By Rodolfo Trujillo
Elans looking to transfer will have an opportunity to speak with representatives from over 20 colleges and universities next Tuesday during the Spring College Fair.
The fair will take place on the walkway between the P3 parking structure and the swim stadium from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The majority of the colleges represented will be from the California State system, including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Dominguez Hills, Northridge, Fullerton and Pomona as well as from other parts of the state.
The University of California campuses represented will be Berkley, Davis, San Diego and Merced.
Azusa Pacific University, Mount Saint Mary’s College and The Art Institute are some of the private colleges participating.
The two largest local colleges, University of Southern California and University of California, Los Angeles are not scheduled to attend, but have their own schedules to meet with students, which are located at the Transfer Center.
Transfer Center Director Paulina Palomino said that she sent an email to all her college representative contacts, but not everyone answered.
Palomino said that the lack of resources due to recent budget cuts have affected the outreach each college can do, especially for the state-funded ones.
The amount of students accepted by colleges has also decreased because of the budget. Palomino said that because of funding, more colleges have to reject more students than before. “It’s more competitive now,” Palomino said.
For those students that have a lower GPA, Palomino said that California State University, Los Angeles gives priority to local community college students like East Los Angeles College.
Palomino encourages students to apply to their dream college. For her, students never know which college might accept them. “Apply broadly, see who welcomes you,” Palomino said.
Palomino said that students that have already applied to different colleges can ask questions to find out what college would be the best fit.
Those who have not applied for the fall 2013 term are late, but can still research prospective colleges and might find a school they have not heard of before as a good fit for them.
Palomino said that most students apply to Cal State LA and UCLA because they want to stay close to their families or jobs.
Palomino suggests students to come prepared with questions and collect as much information from the representatives as they can.
Prospective questions are on the ELAC web site for the Transfer Center under “University Rep. Visits.”
Elans who have not decided on their major can go to the Career Center for a vocational assessment and then meet with a counselor.