Bakersfield College’s California State University application workshops held Oct. 4 and continuing today take the work out of applying for Cal State, said Barbara Braid of BC’s Counselor Transfer Center.
CSU began accepting applications for Fall 2006 admissions on Oct. 1, and the series of workshops facilitate students’ smooth transition from BC to Cal State.
Today’s workshop begins at 11 a.m. and continues until 1 p.m. The first workshop was held in the Grace Van Dyke Bird Library 148, and today’s will be held in Science and Engineering 7. Braid emphasized that students must bring an unofficial copy of their transcripts they can download off Banner. Braid also said that students need a valid, active e-mail account.
Students will be guided through a “step by step” process, Braid said. “Students can finish the application procedure within 50 minutes to an hour,” she said.
Students attending will sit at a computer and go to CSUmentor.edu and step right into the application. Students will create user accounts and go through the entire application on the computer screen, she said.
The great thing about the workshops is that students “get the application done before the due date, get questions answered, avoid hassles, and being there develops a sense of community because others are doing exactly what you’re doing,” Braid said.
A common assumption among student attendees is that transfer students must worry about remembering what classes they took in high school, and they do not have to worry about putting that down on their CSU applications if they have 60 or more units of community college coursework, said Braid. This confusion arises because there is only one application and not two applications with one for transfers with 60 or more units and another for transfers with less than 60 units.
Another assumption of students is that they believe they have to worry about their SAT or ACT scores, and they do not if they have 60 or more units of community college coursework, Braid said. However, students have to put down what they are taking in the spring, Braid said.
According to Braid, these workshops are held only during the fall semester. CSU applications are due between Oct. 1 through Nov. 30, when they are officially accepted, Braid said.