The De Anza College Transfer Center is holding UC application workshops through the end of November to help students complete the University of California application process. 

De Anza counselor and instructor Patricia Rios-Gibson led workshops in the Administration building and the Student and Community Services building in early November.

Rios-Gibson went through a step-by-step process on how to begin the UC application, making sure that students were clear on what to do when it came time for them to apply to different UC campuses.

“[Our goal is to] help students navigate the UC application and answer any transfer related questions they may have,” said Rios-Gibson.

The transfer workshop covered topics such as classes to take and how to be the best candidate to the UC schools.

Rios-Gibson emphasized that the first two years at any four-year school is the same as the two years at a community college. She advises students to not only take general education courses at De Anza, but also classes that prepare them for their major, or focus on finishing the Intersegment General Education Transfer Curriculum while maintaining a competitive GPA.

Communications major Justin Pham, 19, said the workshops were helpful, helping him get through many of his application worries.

“[The] thought of the application process has made me panic enough to look up most of the information I had received during the transfer workshop,” Pham said. “I did, however, find it reassuring to get that information directly from someone with plenty of experience in the transfer process.”

The workshops also cut student stress levels regarding transferring, especially in what Rios-Gibson called a “lean economy.”

“I would recommend it to any student looking to apply to a UC and do it right. To know that I am filling out the application correctly reduces the already high amount of stress attributed to the transfer process,” said Pham, a UCLA transfer hopeful.

The workshops will be ongoing throughout the month of November, along with personal statement workshops and individual campus visits from various UCs and their representatives.

De Anza counselor and instructor Patricia Rios-Gibson shows students how to avoid errors in entering academic history so they can guarantee transfer to a UC of their choosing. (Vivian Nguyen)