Students at Harvard can sign up for law and medical school
entrance exams through their school’s academic counseling
offices.
At Yale, students can go directly to the pre-medical office for
information about applying to medical school.
But although UCLA also has top-ranked professional schools, it
does not offer the same types of services to its students.
There is no division at the UCLA counseling office devoted
specifically to professional-school admissions information, and
students said they look to other sources ““ like each other
““ for information.
Although there are some resources available to inform students
about professional schools, such as information seminars and
workshops, students said they often do not know about them.
“I don’t think (the UCLA Career Center) does an
effective job of promoting itself, and their location should be
closer to campus,” said Angel Kongsomboonvech, a second-year
biochemistry student, who is interested in applying to medical
school. “Many students may be unwilling to walk down
there.”
But administrators in charge of counseling services emphasized
that the resources are available for students who are
interested.
Albert Aubin, senior associate director in charge of counseling
services at the career center, said he works closely with the
school and faculty to provide assistance to students who are
interested in professional schools.
He said the career center is involved with residential life and
hosts about 30 to 50 information sessions for schools of medicine
and schools of law to come and speak with students.
Aubin said students should also enlist the help of faculty
members, who often are willing to assist undergraduates with
personal statements and provide them with letters of
recommendation.
He added that he believes the two areas students need help with
most are personal statements and interview preparation, and the
career center provides preparation programs for both.
Betty Glick, associate vice provost for undergraduate education,
said students who get to know professors personally and
professionally often have better luck enlisting the help of those
professors.
“The most significant way that faculty are involved is
through research programs,” she said. “It’s a
great opportunity for students to work and get to know faculty and
also research in their field of interest.”
But Molly Chen, a fourth-year communication studies student who
is interested in business school, said in her experience faculty
members have not seemed interested in helping pre-professional
undergraduates.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a professor talk
to me about graduate or business school,” she said.
Glick said faculty are not trained to assist students who are
planning to apply for professional schools, but they are willing to
help individual students.
“It’s not that there isn’t a role that faculty
play to assist students who plan to apply for professional schools,
but it’s about what that role is,” she said.
Some students say they have found other students and outside
sources to be the most effective resource for learning about
applying to professional schools.
Sarah Wang, a second-year physiological science student, said
she believes faculty are not as involved as they could be and she
often seeks help from older students.
“If I want to get help, I usually go to older pre-medical
students and also attend information sessions in Covel
Commons,” she said.
Kongsomboonvech said she generally searches the Internet or
talks to a counselor from the Academic Advancement Program for
information.
In response to the lack of information readily available for
prospective professional school students, other students have
organized groups devoted to professional school preparation.
“Everything I’ve ever learned has been through the
(coed business) fraternity I’m a part of or through
information sessions on campus,” Chen said.
She said she believes coed professional fraternities and
organizations are a great networking resource.
“Mainly we utilize our alumni network to help the members
or we’ll have actual members who do research on topics such
as what the best test prep services are and they give that
information to our members,” she said.
University officials said students should also take advantage of
the resources offered by the professional schools on this
campus.
In a statement, Linda Baldwin, the director of admissions for
the UCLA Anderson School of Management, said the school hosts group
information sessions to provide students with an overview of the
MBA experience at the Anderson School.
She said third and fourth years primarily attend the sessions
which are held three times a week.
She said the Anderson School also hosts an information evening
for early career applicants including alumni and current students
who have had two years or less of work experience and are
interested in applying to the school.