From public and private to out-of-state and in-state, representatives from scores of colleges and universities came to El Camino College to answer questions on the transfer process.
Over 60 university representatives came to meet with inquisitive students as they flooded the Library Lawn for the Spring University Fair on Thursday, March 20.
“This is their network. These are the people that can answer questions about admissions, about financial aid, about housing,” Rene Lozano, Transfer Center coordinator, said.
Lozano has been working at the ECC Transfer Center since 2013.
Like many other students, Lozano had doubts on whether he would be going to college.
Having grown up in Lynwood as a first-generation college student, he said he never thought someone like him would belong at the University of California, Los Angeles.
However, mentors and teachers in Lynwood encouraged him to see it differently.
“A lot of students walk around with myths about what they think it takes to get in, how much it costs, and sometimes that can be really discouraging because they don’t really have all the information,” Lozano said.
Nursing major Konima Samosa, 22, has already been accepted to California State University, Los Angeles, for healthcare administration.
“I may not want it as I thought I wanted it,” Samosa said, expressing some hesitation with pursuing her major. Coming from Africa, she feels nursing is the only thing she knows.
She is awaiting her potential acceptance to California State University, Long Beach.
Music majors Dune Palmer, 22, and Ivan Vallecillas, 25, both took the opportunity Thursday to explore the fair together.
“In my case, it takes me two or three months to have a piece good, memorized, ready to play,” Vallecillas said.
Palmer adds you can’t put off practicing a piano piece.
“You’re always working on a piece, polishing,” he said.
Vallecillas is looking to transfer next year, and he anticipates needing to practice piano pieces ranging from the romantic era to the 20th century in order to prepare for university.
Meanwhile, other students are newly arriving and want to get ahead in their transfer plans.
Serena Gomez, 18, and Anna Verkholiak, 18, are both majoring in psychology and shared that they are open to changing majors and exploring other options during their time at ECC.
They are on the lookout for their potential future university and used the fair as a chance to speak directly with potential institutions.
“I can say it as a counselor all day long. They [students] are not going to believe it until they hear it from UCLA or Long Beach,” Lozano said.
