Group-wise, the school has too many to judge them by order of popularity. Athletically, I’d say the basketball following is the largest. Within intramural and sports, Frisbee and softball have a pretty big following. But Greek life is by far the biggest social “club” on campus, as we’ve got a very large number of fraternities and sororities, most of which are very large in and of themselves. UCLA is one of the schools that originates the frat boy/sorority girl stereotypes—it’s usually not hard to pick out the Greek students in a crowd, but an equal number of people thinks that’s a good thing and think it’s a bad thing.
If you’re not in a frat or sorority (first of all, don’t worry, there are plenty), the next most likely source for friends and social groups is probably your neighbors, as the dorms are a pretty well-oiled social machine, in that everyone wants to get to know everyone. As a rule the residences get more social as the quality of the building itself decreases, as the older returning students with priority usually have already established groups of friends (and are more than likely living with these people) and thus are less dependent upon their neighbors. Freshmen seem to coagulate in the older dorms, trading a private bathroom for a social atmosphere which I wouldn’t hesitate to call priceless. Three years later, I live with friends from my freshman dorm, who have become my inseparable friends. If you’re in one of these predominantly freshman dorms—which I would recommend—you’ll find doors open to eager neighbors just as excited to meet new people and try new experiences as you are.
There’s also a big sports culture that comes out of IM and club sports, which are generally more relaxed and recreational than the varsity sports, and, in my opinion, a matchless source for a rewarding extracurricular and a group of extraordinary people. I’m a member of the Sailing Team, which is at once incredibly rewarding and enjoyable, and also a formidable experience in team-building and cooperation. At the beginning of the year, every year, there’s an Activities Fair, featuring every single club and group on campus with a booth, representative, and information. I must emphasize—it is overwhelming. But it’s also the best way to find some way to soak up your spare time with something more worthwhile than Facebook. If you can’t find something that interests you, you didn’t look hard enough—there are cultural clubs, volunteer organizations, intramural and club sports, and hobby groups.
The school is very self-sustaining, in that we’re large enough to function like a small city, thus the students rarely need to go outside school to find something to do. On-campus events, like sports games and movie screenings, become the main gatherings. But even if you venture into Westwood, you’ll find it very easy to connect with other students, because, like I said, the campus and immediate surroundings provide a very magnetic center for student life. There are plenty of activities, whether organized by groups or by individual circles of friends, that don’t require any drinking. Simply exploring the town of Westwood is exciting by itself, as there are plenty of comedy clubs, theaters, restaurants, coffee shops, museums, etc, that allow students to go out and mingle outside of a party, and lots of those opportunities are free. If you’re interested in getting out of Westwood for a day or night, the Big Blue Bus of Santa Monica offers a student discount, so you can get to essentially the best parts of town for 25 cents.
We also have a pretty well-developed sense of tradition. Some highlights include the Beat ‘SC Week (I think it’s been changed officially to “Blue and Gold Week” for political correctness) and the culminating bonfire, which is a must for any sports fan. In addition, on the Wednesday of every finals week, thousands of students gather for the “Undie Run” across campus, which is exactly what it sounds like, in an attempt (usually successful) to blow off the steam from the pressure that builds up at the end of the quarter.
The party scene, like many aspects of life here at UCLA, can take up as large or small a part of your life as you’d like. There’s no overt pressure to “go out” unless that’s a feature of your social circle, because while there’s no shortage of parties if you’re looking for them, there are just as many people who stay in the dorms on a Thursday night (typically the busiest night in the frat party circuit) and watch movies in the common room or play group video games. Again, it’s one of the perks of such a large school—regardless of your preference, there will be others who share it.