The average length to transfer or obtain an associate’s degree from a community college is about two to six years, however, there’s a place dedicated to speeding up that process.
The Transfer Center is organizing workshops to help students complete their educational goals, hosting representatives from different universities next week and in the following months.
Sunday Salter, the transfer center director, said that representatives from Cal. State University, Northridge, University of California, Los Angeles and others will be coming to Pierce to answer and guide students on how to apply to universities.
People who recently transferred from UCLA will meet with students one-on-one to explain what it takes to get into a UC. A CSUN peer mentor will speak about the importance of following a major and describe the CSU application process, Salter said.
“They can ask specific transfer questions,” Salter said. “They can ask about special transfer programs, like the Transfer admissions guarantee program, the associate degree transfer, and they can attend workshops here on all these topics.”
Transfer Center mentor Rosa Medrano said students uncertain about their majors can explore the options at Pierce and ask questions if planning to change majors.
“For students that are undecided, I recommend meeting with a counselor as early as possible and then start taking courses from the GE plan, whether the IGETC or the CSU plan,” Medrano said. “If they switch their major, and they want to transfer, they should check with assist.org and make sure that whatever campus they plan on transferring to meets their major prep requirements.”
Carlos Hernandez, a full-time student, said he was able to meet with a counselor and setup a plan.
“At first, I didn’t know what to do and what career path to follow,” Hernandez said. “But when I told my counselor and other people what my interests were, they were able to find a career path for me to follow and multiple others.”
According to Salter, it is best to choose a major early because then a student will follow through and continue their journey. The sooner a major is decided on, the sooner it becomes a measure of effort, she said.
“When you are undecided, it makes it impossible to plan out a course of action,” Salter said.
According to Salter, to be a transfer student and to be successful, these questions have to be answered: what major would you like to pursue, and what universities would you like to apply to?
“We are all on our own timeline,” Salter said. “It is important to choose the right major and the right school you want to go to for your own success. It is OK if it takes you a bit longer. We are not going to kick you out until you have found success.”
