical pre-med majors, with a foreign language minor, and has completed additional courses to fulfill the college honors program requirements. It absolutely took careful planning and flexibility, but it wasn't as daunting as has been presented here (and, yes, that includes the chem 20/30 series).

The largest lecture hall at UCLA holds 442 kids. So, tales of 1000+ classes there are simply untrue. However, I agree with the PP (19:14) who noted that after a certain point, it just doesn't matter. The nature of the lecture doesn't change beyond about 50-100, and there are simply more discussion sections available.

I haven't seen this myth in this particular thread yet, but to head it off, there seems to be a belief that the top public universities primarily use graduate teaching assistants to lead classes. In my daughter's experience, this simply was not true. All of her seminars and lectures were professor-led, often with associated TA-led discussions and labs. She took a class taught by a Pulitzer Prize winner, and another by a Booker Prize winner. She worked in the lab of a National Academy of Sciences member.

Did she have to advocate for herself? Yes, strongly and repeatedly. Did she learn how to politely decline to take "no" for an answer in doing so? You bet. These are skills she never had to acquire in her private high school, and they will serve her well.

My biggest complaint (consistent with PP 19:54) is the serious lack of advisement. This is a legitimate issue, and not easily circumvented (although being in the College Honors program does provide students with staff advisors, which can help a bit).

As for housing, yep, most freshmen and many sophomores are in tiny triples. There are larger, double rooms available as students gain seniority, but the first year is very tight. This is the trade-off for having 4 years of guaranteed housing, something that is not available anywhere else in the UC system, nor at many elite private colleges. I must say, though, I have not heard the horror stories about rats, mold, etc., that are frequent in discussions of private colleges on this board.

Whether it's worth the cost OOS is a personal question. I do know that my daughter's OOS friends are glad they made the choice. Given the below 10% rate of freshmen admission, few will have to entertain the question.

Four years of guaranteed housing is common at private colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also have a DD graduating from UCLA this year, and her experience is aligned with the reports of other actual UCLA parents in this thread. She's graduating in 4 years, in one of the typical pre-med majors, with a foreign language minor, and has completed additional courses to fulfill the college honors program requirements. It absolutely took careful planning and flexibility, but it wasn't as daunting as has been presented here (and, yes, that includes the chem 20/30 series).

The largest lecture hall at UCLA holds 442 kids. So, tales of 1000+ classes there are simply untrue. However, I agree with the PP (19:14) who noted that after a certain point, it just doesn't matter. The nature of the lecture doesn't change beyond about 50-100, and there are simply more discussion sections available.

I haven't seen this myth in this particular thread yet, but to head it off, there seems to be a belief that the top public universities primarily use graduate teaching assistants to lead classes. In my daughter's experience, this simply was not true. All of her seminars and lectures were professor-led, often with associated TA-led discussions and labs. She took a class taught by a Pulitzer Prize winner, and another by a Booker Prize winner. She worked in the lab of a National Academy of Sciences member.

Did she have to advocate for herself? Yes, strongly and repeatedly. Did she learn how to politely decline to take "no" for an answer in doing so? You bet. These are skills she never had to acquire in her private high school, and they will serve her well.

My biggest complaint (consistent with PP 19:54) is the serious lack of advisement. This is a legitimate issue, and not easily circumvented (although being in the College Honors program does provide students with staff advisors, which can help a bit).

As for housing, yep, most freshmen and many sophomores are in tiny triples. There are larger, double rooms available as students gain seniority, but the first year is very tight. This is the trade-off for having 4 years of guaranteed housing, something that is not available anywhere else in the UC system, nor at many elite private colleges. I must say, though, I have not heard the horror stories about rats, mold, etc., that are frequent in discussions of private colleges on this board.

Whether it's worth the cost OOS is a personal question. I do know that my daughter's OOS friends are glad they made the choice. Given the below 10% rate of freshmen admission, few will have to entertain the question.

Four years of guaranteed housing is common at private colleges.

Not at Cal Tech, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Duke, JHU, or Brown, at least in my experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cornell, USC, NYU, BU (larger privates)
Vs
UCLA, Michigan, Berkeley (extremely large, but highly ranked Publix that are comparable in cost)

Hmmm. I don’t think I would go to any of the California schools to be honest

DP

The cross-admit data that I’ve seen doesn’t seem to align at all with any of the anecdotal noise here …

UCLA 63% vs. Cornell 37%

UCLA 56% vs. USC 44%

UCLA 83% vs. NYU 17%

UCLA 93% vs. BU 7%

Due to instate price

The data isn’t confined to CA applicants. Cross-admitted applicants simply choose UCLA by a significant margin.

Head in palm. You’re a moron bc you do not understand the raw data behind the numbers you’re throwing out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also have a DD graduating from UCLA this year, and her experience is aligned with the reports of other actual UCLA parents in this thread. She's graduating in 4 years, in one of the typical pre-med majors, with a foreign language minor, and has completed additional courses to fulfill the college honors program requirements. It absolutely took careful planning and flexibility, but it wasn't as daunting as has been presented here (and, yes, that includes the chem 20/30 series).

The largest lecture hall at UCLA holds 442 kids. So, tales of 1000+ classes there are simply untrue. However, I agree with the PP (19:14) who noted that after a certain point, it just doesn't matter. The nature of the lecture doesn't change beyond about 50-100, and there are simply more discussion sections available.

I haven't seen this myth in this particular thread yet, but to head it off, there seems to be a belief that the top public universities primarily use graduate teaching assistants to lead classes. In my daughter's experience, this simply was not true. All of her seminars and lectures were professor-led, often with associated TA-led discussions and labs. She took a class taught by a Pulitzer Prize winner, and another by a Booker Prize winner. She worked in the lab of a National Academy of Sciences member.

Did she have to advocate for herself? Yes, strongly and repeatedly. Did she learn how to politely decline to take "no" for an answer in doing so? You bet. These are skills she never had to acquire in her private high school, and they will serve her well.

My biggest complaint (consistent with PP 19:54) is the serious lack of advisement. This is a legitimate issue, and not easily circumvented (although being in the College Honors program does provide students with staff advisors, which can help a bit).

As for housing, yep, most freshmen and many sophomores are in tiny triples. There are larger, double rooms available as students gain seniority, but the first year is very tight. This is the trade-off for having 4 years of guaranteed housing, something that is not available anywhere else in the UC system, nor at many elite private colleges. I must say, though, I have not heard the horror stories about rats, mold, etc., that are frequent in discussions of private colleges on this board.

Whether it's worth the cost OOS is a personal question. I do know that my daughter's OOS friends are glad they made the choice. Given the below 10% rate of freshmen admission, few will have to entertain the question.

Four years of guaranteed housing is common at private colleges.

Not at Cal Tech, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Duke, JHU, or Brown, at least in my experience.

You think Yale does not guarantee four years of housing? You must really know nothing about Yale if you are unfamiliar with its residential college system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also have a DD graduating from UCLA this year, and her experience is aligned with the reports of other actual UCLA parents in this thread. She's graduating in 4 years, in one of the typical pre-med majors, with a foreign language minor, and has completed additional courses to fulfill the college honors program requirements. It absolutely took careful planning and flexibility, but it wasn't as daunting as has been presented here (and, yes, that includes the chem 20/30 series).

The largest lecture hall at UCLA holds 442 kids. So, tales of 1000+ classes there are simply untrue. However, I agree with the PP (19:14) who noted that after a certain point, it just doesn't matter. The nature of the lecture doesn't change beyond about 50-100, and there are simply more discussion sections available.

I haven't seen this myth in this particular thread yet, but to head it off, there seems to be a belief that the top public universities primarily use graduate teaching assistants to lead classes. In my daughter's experience, this simply was not true. All of her seminars and lectures were professor-led, often with associated TA-led discussions and labs. She took a class taught by a Pulitzer Prize winner, and another by a Booker Prize winner. She worked in the lab of a National Academy of Sciences member.

Did she have to advocate for herself? Yes, strongly and repeatedly. Did she learn how to politely decline to take "no" for an answer in doing so? You bet. These are skills she never had to acquire in her private high school, and they will serve her well.

My biggest complaint (consistent with PP 19:54) is the serious lack of advisement. This is a legitimate issue, and not easily circumvented (although being in the College Honors program does provide students with staff advisors, which can help a bit).

As for housing, yep, most freshmen and many sophomores are in tiny triples. There are larger, double rooms available as students gain seniority, but the first year is very tight. This is the trade-off for having 4 years of guaranteed housing, something that is not available anywhere else in the UC system, nor at many elite private colleges. I must say, though, I have not heard the horror stories about rats, mold, etc., that are frequent in discussions of private colleges on this board.

Whether it's worth the cost OOS is a personal question. I do know that my daughter's OOS friends are glad they made the choice. Given the below 10% rate of freshmen admission, few will have to entertain the question.

Four years of guaranteed housing is common at private colleges.

Not at Cal Tech, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Duke, JHU, or Brown, at least in my experience.

You think Yale does not guarantee four years of housing? You must really know nothing about Yale if you are unfamiliar with its residential college system.

https://housing.yale.edu/undergraduate-housing/housing-policies

States that housing for all four years is not guaranteed. Is that not the case?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also have a DD graduating from UCLA this year, and her experience is aligned with the reports of other actual UCLA parents in this thread. She's graduating in 4 years, in one of the typical pre-med majors, with a foreign language minor, and has completed additional courses to fulfill the college honors program requirements. It absolutely took careful planning and flexibility, but it wasn't as daunting as has been presented here (and, yes, that includes the chem 20/30 series).

The largest lecture hall at UCLA holds 442 kids. So, tales of 1000+ classes there are simply untrue. However, I agree with the PP (19:14) who noted that after a certain point, it just doesn't matter. The nature of the lecture doesn't change beyond about 50-100, and there are simply more discussion sections available.

I haven't seen this myth in this particular thread yet, but to head it off, there seems to be a belief that the top public universities primarily use graduate teaching assistants to lead classes. In my daughter's experience, this simply was not true. All of her seminars and lectures were professor-led, often with associated TA-led discussions and labs. She took a class taught by a Pulitzer Prize winner, and another by a Booker Prize winner. She worked in the lab of a National Academy of Sciences member.

Did she have to advocate for herself? Yes, strongly and repeatedly. Did she learn how to politely decline to take "no" for an answer in doing so? You bet. These are skills she never had to acquire in her private high school, and they will serve her well.

My biggest complaint (consistent with PP 19:54) is the serious lack of advisement. This is a legitimate issue, and not easily circumvented (although being in the College Honors program does provide students with staff advisors, which can help a bit).

As for housing, yep, most freshmen and many sophomores are in tiny triples. There are larger, double rooms available as students gain seniority, but the first year is very tight. This is the trade-off for having 4 years of guaranteed housing, something that is not available anywhere else in the UC system, nor at many elite private colleges. I must say, though, I have not heard the horror stories about rats, mold, etc., that are frequent in discussions of private colleges on this board.

Whether it's worth the cost OOS is a personal question. I do know that my daughter's OOS friends are glad they made the choice. Given the below 10% rate of freshmen admission, few will have to entertain the question.

Four years of guaranteed housing is common at private colleges.

Not at Cal Tech, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Duke, JHU, or Brown, at least in my experience.

You think Yale does not guarantee four years of housing? You must really know nothing about Yale if you are unfamiliar with its residential college system.

https://housing.yale.edu/undergraduate-housing/housing-policies

States that housing for all four years is not guaranteed. Is that not the case?

DP wtf cares about guaranteed housing? Of everything I want in a college experience for my kid, 4 years in a residential hall with residential housing rules is nowhere on the list. A 21 year old needs an RA?? Gimme a break.
4 years housing is not the flex you think it is.