Educational Opportunity Program: A Family Away From Home

The best mentor group ever!  Top row, left to right: Lorenzo, Fidel, and Marivel.
 Front row: Diana, Carolina, Houa, and Rebecca.

Universities can sometimes feel like big, impersonal places, and  it's easy to get lost in the crowd when you're one of many students.  Just as great majors and amazing professors are a part of a quality education, great friendships and lots of support ensures that your first year at university will be off to a strong start. 

One way Chico State tries to help its new students thrive is though it's Educational Opportunity Program.  EOP has a lot of really practical ways of helping students adjust to university life.   For example, there's the Summer Bridge residential program.  Summer Bridge is held a few weeks before the beginning of classes.  Students come to Chico State early and get a jump start on making friends, meeting faculty and staff, all while taking workshops that teach them how to be an on-point college student.  Students can access a lot of other services throughout the year as well. Tutoring, workshops and socials are all part of the EOP experiance.   Best of all, EOP staff genuinely care about you as an individual and work hard to support you through the beginning, middle and end of your college experience.

How do can you become an EOP student? You have to apply!  Students must submit the regular fall application for admission during the October 1st- November 30th period. Then students must fill out the EOP application. This absolutely has to be done by the November 30th deadline!   If you don't turn in both applications you won't be considered as a candidate for EOP.   In order to qualify for EOP, students have to meet specific criteria and submit two letters of recommendation and an autobiographical essay.
 

Building a strong foundation.  Bottom row, left to right Jasmin, Fidel, Marivel and Lorenzo.  Top row: Rebecca, Carolina and Houa. 

 It's definitely a lot more work to become an EOP student, but the skills you learn and relationships you build are so worth the extra effort!  For many students EOP has become a central part of their college experience and their "family" away from home.  Do you want to be on the fast track to amazing friendships and success?  Explore the Educational Opportunity Program at Chico State! 

What's Happening Spring 2013?

We now have the final word on the spring 2013 application for admission.  We will accept applications during the filling period of August 1-31, 2012 from students who satisfy one or more of the following criteria: 1.  Applicants who complete an Associate Degree for Transfer (AA-T or AS-T), made possible by the passing of Senate Bill 1440.  This special degree program is available for a select group of majors deemed similar at community colleges throughout California.  Degrees must be verified by October 15, 2012 by the participating community college. OR 2.  Applicants who are fully eligible, upper division transfer students with 30 or more units from one or more of the following local community colleges:  Butte, Feather River, Lassen, Shasta, Siskiyous and/or Yuba.  (Additional criteria must be met.)   For complete application filing details and criteria, please visit our website.

What's So Great About Chico State?

Some of the amazing students you'll meet at Chico State.  From left to right: Zijian He, Sonya Shumate, Shemu Ariyasivam, and Rachel Wietbrock. 

     Is Chico State really all that great?  I mean, yes, it has a beautiful campus and its academics are top notch, but isn't it all too good to be true?  Actually, it's totally true; Chico State is a great place to be!  But just so you don't have to take my word for it,  I interviewed four students were eager to share why Chico has been such a great place for them.  Zijian He, a Master's of Business Administration student from China shared, "I think Chico State is very international.  There are a lot of study abroad opportunities.  I went to Spain through Chico State's study abroad program.  Chico is also a very safe town with very hospitable people."
      When I asked Shemu Ariyasivam, an Applied Physics major from Sri Lanka, why he thought Chico was a great place, he replied, "Honestly, Chico State has the best atmosphere when it comes to people and an environment to facilitate a great educational experience."  Sonya Shumate, a Health Science Education major from Oakland shared that for her, "Chico State is great because it took me out of my box and old environment.  I met new people and tried new things.  It really changed my perspective.  I even changed my major from Psychology to Health Science Education."  Rachael Wietbrock, a Chico native and transfer student, didn't have to go far to find exactly what she was looking for, "What I love about Chico State is the fact that they had the exact major I wanted.  It's a holistic approach to Health Science that incorporates things like nutrition and diversity.  Everyone is also really friendly and the faculty really cares about you.  You're not an inconvenience to them."
      I've met dozens and dozens of students in my almost two years at Chico State and you I can tell you that the majority of them are loving and really making the most of their Chico experience.  Students like Zijian, Sonya, Shemu and Rachel are plugged in by working on campus, exploring the various programs we offer and being open to new adventures.  Do you want to explore more first-hand student experiences?  Check out our real life student blogs, TwentyFourSeven.

What Should You Be Doing Now?

It's summer!  You've been admitted to Chico State!  You can relax now, right?  Don't pick up that bottle of sun screen quite yet.  There are some very, very important tasks that admitted students need to complete before classes begin on August 27th.  Let's make sure you can check them off your list.
 

Transfer students, have you . . .

Requested final transcripts from all previously attended institutions to be sent to the Chico State Admissions Office?  Our address is 400 West First Street, Chico, CA 95929-0722.  All outstanding documents must be in our office by July 14th.   

Signed up for an orientation?  Orientation is a new student's first chance to register for classes.  Orientation isn't mandatory, but if students don't attend they'll have to wait till July 23rd to register. 

Made housing plans?  The Chico housing application is still open, but at this point students should check out alternative housing options here and here since on-campus housing is looking less likely this late in the year.

First Time Freshmen, have you. . .

Requested final transcripts from your high school to be sent to the Chico State Admissions Office?  Our address is 400 West First Street, Chico, CA 95929-0722.  All outstanding documents, including test scores must be in our office by July 14th. 

Taken an English Placement Test (EPT) and/or Entry Level Math (ELM) test if you were not otherwise exempted through EAP, SAT, ACT or AP test scores?  You should take placement tests ASAP if you are required to.  If students show up to orientation without test scores on file they won't be able to register for classes!  Danger, danger future Wildcat!

Completed your Early Start registration? If you scored less than 50 on the Entry Level Math test and/or less than 138 on the English Placement Test it's absolutely essential that you register for an Early Start experience.  The website csusuccess.org can give you an idea of what classes are available.  You'll be contacted by the campus where you've elected to take your Early Start classes with further registration information. 

Signed up for an orientation? Orientation is a new student's first chance to register for classes.  Orientation isn't mandatory, but if students don't attend they'll have to wait till July 23rd to register.  If you still have to take an EPT or ELM test, sign up for an orientation after your test scores are scheduled to arrive. 

Made housing plans?  The Chico housing application is still open, but at this point students should check out alternative housing options here and here since on-campus housing is looking less likely this late in the year. 

The Secrets of Successful Transfer Students

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Transfer students make up a good portion of our student population each year.   Last year Chico State admitted 3,306 transfer students alone.   As an insider to the admission process, I wanted to share some strategies I wish more students would employ to avoid disappointments and delays when trying to transfer.  

1.    Successful transfer students understand what classes they need to take.   Not all community college courses are transferable.  I’ve seen students fail to grasp this essential fact over and over again.  Working with your community college transfer center, a community college counselor and assist.org will help clarify the difference between transferable and non-transferable courses. 

2.    Successful transfer students leverage all their resources.  I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to get help when you need it.  Community colleges are busy and very crowded places.  Students need to learn to self-advocate, to ask questions and be persistent.  Does your campus have cross enrollment programs?  Can you join EOPS?  What programs are available to help students be successful?  Find out and join up, you won’t regret it. 

3.    Successful transfer students understand the application process clearly.  It’s important to connect early on with the university you want to transfer to.  I’ve witnessed a lot of confusion about admission requirements.   How many units do you need to complete?   Does having an AA or an AS guarantee admission?  Does your transfer campus require you to complete lower division major requirements as part of admission?  Students need to find out directly from the source.   If you want the bottom line, ask admission representatives what will keep you out of their university. 

4.    Successful transfer students know grades matter. Transfer admission in an era of budget cuts is becoming an increasingly competitive.   Students with lower GPA’s are finding it more difficult to transfer.  If a campus requires a 2.0 GPA to be eligible to transfer, a 1.98 GPA will not cut it.   Often campuses look at cumulative GPAs; a bad semester will follow you wherever you go.   Start strong, and finish strong academically.  
  

5.    Successful transfer students read university e-mails frequently and take deadlines seriously.  It’s common for Chico State to get over 22,000 applications in a year.   If a student does not respond to a request, pay a fee, or submit a transcript, chances are they won’t be an applicant for long.   The reality is that students who don’t follow through with deadlines make it easier for others to get admitted in their place.

Take it from me; successful transfer students are not passive.  They've learned their stuff and not only in an academic sense.  Do you have specific questions or topics you'd like to learn more about.  Feel free to ask in the comment or shoot me an email at chicoadmissioncounselor@gmail.com. 

Spring 2013 Admissions

 

We've been receiving a lot of phone calls and emails about the spring 2013 application period.  At this point, we don’t have a definite spring plan yet.  It appears that we may offer limited spring admission for very specific populations.  Potentially, upper division transfer students from Butte College, College of the Siskiyous, Feather River College, Lassen College, Shasta College, or Yuba College may be given the green light to apply for spring.  Students from these campuses may be considered if they have completed at least 30 units in residence and are also regularly admissible. 

We may also be admitting students with community college certified AA-T or AS-T degrees.  If you’re not sure what AA-T or AS-T degrees are, I’d recommend consulting the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office website for a list of approved degrees.  Students should work directly with their community college if they’d like more information about obtaining certified degrees.   Chico State may also be open to veteran populations.  It's important to remember that this isn't the final word about spring 2013 and all this is subject to change.  Final decisions will be available the last week in July.   Keep checking this space for the spring 2013 application status.

Fall 2012 Admissions Update Part 2

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s happening here in the Office of Admissions as of today:

1.       We are still processing applications for fall 2012.   A good deal of admissions decisions have already gone out, but we’re not quite done with all of them yet.  During spring break our databases were down for an upgrade, so we couldn’t process applications, but now we are back in full force.

2.     Students should still be checking Portal Accounts and Wildcat Email accounts because the most current and up to date information about admission decisions will always be there.  Often, notifications via the Portal and/or email are the quickest and only way to get information as we send far fewer letters and cards these days. 

3.     May 1^st is the all important Intent to Enroll (IE) deadline and unless you are exempt based on financial need, submit your $200 non-refundable deposit.  This tells us you’re definitely coming and saves your space at Chico State.  Hint: don’t wait until the last day and risk some sort of system failure on our part or computer malfunction on yours.

4.      If you are an admitted student there are a lot of things still left to be done.  You’ll want to make sure to use your What’s Next handout we sent in your admissions packet.  We hope this month-by-month guide will help you take care of other important deadlines like Housing, Financial Aid and Orientation.

5.    Speaking of Summer Orientation, their website is live. Check out their calendar and get a sense of when you might like to come.   We strongly encourage you to attend, as you are able to sit down with an advisor, get help selecting classes and register. 

6.    Not sure what residence hall  you want to live in?  Check out the virtual tours available online.   Just click on any of the hall names and  they will take you to floor plans, videos and more!  The housing application is now open to students.