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The news site of Santa Barbara City College.

The Channels

The news site of Santa Barbara City College.

The Channels

Career Center vital for transfer

Transfer students at City College should make sure to contact their counselors early and often to maintain a plan to transfer when desired.
“Having surprises come up right before you want to transfer is not a good thing for a transfer goal,” said Kathie Adams, director of the Transfer Center. “Lack of info can keep a student from going where and when they want to go.”
Adams said that every year she and the other counselors in the transfer center and the counseling department help thousands of students transfer. Through experience, the sooner a student can narrow down their options, the better a counselor can help them make the right choices, she said.
“A major should be known as soon as possible because Universities and State Universities are starting to require more and more lower division classes for certain majors,” Adams said. “Knowing which school they want to attend also helps us focus the student’s path.”
Adams said that one big misperception in transferring is grades and GPA requirements.
“We provide guaranteed admission to UCSB for a student with a 2.8 GPA, as long as they have completed a certain amount of requirements,” Adams said. “Students have control but they have to come in often.”
There are many guaranteed admission offers for City College students and some require the student to have already completed 30 units.
Adams stressed that new students should go to the career center. Picking a major is a big priority, because most of the student’s decisions depend on their major, she said.
Adams said she also has some suggestions for students with no idea what their major is yet.
“First off take your Math and English courses,” Adams said. “Take some IGETC courses as well because they work for state schools and UC’s.”
Transferring requirements keep changing and sometimes it’s hard for students to keep track of them. Many students don’t know where to look for correct information, especially if they don’t have access to a counselor.
“One of the best resources is the internet,” Adams said. “Those are open 24/7 to anyone.”
Campus websites have up-to-date information. There is also a web resource exclusively on the City College campus, collegesource.org. Collegesource.org has catalogs from 25,000 different campuses, and can be accessed from any computer on campus.
Also, a student can gain personal assistance with a rep from different colleges on transfer day.
“Transfer Day is in the middle of October every year and we have representatives from about 50 four-year schools,” Adams said. “You can set up one on one appointments with the reps and get some really valuable information.”
If a student wants to transfer in two years they should consider many factors according to Adams.
“The student has to take 15 units a semester, that’s a must,” Adams said. “They need to focus on academic performance also, and keep up their GPA.”
Adams said that most students don’t transfer in 2 years because they use community college as a source for exploration. Adams believes the exploration is a good thing but it adds time on to a students transfer goal and a student should definitely take it seriously.
“It’s not wasted time if it’s active exploration,” Adams said. “If you’re not thinking actively you can be here for a really long time.”
All of the information can be overwhelming for a student. For these students Adams offered a solution, the Personal Development 150 class, which will be offered this spring.
“It helps students plan a major and it teaches them the process involved,” Adams said. “It’s valuable to any students with questions about their major.”
The Transfer center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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