Santa Rosa Junior College serves as a springboard for many students to get into the university system. Students hoping to get a leg up in the transfer process attended the schools’ Transfer 101 workshop Oct. 15.

Around 20 students attended the event, hosted by counselor Deanna Hatter, students in attendance were awarded priority 1A registration for the spring semester.

“There was a lot of useful information and getting 1A registration was huge for me,” said Emmy Stewart, who hopes to graduate from SRJC’s pharmacy technician program.

“I had problems registering for math and science classes this semester and it set my plans back,” said student Eddie Fitzsimmons. “That shouldn’t be a problem this spring.”

The workshop highlighted the advantages of attending a two-year school before moving on to a four-year institution. Students can expect to pay much less to receive transferable units for their major.

Most university transfers require a 3.0 GPA and a minimum of 60 units completed at the community college level. However, as schools across the state become more crowded and education funding continues to be cut, students should strive to exceed the requirements.

“Minimum requirements will not get you into a UC nowadays,” Hatter said.

For students still unsure about their major, Hatter encouraged them to log onto assist.org for detailed transfer information about all majors.

“That program is awesome, I use [assist] everyday,” Hatter said. “The information is always up-to-date.”

For those who are sure of their majors, the most direct way to transfer is through the Transfer Agreement Guarantee (TAG) program, which gives students a step-by-step checklist of courses to take. According to Hatter, the time to sign into the TAG program was September.

Most TAG’s require at least a 3.0 GPA.