Student Rosario A.K.A. Rose Lopez transferred from Los Angeles Mission College and is currently pursuing a Sociology degree. She is also working on obtaining a Philosophy minor while at UCLA as well. Rose takes pride in being a commuter, first generation and non-traditional student! As mental health advocate, she has some great tips for any prospective transfers (or current ones too) who are feeling a bit lost in the sauce.
Check them out below!
Tip #1: Start planning early! Like... earlier than you start planning for your favorite music festival. As soon as you get to community college (CC), begin looking for resources to help you transfer smoothly. Make sure to meet with academic counselors and keep in touch with the transfer office at your community college. Transferring to UCLA can seem a little bit difficult (more like incredibly difficult let's be honest) but it becomes a more enjoyable process with the right resources and amazing mentors.
Tip #2: Take your courses seriously! College courses are meant to be enriching and provide you with precious knowledge. At UCLA, you will find that the courses require you to have an advanced level in writing and reading comprehension and if you don't master these in community college, UCLA courses will be difficult to adjust to. I definitely advise that all students thinking about transferring to UCLA master (emphasis on the MASTER) the art of reading and understanding research articles as you will be reading MANY of them. If you begin taking your courses and education seriously at CC, then you will prepare yourself to succeed at UCLA.
Tip #3: Believe in your intelligence and abilities! When looking to transfer to a university like UCLA, it's easy to think that you may not be "good enough". And to that I say, nonsense! Throughout your whole transfer process, you need to believe in what you have to offer and know that you will be an awesome addition to UCLA. It is okay to have doubts, I think everyone has them... however let them stay as just thoughts and that's it. Throughout your whole process, remind yourself that you ARE intelligent and then some. YOU. ARE. THAT. BRUIN.
Tip #4: Lastly, this tip is for all transfer students but especially for non-traditional transfer students, IT IS NEVER TOO LATE. Let me repeat that, IT. IS. NEVER. TOO. LATE. And to add on to that, EVERY JOURNEY IS THE BEST JOURNEY. As a transfer student, I know that there is a fear of being judged because you chose to transfer. And as a non-traditional student, I know there is an even bigger fear of being an older person in school. I'm here to tell all of you that learning is a life-long journey. So whether you choose to start off as a community college student first, or whether you choose to continue your education later in life, the *important* thing is that YOU'RE DOING THE DANG THING. Be proud of yourself and your academic journey, whatever that may look like for you. You got this. :)
Rose you are a transfer super star and thank you for sharing your amazing advice!
