How do transfer students utilize UCLA resources to make the most of their limited time at UCLA? Podcasts contributor Ashley Tsao sits down with students Chris Gil and Nancy Alcala to talk about how they have utilized UCLA resources to join clubs, apply for internships and find communities for their niche hobbies.

Ashley Tsao: Hello everyone, and welcome to the third episode of the Transfer Take mini series by Daily Bruin Podcasts, where we rant about the valleys and peaks that comes with being a transfer at UCLA.

I’m your host, Ashley Tsao, and it’s so exciting to be back for the third episode of this mini series. Since 25% of UCLA’s undergraduate population is made up of transfers, I wanted to have a series that shines light on how we might experience college life differently from a first-year student. Whether it’s thinking through the application process a bit differently, or having a significantly shortened timeline, there’s always a story out there to share on this podcast, whether it’s my own or others. I hope those listening will either find it relatable, informational or cringe depending on your tastes.

Last time, we discussed the overall transfer application process with Brandon, where we specifically talked about how his experience might have been a little different from what his expectations were after he got into UCLA. Today, we are going to dive into the raw transfer experience of how we utilize UCLA resources and put ourselves out there in terms of joining clubs, internships, and how these current experiences might have been different than during our time at community college.

I’m joined by two lovely individuals at the recording studio, Chris and Nancy, and I will let them fully introduce themselves, their major and which community college they transferred from.

Chris Gil: Hi, I’m Chris, as stated in the intro. I’m an Economics major, and I transferred from College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita.

Nancy Alcala: I’m Nancy. I transferred from Pasadena City College, and I’m majoring in Business Econ with a minor in data science.

AT: And I would first off would like to thank you so much for coming on to the podcast, especially when it’s week one. No one really wants to do anything, especially coming back after spring break. So while we’re on the topic of spring break, how was your guys’ spring break?

NA: It was so fun. I went to SF, I visited my brother.

AT: Oh wow.

NA: He currently lives there now in Belmont, so I went there. I went to go visit some family, and then I came back home. I went to my home gym – that was really nice. I haven’t been there in a while. Yeah…

AT: What about you, Chris? Did you do anything over spring break?

CG: Oh, yeah, I just went mini golfing. I saw two movies. I saw the Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2. My friends really wanted to see it.

AT: Wait, what?

NA: I did not know that was a thing.

CG: Oh no, it’s a thing. It’s like Winnie the Pooh went into the public domain like last year.

AT: Oh, they’re making horror movies.

CG: Yeah, as soon as they came out, they just made a horror movie. They made a really shitty one last year. You know, it made some money. So they made another one with a higher budget… wasn’t very good. But you know, was a fun experience. And then I saw Godzilla X Kong?

AT: Yeah, I’m not really into the whole movie scenery. I’m more of like, a TV show person.

CG: Okay, okay. Catch up on any shows during spring break?

AT: Anime. Recently Solo Leveling came out. A lot of people were pretty hyped about it. Because the manhwa themselves, like the actual webtoon manhwa is really popular, and so they decided to make an animation about it. But a lot of people say it’s not as great compared to the manhwa, which is very common when they’re turned into animes. Because a lot of the animes, they have to cut a lot of stuff out.

NA: Oh, really?

AT: Compared to them [manhwas]. So they don’t want to take that much time in the series.

CG: Makes sense. It’s only 12 episodes, right?

AT: I haven’t finished it. But I would like to think it’s 12 episodes, but they might be coming out with a new season. I’m not sure. Don’t quote me on that.

So well, we might have talked about each of your hobbies outside of class. Could you tell the listeners what you’ve been sort of involved with in terms of clubs, volunteer opportunities and organizations you’re in or at least if you’re interested in pursuing since your time at UCLA.

CG: I think when I started, I went to the big club event, and I think I wanted to apply for some, and I got really lazy, and I just did not apply for any of them. I think the only one I actually joined was the VITA, which is the Volunteer Tax Assistance Organization, which I did that for like a few weeks, and then it was pretty much just the training. I didn’t actually do any tax forms. But I don’t know… I feel like I just wasn’t passionate enough about it to kind of focus much on it. I kind of just was just like, I could just be doing homework instead of this.

So I stopped it, and then fall quarter I also joined a Spanish club to try to improve my skills. I was bilingual when I was two years old, and then I joined preschool and that all went away. But last quarter, I wasn’t able to really do that because it was at the same time as my management 122 class, which was at 12:30. I think I’m gonna try to get back into it this quarter.

AT: What about you, Nancy? Have you thought about any clubs?

NA: Yeah, so I also went to the enormous fair in my first quarter. I was kind of overwhelmed by everything at first, with all the flyers were giving us and I was like, “Which one do I even join?” And then one thing that called me out was like, Bruin AI. And I applied and then I was doing like the rounds, and then the rounds were just taking so long, and I was taking Econ 11 at the time. I can’t do this at Econ 11. I’m literally gonna fail if I like focus my time on this Bruin AI. So I had to drop out of the rounds. So then, I went focus myself on Econ 11.

But then I also joined this LA Girl Gains club. So it’s basically like a gym club for girls on campus. And that’s been really nice since a lot of my passions are towards the gym, and I love the gym.

And I also joined a sorority here. It’s like a Latina sorority, it’s called Lambda Theta Nu Sorority, Incorporated. And that’s been really nice too, to have like a background of Latinas in STEM and just here at UCLA, to build my network. So that’s been really cool, too. So those are the two things I’m involved in right now. But I’m still trying to get more involved and stuff, but it’s really hard. Like with so much class. Yeah. Like ugh, I can’t even deal.

AT: I feel that, and I also wanted to talk a little bit about, well, two things I wanted to talk about was about the Bruin AI, you said rounds, can you clarify what rounds mean?

NA: Oh, yeah. So say that you applied to any club and then they want to see more about you. So they invite you to an interview or to a coding challenge, or you get this a lot when you’re applying to internships too, so it’s just like different rounds that you have to go through, and then those rounds will get you into the job, to the position.

AT: It feels more like a job rather than a club, doesn’t it?

NA: Dude, for real. And it’s just like, I didn’t know. I didn’t vibe either with the people. So I was like, Nah, I’m just gonna back out.

AT: Yeah, I feel like as if it’d be a little too intense for a club, right? It’s not a club vibe.

NA: Yeah and I also went into the Bruin Capital… and it’s just they seem like too… I don’t even know how to describe it.

AT: Intense?

NA: Intense, and I couldn’t deal so I was like, “Yeah, I needed something more chill.” I think my vibe is a lot more chill. I can’t really like deal with so much drive because if I do that I will deteriorate from my grades and my classes, and I can’t because like, we have to keep up that 3.5.

AT: I know, for Business Econ, right?

NA: So I need to focus on that more. So that’s what kind of drove me away from joining so many clubs.

AT: Yeah, and I think as a major in general, we feel as if we need to join these exclusive clubs. Yeah, like these business exclusive… I don’t know if you, Chris, you’ve heard about these exclusive business clubs.

CG: Exclusive… Yeah.

NA: Yeah, they’re like the top tier. Yeah, whatever they’re advertising themselves as.

CG: I mean, every single one requires a resume. And then there’s this whole five step process where you gotta put in a cover letter. Then you have to do one interview—

NA: Do a photo shoot…

AT: Wait, they do a photo shoot?

NA: Yeah, to get your picture taken…

AT: Is it for your LinkedIn?

NA: Yeah, and then you send your LinkedIn on your application. Like, dude, I’m barely starting to build my LinkedIn.

CG: That’s a rough dude. And they’re just like, “Alright, if we like you enough, we’re gonna invite you to our coffee chats.”

NA: Oh, yeah. Not the coffee chats.

CG: Multiple rounds of interviews are people that are like the same age or younger than you. It’s just like, who are you, bro? What are you doing?

NA: Yeah, there was a kid that was interviewing me. He was a first-quarter sophomore, and I was like, “Are you kidding me? Are you?”

AT: Nancy mentioned that she had sort of like an application process, and when you’re going through the application process or rounds as you say, what were your feelings about it? Were you nervous? Were you…

NA: I was so overwhelmed. I was so overwhelmed, because they’re like, “It’s super selective.” I was talking to other people that were going to, like, these meetings, and then they’re like, “Oh yeah, I’m so nervous. They’re so selective. I don’t even think they’re gonna pick me.” I was like, “Oh my gosh, this is like…” I think it all also lowers your confidence a little bit. That’s what it did with me. It lowered my confidence. I was like, “Dude, I’m already a transfer. I’m already like a minority here on campus.” So, yeah, I just didn’t want to be a part of it because I wanted to still boost my self-esteem. Especially with a big ass campus like UCLA…

AT: I think it was already hard enough to get into UCLA as a transfer.

NA: Especially with our major. Our major is so impacted.

AT: Yeah. And I don’t know if you saw admission statistics, at least, not when we came in. But the year before, that only around 10% out of what? 2000? And I don’t think I need any more self-esteem hits with these exclusive business clubs.

CG: The clubs seemed pretty rough. I remember I had some friends who said they have experiences of like, they felt like the people were super condescending. And they were—

AT: Right, because they think they know better than you, and that’s not the kind of vibe you need.

NA: Yeah, and they also think CC people are dumb and lower. And it’s just because we didn’t start out here in the first year. Oh my gosh, you’re the one in loans. I’m not the one in loans.

CG: Honestly yeah, we’re saving that money. Let’s go.

AT: Right, right. And while we’re talking about CC, as of right now, did you guys feel sort of more pressured to join clubs at CC? Or did you feel more pressured joining clubs, organizations, etc. at UCLA? Or both? Or none? Depending on what your answer is.

CG: I don’t know about pressured, but I feel like I had a greater incentive to join at CC just to stand out, I guess, in my application. I didn’t join any clubs, necessarily. But I volunteered a lot. Like I joined the volunteer bureau at my community college. And we host a bunch of events around the city like career fairs. I’d volunteer at women’s conferences and stuff, certain auctions that we do. Yeah honestly, I feel like it was a really beneficial experience for me, because I was pretty antisocial when I was in high school. And I felt like having to interact with a bunch of people like that put me out of my comfort zone and made me more comfortable talking to people and being friendly and stuff like that.

AT: That honestly sounds great. And yeah, I think a lot of us are more and more getting anti-social in terms of always staying behind the phone, text message, social media.

NA: I think it started with COVID. I blame COVID for that. It’s so bad.

AT: I totally agree with you and just like Chris said, I think CC, these extracurriculars has really pushed me to also get out of my comfort zone and talk to people even though I hated talking to people back then because I’m like, “Why are you telling me this? I don’t care.” But like, it’s not that I don’t care. It’s just like talking to people is kind of energy draining? I don’t know about you guys…

NA: I thank God for that single every single day. My single room.

AT: Yeah. If the listeners don’t know, Nancy is actually my suitemate.

CG: Oh, that’s how you guys know each other. That’s cool.

NA: Yeah, floor 4.

AT: Yeah, at Hedrick Summit. So that’s how I know her. And so what about you, Nancy? Did you feel pressured?

NA: Not pressured. I was a JAM leader. So a JAM leader was basically just like a student advisor for incoming freshmen that are coming into like the CC’s. And then so that was really cool. And then I met my boss. She told me about this Latino environment where it’s a paid job that you can work on campus. And it’s running as a student advisor. So you work in Pathways at my CC. So the Pathways is just how to get out of PCC faster and having more consulting advice, counseling. So that’s what I was doing on campus. So I was doing a lot more job roles and leadership roles on campus, rather than volunteering. But JAM at first led me to becoming like a student advisor for the Latino community at CC.

AT: I also got an email about being a JAM leader, but I saw the requirements…

NA: Oh my god, you should’ve.

AT: You need to put a resume. You need to put a cover letter. I can’t be bothered with that because I was doing a lot of stuff at PCC at the time. Like, because we were talking about clubs, organizations. So I sort of just like Chris said, I sort of felt incentivized, or at least a little bit pressured to join clubs because I wanted to stand out on my application. So I joined all these… like, I became a math tutor at the MSC. MSC stands for the Math Success Center, which is the math department’s sort of help for students who need math help. And what else? I feel like there’s a lot more, but that was like my main main job at PCC. I did join a couple other clubs, but never fully was never really fully committed.

But other than that, in comparison to UCLA, I didn’t have this pressure. I didn’t have this sort of, I was just like, let me join what I actually like. Yeah, right. Yeah. And it doesn’t matter if it looks bad, looks good on my resume. It just is something that I like to do and Daily Bruin Podcasts is one of them that I actually…

NA: That actually is so cool. This is so cool. I did not even know you were part of this. This is so fun.

AT: I didn’t know I wanted to do a series about transfers. But my advisor Jack Garland actually pushed me to…

NA: Period, as he should. I’m so glad he did.

AT: And yeah, so I’m really glad Jack pushed me. It’s because he wanted me to get outside of my comfort zone. Try to talk to people, like you guys. So I’m really excited. I also joined a couple other clubs. One is called Collars Scholars at UCLA, which involves the club raising service dogs, like from puppyhood, and all the way to when they’re adults, so they can give them away to people who are in need of service dogs for free.

NA: That is so cute.

CG: I didn’t know that. That’s a club?

AT: Yeah, it’s a club, and I’m currently about to puppy sit next week, and I’m really excited.

NA: Are you going to take it to your pod?

AT: They don’t allow it. Apparently UCLA Housing doesn’t allow it. So I’ll send pictures but…

NA: Oh my gosh, imagine this little puppy running around.

AT: I know. I know. So I’m kind of nervous because I’ve always worked with big dogs, or at least dogs that are old.

NA: Wait, can you take them home?

AT: You can, but you can’t like…

NA: It has to be around UCLA.

AT: Sort of, to make sure you don’t dog nap. So basically, that’s pretty cool. I ended up becoming their treasurer because you know, econ. So I’m really excited to see how the club goes. I mean, these are my two main clubs right now. Because again, I need to hit that 3.5 GPA.

NA: 3.5 is crazy.

AT: So I’m really excited about those. I hope you guys are excited about your clubs or organizations that you’re currently in at UCLA. Now, try to imagine if you actually got into UCLA as a first-year student or at least if you had more time at UCLA, what would you actually experiment or try with other clubs and organizations that you’ve known?

CG: I have no idea. I don’t think I can really imagine myself. I mean, I’d probably just, I don’t know. I mean, because lower divs are easier than the classes I’m taking right now. So maybe I’d probably just be volunteering more. That’s not like I didn’t like volunteering. I actually liked it. And I felt like I was actually doing something productive when I actually did do it. And I was kind of making, I don’t know, a difference in my community. But I think… I don’t know, maybe I’d join a fun club. Like I remember I heard about this stupid lettuce club or someone…

AT: Lettuce? The vegetable?

CG: Yeah, the vegetable. It’s like this club. I don’t know. I don’t think it’s called the lettuce club. But it’s about lettuce or I think it’s like either once a quarter or once a month or something. They have to compete to see who can eat a head of lettuce the fastest. Yeah, it’s been promoted to me a lot. So I would have probably tried to join that if I had more experience.

AT: That’s crazy.

NA: You would become president.

CG: Nah bro, when I eat, I pretty much vacuum food into my mouth.

AT: Have you seen like, because I’ve eaten with him a couple times. He has this bowl of—

CG: Bro, don’t bring out the bowl of spinach.

AT: Raw spinach, and he just vacuums that thing. Now the spinach club, no, not the spinach club, the lettuce club makes a lot more sense.

CG: I think I could found the spinach club now that you’re thinking about it.

NA: Yeah, you can probably start that right now. Go start it.

AT: I was not expecting… I mean, I’m not surprised, but I didn’t know there was such thing as the lettuce club.

CG: I didn’t know either until I went on a tour, and they told me and I was like, all right sure, that’s a thing..

AT: I mean, lettuce is quite cheap… So, what about you, Nancy? If you had time, what would you experiment?

NA: Honestly, I have no idea. I don’t know. I feel like my first year coming out of high school, I think I wanted to go to college for the wrong reasons. And I wanted to not be so academically focused, but rather have like, the other scene of college, if you know what I mean. So that’s why I probably would be different than I am right now because I think CC’s definitely instructed me to become more academically involved and try to grow my resume a little bit more. So I feel like I’m matured in CC, rather than coming straight to college. That’s why I don’t know how different it would be or what I would be involved in.

AT: I think that’s honestly such a power move.

NA: Yeah, it really is. But thank you. Thank you.

AT: Yeah, I don’t think a lot of people talk about especially in first years but rather than in transfers, I think you mature probably the fastest in CC because…

NA: Because like you have to get your prereqs, you have to get your major classes done.

CG: Nah bro, you gotta get your shit together.

NA: You got to go in and out. Nah, you’re not trying to spend so much time at CC.

AT: Right. And I think that sense of responsibility has really, I think, cemented the idea, or at least helped us mature a little bit more than if we were just to directly go from high school to, for example, a four-year institution.

So now that we really talked about clubs, I wanted to sort of hop into internships and job opportunities. I know we talked a little bit about it, and it feels like in our majors, specifically business econ, econ. Having some sort of internship, summer internship, job is more valuable than a 4.0 GPA. Would you think so?

CG: I mean, probably yeah. I feel like most professors told me… I feel like networking is probably more important than getting like, a perfect grade, because if you submit a resume, and they see that you have perfect grades but no experience, they might honestly just take the person with like a 3.2, 3.5, who has like, two internships because they actually have the skills that can prove they can handle a job.

AT: Right. Yeah, that’s so true. Yeah. I also wanted to talk about this unknown factor… have you guys applied for jobs?

CG: Yeah.

AT: Right. And you go on LinkedIn, Indeed, all these job websites…

CG: Oh, I didn’t do any of that. I just went to a firm event, and then I got an internship through there.

AT: Really? Lucky you, lucky you.

CG: Yeah I do feel pretty lucky, not going to lie.

NA: Applying is also nerve-wracking too because I don’t know if my resume is good. I had so many people look at my resume because I don’t know if I’m doing it. And then I went to the Career Center. It’s a little bit below where the student’s store’s at, and they looked at my resume, too. They were helping me because I was applying to internships last quarter, and little bit like after finals of fall quarter. So they helped me a lot, because I was like, “I have no idea what I’m doing.”

AT: I mean, if you want me to take a look at it, I can take a look at it as well.

NA: Yeah, do it. Please. Like I’m texting you it right now.

AT: Okay. That’s fine because I want to sort of go back on to, because summer internships are a little bit more valuable than a 4.0 GPA. This sort of expectation to find an internship or a job after we graduate UCLA, has it been sort of affecting you mentally or at least how you’re approaching how you do things? Or is there just simply no expectation? You’re just like, a winging, you know, situation?

CG: I mean, I feel like I got really lucky because I got an internship within a week four of fall quarter. So don’t look at me like that. It’s not my fault.

AT: Business Bro? Business Bro?

CG: I’m not a business bro. I’m not going into frickin’ investment banking. I was in Accounting class, Management 120A. I know you got PTSD from that class.

AT: Oh yeah, I got PTSD from that class.

NA: Oh you guys took the class together?

AT: No, he had a different professor.

CG: We took it at the same time. So Professor Liu, shout out that boy, Bro. He told me to go to this. What is it? A firm event, and he introduced me to some past students who worked for accounting firms. And so I pretty much just applied to four firms that I met. I think it was probably my first networking event I ever went to. I dressed business casual. I ended up talking to people. I just handed in my resume, and genuinely I think my resume wasn’t even that great. I put like my volunteer experience from CC and then working at a grocery store job and a smoothie place.

AT: That’s still work experience.

CG: I guess so. So the thing is, you have to kind of cater it to the job that you want to get. So instead of like putting skills, I put qualifications and so put the experiences that I had through those jobs and how could they could apply to my position I’m applying for. But yeah, so I applied to four, and then I got two interviews back and the part that’s, that’s it makes me feel kind of guilty, it gives me like imposter syndrome is the fact that like, the job that I actually got, I didn’t even really care if I got it because I had an interview with this company called Baker Tilly the day before. And so the guy Garrett, who was interviewing me, seemed like a really chill guy. He seemed he was interested. And so he was like, “You know what, I can’t give you an internship for this summer, but maybe next summer. If you apply for it, you know, we can talk again.” And I’m just like, “Okay, yeah, sure.” So I was like, “I’m fine with that.”

But I already had another interview lined up for the next day. And by that point, I was just like, “If I get this Baker Tilly job, I don’t really care about this one.” So it’s whatever. So the next day, I kind of just took a nap, and then I woke up 20 minutes before my interview and did a little research on the person that was interviewing me. I kind of just regurgitated what I said in the Baker Tilly interview with a little bit more stuff related to that specific company. And then, two days later, I got a job offer.

NA: That’s so cool. Wait, so it was just one interview?

CG: Yeah yeah, it was weird. I didn’t even talk to a recruiter. I just got interviewed by the senior manager or something.

NA: Hey, I want your luck.

AT: I don’t want to burst your bubble because I’ve heard those who hire really quickly, it’s sort of a red flag. But yeah, so just be careful because usually when turnover rates are high, the company itself has issues. So don’t be…

CG: Well the thing is, the accounting industry is actually desperately looking for people because nobody wants to be— Like even when I went to the firm event, apparently there was an unprecedented thing where there was a lot of companies that were like, “Oh, we’re not looking at your GPA,” which my professor was like, “That’s never happened before. Like this industry actually really needs people.”

AT: Yeah, and props to you for wanting to be a CPA because I can’t do that.

CG: That’s fine, bro. I just don’t want to go to grad school, all right? If I have this certification, then I’m good.

AT: I know, we talked about this sort of internship, job opportunities. And I don’t know about you, through your time at CC, UCLA, you’ve always heard “Oh, let’s expand our network. Make connections.” Do you think connections are really important, especially in our major? Industry? When you’re finding jobs, internships, like what are your thoughts about that?

CG: I think probably yeah. I mean, that’s what I’ve heard a lot. I think the connections that you make could potentially help you. But I think even more importantly, is the ability to make connections, right? Like, not just happen upon people, but I like to be friendly and make, and make sure that you can let people know who you are, and let them like you because I feel like in any type of job, in any industry, you’re gonna have to interact with people. And you have to learn how to talk to people, how to deal with them, how to resolve conflicts in a good manner. So that you guys can still be on good terms. So I think just that kind of skill would matter a lot.

AT: Right, right. What about you, Nancy?

NA: I agree 100% with what Chris said.

AT: Cause for example, you really want this job. What you really want is like a high paying job right out of uni, and you’re qualified. You have the experience, you have the grades, but someone with the same qualifications gets the job, not you. And the reason why you later figured out is because that candidate had connections with the recruiter or whoever’s hiring. Do you feel as if you’ve been wronged, or is it just “it is what it is” kind of situation?

CG: I mean, honestly, I feel like it’s just hard to kind of hold a grudge because it’s just gonna set you back. I mean, you can be upset, obviously. I feel like it’s a valid thing to be upset about. But I feel like I wouldn’t do that because I’ve definitely had jobs that I’ve gotten through knowing friends. Pretty much the two jobs that I got was because my friends were already working there, and they told the bosses about me, and I was like, “All right.” Even I had lunch with a friend earlier who had got his current job because he knew a friend who worked at the company. So I feel like within the current job market, that’s kind of just the meta at this point. Just knowing people and trying to, you know…

NA: Yeah. I mean, it’s the sad truth. Like, the person that knows more people are gonna like get the upper hand. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know in this world. So yeah, honestly, I would feel some type of way at first, but I would just shrug it off. Not shrug it off but kind of like, level up and try harder in the next interviews, and then if the same thing happens again, just there’s more companies out there. It’s not just that company.

AT: Right, right. And I think utilizing your connections is honestly not talked about enough, or at least a lot. Because many people actually, if you’ve noticed, they kind of look down at people who use connections to their advantage, right? But like you both mentioned, it’s just the sad reality of how this industry works, and it sort of makes you feel as if, well, I used to think that if the other person used connections, or I used connections, it was just sort of your ability or your qualifications were somewhat subpar, or at least lacking to the point where you had to rely on connections. And that kind of hurt my ego. But then as I slowly gotten to CC, and a little bit at UCLA, I sort of realized that it’s just how it is because you can’t just say, “Oh, I want to use all the connections. Other people can’t use it.” Like, that’s just selfish behavior. Just because you can use it doesn’t mean other people can.

NA: I feel like even graduating from UCLA, it’s already a network connection.

CG: The main thing I’ve been told by so many people is just make a lot of friends…

NA: Yeah, like to as many people…

AT: Now that we’ve sort of talked about connections, or at least have that in mind, it’s sort of important to get yourself out there.

NA: Yeah, it’s really important. Yeah.

AT: And so I sort of wanted to sort of mention a little more before we end. What are some other resources that you found helpful as you transferred to UCLA? Besides like the clubs organizations and internships that you’ve gotten, looked at, you know.

NA: My family is definitely a good one. They are my biggest support system. Like I’ve been going through it with my econ classes and this freaking computer science class. Yeah, just having their support, their encouragement to keep going. That’s definitely been a plus. I’ve definitely come home crying sometimes from lectures. I’m like, “I did not understand any of it.” Like I just feel terrible right off, but then I just pick myself up. I talk to my mom. I talk to her every single day. So she’s definitely made me be more successful at UCLA, having her as like my backbone.

AT: That sounds very solid. I would also agree with family as well. I haven’t really at least dived into other resources, usually because there’s so much out there.

NA: Yeah, and I don’t know. I don’t really use them for emotional support at UCLA or like, my friends here are nice. Like, they’re always nice to have like a little scapegoat from classes, right? Scapegoat from studying and also building study groups. Study groups are very important, especially in econ. Bro, I could not. Like my study group for Econ 11. Bless your heart.

AT: I think CS is also really important because a lot of people in CS are really cracked at coding. So they’re sort of in this bubble already, and I’ve noticed in last quarter’s CS 31 class, everyone’s sort of in their own bubble. But I had this one guy come in clutch. Shout out to Evan. I literally carried myself through this CS 31 class because I didn’t know anything,

NA: You’re about to carry me.

AT: No, I was also on the edge of crying because I didn’t understand anything, but then I had a couple of STEM majors come to me and say, “That’s really normal. Like, a lot of that’s just how UCLA is, in general, it’s not just CS. CS is already a hard subject,” and usually those who take CS 31 already have this sort of coding background, at least C++ coding background. And so he recommended that I take the PIC Series because it’s more beginner friendly, right?

NA: I heard the same thing because I have a couple of friends, CS too. They were telling me the same exact thing.

AT: Yeah and especially with the CS 30, 31, 32, 33 series, it’s already tailored to those who already have coding backgrounds. So study groups are really important, and shout out to Evan again, I cannot—

NA: Evan’s the G.

AT: I know. And so what about you, Chris? You said you wanted to think about it a little bit. Have you thought about any resources?

CG: Honestly yeah, just study groups. I feel like I’ve studied with so many different people in different classes. And I don’t know how to describe it. But I feel like it just keeps me on my toes. Right? When I’m in my room just looking over PowerPoints and doing practice problems, my brain is melting very slowly as I’m doing that, but when I’m studying with people, and if I’m kind of confused and ask them if they’ve like completed part of it or like asked to explain something. Even if I get to explain something to my friend, I kind of get to understand it more myself.

And also shoutout to my friend Shane. I haven’t used him yet. He’s offered to help me in Econ 101 and 103 because he already took those.

AT: Well, while we’re talking about utilizing other resources, do you think overall, not only just other resources, do you know jobs, internships, clubs, organizations, have you been at least currently successful in trying to utilize these resources at UCLA to make your transfer experience smoother? Or do you believe there’s more out there to make you even more successful before you graduate?

CG: There’s definitely more out there. I just have not—I mean, I feel like I probably should eventually, although I only have like, what? A quarter and a year left here. So far—

NA: That’s so sad. It’s so fast.

CG: I know, right? Last quarter felt like it flew by. Like it even didn’t even compare to fall quarter.

NA: Fall quarter was so long. I felt like it was so long.

AT: Right and so before I continue, what about you, Nancy? Do you think…?

NA: Yeah, there’s definitely more out there. Like every single time I talked to someone, they’re like, “Oh, have you heard of this? Have you heard of that?” I’m like, “No, I haven’t. Tell me more about it.” So yeah, there’s definitely more out there that I’m still trying.

AT: Yeah, and I think a good reason to also make connections is that you will meet different people who have different resources that you might need, not necessarily a job position or an internship position. But—

NA: Like what’s here, like what’s here at UCLA?

AT: Right. I believe, I don’t know if you guys heard. UCLA has been giving sort of like a tech grant. I think I’ve told Chris about it. I’m not sure if I did or not, but UCLA is, if you already have FASFA, they will, for example, you buy a computer, PC is one of them. And they will give you up to like $2,000 for you to buy that computer.

NA: Oh, I heard.

AT: So I think those are like one of the resources…

CG: I think you told me about that.

AT: I personally can’t use it because I don’t get FASFA. But people like Chloe, she bought like a new Mac.

NA: No way. I know I got told to do it, but I haven’t done it. I hadn’t done it. I think that deadline was a while ago, too.

AT: I think for tech stuff, yes. But they also cover flights. Did you know that? At least within the academic year. So those are the kinds of resources like, for example, if you didn’t know a couple people, you probably would have been like, “I don’t know this exists.” It’s like free money basically.

NA: Yeah, sorry to take away from the point. But I feel like it is really hard here at UCLA to get lost really easily, and it’s definitely really easy to exclude yourself. And it’s really easy to not make your presence known, and you can get very lost, like you can get so confused. You know, if you’re taking the right classes, and it’s very much you’re on your own. It’s exactly like CC, but I feel like CC, they still kind of hold your hand because the counselors are there, and they’re really on you about transferring. But here, it’s just like, you have to do your major requirements, and you got to do the classes, have this list and I don’t know, I just feel like it’s really easy to get confused here.

AT: One last thing I wanted to talk about before we end is that we have a significantly shortened timeline compared to first-year students, right? We only have probably less than two years when we got admitted into UCLA, so has that sort of pressured, I shouldn’t say pressure because I keep using the word pressure. But has that sort of pushed you more to put yourself out there? Has that sort of made you feel like you’re at CC again, when you’re just grinding again, sort of situation?

CG: I mean, I didn’t really feel like I was grinding at CC, especially compared to this. Yeah, I don’t know. I feel like I could just do my homework whenever I wanted. I could study for like a night or two before the test and this one, I’m just like, “I gotta keep up every single day.”

NA: Like right now I’m studying. Like I study right after lecture, because I was like, “I don’t…”

AT: I won’t remember this when I come back. So what about you, Nancy? Have you thought you push yourself a little more?

NA: Yeah, definitely, I definitely cranked up the gears. I was a little bit slacky at CC. So here, I’m definitely pushing myself a lot more, and I’m studying a lot more. I’m spending all my time at the library. Or I try to do it in my single pod. But I just see myself getting distracted a lot, and then my bed be looking too comfortable. So I just go there and if I sit on my bed and I study, 9/10, I will be falling asleep.

AT: I don’t know how people do their homework on their bed.

NA: Literally. I was like, I can’t get too comfortable. I close my eyes. And I’m like, “I’m just gonna take a five minute nap.” It turns into like an hour.

AT: Yeah, so that’s a very dangerous thing to do. And I want to first off thank you so much, again, for both of you joining this podcast. That it was honestly a joy to have you both.

NA: No, thank you, Ashley, for inviting us. This is so nice.

AT: Yeah. No problem. And this will probably not be the last time you’ll be hearing from them. Because I’ll probably create more series out there.

NA: Yes, you’ll hear from Nancy and Chris.

AT: So and in the next episode, we will be talking about the relationships that have been built or destroyed at UCLA, and this may include romantic ones as well. So stay tuned. Stay tuned and thank you for listening to the Transfer Take.

NA: Thank you, bye!

CG: Oh wait, we’re still going?

AT: Yeah, say bye. Don’t be rude. Bye!

CG: Bye.