As high school graduates and community college transfers ponder their next big decision, university representatives across the United States came to Pierce College to pitch their institutions.
The Pierce campus hosted this year’s San Fernando Valley College Fair on Saturday. The event was sponsored by Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Region North to educate students about their options for four-year universities as well as other community colleges.
While many of the schools at the fair are within the Los Angeles area, many others from outside of the county and state came to represent their college as well.
Janet Recchia, the Assistant Director of Southern California Admissions to Syracuse University, gave some insight into why people from Los Angeles would want to move to the East Coast for college.
“We have so many things to offer for our out-of-state students,” Recchia said. “We send a lot of California students away, so I guess they like the four seasons.”
Adrian Wilson-Gardner, a high school graduate who is interested in journalism, said she found the event helpful and thought that the other attendees looked as excited as he was at the prospect of attending university.
“I got a lot of useful information that I couldn’t find online,” he said. “I was able to ask very individualized questions and it was very nice and helpful. The environment here is full of people who are ready to learn about how it is to apply to university and get a feel for where they see themselves going to in the next four years.”
This was the 12th year that LAUSD Region North held this event and there were many LAUSD staff who sought to help students who had just graduated from high school, whether it be through admissions processes, getting the proper transcripts or receiving adequate financial aid.
LAUSD Career and Technical Education Pathway Advisor Pedro Martinez noticed good spirits from the kids and young adults who had just graduated.
“They are excited about the opportunity to learn about college, and the fact that they are all here is awesome,” Martinez said. “They are really in awe to see all the people helping out.”
While there were more than 20 different colleges with booths at Saturday’s event, some schools stood out in terms of popularity.
The line that consistently stayed the longest was Cal State Northridge, which had three different booths for different programs, yet managed to have the single longest line at their main stand. In addition, every University of California school managed to garner significant amounts of attention.
Beyond the college booths, workshops were held in classrooms along the mall, where both students and their parents could learn more about things like financial aid and the Promise Program, which helps first-time college students afford tuition if they can maintain a 2.0 GPA and take 12 or more units each semester.