By Cortez Cruz Serrato and Rogelio Alvarez
Students often worry about feeling stuck at a junior college, but fail to realize that they have every opportunity to graduate or transfer in a timely manner.
Colleges around the country offer multiple resources to help students complete the process of obtaining a degree at an appropriate pace, but most students just refuse to take advantage.
East Los Angeles College is no different from other colleges when it comes to providing its students with resources to help obtain a certificate, associate degree and the eligibility to transfer.
The Learning Center, Math Lab and the library are outstanding in providing students a quiet place to study and hands-on tutoring if necessary.
The campus even has a daycare where parents can leave their children in a safe place while they are in class or handling other business on campus.
By not using these resources, students are hurting themselves and making the road to obtaining their degrees and certificates more difficult.
According to collegemeasures.com, ELAC only has a 6.9 percent transfer rate, which is second to last in the Los Angeles Community College District.
Students and administration are both to blame for the low transfer rates, but we as students still have to work to achieve our academic goals.
Building relationships with counselors and professors is also a vital part of effectively getting through community college without delays.
Professors and guidance counselors are excellent in helping students set up an academic plan by getting them through picking the correct classes to finish their general education requirements along with choosing the major that best suits their interests.
Students with a Student Educational Plan are less likely to waste their time taking unnecessary classes.
There are multiple obstacles that junior college students have to endure on their path towards receiving an associate’s degree or eligibility to transfer.
Students at the junior college level have a difficult time registering and getting the classes needed as opposed to students at CSU’s and UC’s.
There are tips and tricks to help students maneuver their way towards their academic goals in a faster amount of time.
Students should take as many classes as they possibly can when they first enroll.
By taking a large number of units they have an earlier registration date every semester.
Students also must be as flexible with class times as they possibly can.
Three hour classes are not ideally what students aim to take, but these classes are usually available.
Students are much better off taking an open three-hour night class than passing up the course and pushing it off until the following semester.
Students should be persistent when it comes to getting the class they want.
I have added many classes just by checking the Student Information System on a consistent basis and finding class opening that were not available when I first registered.
Students should use the resources that are on campus and use them to thrive as students and then move on to bigger and greater things.
For more information visit elac.edu, see the transfer center or schedule an appointment with a counselor.