Kamryn Schultz visits Southern California colleges, compares qualities

I’ve always dreamed of living in Los Angeles. From the iconic landmarks to the beautiful scenery, the famous city made me believe anything was possible. Throughout high school, people asked me what I wanted to pursue once I graduated. My dreams have changed every year, but this year I really wanted to stick with writing. A communications major with a journalism minor.

Journalism has definitely benefited me in high school, giving me great opportunities to show my skills and receive recognition from colleges. Los Angeles provides a lot of the opportunities I am looking towards, such as writing a novel and/or writing for a newspaper.

During Thanksgiving break, I decided to tour and visit two Southern California colleges: Biola and UCLA. These two schools may be located in the same area, but their lifestyles are completely different.

I toured Biola University on my first day with my dad and sister. Biola actually stands for Bible Institute of Los Angeles.
When we arrived at the campus, it seemed much smaller than I had imagined. Biola holds more than 6,000 students and is a nationally ranked Christian university in the heart of Southern California. What they lack in size they make up for in a community rooted deeply in Christianity and their convenient location.

Before we took the tour, we attended one of Biola’s morning chapels. Students are required to attend at least 20 chapels and 5 seminars per semester. There are several services to choose from each week, including traditional undergraduate chapels, night chapel and Talbot chapels. 

During chapel, there was worship and announcements. The worship band was small, but their music gave me a very positive first impression of the school. The special speaker happened to be Alma Zaragoza Petty, the wife of Christian hip-hop artist Propaganda, who spoke about her background and how she became a college advisor.

I took a tour of the school, and it was very special because there weren’t too many people there so I could ask more personal questions about Biola. The campus seemed very quiet; there was the occasional biker or group of students, but not a lot was going on.

The tour guide, Daniel Kohn, gave us more background on the school and how it came to be. The school was established in 1908 and since has been a sense of hope for the intellectual, spiritual, and moral growth of students. According to the school’s website, as the only national university to require a Christian commitment of its students and staff, Biola University is building on its legacy of impacting the world for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Kohn took us into the academic building to show us the classrooms. To my surprise, some of them held no more than 35 students. He explained that most of the classes are small, so professors have the chance to get to know the students on a more personal level.

I was very interested in their athletic program, especially women’s volleyball. This season the team captured third in their league, right behind California Baptist and Azusa Pacific. They ended 22-7, which was a very impressive record. I’ve always wanted to play volleyball in college, so this team made Biola a beneficial school to choose from.

As the tour came to a close, Kohn let us knew he was available at any time for more information about the college and to come back soon.

Experiencing the small school environment changed my perspective on what schools I was now interested in. Fresno Christian seemed very similar to Biola because of the small school environment. But now I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be comfortable, or step outside my comfort zone and experience a bigger school.

I was very excited to visit UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles) since it is one of the top sports schools in the nation and in close proximity to my favorite landmarks. UCLA is a leader in the PAC-12 Conference, with 113 NCAA titles (more than any other university), and 130 team titles.

Although I didn’t get to officially tour the school, I did get to view the brand new Mo Ostin Basketball building just recently opened in late October. Tony Newnan, UCLA women’s basketball assistant coach, showed us the new facility. UCLA is especially known for their basketball program, so the state-of-the-art practice facility for the two basketball teams definitely showed off their skills.

Inside the massive 35,000-square-foot building features two basketball courts dedicated to honoring current and former UCLA Basketball student-athletes, practice gyms and locker rooms for both men’s and women’s programs, and men’s and women’s basketball training area. This building offers exclusive use for both men’s and women’s basketball programs and their student-athletes. Although I’m not interested in basketball, it was cool to see how UCLA treats some of their athletes.

Afterwards, we walked around the campus. I had been to UCLA before as a kid with my family, but now this place seemed so much bigger. The class buildings seemed like museums, and a lot more students were packed onto the campus than at Biola.

About 45,000 students are enrolled at UCLA, which is spread across 419 acres of land at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains. As one of the world’s most ethnically and culturally diverse communities, students attend UCLA from all 50 states and more than 100 foreign countries.

As we walked off campus to find a place to eat I saw lots of sorority houses lined up on one block. It was interesting to see the Greek symbols on the front and hearing the parties going on inside. I doubt I’ll ever be apart of a sorority but it was cool to see this part of the college experience.

Looking back at both colleges, I couldn’t have chosen two more different schools. Biola is a Christian university with a small amount of students that involves biblical studies and ministry. UCLA is one of the biggest schools in the nation with extensive sports programs and is ranked among the top universities in the world for academics, research and community impact.

These two colleges seem like very profitable options after I graduate high school, but I will still be touring more schools, especially ones in Southern California. Even as a junior, it’s important for me to keep my eyes open to other opportunities. I hope these tours I took help me decide what I want to do with my future.

To learn more information about colleges, check out our latest College Corner: Scholarship resources and benefits. For more articles, read Haw provides different angle on Executive Order 9066.

This writer can be reached via Twitter @schultz_kamryn and via email: Kamryn Schultz..