Free workshops for 4-year hopefuls Transfer Center makes transition to university easier

Jesus Castro Roundup Reporter

It was only a few weeks ago that students crashed classes and put their names on waiting lists for sections of English 101 and Math 125, just to name a few.

Now that the smoke has cleared, students are now faced with exams and countless hours of homework to pass their class.

Semester after semester, students will take classes and accumulate units to meet their educational goals.

According to the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) website, 44.6 percent of students listed their educational goal transfer to a four-year institution.

The Career and Transfer Center is designed to help students make the transition from community college to four-year universities and offers counseling for students who are still unsure of a career choice.

Sunday Salter, the director of the Career and Transfer Center coordinates events such as the College Fair/ Transfer Day on October 31, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. so that students can meet university representatives.

“On that day, we’ll have 50 or so different universities out there for the students to talk to,” Salter said. “All the UCs, many of the CSUs and some private and out-ofstate schools to help students expand their horizons as far as transfer options are out there for them.”

CSUN hopeful, Austin Rios, a 19-year-old criminal justice major, used the Transfer Center in order to obtain a list of requirements he would need to fulfill.

“That’s what I had to do,” Rios said. “I was confused.”

Students like Rios who already know what college they intend to apply for can make an appointment to meet with that college representative.

“They come quarterly or monthly, depending on the school, and meet one-on-one with the students by appointment,” Salter said.

When meeting, students can clarify transfer requirements since they change annually.

“If a student becomes more competitive to get admitted, a university has to set higher standards in order to get the applicant pool they’re looking for,” Salter said.

Joe Quinonez, a 21-year-old English major is confident in his knowledge of the requirements he will need to transfer.

“I just went to the website and clicked on transfer center,” Quinonez said.

Salter is aware of the challenges that students face.

“So many of our students are first generation college students and so they don’t have any examples in their family of how [to apply],” Salter said.

She has designed free workshops and clinics during the months of October and November that walk students through the process of applying.

“Rock Your Application” is a clinic that runs Oct. 14- Nov. 27.

“That’s when we are helping students one-on-one filling out their applications,” Salter said. “A lot of times they’ll bring in their personal statements and we’ll read them, critique them.”

The center also likes to hear what students have to say about the services that are provided.

“We always want new ideas and some students are like, ‘Hey you know what would be great…’. We have an advisory board that’s all students and they give advice to the Transfer Center and the counselors about improvements we can make,” Salter said.

University Representative Visits

University of California, Santa Barbara:

Thursday, Oct. 3 from 10:40 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

National University:

Tuesday Oct. 8 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

University of California, San Diego:

Wednesday Oct. 9 from 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

University of California, Irvine:

Wednesday Oct. 9 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

California State University, Northridge:

Wednesday Oct. 23 from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.