Your California Community College experience (questionaire)

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

<p>The California Community College transfer system boosts one of the most successful transfer rates in the nation to top universities. We should be very very thankful for having such a great system in such a wonderful and beautiful state. This ensures every Californian who aspires to have a 4 year degree, will receive one! That is, if they do take advantage of the system. </p>

<p>For those of you who went to a community college, I urge you to share your experiences here with the following questionaires. This will hopefully help other students who wish to take the same path. Who knows, you might be a very anxious high school graduate deciding on whether to do this, or a student still in the middle of your community college career. Whoever you are, I hope you will find this post helpful in your future decisions. Good luck to all future UC applicants and do not hesitate to ask any questions!</p>

<p>1) Was your experience at the Community College a positive or negative one? Please describe.</p>

<p>2) What resources have you taken advantage of to help you transfer?</p>

<p>3) How were your instructors at the community college?</p>

<p>4) How were the students surrounding you at the community college?</p>

<p>5) What would you have done if you didn't attend a CC?</p>

<p>6) What school will you attend this fall?</p>

<p>7) Any additional comments?</p>

2

<p>1) Was your experience at the Community College a positive or negative one? Please describe.
Definitely a positive one. If you really want to attent a top UC school but did not get the chance to out of high school, I urge you to take advantage of this system. Not only do you SAVE money, if you work hard you WILL get into the UC of your choice. If you reach out, there is always help available. It may seem daunting at first, but all it takes is effort.
Not only did I save money by having a fee waiver for ALL my classes, I received checks of a few thousand dollars per year(Pell Grant, Cal grant, EOPs grant), and also a book voucher worth $250 each semester. And yes, I make even more money by selling back these books! I saved up all this money so I can move out when I attend the new school. Besides, these are only your first few years so you're really only taking GEs.</p>

<p>2) What resources have you taken advantage of to help you transfer?
My academic counselour, the transfer center, transfer workshops, application workshops. Also, talk to students who have been through the process. Don't just talk to one, but many and varied. Everyone has a different experience, and thus, different advice. Also, do not just take one counselour's word as the truth. Try a few different counselours for advice. If you are new to the CC, meet up with a few counselours and see which one best suits you. This was what I did, I found a good one and I've been going to him ever since. But of course, I check out other help such as transfer counselours etc.</p>

<p>3) How were your instructors at the community college?
Rate my professor dot com! There are some bad instructors, but most of the ones I have were really good, challenging and extremely helpful. At the community college, classes are smaller so you get that personal attention with your instructor. No T.As.
Tip: While on rate my professors dot com, do not choose a teacher with very few ratings, even if all of them are good. You'll probably be in for a surprise.</p>

<p>4) How were the students surrounding you at the community college?
There are definitely the lazy ones, but there are the ones who are gung ho about transferring. Surround yourself with the motivated ones so that you don't get dragged along with the lazies. But if you don't get influenced easily by people then it shouldn't matter. </p>

<p>5) What would you have done if you didn't attend a CC?
Probably go to Cal Poly Pomona and never realize my potential. And will probably be cynical and unhappy.</p>

<p>6) What school will you attend this fall?
UCLA</p>

<p>7) Any additional comments?
Keep asking questions, keep asking for help. The more you reach out and educate yourself about the system and resources, the better prepared you will be when applying. Start your application early so that people can help proofread it for you. Do not be upset and give up they give you negative comments, do whatever you can to make it better.
At the start of your CC career, you should draft out a student educational plan so that you know when to take what classes and how long it will to take for you to transfer.
Visit the college campus of your choice!! Do not just apply blindly and attend it without knowing how it really "feels". You do not want to waste time, money and effort on a place you found out you didn't like afterall. Once again, you might be in for a surprise!</p>

3

<p>1) Was your experience at the Community College a positive or negative one? Please describe.</p>

<p>Negative. I never received the small school feel of teachers going out of their way to help a student.</p>

<p>2) What resources have you taken advantage of to help you transfer?</p>

<p>Collegeconfidential and creative thinking.</p>

<p>3) How were your instructors at the community college?</p>

<p>Many were mediocre in my retrospect. However, some exceeded my expectations and I wondered why they taught at a community college.</p>

<p>4) How were the students surrounding you at the community college?</p>

<p>Students were similar to those in high school(IE immature).</p>

<p>5) What would you have done if you didn't attend a CC?</p>

<p>I would have focused all my time on building a great company.</p>

<p>6) What school will you attend this fall?</p>

<p>UCLA - Go BRUINS!</p>

<p>7) Any additional comments?</p>

<p>Work hard and enjoy life.......</p>

<p>All in all, it was only 2 years of my life. Time to move ahead and forget about the past.</p>

<p>Vouches for some great instructors.
Dennis Morgan - Orange Coast College
David Candelaria - Mount San Jacinto College</p>

4

<p>I am not going to fill out the questionaire but i will say that the CCC system is the best thing ever and i loved it!</p>

5

<p>1) Was your experience at the Community College a positive or negative one? Please describe.</p>

<p>Definitely positive. It was surprising, actually. When I graduated high school, I was all set to attend UCI, but due to extenuating circumstances, I found out I had to stay home and I thus had to attend a community college. There's such a huge stigma attached to people who attend community colleges, and I am one who bought into it until it happened to me. And quite frankly, I'm really glad I got to expand my way of thinking. You realize that all kinds of people go to community college for all sorts of reasons... you meet folks who had straight A's throughout high school, and you meet those that barely graduated. My experience at De Anza couldn't have been more positive-- I found a passion for learning which I thought I'd lost in between grade grubbing for honors chemistry and physics in high school (I'm not a science type of gal..) </p>

<p>2) What resources have you taken advantage of to help you transfer?</p>

<p>I saw a counselor in the third week of my first quarter. I must have spent an hour with her... she answered all my questions and made me realize that I had the possibility to attend a school like UCLA and Berkeley. However, she wasn't infallible-- and I found that during my appointment with a Berkeley counselor. The transfer center was extremely helpful in reading my essays and looking through my UC application. And when they caught something they weren't sure of (whether I could use AP credit to bypass the first level of English), they got in touch with Berkeley's transfer counselors for me. </p>

<p>3) How were your instructors at the community college?</p>

<p>Out of all the classes I took at De Anza, I believe I only had TWO suckee teachers. And by suckee, I mean the classes weren't enjoyable and I wasn't learning much. So only two were bad out of 24 classes I took. I had a professor who did his PHD at Harvard, I had someone teaching me politics who was an elected official, someone who had their law degree AND a PHD; all in all, they were impressive. I often wondered why the hell they were teaching there-- and they all said that they liked teaching there better than teaching at the nearby University (San Jose State). </p>

<p>4) How were the students surrounding you at the community college?</p>

<p>For the most part, people around me were really motivated and intent on going to UCs. It was a mixed bag, really. </p>

<p>5) What would you have done if you didn't attend a CC?</p>

<p>I would have gone to St Mary's College of California-- the only school who accepted me two days before their semester started in August. The other schools obviously weren't accepting applications. </p>

<p>6) What school will you attend this fall?</p>

<p>Berkeley!! Go Bears!!</p>

<p>7) Any additional comments?</p>

<p>Go to De Anza if you can! lol</p>

6

<p>1) Community college was alright
2) I went to the transfer center a couple of times
3) The instructors were awesome! (At DVC)
4) I had a hard to finding students as motivated as me. I didn't make any friends.
5) I would have slept a lot
6) UCLAUCLAUCLAUCLAUCLAUCLAUCLAUCLA</p>

7

<p>7) I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ready for UCLA</p>

8

<p>me too! when is your orientation?</p>

9

<p>July 19th. I'm just sad that school doesn't start until late September. This Summer SUCKS. So many of my college friends went to summer school or stayed at the schools area over summer.</p>

10

<p>haha, I am actually glad that it doesn't start until late september :x</p>

11

<p>1) Was your experience at the Community College a positive or negative one? Please describe.</p>

<p>Very Positive. I had AMAZING teachers. All of them except one have gone out of his or her way to help in way they can. My teachers have all been spectacular whether it be in teaching or in extra-curriculars like Phi Theta Kappa. Totally got the small school feel. I feel like I'm at my private school again.</p>

<p>2) What resources have you taken advantage of to help you transfer?
My counselors- not too helpful, honestly. But a good resource to double check what you should already know.
My teachers- Math Lab
Phi Theta Kappa</p>

<p>3) How were your instructors at the community college?
One word--EXCELLENT--just one slipped through the cracks</p>

<p>4) How were the students surrounding you at the community college?
Umm...it goes along with the classes you take. There are a lot of people who are just at CC to be there. You find a lot of people like yourself though in some of your classes-who actually care about where they are going in life.</p>

<p>5) What would you have done if you didn't attend a CC?
I would have gone to Cal State Long Beach probably.....SOOO glad I didnt</p>

<p>6) What school will you attend this fall?
DVC =/ I still have 1 or 2 years to go depending on UCSD's leniency with the transfer guarantee b/c i still have O-Chem
7) Any additional comments?
I have no regret what so ever about going to CC</p>

12

<p>btw when I say DVC I mean the SR campus....the Pleasant Hill campus is terrible in my opinion...I've had very bad experiences at Pleasant Hill. SRC=excellent.</p>

13

<p>1) Was your experience at the Community College a positive or negative one? Please describe.</p>

<p>Extremely positive. Great professors. Great classes. Great opportunities. I would recommend the CC route to just about anyone.</p>

<p>2) What resources have you taken advantage of to help you transfer?</p>

<p>TAP, of course. And a host of other program did not offer direct help in the transfering process, but allowed me to meet equally motivated students, which in turn did help in the transfer process, among them: student gov, honors societies (AGS, PTK), tutoring in the tutoring lab, etc. </p>

<p>3) How were your instructors at the community college?</p>

<p>Some of the best I've ever had. With community college in particular, professors are eager to help students who put forth the effort to excell above the confines of a syllabi. So many of them have given me great opportunities, all I had to do was pretty much take the initative to ask. Some of these include: being a psychology TA, tutoring English, and working on independent research projects. I really feel like I didn't deserve any of this, so all credit goes to my professors who were more than willing to help me along the way. </p>

<p>4) How were the students surrounding you at the community college?</p>

<p>I feel like people ***** too much about their fellow community college students when they shouldn't because it has no bearing on your education. There are more than enough intelligent, motivated students at CC that you'll be able to surround yourself with. Stick with those. </p>

<p>5) What would you have done if you didn't attend a CC?</p>

<p>I would never have been a senior member on CC :( That's all that really matters. ha</p>

<p>6) What school will you attend this fall?</p>

<p>I've been attending UCB since last Fall. </p>

<p>7) Any additional comments?</p>

<p>If anyone has any questions, especially about the transfer process, feel free to PM me...</p>

14

<p>I completely agree with everyone on here. Except some of the negative comments. Negative people will dislike any situation that they are in. </p>

<p>1) Was your experience at the Community College a positive or negative one? Please describe.
Only positive. Made great friends, had a great job, found amazing mentors, and also met my boyfriend (through similar goals and interests).</p>

<p>2) What resources have you taken advantage of to help you transfer?
Transfer center (first thing). Other counselors. Honors program (AGS). TAP. Learning center (writing and math). Professor's office hours. Students who have been admitted to schools I wanted to attend. </p>

<p>3) How were your instructors at the community college?
Mostly amazing. Had a couple of bad ones, but that's inescapable.</p>

<p>4) How were the students surrounding you at the community college?
I got annoyed with some in most of my GE's. Many were lazy and not necessarily bright. But the good students always filtered out, making the academic atmosphere better. Honor societies, and higher-level classes filtered out most of the bad seeds: people have more of a common goal at that point.</p>

<p>5) What would you have done if you didn't attend a CC?
Would've gone to Long Beach, and never realized my potential. </p>

<p>6) What school will you attend this fall?
Berkeley, baby!</p>

<p>7) Any additional comments?
Just be resourceful and assertive. The opportunities are there - you just need to use them. It's that easy.</p>

15

<p>1) +, didn't expect much from it</p>

<p>2) friends, cc</p>

<p>3) some good, some bad</p>

<p>4) dumbasses</p>

<p>5) party?</p>

<p>6) ucsd</p>

<p>7) no</p>

16

<p>
[quote]
4) dumbasses

[/quote]
</p>

<p>HAHAHAHA!!</p>

17

<p>1) piece of crap</p>

<p>2) assist.org + departmental websites</p>

<p>3) some awesome, some lame</p>

<p>4) retards</p>

<p>5) go to davis?</p>

<p>6) cal</p>

<p>7) "Hello, lostincode, it appears that you have not posted on our forums in several weeks, why not take a few moments to ask a question, help solve another member's problem, or just join a conversation?"</p>

18

<p>1) Was your experience at the Community College a positive or negative one? Please describe.</p>

<p>Definitely positive. I am a reentry student who had to work full time while at Community College. I was given a second chance to reenter school (with more maturity might I add) after a few years in the work force. The wide range of night classes allowed me to follow my dreams when I thought that everything was lost. I can’t express how grateful I am to be given this opportunity.</p>

<p>2) What resources have you taken advantage of to help you transfer?</p>

<p>At Community College, you REALLY have to take initiative for yourself. You cannot expect someone to tell you what classes to take or what people to talk to. At first, I just used the IGETC list from the front of my college catalog. Later, I learned about ratemyprofessor.com, which was a great help in choosing my classes. Finally, I learned about assist from a friend. Most of the counselors were pretty useless, but I made it through by talking to many people and combining different resources.</p>

<p>3) How were your instructors at the community college?</p>

<p>Most were average, some were atrocious, and a few were absolutely amazing. My biggest problem with community college professors was their low expectations. Many classes were a waste of time because the professors failed to create a stimulating environment for hard-working students. They often pandered to the lazy students and neglected to provide a challenge.</p>

<p>The professors I loved were the ones that most (lazy) students hated. I love these challenging classes because these were the ones where I truly learned something. These teachers also encouraged me to attend a UC and provided me the resources to do so. Being in the presence of these amazing professors made the entire experience worthwhile. Find out who these professors are from your peers and be sure to take them! Don’t be scared off by the extra challenge!</p>

<p>4) How were the students surrounding you at the community college?</p>

<p>I’m sorry to say that most were EXTREMELY apathetic. I can’t say how many times I heard a student ask what they needed to do to earn a C. These people tend to congregate in the community college system and never transfer— or sometimes transfer after many years. I believe that there are hard-working transfer students in the honors program, but I could not attend honors classes because I worked full time. </p>

<p>Community College is a little lonely because of this, but look at is as an opportunity to develop independence and personal responsibility. Stand out from the crowd and you will begin to meet others like you. Better yet, develop friendships with some of the apathetic people and encourage them to strive for more.</p>

<p>5) What would you have done if you didn't attend a CC?</p>

<p>I guess continue to work at my horrible dead end job.</p>

<p>6) What school will you attend this fall?</p>

<p>UC Berkeley</p>

<p>7) Any additional comments?</p>

<p>My most important advice is to take initiative and responsibility for yourself. The community college environment is not the most conducive to learning, but you can make this work to your advantage through persistence and leadership. If you work hard you will stand out in your professor’s eyes. Take this opportunity to get to know them. They have been through the system and can often be of more help than the counselors. Encourage those around you and make the most of your situation. </p>

<p>I know I’m being preachy, but I was going through a really bad life experience and now I am going to Berkeley! I hate to see people stuck in the bog of laziness that is community college. NOBODY has to do this to themselves. Keep being persistent and look to the future— you will make it through!</p>

19

<p>1) Was your experience at the Community College a positive or negative one? Please describe.</p>

<p>Positive. Had a great time here. Met a lot of great people and professors. I thought I was going to have a bad time here in the beginning, but I was wrong. Best decision I made.</p>

<p>2) What resources have you taken advantage of to help you transfer?
cc = ), assist.org, and the scholars program director counselor (i think he's the only one that knew what was going on).</p>

<p>3) How were your instructors at the community college?</p>

<p>Most of them were great. I liked the small class size. Only bad one I had was my physics professor.</p>

<p>4) How were the students surrounding you at the community college?</p>

<p>I have met some very intelligent students. These normally were in my science classes. Very nice people overall. </p>

<p>5) What would you have done if you didn't attend a CC?</p>

<p>Uc merced, riverside, or irvine (i didn't apply to irvine, but i think I would have gotten in back in hs)</p>

<p>6) What school will you attend this fall?</p>

<p>Ucla = ) Go Bruins!!</p>

<p>7) Any additional comments?</p>

<p>like karabear said, you have to take the initiative at community college in order to benefit from the system. Ask the right people (i know it might seem hard consider how some counselors give very terrible advice. Thank goodness I didn't meet any terrible ones. Dig deeper if you can't find the right people to help you. If you still can't find the right people post on cc = ) All questions about the transfer process are welcomed) If you want to transfer in two years you have be aggressive in getting your classes because classes do fill up fast and you have low priority during registration especially if you're new. Pay attention to when you register for classes. Go beg the teacher or something if you don't get into the classes you need. Some classes are only offered once a year like ochem at my school. So if you aren't aggressive about it, you're going to be here for a while. Another thing is that some people have complained the lack of social life at community colleges. I've made friends at my cc mainly through my science classes and had a great time here. Once again it's what you make of it. Good luck to all future ccc students. Don't worry, you're two years here will fly by really fast and before you know it you're transferring out and missing the small class size. </p>

<p>Btw, the cc i went to is PCC. I'm now about to do physiological science at ucla. So if you have any questions about pcc or bio/life science major in general you can pm me.</p>

20

<p>1) Was your experience at the Community College a positive or negative one? Please describe.</p>

<p>Mostly negative, very little interaction with fellow students, very few students seemed to be genuinely interested in learning.</p>

<p>2) What resources have you taken advantage of to help you transfer?</p>

<p>assist's website and the transfer center at my community college.</p>

<p>3) How were your instructors at the community college?</p>

<p>Some were awesome and extremely competent. Others seemed to just be going through the motions for a paycheck. A couple were pretty much a waste of time to be around because their classes were a joke.</p>

<p>4) How were the students surrounding you at the community college?</p>

<p>Most were not really friendly and didn't care one bit about learning, only the grade they would receive. Many foreign students would only associate with people from their fellow countries and were very clique-ish.</p>

<p>5) What would you have done if you didn't attend a CC?</p>

<p>Tried to get a job.</p>

<p>6) What school will you attend this fall?</p>

<p>UC Berkeley.</p>

<p>7) Any additional comments?</p>

<p>I probably would have enjoyed my time at community college more if I had been more active in student groups, and looked more into student activities. Even though I didn't much enjoy my stay at community college, it served its purpose. I saved a lot of money by attending community college and I feel like I am adequately prepared for the challenges that lie ahead at Cal.</p>