Pepperdine? Loyola Marymount? UCLA? These are just a few of the transfer options students contemplated at the annual transfer college fair. With over 70 colleges and universities for GCC students to speak with, the campus was buzzing with opportunity for the future. Power 106 helped keep the energy going by pumping music and calling up students to participate in contests like ‘who can name five Drake songs in a row without pausing.’

Having in-person access to all these different universities is very resourceful, especially to students who take transfer planning into their own hands. Veronica Gevorkian and Alique Khatchikian are students at GCC in their first semester at the college.

They mentioned that even though they’ve met briefly with a counselor, they’ve been thinking and planning their transfer goals mainly on their own. Both cited USC and LMU as top choices. However, their number one choice differs, with Gevorkian’s being Georgetown and Khatchikian setting her sights on UCLA. 

Gevorkian is a government major and is considering taking on a second major in journalism. The transfer fair gave them and many other students the opportunity to ask questions about which path they should take to achieve their goals and how to get into their dream school.

As an incentive to get students out to the main plaza, students picked up free meals from The Habit Burger Grill truck. Though, in order to walk away with one, students had to approach five different booths and ask the university representative one question each. The questions were pre-written by GCC event organizers who sought to encourage students to approach more than one booth with a freebie.

Students got a feel for campus communities by chatting with recruiters. The representative for Loyola Marymount University stated that their mascot is Iggy the Lion, because before the Jesuit founders of LMU broke ground on the campus, mountain lions had inhabited the area. Pepperdine’s representative stated that their most popular undergrad major is business.

Emerson College, located in Boston, was present as an out of state option. A representative for the school, Lisa Yaeger, was eager to talk to students and share information about the college. Emerson has developed one of the best journalism programs in the country, she noted.

The Princeton Review named Emerson College the most LGBTQ-friendly campus. The Robbins Center at Emerson College offers speech therapy to Boston area transgender and gender diverse individuals. This therapy helps them learn to express “themselves more authentically through voice and communication modification.” Knowing this college is a safe-space for students could sway someone to make this school their top transfer choice.

A lot of the information handed out during the college fair can be found online but to understand campus life, talking to a recruiter and having a conversation can mean the difference between opening an application and giving up before trying.

Natalie Casey can be reached at [email protected]