By Cristina Galvan
With college admission deadlines around the corner, students should be aware of the different requirements.
Most classes offered at East Los Angeles College are transferable to the Cal State Universities and colleges of California, and by completing certain coursework such as the intersegmental general education transfer curriculum, (IGETC), students fulfill the general requirements for these schools.
Many of these schools have different requirements and different general education requirements than CSU or UCs.
For example during the Spring 2012 semester, I transferred to Texas Christian University, private and an out of state school.
While doing my admission paper work, I thought that all the classes that I took at ELAC were going to be transferable.
I also thought that I was already going to enter as a junior and that I was going start working on my upper division courses. This was not the case.
I still had to take a few classes to meet TCU’s general studies curriculum. Also I still had to take some lower division classes for my major. On top of that, many classes that I took at ELAC simply counted as electives.
Faced with these obstacles, I decided to leave TCU and that it was best to come home to apply to another school where classes that I took at ELAC counted.
Students should read things carefully and ask the right questions.
If there is any doubt about the transferring process students should ask for help in the transfer center located in E1 176.
Students can also set up an appointment with a counselor by calling (323) 265-8751.
Websites such as asssit.org let students know the equivalence classes in their school of their choice.
Aside from being aware of different requirements students should also keep track of different deadlines.
The filing period for the CSU and UC started on Oct. 1 and ends Nov. 30. Many private and out of state schools have different filling periods.
Transferring to a four year school is a big step in a student’s career and being aware and asking for help will ease the transition.