Advice for future Transfer students

Transfer Students
1

<p>everyone who is about to transfer this fall or pretty soon can share knowledge and experiences learned that will make the transfer road easier for ppl that are just starting.
i wish i knew this information before i started community college.</p>

<p>Be sure to talk to a counselor from the university u are transferring too, DO NOT rely only on ur counselors from CC, my counselor at de anza missed an english class required at UCI, fortunately i can take it in the summer. </p>

<p>use <a href="http://www.ratemyprofessors.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.ratemyprofessors.com&lt;/a> to choose an easy teacher, but make sure to study more than required as well, else u'll be very unprepared for the top UC's after transfer, if there's a really hard teacher at ur CC, go to a nearby CC and take it there instead, u can take classes from more than one CC.</p>

<p>many times their wil be a lot of unmotivated ppl at junior college since most ppl transfer to local CSU, so it definitely helps to make friends w/ motivated smart ppl that want to transfer to a good school, so that u won't feel alone about workin so hard, i dropped all my dumb friends within 1 1/2 yrs , chances are u won't really stay friends w/ ppl who never moved beyond high school, and u'll make friends that have more in common with u after transferring.</p>

<p>be proactive in ur learning, ask questions (lots of them) i found that learning from my teacher is 3 or 4x faster than reading it on my own, every class that i was proactive about, i got an A. </p>

<p>don't do drugs, screws w/ ur memory (even weed, it slowed me down) u'll need ur memory if ur a science major</p>

<p>for engineering majors, the math we're learning now will be necessary for grad schools, at least according to the UC websites.<br>
the knowledge we learn is often more important than getting an A, as getting good grades are relatively easy since there's no curve</p>

<p>hopefully this thread will not die,</p>

2

<p>Excellent advice !!</p>

<p>Let me add whenever something hits my mind....</p>

<p>For now, I want to add one thing...Be warned that CC professors can baby you by explaining everything you need to know for the test. So, many people never read the text book. At UC, the professors go over the material quickly and the students are responsible for anything else that is left...So get in the habbit of reading the text book. If you are an engineering major, read and understand the proofs even if you don't need it for the test. By doing this, you will gain a high level of reading maturity that you will need for your upper divs @ UC.</p>

3

<p>I have a question....Im not going to a CC, im going to go to university of western ontario or queens university.</p>

<p>In Canada, we dont really have core courses to satisfy liberal arts requirements...we can pretty much take whatever we want an just one math/science course to satisfy our requirements.</p>

<p>Is this going to hurt me? I hate math/science so i prefer this system but is this going to hurt me when transfering to the states?</p>

4

<p>"for engineering majors, the math we're learning now will be necessary for grad schools, at least according to the UC websites.
the knowledge we learn is often more important than getting an A, as getting good grades are relatively easy since there's no curve"</p>

<p>I don't think I agree with you there...true that there's no curve in my math classes but the material is incredibly difficult (I am in Calc III). So curve would actually make it easier to get good grade. And while I do realize that learning is important...for transfers I would say that the A is even more important, as getting in the school you want depends on your GPA a LOT!</p>

5

<p>i meant to imply that by throughly understanding the material, i.e. goin thru proofs like indie boy said, you would automatically get an A.</p>

<p>i was tryin to discourage ppl, from doing what i used to do.
i just memorized formulas needed for the test, w/out truly understanding what the formulas and techniques represent. basically since i didn't understand where the formulas came from, i can not apply them to problems in higher engineering courses, i could only apply them to perfectly set up problems in the math textbook.</p>

6

<p>1) If you are transferring to a UC or CSU make sure you get your Math and English courses out of the way FIRST instead of waiting for the last semester to complete it. Believe me, it will save you alot of worry and make the admission process easier for you. </p>

<p>2) See what Transfer Agreement Programs/TAGs are available at ALL your local CCs. This way you won't kick yourself when you find out someone else had better chances/options of getting into a better school than you did. Having a transfer guarantee can be useful and give you more direction as to planning courses to take. Don't forget to select your courses wisely so you don't waste time taking more classes than you need to. This happens to alot of people because they apply to so many different schools with different requirements (private colleges, UC's, CSU, etc). Have a realistic perspective about where you stand academically and choose a school you will be comfortable or happy with, not what you think will please others. </p>

<p>3) In my opinion, it's better to major in something you are passionate about because chances are that's where your grades will be most successful. If you happen to be indecisive about choosing a major, avoid using an "exploring" period (taking a bunch of electives) until you are closer to getting your GE core requirements done. I wasted a year doing this and I still had to complete my GEs anyway.</p>

<p>4) Befriend people who are motivated and at the top of their classes. It helps to have a support system so you don't feel like you are alone in this. Definitely stay away from losers and druggies!</p>

7

<p>...........</p>

8

<p>"For now, I want to add one thing...Be warned that CC professors can baby you by explaining everything you need to know for the test. So, many people never read the text book. At UC, the professors go over the material quickly and the students are responsible for anything else that is left...So get in the habbit of reading the text book. If you are an engineering major, read and understand the proofs even if you don't need it for the test. By doing this, you will gain a high level of reading maturity that you will need for your upper divs @ UC."</p>

<p>What UC do you attend?</p>

<p>Are you sometimes confused about what you need to study for tests?? </p>

<p>Does the prof give you some kind of idea of what to study?</p>

9

<p>The reason being "proactive" gets you an A is not just because you learn more, but because a teacher will grade your papers from a new perspective. A teacher sees a proactive student as a good student and an intelligent student. They will assume you are coming from an intelligent perspective, so they will give you the benefit of the doubt. </p>

<p>It's really amazing how little, seemingly unimportant things can help you so much. One little action can have a domino effect. The people who get over the little hurdle to that one little action are the ones who succeed with whatever they're doing. </p>

<p>So yeah, go up and talk to a professor. (my advice)</p>

10

<p>I will try to add two cents to this discussion:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>as many of you have talked about, be active and participate in class. almost all professors like students who are enthusiastic in the subject. And, ask interesting questions; even if you don't understand the material, don't feel dumb asking. coz clarifying the concepts before going back home and studying it is much easier (and saves time) than you digging into the book and driving yourself nuts</p></li>
<li><p>one of the downside of community college, though, is that the college tends to be more "helpful" that sometimes as long as you understand the stuff in class, you can get good grades. But 4-year colleges can be much more cut-throat and more demanding than that, just be ready (or if you have extra time in CC, take some time to prepare yourself for that)</p></li>
<li><p>also be active outside classes. school activities, voluntary work, commmunity events etc... everything counts. schools want to see transfer students to be involved in different things (and of course on the other hand maintaining an acceptable GPA, at least) .... so that they will have more confidence that you will succeed and be active over their colleges</p></li>
<li><p>one thing about the application process: start early! begin by exploring your major, you can do so by taking classes in different disciplines. Or even talk to other students. If you know what you want to major in and what career you want to be in, you can narrow down the school list. Rankings, advisors, students in your college or those who graduated and transffered, people in this forum, professors ... can be good resources. anyone may know something about a certain college, you never know until you ask. I picked my list of schools in rankings, but this may not fit everyone. When you pinpoint the colleges you want to apply to, followly closely to their deadlines. You can arrange your own "timeline" so that you know which college's essay to work on at a certain moment. It works for me. If you start early, writing essays and mailing stuff won't be that hard.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Sorry for this lengthy entry. I hope this helps. Good luck!</p>

11

<p>
[quote]
What UC do you attend?

[/quote]

I am not currently attending an UC. I will be attending UCSD this fall to study CS.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Are you sometimes confused about what you need to study for tests??

[/quote]

What makes you think so? Are you confused about what I wrote?</p>

<p>
[quote]
Does the prof give you some kind of idea of what to study?

[/quote]

All profs need to and usually give you an idea of what to study for. lol. Not to be mean but your question does not make sense to me.</p>

12

<p>be yourself. Don't worry to much. :)</p>

<p>ie. for my cornell and uchicago's tell us something more about yourself.</p>

<p>I wrote that i love strawberry and banana smoothies with sushi, which i do :) and that after much experimenting i have discovered the perfect recipe for the most delicious smoothie. I then proceeded to explain the ingredients and steps involved.</p>

<p>I got accepted to my top two choice: Cornell CAS and Chicago. Although i did get rejected from easier to get into uni's; tufts syndrome perhaps...or perhaps they didn't like my smoothie recipe lol j/k.</p>

<p>anyway just be yourself.</p>

13

<p>"At UC, the professors go over the material quickly and the students are responsible for anything else that is left..."</p>

<p>Does the professor going to fast lead to confusion?</p>

14

<p>i see some future transfers are asking about the transfer advice</p>

<p>this link is also pretty good
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=51982&highlight=advice+transfers%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=51982&highlight=advice+transfers&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>bump..... staying alive....</p>

15

<p>With all due respect, saying that students should select "easy" professors is some of the worst advice I've ever heard. You should select difficult professors who will challenge you, make you learn, and actually prepare you for the academics you'll be exposed to when you transfer. Anyone taking the easy road, as you've suggested, is no better than the "unmotivated" students you've told us all to stay away from.</p>

16

<p>Use the site ratemyprofessor.com to find challenging and interesting college professors and you'll be fine.</p>

<p>It is more important that you have a good prof, than whether they are easy or difficult. Usually, a good prof can make any material come alive. Thus, you're more likely to perform and do well.</p>

<p>Just my two cents...</p>

17

<p>Awesome thread. Sorry to get a little sidetracked but how can you change profs without changing the course in CC? I have a late enrollment date (mid August) so my choices are going to be limited. I keep getting this feeling that they'll just stick me in vacant subpar classes since all the good ones would be taken.</p>

18

<p>quote: "With all due respect, saying that students should select "easy" professors is some of the worst advice I've ever heard."</p>

<p>total bullsh.it, college admissions is a game. w/out the grades you won't even make the first cut at selective universities. the point of selecting an easy professor is to get a good grade. as i wrote in my original post :
"but make sure to study more than required as well, else u'll be very unprepared for the top UC's after transfer" </p>

<p>if you don't have to self motivation to push beyond the required curriculum i guess my advice doesn't apply to you. then again i rightfully assumed that anyone who reads these posts are self motivated students looking to improve their chances in the admissions "game". so i am not advising students to take the "easy " road but the "smarter" road to getting accepted into a selected university.
also choosing easier classes will allow you to focus your free time into the subjects that are of real importance to you or your major.</p>

19

<p>unggio83, </p>

<p>I second that. I selected "easy" professors when I could, ESPECIALLY for my general education classes and that gave me MORE time to focus on my chemistry class or my calculus class. YES, I understand where the user -beginning- is coming from, but the BOTTOM LINE IS...and as you put it unggio83..."college admissions is a game!" </p>

<p>...and that's reality. </p>

<p>-applemouth</p>

20

<p>yeah, i see that admission is a game to you...but what the hell does selecting an easy professor gonna help you when you move onto a UC?
i had some hard professors before i got my letter from berkeley...and getting an A in those classes was more rewarding than getting an A in a class where the professor was easy. does anyone else agree with me?</p>