Bruins are back, with move-in and welcome activities underway

While the first day of classes is still nearly a week away, UCLA's campus is already buzzing and full of life, with some 14,000 eager new and returning students - aided by family, friends, staff and student volunteers - hauling yellow pushcarts loaded with belongings to their residence halls on the Hill.

UCLA's True Bruin Ambassadors have been on the scene to welcome the new arrivals, lend a hand and direct the busy foot traffic amid the clickety-clack of carts and excited chatter. Abel Valenzuela, dean of the UCLA College Division of Social Sciences, was beyond impressed by the setup as he moved his son, Milan, a first-year student, into his new digs. ""They run a tight ship here!" Valenzuela said.

After settling into their campus lairs, these Bruins will have plenty of opportunities over the coming days to connect with their peers and explore everything UCLA has to offer through True Bruin Welcome. This series of events, open houses and community-building activities is highlighted by a welcome ceremony in Pauley Pavilion with Interim Chancellor Darnell Hunt, a Westwood Village block party, the Enormous Activities Fair and the electrifying Bruin Bash festival and concert. Other offerings include receptions for UCLA's diverse student communities, including commuters, transfers, LGBTQ students, student-veterans and more.

This year, UCLA welcomes more than 6,600 first-year students and over 3,700 new transfer students, who will be embarking on their UCLA journey - with approximately 30% of them of them being the first in their families to earn a college degree. UCLA's newest Bruins range in age from 15 to 66.

Even after classes begin on Sept. 26, events for these new students will continue. On New Student Free Day, Sept. 28, they can all claim free tickets to see UCLA vs. Oregon at the Rose Bowl in a matchup of new Big Ten rivals. And a week later, on Oct. 5, they'll join the entire Bruin community for the campus's annual UCLA Volunteer Day, with service projects across Los Angeles that provide critical service work, beautification and support for food banks, shelters, senior centers, schools and veterans' facilities.

A brief look at UCLA's newest Bruins

Fist-Years

• UCLA expects to enroll just over 6,600 first-year students for fall 2024
• Roughly 4 out of 5 first-years from California were in the top 9% of their high school classes academically
• More than 1 in 4 of new domestic first-years are from low-income backgrounds, and nearly 30% will be the first in their family to earn a college degree
• Members of the new first-year class hail from 46 states and Washington, D.C., and from more than 60 countries
• The new first-year class saw increases in racially/ethnically underrepresented students, specifically African American, Latino and Native American students
• Nearly 50 first-year students are current or former foster youth

Transfers

• UCLA expects to enroll just over 3,700 transfer students this fall - representing 36% of all new UCLA students and more than any other UC campus
• Roughly 1 in 3 new domestic transfers are from low-income backgrounds, and more than 40% are first-generation college students
• More than 1 in 3 new domestic transfers are from a racially/ethnically underrepresented background, with increases specifically among African Americans, Latinos and Pacific Islanders
• 92% of transfers come from California community colleges
• Over 40 new transfer students previously served in the military
• 30 transfer students are former foster youth