Community College advice!

frrrph
Sat, 26 May 2007 16:32:20 +0000

Choose the toughest teachers, get to know and respect them - if they believe in you, they will guide you through the process and write solid recommendation letters.

For every hour officially scheduled as class, set aside 4 additional for homework (I didn’t do this, but boy, would that have been less stressful than the night-before method).

Follow the IGETC. Transferring into UC:s isn’t a very good deal for international students, but the IGETC will make sure the private colleges you apply to - more open-minded to internationals, better with financial aid - can transfer as many credits as possible.

I did transfer into a prestigeous university, but I’m not sure how much of a help I can be. I didn’t pick the smart GE classes I should’ve, I didn’t do that much EC:s, I didn’t overextend myself to get an on-campus job. I’ve handled my time at cc somewhat sloppily given that there ARE a lot of opportunities available, and I’d probably be somewhat of the exception. But basically: get involved in your community. It might be in organized campus groups, or more independently as I did.

Enroll in the Honors Program as soon as you can. Even with this, getting that A isn’t very hard at a cc, relatively speaking: this is why it’s important you distinguish yourself to professors by going above and beyond expectations. Especially with professors that still teach at academically rigorous UC:s alongside the cc, having their honest estimate on where and how far you can go is invaluable.

Good luck!