You are quickly finishing your general education requirements meaning that your time at Skyline is coming to an end. University applications will be due soon. You know you want to transfer, but how do you decide where to go?

This is the question on the minds of many second and third year students at community colleges everywhere. When the time comes to make this decision, the factors that have to be considered are numerous. When it comes down to it, the most important factor for many students is very basic, according to Skyline academic adviser, Don Biederman.

“Many of our students default to the schools that are the closest,” Biederman said.

First year Skyline student Travis Stevens is no exception.

“I just started at here, but I think my top transfer choices would be SF State or San Jose State,” Stevens said. “I have friends who go to San Jose State, so I might want to go there.”

Skyline transferred 428 students to UCs and CSUs last year, according to information from California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) of those students, 257 went to San Francisco State, and 68 more were split between UC Berkeley, San Jose State and the former Cal State Hayward. This means that over 75 percent of transfer students stayed in the Bay Area.

Living in the San Francisco Bay Area, Skyline students are surrounded on almost all sides by UC and CSU campuses. This makes for a broad spectrum of local choices. Another advantage Skyline students have is the presence of on campus representatives from the relatively close campuses of UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz. Representatives from both schools are at Skyline once a week for several hours to meet with students and answer any questions they might have about these institutions.

UC Davis is especially popular with Skyline transfer students, according Jennifer Hughes, dean of counseling.

“Having an on-campus rep has helped encourage students,” Hughes said.

Biederman added that the transfer agreement Skyline has with UC Davis and the broad array of programs it has in the sciences also plays a part.

The programs that students have been most attracted to in recent years include business, nursing, engineering, and biological and chemical sciences. Bay Area students benefit from having access to nearby schools with programs in these areas. The popularity of these majors impacts universities that offer them, and students can face tough competition trying to get in. This is especially true right out of high school. However, transferring in after two years at a community college, like Skyline, is an alternative.

“UCs, CSUs and the Ivy Leagues are all very receptive to junior colleges,” said Skyline counselor Imelda Hermosillo.

This is good for Skyline students who want to go to one of the well respected, competitive Bay Area, or Greater Bay Area, schools. For example, a student applying to UC Davis as a high school senior will most likely need to have close to a 4.0 grade point average to be admitted into an impacted program. If that same student decides to attend Skyline for two years, he or she will be guaranteed transfer admission based on Skyline’s agreement with UC Davis, with a much more attainable grade point average. Students take advantage of this offer, according to Hughes, Hermosillo and Biederman. Data from CPEC shows that Skyline has transferred an average of 28 students per year to Davis for the last ten years.

Whether you choose to stay close like most Skyline students, or go farther away to continue your education, counselors advise that the choosing a school be done for the right reasons. They recognize the importance in students taking their needs and personal preferences into consideration. They remind students that this is a long term decision that will have to get you where you want to be.

According to Biederman, students should not make this choice based on superficial things.

“If you’re going to be a success it’s not going to be because of the school you went to,” Biederman said. “It’s going to be because of you. Name recognition of the school does not correlate to the quality of the school.”

Ultimately, these counselors all say you have to choose to the school that will most successfully prepare you for what you want upon graduation.

“You have to start with the end in mind,” Hermosillo said. “Whatever you do you have to bring the future into the present.”