Thinking of transferring to a four-year school after Bellevue College? Then be prepared to enter a world of massive and crucial steps that must be taken to find that path of success.
There are a number of students here at BC who are uninformed of what it exactly takes to transfer into a university. Students can’t just attend BC and take whatever classes they feel like. Sure, taking lots of art classes and chemistry may be fun, but for each major there are different credentials that correlate to what a student’s special major is in. Depending on what college students plan on transferring to, there are a number of certain credits (appropriate for one’s major) that must be taken here at BC.
Katherine Oleson, a professor in the communications department and faculty member here at BC said that students should consider being “major-ready.” “You really should be prepared within your first two quarters, knowing what classes you need to take to get your degree,” stated Oleson. “It is hard to know what classes are good for you to take and what classes that you need to take. But that’s what is nice about the Associate of Arts & Sciences degree is that is much more leeway in that aspect.”
Here at BC, there are several organizations that can be helpful in the transferring process. The Bellevue College Transfer Program is a university transfer advising center (located at the Educational Planning Advising Office). They have all sorts of information to help lead students in the right direction towards their future. For example, University of Washington requires students to have taken at least three years of language to even be considered for admission. This issue has caught many students off guard which leads them scrambling and having to stay a whole extra quarter or two, finishing up their language credits.
Patty Yee, 22, who is majoring in business, experienced troubles with transferring to Eastern Washington University. Yee stated that “I didn’t get the right information from the advisors. They told me that the business transfer classes will transfer to all universities. Little did they know that BA 200 does not transfer to EWU, but only BA 201 does.” Yee now is going to attend EWU to finish up her degree in business.
Oleson recommends that students check several different schools that they would like to apply for and by doing so, also look into their transfer institutions. Also, procrastinating and not taking math credits has become a reoccurring theme, which can hold students back an entire year.
Overall, the steps to success may not be as easy or difficult as some people may assume. It is okay to take enjoyable classses like art, theatre, physical education, etc. But staying on track is the main goal.
However, the process of life after BC may seem challenging and difficult but if precaution is taken into account ahead of time, students should not have as many issues scrambiling to get all their credits in close to graduation.