The Skyline College Transfer Center along with twenty-seven Skyline College students recently visited UC Santa Cruz (UCSC) on March 9. The visit was organized in collaboration with UC Santa Cruz and the UCSC Transfer Preparation Program.
The visit to UCSC began with an admissions presentation facilitated by advisors from International and Transfer student recruitment. The admissions presentation provided students with information and insight into transfer admissions to UCSC. Moreover, it provided students with an insight of how applications are reviewed. The presentation emphasized the importance of becoming a competitive applicant by fulfilling major prerequisites and the significance of volunteer and work experience as well as grade point average.
Students had the opportunity to ask the admission advisors questions such as, “What the retention rates are for transfer students at UCSC?” and “On average, what is a competitive grade point average?”
Overall, the majority of students indicated they felt confident and gained a deeper understanding of transfer admissions and support programs. Students indicated that they felt empowered by the transfer prep program, transfer peer mentoring program, transfer survival workshops, and the transfer housing offered to transfer students. Students were also amazed by the Karl S. Pister Leadership opportunity offered to one Skyline College student.
Following the admissions presentation, students enjoyed a beautiful hour and a half long campus tour on a clear and warm day in Santa Cruz. Students visited all the residential sites at UCSC, as well as their campus facilities, libraries, and their state-of-the-art research labs. Following the campus tour, students enjoyed lunch and were able to observe student life at the Crown & Merrill Dining Hall. The dining common provided students an insight into the life of possibly transferring to UCSC and living in their residential dorms.
The feedback from our students was a joy to read for the Transfer Center Staff. One student wrote in their evaluation, “[T] his is my first UC Tour I’ve done. Very informative and a great way to see what schools best work for me. Please keep doing these!” Speaking on a similar theme, another student wrote, “Please continue these campus tours, they are very informative as well as fun to attend.”
We would like to extend special thanks to Marisa Thigpen, Jorge Murillo, Melanie Espinueva, Michael Stokes, Briana Clay, Jacqueline Espino, Katrina Pantig, Rocio Aguilar-Pedroza and all of our staff and faculty who supported this campus tour
Article by Lucy Jovel