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Stephen Cheung, a resident assistant and former orientation counselor, answered questions incoming students may have about UCLA.

Q: What are students most worried about when they come to UCLA and what advice do you give them?

A: There are a lot of students who are worried about fitting in, about what clubs and organizations they could join, and about what they can do. They come to stay away from home and they usually don’t come with a lot of friends. And if they do, they kind of know that they’re going to separate from them so they want to know how to establish new connections. So, a lot of them ask about fraternities and sororities as well as other campus organizations. Basically, all we can do is refer them to these various organizations that they’re interested in and they have to learn about them by themselves.

Q: What are students’ reactions to their first quarter at UCLA?

A: A lot of them actually think it’s easier than they expected college to be. However, that’s because a lot of the orientation counselors are trained to set them up to have a relatively easier course load than they could have. The classes could be easy, but at the same time you’re not just dealing with classes – you’re dealing with a whole new social environment where you have to meet new people and you have to do a lot of things with your new friends so you don’t have as much time to study. So, it’s usually better for them not to take a rigorous course load their very first quarter. That’s why many students find that their first quarter taking three classes is kind of easy – especially with English, math and chemistry. But, as the year picks up, things are going to get harder so they’re cool with it.

Q: What advice can you give to students who are not used to sharing a room?

A: Communication is the most important part of living with other people. When you first sit down, of course meet your roommates first, but also use a couple hours to sit down and set down some basic rules. A lot of the times they expect their roommates to do their laundry, or not leave stuff in their room, or not bring people in when they’re studying, but ... a lot of the times, people are not used to living with other people so they think of it as being in their own rooms. So, they do a lot of things that their roommates can’t stand. So, you have to sit down the first week or so and set down basic rules like who’s going to take out the trash, if you’re studying what time you should go to sleep, how many guests can you bring over, if your boyfriend or girlfriend is coming over can they stay over, and other stuff like that.

Q: What should students consider when choosing a meal plan?

A: Consider the fact that, a lot of times, you’ll be going out to eat. Dorm food is great and all, but after a while it might get boring and they have to consider that sometimes they’ll be studying, on campus or going out with their friends. They have to consider the fact that they won’t be eating in the dorms all the time, so getting the 19-meal plan – unless you’re planning to eat there all the time – a lot of the time you won’t use all your meals. So, consider the premiere meal plan and know the fact that you can get meal coupons so that your meals won’t go to waste.

Q: What can students do to avoid the freshman 15?

A: Eat right, sleep right. It’s just a myth, though. The freshman 15 didn’t happen for me – I actually lost a lot of weight my first year as did a lot of my friends. I don’t think it happens to everyone. It doesn’t have to do with dorm food – dorm food is actually pretty healthy. I think it has to do more with all the little snacks you eat; so just control yourself and exercise.

Q: What can students do to improve their study habits?

A: Study habits are always a problem. There’s no sound advice that I can give them because it’s up to them to plan what their study habits are. The only thing I can say is, the first few weeks, the classes seem so easy that they don’t feel like studying and they don’t think they need to. But when that midterm comes, they’re going to have to catch up a lot, and that’s when everything falls to pieces. They need to keep up with their readings and kind of take their studies seriously the first few weeks and then adjust to it. If you think you’re studying a little bit too hard, then party a little bit more I guess, but it’s always better to overstudy.

Q: What one thing would you have wanted to know as an incoming student?

A: I definitely would have liked to get an idea of how fast the quarter goes. This is a major problem that a lot of people have. Even after two or three quarters, people are still not adjusted to the fact that the quarters go so fast that by the first week you’re still trying to finalize your classes and buy your books and stuff like that. Second and third week – a lot of the times that’s when the midterms are – so people need to be prepared to be overwhelmed with a lot of work even though it might be busy work or just easy work it’s still a lot of material to cover in 10 weeks. I never really understood how fast the system went, especially when it came down to finals. A lot of the times the professors would cover a lot of material right after the midterm and you have like a week to cover the rest of the material and then it’s finals. It would also have been nice to know when I should have been studying for what and how I should have been studying. You can find this out by just talking to your professors and getting to know the system like what he’s planning to cover and what exactly would be on the test. Because a lot of professors will be willing to help you learn about what’s going to be on the test in the future or what you should be studying. Compiled by Dharshani Dharmawardena, Daily Bruin Senior Staff.