Our Truth: UCLA Transfers
During the last weeks, I have discovered that there exists a dispute between transfers and non-transfer students in UCLA. According to many UCLA transfer students, non-transfer students are frequently harsh and unsympathetic with them. They accuse them of coming to prestigious institutions, like UCLA, the “easy way”, making reference to the path that they have taken after graduating from high school. This path involves studying in a community college for two to three years, applying to a four-year university, and if accepted, transferring their general education courses to the university of their choice. Transfer students have mentioned that many of the students that come to UCLA in the traditional way argue that they worked hard since the beginning of high school to earn their place in this institution while transfer students enjoy their time in a community college and are easily accepted to UCLA.
But are transfers really taking advantage of the system and coming to prestigious universities the “easy way”? In my own experience, transfers are not. I transferred to UCLA after a tumultuous process that involved leaving my country, Mexico, at age eighteen, learning English from zero, adapting to the U.S. educational system in only three years, working a part-time while studying in a local community college, and finally when done with all my requirements, applying and being successfully accepted to a total of seven universities.
Having the possibility to attend a community college where courses like English as a Second Language are thought, where small classes that allow their students to learn while being truly involved with their professors are available, and where many unprivileged and nontraditional students have the opportunity to prepare themselves for an accessible cost is simply marvelous and it says very positive things about the U.S. educational system.
Although it is true that transfer students take advantage of this option, it is also true that they do so in a bold way. Students who choose to attend a community college do so for multiple reasons that do not always involved their ability to perform well during high school. Many traditional university students ignore that transfer students have often been directly accepted to four-year universities after finishing high school, just like them. However, they have chosen to attend a community college because at eighteen years old they lack the necessary resources to pay for their education and housing.
Many transfer students are part-time or even full-time workers, many others have already constructed their own family and hold a lot of responsibilities compared to traditional students. Many are first-generation students who did not have anybody to help them navigate the educational system and who were too young to decide what to do with their life after high school. Others, like me, are immigrants or international students that have had to adapt to the U.S. educational system in order to continue with their education. Their efforts could simply not be compared to the efforts of someone who has all the support and economic resources to study.
Regardless, both transfer and non-transfer students should be proud of their efforts and value the opportunity that they have to interact with people from so many backgrounds. Transfer and non-transfer students can share their knowledge with each other and go above and beyond what they learn in a classroom. UCLA is a university that prides itself on its diversity and commitment to quality education for all. Thus, let us go and celebrate this diversity and be proud of all the differences that make us unique and special.
About the author:
Lorena Bourdevaire Casillas is a Communication Major and Film and Television Minor who transfer to UCLA from El Camino College in Fall 2017. In the future, she would like to become a Broadcast journalist.
