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Winter Bruin fall program offers smooth transition

Winter admits take extension classes, can live on campus

By Shani Pines

With 500-person lecture halls, thousands of students roaming campus and more activities than you can count, the first quarter at UCLA can be overwhelming even to the hardiest freshmen.

A schedule which includes 25-person classes and personal attention from teachers may come as an appealing alternative.

The Fall Quarter for Winter Bruins program makes this easier transition into UCLA life possible. Winter admits who opt to do the program take UCLA extension classes and get to know the campus gradually during their fall quarter.

"I think doing the program was a lot better than going straight into what I'm doing this quarter," said Logan Hale, an undeclared first-year student.

"This quarter I'm in a class with 400 students, and the pressure is a lot higher. In terms of a transition, the fall quarter program was perfect," he added.

"I remember the program really well, and it was a great way to start UCLA life without being too shell-shocked," agreed Laura Forgione, a third-year history student.

The fall program began in an attempt to make winter admission more attractive to prospective freshmen. UCLA has been admitting up to 800 students for winter quarter each year since 1986, to fill the emptied seats of students who decide to leave school after fall quarter, undergraduate admissions officials said.

To draw in students who would otherwise choose a different school, UCLA created the fall program, closely modeled after a similar structure at UC Berkeley. Created eight years ago, the Berkeley plan was designed to integrate students into the community and let them make normal progress toward their degree.

Winter admits can live on campus, take UCLA extension classes,and participate in activities such as the greek system and cultural and athletic events, said Joan Ellison-Wong, program manager of the Fall Quarter for Winter Bruins.

"The fall quarter program is an ideal way to get students involved ­ instead of telling them 'no,' you can provide them a great alternative which lets them get to know the campus gradually," said Ann Armstrong, who has taught Winter Bruin classes for the last three years.

Each year the program offers two-day courses held exclusively for Winter Bruins, and up to two night courses held with other UCLA extension students.

Because the average class size of day courses is 25 students, the program offers an ideal introduction to a university environment, with close professor-student contact and personalized attention and support from instructors, noted Armstrong.

In some ways, participating in the fall program can even be preferable to the vast lecture halls and fish-in-the-sea experience of many freshmen, Armstrong suggested.

The number of participants has grown each year, increasing from 187 in its first year to 245 participants this year, said Ellison-Wong.

"Students tell me that friends of theirs recommended the program, and that's what made them decide to participate," agreed Armstrong.

The program's costs, at $1,550, are comparable to registration fees paid by UCLA students, and beginning this year participants are eligible for financial aid, noted Elizabeth Brooks, head of academic programs for humanities and social science division of UCLA extension.

Criticism of the program focused on unsafe nighttime treks to extension classes and the stigma attached to deferred admissions.

"My friends at UCLA kid me about being a Winter Bruin, so sometimes it's kind of embarrassing, and sometimes I felt like our teachers thought we were a little slow," Hale said.

"Students hear a lot of, 'Winter Bruin? What's that?' It hasn't really been disseminated that this is a legitimate extension of the university," said Armstrong.