Representatives from University of California, Los Angeles and California State University, Northridge visited Pierce College Thursday to discuss college options with aspiring transfer students.
Days like this are created for students not only to get information about the colleges that they need, but also to inform Pierce College students about the resources that they have right in their own back yard.
There are more than 20,000 students at Pierce, and only about 1200 students transfer per year after an average of three years at the community college, according to officials.
The Pierce Transfer Center offers many resources to help students who have goals of transferring make a smooth and successful transition to the universities of their choice.
“The transfer center offers workshops on everything you can think of and how to transfer to various majors at various universities, university representatives are here regularly, the transfer center website has any question you have you can find an answer to it online,” Transfer Center Director Sunday Salter said.
Students should be aware of the options available to them, and open campus events like CSUN and UCLA Transfer Day make the availability of the options more visible for students to be able to explore.
“I plan on transferring out of here in two years, because I’m an international student I really want to my grades to be like 100 percent,” biology major Rania Msh said. “I just stopped and asked a couple of quick questions.”
They were there to answer questions; however, some of the representatives even gave advice on the best ways to transition and thrive on the university campuses, as well as what to do to ensure that students have resources after they graduate.
“As a transfer student, I wish my adviser would have told me it was crucial to make connections and how important it is to create a network of support system,” Advisement/Retention Coordinator Rocio Leal said. “Find ways to network, and to have mentors. That’s crucial.”
Pierce hosts the day specifically for the two universities once a year, since CSUN and UCLA are the top two schools that Pierce students transfer to after completing their general education requirements at the college.
“Our top transfer school is CSUN. We are the number one transfer school to CSUN in the nation, and our second would be UCLA,” Salter said. “We’re number 10 in transfers to the UC system statewide.”
Each of the universities had booths along the Pierce Mall from many different departments at the institutions hosted by representatives who were there to readily available to answer any questions interested students had.
Some of the booths from UCLA and CSUN included were from business and geology departments, as well as many others.
“This is the day where students can come out and ask their questions specific about the different majors and find out about what the majors have to offer, what the curriculum will be once they transfer, and how to get admitted into their major,” Salter said.
For more information about transferring, visit piercecollege.edu/offices/transfer_center
Transfer Stats for Top 3 Schools in 2012
California State University, Los Angeles | 238 applied, 210 accepted | 88 percent transfer rate
California State University, Northridge | 1,084 applied, 930 accepted | 85 percent transfer rate
University of California, Riverside | 100 applied, 77 accepted | 77 percent transfer rate
Source: Pierce College transfer website
Scheduled Campus Visits
Tuesday, May 7, Mount St. Mary’s College 9 a.m – 1 p.m.
Wednesday, May 8, Antioch University 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 21, UCLA, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
