Second-year students prepare to transfer

The deadline for transfer student applications is now. The process can be scary, nerve-racking, and thrill-seeking all at the same time. UCC Advisor Dan Ruch and Associate Director of Oregon State University Rick DeBellis want to help make transferring easier for students.

“The best place to look for transfer (events) is going to be in the academic calendar,” Ruch says. The academic calendar can be found through the search bar or under the Resources and Services, Academic tab on the UCC website. Transfer events are when advisors from the transfer universities come to UCC to talk about the credit process, financial aid, dorm situation, declaration of major and the application process.

The calendar will also share information about other campus events, anything from Fresh Fruit Days to BINGO and so much more.

Students need to research the best university for their degree field as not all university programs are equal. “Based on what major you want, then you also want to find out what college is going to be the best for you,” Ruch says. If students are looking for a STEM-based education Oregon State University is recommended. Students wanting a liberal arts major could look into Portland State University or Southern Oregon University in Ashland. Both DeBellis and Ruch suggest taking tours of the colleges students are thinking about attending to get a grasp of campus life and its environment. “You may decide that you love one school and hate the other,” Ruch says.

Reviewing the help centers each transfer school offers can also influence which university to choose. OSU, for example, has a help center for financial aid and scholarships. DeBellis explains that this is called the Center for Advancing Financial Education. OSU has made this center open to any student in the state. “If you have any questions about financial aid, how scholarships work, what you should be doing, they’ll actually sit down with you and walk through the whole process. [They’ll] help you understand what financial responsibilities you have,” DeBellis says.

Many universities also offer transfer guides to help students cut down on the number of community college credits that don’t transfer. Some of these transfer guides are coordinated with specific community colleges, DeBellis explains. “Transfer guides give a sheet that explains what the degree is about, what the makeup of the degree is, gives you the courses that are offered at Umpqua, and how they transfer into OSU.”

For students who want to start at university as quickly as possible, several Oregon universities are offering degree programs at community colleges. For example, Central Oregon University, OSU, Bushnell University and George Fox University already work with UCC to provide bachelor degrees or classes with staff teaching at UCC. “The Degree Partnership Program is a great way to save money,” DeBellis says.

Each university will have somewhat different requirements for transferring. Students need to check their Degree Audit Planner or the college catalog to make sure they are taking all AAOT prerequisites for each required subject area to fulfill the transfer module. That usually will get the student into the transfer university, but not necessarily into the student’s desired degree program. “The university gets to decide what will transfer to them,” Ruch says.  

For example, the University of Oregon may accept a student based on the student’s transfer module but still not accept the student into the UO School of Journalism and Communication.

Ruch says the best thing to do is to look at the university’s website and see what community college classes correlate with the university’s bachelor’s degree.

Knowledge reduces stress, and UCC advisors as well as UCC program teachers are willing to assist students in the transfer process.

For more information, visit UCC’s website to learn more about the transfer process and the credentials students need to attend university.

Contact me at:
UCCMainstream@yahoo.com

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