San Diego Mesa College held their second mini transfer fair of the Spring semester March 12, bringing awareness to students of multiple transfer options they might not have known were available. Representatives from 11 universities were set up in the Mesa Commons area ready to answer students’ questions about their transfer needs.
The visiting universities are all part of the San Diego Education Consortium. Sarah Orozco, a representative from Point Loma Nazarene said, “SDEC is comprised of all private universities in San Diego and then as well as all of the community colleges in San Diego. So we select a couple of dates that we are interested in coming and letting students know about our universities.” When asked about what she would want students to know when visiting the transfer fair, Orozco said, “The biggest thing is knowing that you have help.”
Smaller schools like University of Saint Katherine in San Marcos, attended the fair not only to give information, but also get the word out to students of their presence as a university. Saint Katherine has been established for four years, but only accredited for two. Alyssa Ramos, admissions coordinator for the university said, “We’re mostly out her for exposure just to let people know like we’re new, but we’re legit, we’re here.” Ramos also mentioned that they typically use their sports and their Kinesiology program to draw student’s attention because it is not a program that is not always available at other schools.
The students that stopped to take advantage of the fair found the event beneficial. Some had also participated in previous transfer fairs. Mesa student Brooke Peet said, “I find them extremely helpful, especially if you don’t know where you’re going yet.” When Peet was asked what she in particular looks for in a transfer fair she said, “I look for what the school has to offer, how much it is, how long it takes, and after talking to the other school’s councilors, who’s willing to help me more.”
The representatives from each university were enthusiastic and more than willing to answer questions as well as share information about their schools and programs with students. The event was held from 10 a.m-1 p.m. and is a precursor to the Transfer Options Fair to be held on April 24. A current list of attending universities for the Transfer Options Fair is not available at this time.
