The UC Admissions Application workshop for Cosumnes River College students was held on Nov. 16 at 1:30 p.m., and its purpose was to make sure students know some important factors when applying to a University of California.

The workshop was led by Transfer Center Student Personnel Assistant Emily Barkley and UC Davis representative undergraduate Alex Svensson, who works in the transfer center two to three times a month.

Svensson took on the main role of being the presenter during the workshop. Svensson then went on to explain each section of the UC application.

“We really want you to convey information to us that was not on the UC application already,” Svensson said.

An important part of the workshop for students was learning that the UCs really want to know who the students are and why the students want to be at the University. For example, Svensson mentioned culture, along with what kind of leadership students will bring to the campus.

Answering the personal insight questions on a UC application can be a key part of getting in.

Universities want to know about a student’s background and why the student is attending their specific UC. Standing out can possibly be very beneficial to future students applying.

“How are you going to stand out compared to everyone else?” Svensson said.

Students need to be aware of their grammar and word count during the application process when students have to write summaries on their applications about attending.  

Svensson mentioned writing in a Microsoft Word document first can be very beneficial for students. Grammar is absolutely crucial when answering all the personal insight questions on a UC application. This is why typing in a word document first can check for typos and other grammatical errors before the student actual submits it on the UC application.

“I always like to write mine in a word document,” Svensson said. “It checks my spelling and word count.”

Two students who attended gave their take on the workshop and how it benefited them for transferring next fall.

Drago Mendez, 19, a design major who’s transferring in the fall of 2018, gave his take on why he attended. Mendez said he plans on applying this fall, so this workshop helped him a lot for transferring purposes. Learning how to answer the questions properly helped Mendez a lot as well.

“I’m trying to transfer, so I thought this would be helpful,” Mendez said.

Mendez mentioned adding more personal information to a UC application may be key to being accepted because it will make a student stand out from others more.

“It makes it simpler, I learned what direction I should be answering things,” Mendez said.

Judith Burrera, a 21-year-old communications major, said she is applying this fall to UC Davis. Burrera gave her thoughts on why she came to the workshop in the first place.

“I felt like I was kind of lost with the application process and how to begin,” said Burrera.

Burrera said that the way she answers the personal insight questions can be key to being accepted or not. Learning now that being a stand out on the UC application can really help students be successful in going to that specific UC.

“Personal insight questions can make or break your application,” Burrera said. “They can differentiate you from other people.”

Emily Barkley said she wanted to make sure students apply for scholarships for the UC’s they will be going to.

CRC opens up for scholarship admissions in January, so it’s a must for transfer students. Students will need at least one letter of recommendation.

“It can help you either pay rent for a month or help pay for your books,” Barkley says.

Barkley gave her take on what was so important about setting up this workshop.  

“The idea is to get as many students together and go over any questions they might have about the application process,” Barkley says.

If a student needs help, the Transfer Center is always open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“The transfer center is here at any time to help answer any questions that students have related to transferring,” Barkley said. “We are a resource on campus and we encourage students to come see us.”