u/Beachgoer4158

What should I know about this class?

Hi everyone! This is my first time posting on this thread so I’m a little nervous, but I’m hoping to get some help :)

I want to apply for Fall ‘28 for an MPP/MA International Policy. I have some safeties in mind right now, but here are my top choices: UCLA (Luskin tops my interests), UC Berkeley, Stanford.

Some Background: I’m a first-gen student, 21F, and just transferred after three years in CC with a 3.9 GPA to my local UC as an environmental studies and economics major. I’m hoping to go into urban and economic development (or a related field). My admissions results as a transfer were very good, but I had to stay back at my local UC since learning I wouldn’t be given financial support for my education. I also have a chronic condition that needs monitoring atm. Saving more money as an undergrad is giving me the opportunity to pursue a master’s in something I’m really passionate about. So far though, I’ve built up a pretty strong resume/CV with experience and leadership activities related to my interests (plus an unrelated, very uncommon individual sport I’ve been doing for 13+ years that’s been a key part of my life). I have some accomplishments listed on there as well (scholarships, research symposium, high honors cc graduate, etc). Currently, I lead a policy committee for my local chapter of a national organization, and been running my publication (related to my interests) that I’ve had for 2.5 years now that’s amassed a decent following.

Relevant Courses (so far): Intro Macroecon (A), Intro Microecon (B), Calc 1-3 (All A’s), Linear Algebra (A), Statistics (A), Environmental coursework (All A’s), some Poli Sci and Sociology coursework (All A’s).

Note: So sorry for this long dump. I’m just so lost on all of this and hope I’m not coming off as entitled or anything like that.

Questions:

1)What should I prioritize going forward over the next year to two outside of building connections with professors, maintaining GPA, and gaining a strong GRE score?

Can one of my recommendations be from one CC professor who knows me well?

2)How should I study for the GRE and when?

3)How do you approach application writing prompts? For example, there’s the personal statement vs. the statement of purpose. I feel like in undergrad prompts (for transferring at least), you can get slightly creative but still connect to your reasoning for pursuing your program(s) and in a way, show your personality. I’m just not sure if master’s apps are similar.

I’m not one to be picky over people assuming my gender on a platform that I‘m intentionally anonymous on, especially since it’s catered to my content and not myself. However, I find it interesting that the automatic assumption when I read comments or get messages is that I’m a man lol (e.g., “sir”, “dude”, “bro”, “man”).
Generally, if I see an anonymous platform, I address whoever runs it in a gender neutral manner. My niche is in economics and politics, taking an interdisciplinary approach in other fields so idk if that plays a role.

I’m a first-gen student, Economics major, but also come from a STEM background. I can never talk to my parents about college or the “real world“ (they also love to say idk anything about the “real world“). They say I’ve been indoctrinated by the “liberal agenda” being taught as if my profs ever have enough time to finish covering content and my classes being heavily math-based.

They‘re really contradicting though, which I find weird. They pushed me to go to college (on their terms, so cc first then transfer), but simultaneously hate on it. My whole life they promised to help pay (my dad is the sole earner though, mom is SAHW), but when it came time to start, I payed my way through community college and worked on and off. Despite this, I still expected to be getting help when I transferred since they said I would, but I got told that I’d be completely on my own when the time came a few months ago (not just tuition, but housing/cost of living). So instead of going away to my top school I worked really hard to get into (in-state T20), I’m now still dealing with constant backlash going to a local school at home. All they care about is money, all they ever do is work/be productive, they don’t really have hobbies, and never really traveled (”there’s crime in [x place]”). Because of this I feel like I can never do anything positive for myself that isn’t necessarily productive (while living at home at least). I think my dad is weird about women traveling and living on their own for some reason even though it’s the 21st century, also both know I obviously don’t align with them politically and take it personally.

I’m exhausted, and the only one keeping me sane is my dog.

Sorry in advance, this is kinda a dump of my recent thoughts about Substack and I can’t sleep:

I’ve been on this platform since January 2024. I’d post one article a month or so for a long time. It’s mainly been a source for me to just document my learning and put it together in an interactive and organized way. Having it all in one place helps. The Substack environment itself wasn’t something I paid too much attention to until this past year or so. I feel like the content I’ve been seeing has become more focused on gaining a following.

This isn’t particular to my page, but I see this more on other pages (usually in notes or article comments). I notice that there’s more pressure for people to sub to one another, and most people are very kind, sort of along the lines of “hey, feel free to check this out if you’re interested!”. However, some people can be more demanding/off-putting, such as “just subbed. now your turn.” This is common on those “sub = sub“ notes. I‘m not sure if it’s just me, but this feels a little cold. I feel like if you want to connect with others, you should maybe have a kinder demeanor automatically. In general, I ironically feel like I’m starting to sometimes see more people with that “passive-aggressive redditor attitude“ since I’ll also sometimes see some weirdly snarky comments on people’s posts that have no business being there? If you disagree with someone, you can kindly say why you disagree. I feel like I mostly see it with subjects surrounding tech, finance, economics, and maybe a bit of politics.

I’m not sure if the popularity of substack over time has brought in a new audience, AI, or something else entirely.

Please don’t flame me; these are just my observations and I’m just looking if others have similar experiences/thoughts too!

hi!! i’m an incoming transfer for economics, and i was wondering what i should review for econ 100a this fall in terms of math and basic econ topics. i hope i can do well so i don’t have to switch majors

For context, I just spent three years in community college and am now transferring as a junior to my local university (in CA) because of cost of living and being entirely independent for my education, including some other expenses. I got into a really great in-state school (T20), and my parents said my whole life that they'd help pay for my education, but I got rugpulled unfortunately. I worry about the connections I'm missing because of this, especially in this current time.

I'm an economics major, and I'm dreading the uphill battle for a job post-grad. I feel like I can't be "picky" about a specific career since there's a lot of uncertainty in the job market. For internships, I've been applying to a bunch of different roles that are related to what I'm going to school for. Currently, I am in an unpaid policy position at a non-profit just to add something on my resume, but I'd want to do slightly more quantitative/finance work in local government. I'm first-generation as well, and navigating this whole process at this time feels overwhelming and discouraging. I just hope I can make a living wage post-grad in a career I don't absolutely hate. I've thought about getting my master's, but those can be expensive.

Got an opportunity to do work for an organization to help me gain more experience towards a career (it’s very part-time) while going to school as an incoming junior. I have an interview next week for another potential internship that would be really helpful to have. My mom went off on me getting this most recent opportunity (won’t be telling her about my other interview) because she automatically thinks that I’m not gonna be making time to finish my degree, questioning the organization I’m working for, what I’m doing, etc. She doesn’t get that you need to gain experience nowadays whenever possible in college, even if it means balancing your coursework, to help set yourself up for after you graduate. We all know a degree is just one part of the equation today. I’m first-gen, so both of my parents don’t really understand how the college to career pipeline works, especially now with how the job market is. Both of my parents, but especially my mom, have always been weird when it comes to me working/gaining experience, and want me to solely be focusing on school. Not the first-time she‘s been this way getting weird and questioning what I’m doing, even though it can be something totally good. They also aren’t helping me pay for school at all, but they made a lifelong promise that they would until last minute they said they weren’t, so now I’m stuck at home at a local school I really don’t care to be at and just wanna be done and out. If I get this other internship I might just finish my degree online (I have the option to do it since I’m registered for classes just incase), but I don’t think that’d go well with them or her especially. They’re also really conservative, and encourage college, but at the same time hate on it. I just don’t get it. All I want is privacy to do my own things without getting constantly judged, even if It’s things that shouldn‘t be judged in the first place (e.g., working/career development).

For me, I wish there were Geography/GIS and Political Economy

Did a post in another subreddit (just for a casual discussion/rant) about not being able to afford my top school after aid as a junior transfer from community college and wanting to avoid taking out loans due to interest rates and other financial responsibilities, and I got some of the snobbiest/snarkiest responses ever. Some people were really supportive! However, those who weren’t so nice pretty much gave off the sentiment of like “if you’re homeless, why don’t you just buy a house?” or “well I don‘t know what you’d expect”. Another good one was “well you just don’t seem like you want it enough”. No sh*t I want this, I put in so much work to get to this point. Why do it all for nothing? I was already frustrated as is and these people were just too much. We shouldn’t have to normalize severely struggling to get an education and pushing students into severe debt (that as a reminder can look different from family to family!) or having to work full time as a full time student (I got this as a recommendation but that just wouldn’t be feasible, especially since the school I wanted to go to is on the quarter system).

Sorry for the rant, just felt the need to share

Edit: it’s not like the job market is in shambles either, and housing is unaffordable

Any tips for succeeding in the major? Good professors I should take?

I’m interested in urban and economic development, but this major seems to be more ecology based, which I’m not the biggest fan of since I prefer more geography/urban studies based subjects

The game will load to 100%, but it won’t start at all

Got into UCLA and can’t afford it after aid. Anyone else not able to afford where they want to go as a transfer? :(

Recently admitted transfer, I was wondering how I could switch from Proposed Economics to Proposed Environmental Studies/Economics? I am not sure who to contact. I have the required coursework done for the other major. There is only one class I haven't completed, but it is a recommended one that I can take in the fall.

I just drove some windy roads out around where I live to go drop something off and come back home, which I’ve done many times before, and it made me nauseous this time around. I have been noticing over the last month or so that my contact lens prescription doesn’t seem to be working as well as it did. My drive felt a little fuzzy at some points, and maybe even a little disorienting. Idk what to do :(

got rejected for the TAP scholarship💔

still sent in the general app but I feel so cooked trying to make my education as affordable as possible. I know they haven’t finalized the financial aid letters yet either

SIR is due soon too

Hi everyone!

SIR date is coming up and I’m really debating my options for transferring (e.g., staying local to save money, UCSB, and UCLA). I was admitted as a Pre-Econ major for UCLA after spending three years in community college to save as much money as possible, and I’m waiting on scholarship results to add to the current aid I have received. I‘m first-gen and feel very alone and honestly scared in this process. I‘d be getting CAE accommodations for housing for a condition I have (single room). I’m worried about making friends at a new place being a transfer, and hope that if I have suite mates that they’re kind and respectful.

I’m super active; I love being outdoors, going to the beach, swimming, playing soccer (want to pick it back up hopefully), etc. My main focus with Econ is environmental/sustainability related, and because of this, idk if this is right major for me and worry it might be too hard. I enjoy the practical applications of Econ (including the quantitative ones), which makes me feel unsure. I’ve considered Geography(/Env Studies), IDS, Sociology as alternate majors, but I worry about employment (interested in consulting, management, operations, or similar roles). I have all lower div requirements met for these majors. I could also graduate early with Geography(/Env Studies), which saves money. I might leave grad school open as an option for later on.

Sorry for the rant! Any insight is appreciated :)