Get Personal Advice from a Ucla Math Transfer Graduate

Transfer Students UC Transfers
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So a little background on myself…

I transferred to Ucla from a California community college into the Mathematics/Economics program a couple years back. It was probably the biggest accomplishment in my life other than graduating from Ucla a few years later. I transferred in with a 3.92 GPA (I got a B in a basic business class EPIC FAIL!) with three years of community college under my belt as I changed majors from Economics to Mathematics/Economics. I actually got into Berkeley, but turned it down because I wanted to go to Ucla so bad!

First off, Ucla is freakin’ amazing! Go Bruins! But I think my advice can help anyone applying to a UC from a CCC.

Once I got to Ucla, I ended up doing really well and got a research assistant position with a professor in Anderson School of Management. I did some data analysis for him as I focused most of my elective coursework in Statistics and Probability Theory. However, I mostly worked on a project programming a simulation of the sporting and concert event ticket market.

This research assistant position led to an internship with Live Nation Inc. ( an international entertainment company who owns Ticketmaster). I was working as a data analyst pricing their concert and sporting event tickets. I was literally 21 and advising teams like New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on their ticket pricing. That was a lot of fun.

I was actually offered a job with them after college, but turned it down to move back to Northern California. Since then, I’ve worked helping a construction company run there operations and in marketing doing data analysis of their marketing data for an energy financing startup.

So that’s my story. I used to obsessively frequent this forum while I was in community college and I loved hearing stories and advice from people who had successfully transferred and went on to do great things. So I came back today and thought I’d offer up some advice.

What I can’t offer:

Specific advice on exactly what courses to take other than general advice. Go to assist.org for that. It’s been too long since I transferred and things have probably changed anyway. I can however offer advice like take as many freaking math courses as you can while in community college if you are in a STEM major!

Advice on specific majors that aren’t related to my field. I have no idea about what courses you should take as a liberal arts major for example

What I can offer:

Encouragement and confidence: If you get into a school, you can handle the school. They are very good at only selecting applicants that can succeed. The UC system is not some crazy place filled with mythical geniuses. Its an amazing university system full of hard working, intelligent and successful individuals. The transfers I meet at Ucla were some of the most successful students I came across. Remember, when you transfer you’re judged on your grades in college level coursework, not high school level. You really have to prove yourself to get in.

Internship and Career Advice: Hindsight is 20/20. I did very well for myself, but you always look back on life and think if only I knew then what I know now. People always say get internships. This is solid advice, but how do you get the internship. More importantly, how do you get the internship that is the most prestigious and will lead to better opportunities down the line. I was working as a data analyst as an undergrad intern. This is extremely uncommon. Usually, you need a masters to work as an analyst. Moreover, I was working on high profile projects with major clients. This internship has literally been so valuable in my career. It is the major topic of every interview I go into. I could talk about the benefits of internships for hours.

Lifestyle advice: If you were like me and lived at home while you went to community college or you lived in an apartment by yourself in a smaller area, you will be shocked by the amount of social opportunity and distractions that come with that. I definitely got distracted, but managed to make it out ok and this is coming from a guy that only focused on transferring for three years straight. Its just different. At Ucla there was so much going on. There was so much school pride. Football games. Social events. Rally’s. Parties. Bars. It’s crazy. You got to stay focused and keep a balanced life.

General advice: There are a lot of questions you may have as a transfer. I couldn’t even begin to imagine every single one as every person is different and has different concerns. I have experience with this and can probably help you out in many ways.

So I’m going offer my time for one-on-one advice to anyone on this forum. You can ask me any questions and I’ll do my best to help you out in any way I can.

I prefer one-on-one interaction as its more personalized so if anyone is interested in a quick phone call to go over your specific questions I’d be happy to help you out.

Just message me and we’ll work out a time to talk.

Cheers and I wish you the best of luck!

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Is this free because you are not supposed to promote your services on CC.

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Don’t really wanna talk on the phone about this but to OP + anyone else who graduated with a Math major what would you feel were your most difficult classes and most fun? Math is something I like a lot and as a CS major I’m considering minoring in Math wherever I transfer.

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Thank you for your time.

I’m CC transfer to Econ at Cal looking to ready myself for the jump from a research university to the big boys in the industry. Given I only have a few more semesters here at Cal, the self-imposed pressure to find some “solid” direction in my career path is mounting.

I have questions that might benefit others so I’ll just post them here.

1. What eventually made you switch from pure Econ to Math/Econ?

I’m finding myself enjoying the more mathematical economics courses which is making me wonder if getting a minor in math or statistics would be in my best interest. One of my fellow transfers, a math major, who I consider my equal in mathematical ability as we took the same math courses as me in CC, is getting destroyed by his upper division math analysis classes so the recondite nature of upper division math/statistics is making me hesitate despite excelling at all the math courses offered at my CC.

**2.What have been some pros and cons from your switch? **

Coming in as transfer to an impacted major is hard enough. With the strict unit limits nowadays, I can’t fathom how much harder and stressful it would be to switch majors after transferring. What are some specific difficulties you faced (administrative or otherwise) during and after your switch?

3. Have your job prospects been affected by your change in major?

I’m on an internship hunt and have focused on public sector organizations that have an extensive delay time in hiring. Consequently I have yet to really explore the private sector, but, from the few that I’ve explored, they seem to be generally more accommodating to Econ majors. Has there been difference in responses from each sector for you or is that likely due to how I’m marketing myself? Additionally, was your internship with LiveNation influenced through your major switch? As an avid concert/event attendee myself, an internship like that sounds amazing!

4. What specific courses would be most applicable to your daily work routine?

I finished both of my intermediate economic theory classes and am currently taking an econometrics course and a game theory course but have yet to narrow down my options for my remaining four upper division electives. What courses/topics did you find most useful once you got into the industry? Additionally is it worth it to risk a GPA hit by taking (the often unforgiving) graduate level courses during undergrad? I’m expecting to have a 3.8+ with the “difficult” courses in my rear-view so I can afford a small dent on my GPA.

5. Just how do you choose which internships?

Internships are a two way street in that they are looking for students in the same way that students are looking for them. How did you end up choosing your internships and what was your thought process on selecting which ones to apply for and subsequently which ones to decline after receiving your offers? Any off-the-wall stories on the whole process? One of my peers actually got an amazing one from a major management consulting firm by meeting and chatting with alumni while playing pickup basketball games!

6. What skills from your internship do you think will serve you best going forward?

I’d like to think that my soft skills are solid. Other than those, what are some specific skills and/or experiences that you prioritized gaining during your internship? I’m looking to learn a form of database management as seems to be the most applicable to me but I’m looking for additional insight.

7. How do you balance hyper-specializing versus broadening your general skills in the field?

It seems that the most successful of my seniors are the ones that hyper-specialized and went into the field or grad school with some level of “expertise” in very specific niches. Conversely the ones that generalized seem to have more trouble establishing themselves after completing their degree. Is this the norm or just a chance correlation from my surrounding peers?

8. What is your thoughts on masters programs and above pertaining to data science / analysis?

I have interest in some information management / data science masters programs but lack applicable work experience. I am contemplating whether to pursue my masters straight out of undergrad or to enter the workforce first. At what point would you start to consider additional education to have a greater effective return over work experience?