SMC College Fair: bringing help and hope to students

Gathered around the quad, bright booths stood proudly against the sunny sky. Pamphlets littered the ground, while students chatted excitedly with college representatives and gained hope for their academic future.

Santa Monica College hosted the biannual College Fair yesterday in the Fountain Quad during activities hour.

SMC’s College Fair is the largest in the state, with around 170 colleges signed up for attendance this time around.

The fair allowed students lacking the means to visit campuses to talk to representatives from universities.

“I’m not transferring for two years, but it’s nice to have an idea before the time comes,” student Nassif Zmerli said.

Students heard about special programs, gained information and feedback on what each schools are specifically looking for in application candidates.

“Many schools feel SMC has well prepared students and that our quality of students is higher than others,” Maria Bonin, transfer counseling staff said.

Counselors can help you only so much in the transfer process, said Bonin. The best advice concerning specific major requirements and recommended GPA comes directly from the colleges themselves.

“Any tips you can get makes your chances of getting into [schools] better,” Bonin said.

Schools as close to home as UCLA and those as far away as the American University of Paris sent representatives to meet with prospective transfer students.

“SMC is our main transfer partnership,” said an American University of Paris representative. “Most of our transfer students come from Southern California. We want to just plant the idea of going to school outside of the States.”

If you missed the college fair, make sure to catch next semester's fair to learn about more transfer opportunities.