[media-credit name=”Rashid Hasirbaf/Staff” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Springtime is here, the flowers are blooming and the mailman is carrying letters that can make students’ dreams come true or crush them. Those long-awaited university acceptance letters are on their way – or not. Facebook and Twitter accounts are bombarded with the digital screams of excitement from people accepted into universities they worked so hard to get into, and the recriminations of these who did not.
Regardless of a student’s aspirations in their educational careers, there are steps to take. Students can make the mistake of coming to SWC with tunnel vision, making their first goal to get out of Southwestern College as fast as possible.
One mistake is setting a single big intimidating goal. Setting smaller more manageable goals as milestones down the long road creates bigger victories. If there is a long stretch with no satisfaction it is going to feel like nothing is being accomplished in between the starting and finish lines.
Specific goals to set along the way to transferring would be seeing a counselor to develop an education plan, getting a good grade point average and finishing all the general education requirements. The sense of satisfaction is going to keep students from making the excuse that they feel like they are getting nowhere.
Transferring is a goal for many students, but they worry about spending the next five years at this august institution.
Truth is, it can still be done in two years. Good thing, too. Fees are only getting higher. Textbook costs are soaring. Let’s not even get into the California Student Success Task Force, which is going to force students through community college quicker.
Transferring to a four-year university is smoother when a student knows exactly what s/he wants and does not waste a second. Most basic classes students need to transfer or to graduate can be found on the General Education Requirements (GE) form available in the SWC Transfer and Counseling Center. It spells out the basics that expand into the variety of classes transfer schools require. Depending on what type of school a student is planning on transferring there are additional requirements and major requirements.
Knocking out the GE requirements does not have to be a chore. An Oral Communication class could inspire the public speaker within that has been hiding all these years.
Keeping in contact with a counselor is imperative to success and to keeping on track on the two-year timeline. Counselors are here for students and trained to guide students from application to graduation. So go see one in the beginning of the semester and the end to make sure to take the right classes. Counselors also provide a handy tool called the Student Course Action plan, mapping out a timely graduation.
The key to staying on the road to transferring is having priorities and time management.
Juggling school, work and a social life if going to be tough, but in the future, students are going to be faced with decisions much tougher than this. So for now the question is, “beer pong or studying?”