To offer educational access to thousands more of its qualified applicants, UCLA has purchased two campuses formerly belonging to Marymount California University: one in Ranchos Palos Verdes, and the other in San Pedro. This $80-million expenditure is the largest land expansion in UCLA’s history, aiming to accommodate an additional 1,000 students in the classrooms.

UCLA freshman and PVHS alum Aidan Sun thinks “it’s a great idea for UCLA to create a campus in PV, especially [considering] how overcrowded [the] main campus has become in recent years.”

Possibly arising from adopting test-optional or test-blind policies, many schools have experienced significant increases in the number of applicants, leading to alarmingly low admissions rates. However, the rising number of applicants has forced schools to become more selective due to limited housing and resources.

Having only admitted approximately 8.6% of its 150,000 freshman applicants in 2022, UCLA seeks to increase applicants’ admissions chances with its new acquisition. 

While the new campus may not specifically entail higher rates of admission for PVPUSD students, College and Career Center director Joanne Lewis hopes the proximity between UCLA’s new campuses and PVPUSD schools will introduce new collaborative opportunities. 

“What if there’s an early child education program over there? It would be amazing,” Lewis said. “What if there’s opportunities for research for our students? For internships? Those are the things that I’m already dying to hear. And, if the district doesn’t go after those opportunities, I will go after them, for our students.”

Details about the classes and programs offered on the new campus remain undisclosed. Palos Verdes residents await its promises.

“As someone who’s both a UCLA student and Palos Verdes resident, the Marymount campus presents a really convenient opportunity for me to take classes, especially during the summer,” Sun said. “I hope that when it opens I’ll be able to enjoy a normal summer at home while being able to easily commute to the campus to take a class or two and get ahead on getting my degree, from the comfort of my hometown.”  

Although future partnership opportunities stemming from UCLA’s campus expansion are still undetermined, one foreseeable effect on the Palos Verdes community is an increase in diversity. 

“I’m looking forward to international students. I’m looking forward to students from around this nation. [These people] will now be a part of the fabric of our community,” Lewis said. 

Welcoming these anticipated additions to PV’s local environment, Lewis stated, “We have to show that we’re authentic, we’re living our lives, and we’re happy to share our community.”