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.