Transfer Admissions on the Road: California
Christopher Young works in a dual role as an Associate Director of Transfer Admissions and Veteran Affairs. He recently traveled to California to attend transfer college fairs, so I met with him to learn more about his experience out west.
Jennifer: How many years have you traveled to California for Drexel?
Chris: Drexel has been recruiting in California for quite some time now, but for me personally, this is my third trip in a year. We’ve become more proactive about reaching transfer students within this state beginning in the Spring of 2016, and we plan to conduct bi-annual trips in the Spring and Fall every year going forward.
Jennifer: What is your favorite part of attending a fair?
Chris: My favorite part of any transfer fair is always the interaction with the students. However, California Transfer Fairs are typically outdoor events because the weather is so great. This is not the case with fairs at Northeast schools. Most, if not all, of our fairs are held indoors. So, to be outside and enjoying the weather and discussing transfer options with students really make the fairs great events.
Jennifer: Where do you love to visit when you travel to CA?
Chris: California is an incredibly beautiful state, and I’ve been fortunate to see both Northern and Southern California as we recruit through the entire state. I really enjoy getting on the Pacific Coastal Highway any chance I get. I usually hop on in Santa Monica when visiting Santa Monica College and drive north on my way to Santa Barbara City College. I also love a stop at In-N-Out Burger while I’m there. There is one right outside of SFO in Millbrae, CA, which I frequent anytime I’m flying in or out of San Francisco. This past trip I actually met an accepted student to Drexel there and we had dinner and discussed his next steps for transferring to Drexel.
Jennifer: Why do you think students in California consider transferring to Drexel?
Chris: In my opinion, the California Community College system seems to be an incredible place to start an undergraduate level education. The resources are incredible and the people that work there are extremely devoted to their students and their intended path in transferring. I think leaving the community college and transferring into a CA state school becomes increasingly challenging due to the sheer number of students in the state. I've discussed "impacted" or full state school programs at almost every community college that I’ve visited and to me, this seems to be the biggest challenge for transferring students.
At Drexel, we have all the programs that California students are looking for: Nursing, Engineering, and Business program, and we don’t have the issue of students not being accepted directly into their major due to a program being full, or "impacted." For me, my biggest goal has been and is to make students aware that they have many options available to them.
Jennifer: What is your favorite comment or moment from a student at the fair?
Chris: I really like reaching out to students who have applied or already have been accepted to Drexel and letting them know that I’ll be in their area to meet in person if they would like to. I don't think the students expect us to be in California, or at their specific community college, so I really like to hear their excitement while we are setting up a meeting at a fair, or event after the fair, like with the student that I met at In-N-Out burger.
Jennifer: What’s the most common question you receive, and how would you answer?
Chris: I think students looking to transfer from a California community college are most likely to be concerned with being accepted directly into their applied to major. Obviously, students want to finish their undergraduate degree in a reasonable amount of time and, as previously mentioned, many programs in California state schools are "impacted," so sometimes students may be accepted into a school, but not necessarily their applied to major, which has potential to extend how long a student will take to graduate in their degree. I think explaining how this is not the case at Drexel is one of the more common questions that I get.
Jennifer: Thank you, Chris!