Skyline College held their annual Transfer Day program this past Monday, October 22. The Transfer Day acted as a way for students to talk to different colleges about opportunities to transfer to four year universities.

The schools in attendance included the local schools such as San Francisco State University, Sacramento State University, San Jose State University and San Francisco State University. Other universities that attended were Gonzaga University, Notre Dame De Namur, and UC Davis, amongst others.

Students filed into the cafeteria to obtain information straight from representatives from various colleges. Some students were merely looking at certain colleges just to get an idea for what they wanted for their future. Other students focused on schools that carried their majors.

Skyline student Ryan Rosales, who is planning to leave next year, is currently a game design major, and was interested in Santa Cruz University. “I heard a lot of good things about their game design program compared to other schools, so that’s the main school I am looking at right now,” said Rosales.

The major concerns among students are both the financial and academic aspect of transferring to four year universities. With the costs of education rising at the community college and university level, students are more aware of potential problems that arise with transferring.

Jerome Manalo, who is taking prerequisites for pharmacy school, feels both grades and finances are a concern when it comes to transferring.

“Both my grades aren’t that high unfortunately. I am working too, which puts that all to a halt. So who knows I might be hustling for later on,” said Manalo.

Doris Fendt, the Community College Outreach Coordinator for San Francisco State University, feels the focus should be mainly on your grades. “Protect your GPA”, said Fendt, “because it is going to become more and more competitive to get into any four year university.”

But Fendt assures that the community college route is the smartest way to get to a four year university. “Transfer students are really smart when they do their first two years here,” said Fendt, “it saves you a lot of money, it will reduce your debt, and it saves you from taking out loans. I just think it’s going to be the way of the future.”