Center eases transfer stress, provides aid

Guides share tips, aim to streamline processes

By Yesenia Melara, Social Media Editor

As students are preparing to transfer for fall 2017 they are encouraged to use the Transfer Center.

Transfer and Veterans Coordinator Andrea Phillips said she encourages students to stop by and visit her at the Transfer Center located in SA-227, which is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

“We (at the Transfer Center) want students to come in and use the center,” she said. “We have many services that can help students with their transferring process.”

Among the services that the Transfer Center provides are college application help, workshops, one-on-one educational planning, major requirement information, university information, selected campus tours, scholarships, personal statement help and other general information for transferring.

Alysia Robinson, business administration major, applied to UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.

Robinson said that the resources that Phillips and the Transfer Center provided her with were very helpful.

“I was able to get help with my personal statement and with the supplemental application that UC Berkeley required of me,” Robinson said. “Ms. Phillips is a great person to go to with all those transferring questions that someone might have.

The Transfer Center is also a place where students can go and talk about their feelings about transferring.  

“For many of these students, transferring can be quite overwhelming as they are new to the process,” Phillips said. “For some, they are first-generation college students, so they don’t get the kind of support they need to keep on going. I see students who have been accepted to many great schools, but still doubt they are good enough. My job is to encourage them and guide them throughout the process.”

Harriet Hernandez, international studies major, is hoping to go to New York University and is confident that she will be accepted.

Her family is proud of her, she said, but because they couldn’t achieve a higher education, she is the only one who pushes herself with her transferring process. She said by going to the center she was able to get the information and support she needed.

Phillips said that if students want more support for transferring, she advices students to take the course Counseling 103B, Ensuring Transfer Success. The course is currently offered and will also be offered as a short session during the summer.

“In this class, we will not only give students a closer look at what it takes to transfer, but we will also give them a transferring kit which will contain pencils, pens, notebooks, organizational tools and more.”