What If You Can't Get Into Classes?

The following post was made for the fall 2012 semester, but the info is just as relevant for spring 2013. The add deadline was August 31^st for full-term fall classes, and if you had a hard time getting the classes you needed, you’re not alone. Many students found it difficult to crash classes this semester. Due to California budget issues, we had to cut courses. Because of the economy, more people are going back to school. Fewer classes being offered and more people needing to take them means that it’s challenging to find classes – and given that reality -- you may not be able to get into school this semester. However, you can still be productive.

New students:  

• Contact First Year Services in Oct. or Nov. for spring semester (L-206   619-388-3998)
• Assessment test
• New student orientation and online new student orientation
• Financial aid referral
• Career and educational guidance
• Peer mentoring

If you’re new to college, check into First Year Services to see if you can receive counseling and support for next semester. They can help you sign up for an assessment test and new student orientation, part of the matriculation process that gives students a better registration priority. Career planning, educational guidance, referral to financial aid, and peer mentoring are part of the comprehensive services available to many first-time students. This will prepare you for next semester.

Jobs Employers Can't Fill

What careers are employers having a hard time filling? This slideshow details a number of careers and explains why bosses can't seem to find employees in these fields. City College offers training for: machinists, nurses, accountants, and administrative assistants. This slideshow/article appeared on CNBC.com.        









College Info

Best colleges: "US News and World Report's" 2013 annual poll of the best colleges is here. Check out the top 10 national universities and 10 best liberal arts colleges.


picture by Carlos Overstreet


UCSD expands its Jacobs School of Engineering: this "U-T San Diego" article details the 83 million dollar expansion and which components of research will be housed there.

Parking added at City! There is a new parking structure for City students, staff, and faculty available now. Here is a link to info about it. Keep in mind that all student lots require a valid SDCCD parking permit.


picture by Nehrams2020

Also here is a link to SDSU's TAG requirements for fall 2013. The link was provided by City counselor Anne Nelson.

Every Thursday, from 9am to 11:15am, you can get fresh vegetables grown at City's Urban Farm. The farm stand is at Curran Plaza at the junction of 14th and "C" between the Saville Theatre and the LRC, and students get 1/3 off the price.

Resume Tips

If you're creating a resume, check out 7 Things Every Resume Needs in 2012. The article was published on August 6, 2012 in "AOL Jobs." It was forwarded by Public Information Officer, Heidi Bunkowske.

What Counselors Do Seven

This is part seven of a series of roles that counselors play at City College.  Feel free to add to the list!  

Humorist (Ray) – Sometimes we need to step back and enjoy a good laugh. It may be the only thing that gets us through the day. Added benefit – we don’t take ourselves too seriously.

Interpreter (Kelli) – Academic Babble: the jargon that academics use to confuse everyone else into thinking they’re smarter than they actually are.  Sometimes we forget that you’re not steeped in the jargon, so I interpret and translate into plain English.  Occasionally, you’ll notice me frowning at the words on the page, trying to figure out what exactly the author actually meant when they wrote that. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikbenson/6834976246/sizes/l/in/photostream/
by Buster Benson

What Counselors Do

Intro

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Avoiding Student Loan Debt

Author Ellie Kay believes it's possible to get through school without a lot of student loan debt, and her article Tips On Paying For College With Minimal Debt tells you how. The column appeared in the "U-T San Diego" on August 5, 2012.

What Counselors Do Six

This is part six of a series of roles that counselors play at City College.  Feel free to add to the list!  

Advocate (Ray) – Someone who’s on your side. This can take the form of a letter of recommendation for a scholarship, application to a university, or explaining to the VP of Student Services why a petition for re-admission from disqualification is justified.



Hedy Lamarr of "The Conspirators"

Conspirator (Ray) – Your parents want you to become a doctor, and you can’t stand the sight of blood. Let’s conspire to find something that’s a better fit.

What Counselors Do

Intro

Two

Three

Four

Five

What Counselors Do Five

This is part five of a series of roles that counselors play at City College.  Feel free to add to the list!  

Puzzle-Assembler (Kelli) – This usually happens with students who have unique situations.  (I know, you’re all unique individuals, but most situations are more similar than they are different.)  The puzzles I assemble usually start with either “I have 60-plus units.  Am I eligible for a degree?” or “I want to transfer to State as a <insert major here>, but I have all these units from out of the area.  What do I do?”  Those are pretty straightforward.  The fun ones, though, start with, “I want to open a halfway house for at-risk teens.  I don’t need a specific degree because I’ve got qualified people lined up to do the counseling/social work part and I have no interest in a business degree, but I want a degree from City.  How can I do that?”  This type of student knows exactly what their project needs (or is willing to do the research to find out), so we go over types of classes that would fulfill those needs and see if there’s some degree that fits, or if there isn’t, I help the student put together a justification for a “Selected Studies” degree, which are designed for occasions just like this one.



picture by Sage Ross



Brainstormer (Ray) – Turn off the toxic voices, the doubts, the insecurities, the “I can’t because…” statements. Let your imagination run wild for a while and let’s see what comes up.

Cartographer (Kelli) – How do you get from here to there?  Which classes do you need to finish to be admitted to X University with Y Major?  This is the academic planning piece.  I can either give you an overview of everything you need or work with you to plan each semester.  Your call.

What Counselors Do

Intro

Two

Three

Four

College Accreditation

You might've heard the term "accreditation" in reference to colleges and universities. Ashford University has run into problems with accreditation, and this can have consequences for students who earn a degree from this college. What exactly does the term mean and why is it important? Keys To College Accreditation will tell you what you need to know about accreditation. The article appeared in the "U-T San Diego" on July 11, 2012.

Bridgepoint Education's Ashford University, a for-profit college, will lay off 450 admissions counselors in an attempt to address accreditation issues. Bridgepoint Cuts 450 Jobs appeared in the "U-T San Diego" on Sept. 24, 2012. 

What Counselors Do Four

This is part four of a series of roles that counselors play at City College.  Feel free to add to the list!

Researcher (Kelli) – When you come in to see me, chances are good that we’ll spend at least part of our session (no matter how long or short that session is) on the internet.  Contrary to popular belief, I don’t know everything.  I’m pretty good, however, at finding the stuff that I don’t know, using the tools at my disposal.  That said, you’re not off the hook.  If it’s a complicated question asked in a ten-minute walk-in, I’ll find you a source or two, then send you off to do more research yourself.  Why?  It’s your life – if you’re not interested enough in the topic to type it into the Google search box, then you’re probably not going to enjoy it in the classroom.

Detective (Ray) – Learn to investigate. It’s a skill that will take you far. Investigate the kind of career you want by info interviewing (talking to people who do the work), job shadowing (can I watch you work?), internship (let me earn some college credit for learning on the job), volunteering, or just plain snooping around. Investigate the major at the school by touring the campus, chatting with students and faculty, going to the department to ask questions. Investigate a prospective employer by finding out about their mission, their culture and values, how they treat employees, the kind of people who work there, the possibilities for advancement and promotion. Investigate instructors before selecting the class by looking at their books, talking to other students, or speaking to instructors.  

What Counselors Do

Intro

Two

Three

What Counselors Do Three

This is part three of a series of roles that counselors play at City College.  Feel free to add to the list!  

Enforcer (Kelli) – Every entity has rules; occasionally my job is to enforce them.  Mostly, these are the rules pertaining to academics: To remain in Good Standing a student must complete 61% of the courses they attempt with at least a 2.0 GPA.  When you don’t, we need to figure out how to fix it.

Problem-Solver (Kelli) – This goes along with Enforcer.  If a student is having issues academically, I always ask “Why?  What happened during that semester that caused those bad grades (or withdrawals)?”  The answers usually fall into one of a few categories: too much work (AKA money problems which then turn into time problems), lack of Financial Aid (AKA see above), family problems (AKA time management or emotional turmoil), health problems, and boredom (AKA lack of motivation).  Then we talk about how to fix that situation, if it hasn’t already been resolved.  Sometimes, students come to me with these types of issues before they get in trouble, which is always a good thing.  These are not the only problems I solve, just the most popular.

What Counselors Do
Intro
Two

What Counselors Do Two

This is part two of a series of roles that counselors play at City College.  Feel free to add to the list!  

picture by Jkadavoor




“Daydream Believer”(Kelli) – Sometimes I think the most difficult part of college isn’t the classes.  Show up, participate, do the work, and the grade follows.  The hardest thing is walking into an office with a total stranger and sharing your “Dream.”  You know what I mean.  You want to become a nurse, or an actor, or a therapist, or a doctor.  Your family and friends would think you’re crazy if you told them, so you haven’t. They think you’re going to college just to get a better job.  A huge part of my job is to take your dream seriously.  I believe that you can do it.  Make no mistake, I’m going to ask probing questions and force you to face reality – you need to know what you’re getting yourself into – but I’m not going to laugh at you or tell you that you shouldn’t do it because it’s not practical.

Prober (Ray) – This goes with daydream believer. You want to be a business major. What does that mean? Let’s look closer. Do you see owning a business? Going into marketing and advertising? Accounting? If you want to run a business, what kind? What does it look like? What kind of product or service? This isn’t to be nosey. It’s to help you get a clear idea of your vision. And if you’re not clear, then I assign research and detective work.

Sounding Board (Ray) – You know what you want; you just need to say it to someone who’s really listening.

What Counselors Do
Intro

What Counselors Do Intro



picture by Alvesgaspar









Summer session (minus the classes!) is fully underway at City College.  All the new students are taking their assessment tests and attending orientations.  Continuing students are dropping by the Counseling Office for help in deciding which classes to take next semester.  Or are they? 

Recently a student told us that other students avoid the Counseling Department. Students, he said, could be lazy, or they feel there’s some kind of stigma attached to looking for help.  And anecdotal evidence may support that. 

Student loans

Photo by Treaclewell

The Senate's Democratic and Republican leaders have indicated they've reached an agreement that would stop student loan interest rates from doubling this year. The provision still needs to go to the House for approval, but if finalized, the agreement would benefit 7.4 million students who take out Stafford Loans to help pay for college. Senate Leaders OK Student Loan Deal appeared in the "U-T San Diego" on June 27, 2012. 

SIFE Students Tackle Bullying

SIFE Tackles Bullying

The brochure pictures for City College’s “Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) -- Don’t Be A Bully” conference are haunting, the faces and names of youths ages 10-18 who committed suicide. A column shows dates of birth and death followed by the manner of suicide. They could be yearbook photos, but it’s not a yearbook. They are students whose lives were cut tragically short by bullying.

According to the National Education Association, 60% of American teens see bullying in school every day (http://www.nea.org/home/19535.htm). Bullying can make students afraid to attend class, use the bathroom, or ride a bus. It can take place in the playground, while walking home, or online. In the most serious cases, it can result in death.

97-year-old graduate



Picture by Cary Bass



This story doesn't have a City College tie, but we can all use some uplifting news. Ann Colagiovanni of Ohio received a high school diploma at the age of 97. Read about the oldest member of the class of 2012. 97-Year-Old Gets High School Diploma appeared on "Yahoo! News" on June 7, 2012.

Valuable College Majors -- Forbes

Which college major will get you a high-paying job? Forbes magazine has the top 15. This article references UCSD's biomedical engineering degree and SDSU's geology major. Most Valuable College Majors Listed by Forbes appeared in the "U-T San Diego" on May 30, 2012. The original Forbes article was published online on May 15, 2012.

Here's a list of the 20 most popular college majors and salaries of the top three positions in those fields. Best-Paying Jobs By Major appeared in "Yahoo" news on June 6, 2012. This article cites U.S. Dept of Education data. 

Also, here's a link to a "U.S. News & World Reports" article on their 2012 top 25 jobs/careers based on projected growth, employment rate, average salary, and job satisfaction. City College offers programs in Registered Nursing, Social Work, Computers (Systems Analyst and Programming classes), Biotech (Clinical Lab Tech), Accounting and Business, Computer Business Technology (Receptionist), and Web Design. We can also help students transfer to 4-year colleges offering degrees in many of the other careers listed.

CEO Advice To Job Seekers

picture by Carlossponz

Gregory T. Lucier is the CEO of Life Technologies, a successful biological research company in Carlsbad. Last year his business did $3.7 billion in sales. He talked about the culture of philantrophy in his company, that it's more than giving money. He also talked about what motivated him to give back to his community -- he recently donated $3 million to the Smithsonian Institution. Of particular interest is his advice for college grads on getting a job in this tough economic climate and learning from people's biggest career mistakes. If a prospective employer asked you to talk about your biggest career mistake, what would you say? CEO Says Giving Isn't About Money Alone appeared in the "U-T San Diego" on May 29, 2012.