Counseling Resources

Image: Scenes from around campus

Posts Filed under College Students

Govenor Signs California Budget

July 29th, 2009

As noted in an from Chancellor Jack Scott, these are somthings that we should consider as we move to the future:

The Challenges Ahead

While I would like nothing more than to tell you that we anticipate a strong recovery of the state budget in the near future, this is not the case. California’s fiscal crisis is rooted first and foremost in the worldwide economic collapse. While the world and U.S. economies have shown some signs of turnaround in recent months, all indications are that the recovery will be slow and take an extended period of time. Further, the California economy, the epicenter of the foreclosure crisis, appears to be on an even slower course to recovery than the rest of the nation. Until the economy regains its strength, the California state budget will continue its struggles.

Focusing on Key Priorities

As we move forward though these difficult times, the work of the California Community Colleges has never been more important. Unemployed Californians rely on the community colleges for the retraining they need to find employment and advance in their chosen professions. Students displaced from UC and CSU due to budget cuts will come to our doors to begin their higher educations. California businesses depend on the community colleges to provide the skilled workers needed to compete and prosper in the today’s global economy. While the budget cuts we have experienced will make it harder for us to meet these needs and there is no question our overall capacity to serve students will diminish, we must do what we can with the resources we are provided to meet these critical needs.

These tough times will not last forever, however. When we look back, the test of our worth will be how well we managed to meet the critical educational needs of Californians during challenging fiscal times and how well we preserved the core instructional and student support infrastructure of our colleges. In the weeks and months ahead, I assure you that I will be doing everything possible to look out for the interests of the community colleges in the state budget process and will provide you with timely and accurate updates concerning new developments.

More and more students will be going the community college route and the system will have its work cut out for it.  We will be working together to help students receive quality service with the resources available.

Filed under: Budget, College Students. Tagged: , ,

What Is A Federal Pell Grant?

July 28th, 2009

Federal Pell Grants are the foundation of federal student financial aid, to which aid from other federal and nonfederal sources might be added.

  1. Pell grants are generally awarded only to undergraduate students – those who haven’t earned a bachelor’s or graduate degree.
  2. In some limited cases, however, you might receive a Pell Grant if you’re enrolled in a postbaccalaureate teacher certificate program.
  3. Amounts can change yearly.  The max award for the 2007 – 2008 award year was $4,310.

If you haven’t yet filled out the FAFSA (financial aid application), do so now to give you an opportunity to get money for school.

For more college tips.

Filed under: College Students, financial aid. Tagged: , , ,

CSU’s Announce Changes To Winter & Spring Transfers

July 27th, 2009

On July 9th, the CSU system announced “Budget Cuts Force CSU to Close 2010 Spring Admissions.”  This is a huge blow for our community college students and the california community college system as a whole.  Students that find themselves in the middle of this new turn of events should speak to a college counselor to identify alternatives and a plan for you to follow.

Who will be admitted?

“Only fully-eligible first-time freshmen, upper division undergraduate transfers or graduate and post-baccalaureate applicants who have applied for admission prior to July 6, 2009 may be offered admission to the 2010 winter term,” said Jeri Echeverria, CSU executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer.

Filed under: Budget, California State Universities, College Admissions, College Students, community college. Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Summers For College Students

June 19th, 2009

Now that summer is in full effect, I thought I would write some tips for students to help you get ahead in your college career.  Some of the best way to get transfer or graduation requirements out of the way is to take summer school.  Summer school at Berkeley City College is about 6 weeks long.  While most students jump at the idea of finishing a class in 6 weeks, keep in mind you are still covering the same amount of content.  You are taking the material of a 16 week course and squeezing all of it into 6 weeks.  So if you think summer school at a community college is going to be a breeze, be ready to work.

Other things that you can do to help you get ahead if you are looking to transfer to a 4 year university of college:

  1. Get an internship in a field you are interested in studying
  2. Do some volunteer work in the community
  3. Visit schools that you may be interested in attending
  4. Join a student organization or club

Most 4 year universities want to see that you have been a productive student outside of the classroom.  They want to see your leadership abilities and your involvement on campus and in the community.  The more you can show them you will be a contributing member of their community, the more likely your chances of being accepted are.  Keep in mind, you want to maintain a high level of academic performance (G.P.A.) while being involved.  Don’t sacrifice grades just so you get involved in a lot of activities.  It’s better to get high grades and be involved in 1 or 2 things than lower grades while being involved in a million activities.

For more college help, visit Advancement Strategies for Undergraduate Students.

Filed under: College Help, College Students. Tagged: ,

Califonia State University Impaction And The Effect On SJSU

February 23rd, 2009. 1 comment (comments are closed)

EFFECT OF SYSTEM WIDE IMPACTION ON STUDENT TRANSFER TO SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY

The CSU’s declared a system wide impaction on November 20th, 2008. The effect of this impaction is being felt most significantly by students who applied for Fall 2009 transfer to San Jose State University. Here is an update from asjsu-logo-select Transfer Center Directors Regional meeting:

In the last 2 years, San Jose state found itself 12% over CSU’s enrollment target. On November 20th, San Jose State was required to reduce its student count to what it should be. SJSU in essence was asked to make a 2 year reduction in two weeks. By then, 2/3 of the students had gone through the admissions process and had received admissions notices. SJSU reps discussed how they would make this happen and decided that rescinding admissions of students already admitted was not the best option. Here is what they decided to do:

  • For students who applied November 20th and after (yes, November 20th is the correct date!), local students who meet admissions requirements would be admitted, students outside of the Santa Clara district would be placed on a waiting list.
  • Students who applied before November 19th who cleared admissions will be honored (including TAA’s)and will be receiving their admissions packets will be received their admissions packet on March 15th (packets go out on this date).
  • Students who have been placed on a waiting list can expect to hear from San Jose State beginning March 1st.
  • Students placed on a waitlist status have been informed of their status, have been told to monitor their sjsu.edu account, and to consider a plan “B”.
  • Of the students on the waitlist, admissions decisions will be based on a gpa threshold (e.g. students with “X” gpa or higher). Admissions decisions will not be based on major.
  • Some, all, or no student will be offered admissions.
  • Students whose have been denied admissions at this point will have the option of having their application routed to CSU East Bay. You can visit the website at CSU EASTBAY . The application fee will be waived for students as they have already paid for it when they submitted their application to SJSU.

No decisions have been made both for Spring 2010 or Fall 2010. SJSU will be open for the initial filing period only (August 1st – August 31st).  For the Fall, it is possible that they will be open for Santa Clara county residents and that those outside of the area will be placed on a waiting list. SJSU has submitted a proposal for impaction status for Fall 2010. No decisions are likely until the summer before the start of the Fall semester.

Recommendations For Students:

Students who have plans on applying to SJSU for the Spring 2010 and Fall 2010 semesters

  1. Meet With Your Counselor
  2. Apply Early
  3. Have a Plan B
  4. Have a Well Thought Out Plan B!

Filed under: California State Universities, College Students, Transfer. Tagged: , , , ,

.