We Made It!!

Well the time has come! My last semester at City College is over, all that awaits is final grades which are suppose to be posted by 11:59 tonight! Ahhhh, I hate waiting for final grades.... Anyways I'm not too worried! I hope all of you had an awesome spring semester - you made it through finals, I told you all that you'd make it! 

Well anyways, those of you who are attending Santa Barbara city college next year, I know you'll have a fabulous year! I will definitely miss SBCC, it was such a good transition for me. For those of you who will be attending your first year at SBCC: Going to the city college really helped to make the change from HIGHSCHOOL and living at home, to jumping into college and living with roommates much, much easier. It is a shuttle transition, transferring to the CC; you still have mostly smaller sized classes, and you still have "homework assignment" as opposed to solely midterms and essays as at Universities. If change is hard for you, the city college definitely stands as a great bridge into your university years. 

For those of you transferring to UCSB, I'm sure you're a little nervous... As I am too! But I think the best advice I've been given about transferring is to just give it time. Multiple people have told me that the change is a little challenging at first, however, as the first quarter goes on, you get to know the campus very well and also you begin to become familiar with the different teaching methods and you won't even look back! 

Have a great summer everyone! You guys deserve it with all of your hard work this year; and Good luck with all of your endeavors next year!

Transferring to UCSB

Since I figure that a lot of students who attend SBCC are planning to transfer to UCSB (as I am as well), I decided that it would be awesome to talk with a current UCSB student who transferred from city college also!

My boyfriend, Matt attended SBCC and actually graduated SBCC with several associates degrees and transferred to UCSB last fall majoring in economics. I've been talking with him a lot lately about what it was like to transfer to a university after several years at a city college and he has given me quite a few good pointers that I though would be beneficial to all of you guys planning to transfer as well.

What were your first thoughts of UCSB?
"Well it was a lot different than the City College and definitely a big change. We started on week 0 (the Thursday before week 1). My first class was a class that was specifically for transfer students, so that was nice because it was a sort of transition class, to help ease us into classes at the university.
Another thing to note... there is a ton more bikes, the bike paths are like freeways. Biking to class was interesting for the first couple of weeks, but once you get the system down, you won't even think twice about hopping on your bike and heading out to class.... just don't forget your bike lock... oh and only park your bike in the marked stales; do not, however, lock them to a tree... It will get impounded, and you will have to pay to get it out, trust me, I learned that one the hard way."


How did you have to tweak your study habits?
"Your course load honestly depends on your major, but for the most part all of the classes I have tarn have been much more fast paced as UCSB is on a quarter system. This also means that after the first couple of weeks you will probably have a midterm or essay due every single week, which is extremely different from the spread out course work that you come across at SBCC. OH and there is rarely any homework, your grade will consist of your midterms, possible essays, and finals. This makes studying everyday crucial to doing well in your classes. I study every day for around 6-7 hours, it's just something that I've added into my schedule. You don't spend much time in the actual class room as class times are relatively short, but let me tell you, your entire day is spent in the library."


Did you find it easy to meet new people?
"Yes, there are so many students in each class you take, which differs greatly from SBCC with class sizes of only about 30-40 kids. It's cool because once you're in your major, everyone is taking the same classes, so you will get to know one another and it's also a lot easier to get study groups together this way."

Did you recognize any faces from SBCC?
"Yes! It's also nice being a transfer student because you do recognize a lot of familiar faces from past classes that you took at the city college. This makes the transfer from the city college to the university a lot smoother by seeing familiar faces that are going through the same change as you are."

Any advice for transfers?
"Honestly, my advice to all of you would be to study hard... seriously. No one is holding your hand anymore, it is up to you to want to do well and you have to be dedicated to putting in the long hours of studying in order to do well. It's a big change, but it definitely gets easier as the quarter goes on and by the second semester you'll be a pro at maneuvering the bike path and tackling your long study sessions!"

100 Posts!

Wow I can't believe that I have been blogging for SBCC for almost two years now. The fact that I have posted 100 blogs is crazy! I honestly can't believe that I will be leaving SBCC in about a month and heading over to UCSB. Time has gone by way too fast!

I am so grateful to have had this job as a student blogger. It not only helped me to stay connected with the future and current student body, but also to document my time here at SBCC and the experiences I have encountered in these past two years.

So I have some advice for all of you who are in this, college stage of life. Document your events, your struggles, your favorite days! Time will go by so fast and so many different things, events, situations, will happen over the course of the remainder of your teenage years, and early adulthood- Document these moments! Maybe public blogging isn't your thing, so keep a journal, or utilize your phone for something other than social media, use the notes application to document.

I find journaling to be extremely peaceful and calming. It also helps me to put my worries on paper and let them drift away from my mind. That being said, documenting life events isn't just for remembrance and reflection, but also for putting your thoughts and stressors down on paper so that they can start to be free from your mind.

I also find that looking back on journal entries, or even on blog entries that I have done, I realize how I have overcome certain obstacles, and just how big of an achievement they were looking back. I think documenting your thoughts, feelings, and experiences throughout life is so important in self reflection. Sometimes I'll find that I have overlooked just how great the accomplishments and hurdles I have overcome have been.

So get to it! Grab a paper and pencil, or a laptop and begin, essentially telling yourself about your day, about your thoughts, about your experiences... trust me, you will definitely love looking back on your prior self and you will also enjoy seeing just how far you've come!