Whether it is a “highway to hell” or a “stairway to heaven,” the road to transferring into a university is elusive.

As Johanna De Spain, social work major, recently discovered, the recommended approach toward transferring varies with every person and is mostly determined by the student’s approach to his or her education rather than the recommendations given by any one adviser.

During the past few weeks, De Spain visited three different counselors in regards to the classes she needed to take in order to transfer into a CSU. What De Spain found was that all three counselors agreed on the classes required to do so.

This is not surprising; if the counselors have access to the same information, they will be able to follow the guideline defining the courses CSUs require from community college students and then regurgitate the information to students.

However, when De Spain inquired about how to petition for an associate’s of arts degree in social work, she received different answers. Unlike the university guidelines which tell the applicant which courses are necessary, a student may take different approaches when petitioning for an A.A.

One approach is, as counselors Cheryl Beverly and Else Reinersten suggested, to simply receive a degree in general studies regardless of the major. Counselor Bill Cooper, on the other hand, advised De Spain to choose a degree relating to her field of study.

Ken Key, also an EC counselor, said there are “about a thousand-and-one ways” to receive a degree. This may not be comforting for the already puzzled transferring students, but it may be reassuring to know that an associate’s degree task force does exist in order to make the process of transferring more clear.

Regardless of the effort this task force makes in creating a more defined transferring process, the truth is that every student’s educational background and needs are unique, meaning a general formula is not necessarily effective for every student.

How each person approaches his or her education is different, and the result is exclusive to each person’s experience and capability. Therefore, one should consult various counselors and seek other guiding alternatives when deciding on an educational plan to follow. Transferring students must take responsibility in education, become informed by asking questions, and define which route leads to success.