Transfer and career center hosts fair earlier to meet priority deadlines at four-year schools; event has advising guides available.
By Jakoby West
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
This year’s spring transfer fair will be 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday in the Fiesta Room of Loftin Student Center.
“We’re inviting local and regional universities to attend so students are encouraged to come out and speak with admission counselors to ask about their admissions process and scholarships,” transfer adviser Yesenia Caloca said Jan. 26 in an interview.
This year’s fair is earlier than previous fairs because of priority deadlines from universities.
“We are trying to push students to want to pursue transferring a bit earlier than previous semesters so that students won’t miss scholarship and admission deadlines that their university may have,” Caloca said.
Students also can inquire about on-campus living and financial aid offered by a university, she said.
Texas A&M University–College Station, Our Lady of the Lake University and Texas Tech University are among those scheduled so far.
As the list of universities attending continues to grow, the transfer and career center hopes the fair will get students to ask detailed questions and gain enough information so they want to transfer, Caloca said.
“Our transfer fairs are very successful, and we’re hoping that that will be the case again,” Caloca said.
The transfer and career center, known as TRAC, also is planning a career fair later in the spring aimed at setting students up in the workforce after earning their degrees, although no date has been decided.
Besides holding the fairs, TRAC offers services and organizes events for students looking to transfer to universities or starting a career with their degree.
“We provide services including transfer advising, connecting students with university representatives and admissions counselors,” Caloca said.
While Caloca wants to increase face-to-face help that the center offers, she also stresses how valuable a tool the TRAC website can be for students.
“Students can book online appointments to meet with representatives here in the TRAC center. That’s been pretty successful for students connecting here and not having to drive to their campuses,” Caloca said.
“In transfer advising, we utilize transfer guides so students can come by the front desk and just grab a copy of their transfer degree guide for whatever school they are trying to transfer to,” Caloca said.
TRAC wants students to understand the transfer process and ease any anxiety or overwhelming issues that go along with it, she said.
Students who are unsure of what they want to do or haven’t really thought about their next step are urged to set up an appointment.
Caloca wants students who have never used TRAC to ask themselves “Have you thought about transferring?” and “Do you know what you want to major in?”
“We’ve had students who’ve said they didn’t know we were here. We’ve had students say that they wish they had come in earlier. The sooner they can come in, the better they can be prepared,” Caloca said.
For more information, visit the center on the first floor of Moody Learning Center or http://www.alamo.edu/mainwide.aspx?id=43352.
