Final Post for 2010

Dear DVC International Students,

We have entered the holiday season here in the U.S. The Jewish holiday of Hannukah is coming to a close. The Christian season of Advent has begun, leading up to Christmas Day, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. African Americans will celebrate Kwanzaa later this month. Many people will observe the Winter Solstice in a couple of weeks. And there may be more holy and special days celebrated by various Americans across the country, occasions of which I am not aware.

Whatever significance this season holds for specific individuals and groups, one central theme seems to unite most or all of the observances, and that is the theme of light. Hannukah is the festival of the lights; Christians celebrate the coming of the Light of the World. Kwanzaa commemorates African heritage and culture by the lighting of a kinara candle. And winter solstice, significant in many religions both old and new, observes the return of the light, of longer days and shorter nights.

We in the twenty-first century claim to be enlightened, to live in the light. Yet there are many who still live in the darkness of ignorance. This sad fact is displayed prominently in the media by the many tragic cases of bullying occuring in this country. In recent years an alarming number of young people who were bullied by others for being different in some way have taken their own lives. Several of these young people were victims of cyber-bullying. In other words, social media websites and cell phone networks were the vehicles used by the bullies to direct cruel words and images to their victims.

Whether bullying occurs in cyber-space or face-to-face, it is simply and plainly wrong. It is never acceptable to cause harm, either physically, mentally, or emotionally, to another person because they are different. Whether they are gay, overweight, or mentally, physically, or socially challenged, difference is not an excuse to express cruelty. Neither should followers of different religions, adherents of different political affiliations, nor members of different socio-economic groups fear for their safety and well-being because of their differences.

As we enter the season of the light, let us all be enlightened individuals. Let's be kinder, more respectful citizens of the world. A bumper sticker on a faculty vehicle at DVC states, "Be the change you want to see in the world." What a better world this would be if bullying at all levels became extinct. Such a global change starts with me and with you.

Happy holidays, everyone!

SFSU International Representative Coming to DVC

Mr. Israeli (Izy) Alilin, the international admissions representative from San Francisco State University, will be visiting the DVC Counseling/Transfer Center on Wednesday, November 17 and Tuesday, November 30. Contact the Transfer Center to set up an appointment to see Izy. Be sure to bring copies of your DVC transcript and copies of any other institutions you have attended since high school, even if you think the courses might not transfer. This will help Izy provide you with the best advice possible.

Best Value U.S. Private and Liberal Arts Colleges

Students often ask me which colleges and universities in the U.S. are the best. Students need to be aware that there are more than 7,000 post-secondary institutions in the U.S. There's no way I can answer that question for students. Students need to do their own research to determine which institution is best for them. However, there are some pieces of information that can be helpful when researching a college or university. The following article concerns the top five private and liberal arts institutions in the U.S. that offer the best value. Click on the link to learn more:
1=-33006">http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/CutCollegeCosts/the-top-private-and-liberal-arts-colleges.aspx?cp-documentid=26283668>1=-33006

UC Davis TAG decisions coming November 15

Sign in to your UC TAG application account on November 15 if you applied for the Davis TAG:
https://uctag.universityofcalifornia.edu/index.cfm

UC Personal Statement Review

If you are applying to a UC campus for Fall 2011 admission, you can now fill out the application online. One part of the application is the personal statement. I am happy to review your statement, with the following stipulations:
1. You must bring a hard copy of your statement; I will not put USB drives into my computer for fear of viruses.
2. You must bring a revised version of your statement; do not bring a rough draft. Show me that you have already put a considerable amount of effort and time into writing your statement.
3. You may see me by appointment or during my drop-in; however, be aware that if on drop-in, we will have only about 10 minutes to discuss your statement.

On Friday, November 19, I will be available on drop-in from 9:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. in the Counseling Center.

To schedule an appointment or find out my other drop-in times, call the Counseling Center at 925-685-1230, extension 2276, or schedule an appointment online:
http://www.dvc.edu/org/departments/counseling/online1.htm

For more information about the UC personal statement, visit:
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/how-to-apply/personal-statement/index.html

UCSD Transfer Application Webinar Link

The University of California San Diego is sponsoring a transfer application webinar on Thursday, October 28, 4:30-5:30 p.m. The webinar will cover the UC application and the personal statement. You must register for the webinar, but it is free. To register, go to the following link:
https://cc.readytalk.com/r/i45swxqt9s8b

UC Application Website

The UC application is now available online at https://admissions.universityofcalifornia.edu/applicant/login.htm. Please read the directions carefully before you begin filling out the application. Please fill out the application BEFORE you write your personal statement. That should be the last thing you put in the application.

Please be advised that I will not accept UC personal statements by email, nor can you drop off a personal statement for review by me. You must make an appointment for personal statement review. You may also ask for my feedback if you come for drop-in, but be aware that we will have only ten minutes together, thus my feedback will be minimal.

Also be advised that there are three other counselors from whom you can seek academic counseling and personal statement feedback: Mr. Franco, Ms. Okay, and Mr. Gonzales.

Best wishes as you pursue your academic goal!

Reporting Past College Coursework on University Applications

I would like to send out a very strong reminder that applicants to universities are REQUIRED to report ALL prior college-level coursework, whether it was done in a U.S. institution or in an institution in another country, and whether or not you believe it will affect your admissions. Failure to do so could result in your application to the university being cancelled, and you might find yourself ineligible to attend ANY campus within the university system. If you knowingly and willingly fail to report all coursework on your university application, you are guilty of misrepresenting yourself, and the consequences could affect you for a long time to come.

The best practice is to report all of your post-secondary coursework accurately and honestly, and explain any poor grades on your application in the comments section. This helps the university get a clear picture of the student you are now, which is what is most important to them.

UCLA Coming to DVC Transfer Day Oct. 4

I have recently learned from the DVC Transfer Center that a representative from UCLA will be present on campus for Transfer Day October 4. Immediately following Transfer Day, the representative will make a presentation in the Counseling Center, room 103, 1:15-2:00. To reserve a seat, contact the Transfer Center at DVC.

Counseling Appointment No-show's

If you make a counseling appointment and are unable to come to the appointment, PLEASE contact the Counseling Center to cancel your appointment. It is quite difficult to get an appointment with me this semester, and many students are having to wait weeks to see me. If you make an appointment and then don't show up, you have wasted not only my time, but the time of many students who could have seen me during your appointment time.

In the business and professional world, doctors, lawyers, and others usually charge clients even if the client doesn't attend the appointment. Making appointments and then not keeping them is a very rude and potentially costly habit to form. PLEASE, keep your counseling appointments or cancel them in advance so that other students can take advantage of the opening in my schedule. Thank you.

To cancel an appointment, call 925-685-1230, extension 2276 or 2278.

UC Davis TAG Workshop

On Wednesday, September 8, the DVC Transfer Center will host a UC Davis TAG workshop especially for international students, from 9:00-10:00 a.m. The leader of the workshop will be a UCD representative. The UCD reps will also see students from 10:00-noon on a drop-in basis, and then there will be a general UCD workshop from noon-1:00. For details, contact the DVC Transfer Center.

Counseling Appointments

This academic year, I am working on a reduced schedule. That means that I have fewer appointments available to see students. However, three other counselors are seeing international students. They are Mike Gonzales, Carol Okay, and Dennis Franco. If you are having difficulty scheduling an appointment with me, remember that you can also see one of these other three counselors.

To schedule an appointment online, visit the Counseling Center website:
http://www.dvc.edu/org/departments/counseling/appointment.htm

New appointments open up each morning, so if you try and are unable to schedule one, check again first thing the next morning.

Important Changes to Haas Transfer Requirements

Students planning on applying to the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley for Fall 2012 admission need to be aware of some important changes to the admissions requirements. Visit the Haas website to learn more: http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Undergrad/transfer_admissions.html

UC TAG Information Update

Because there is a new system for submitting the TAG application, the DVC Counseling Center has instituted a new process for seeking help from a counselor regarding a TAG application:
1. Students should first create an account on the UC TAG website and completely fill out the TAG application. If they need help with that process, they should visit the Transfer Center at DVC. Here is a link to the UC TAG website:https://uctag.universityofcalifornia.edu/index.cfm
2. Students submitting a TAG for Davis or Santa Cruz must get approval from a counselor, so after filling out the TAG application completely online, students must make an appointment with a DVC counselor. For information on how to schedule an appointment, visit http://www.dvc.edu/org/departments/counseling/appointment.htm. Schedule the appointment for early to mid-September; if you wait until later, you might not be able to get an appointment with a counselor before the submission deadline of September 30.
3. Remember Berkeley and Los Angeles do not offer a TAG, but all other UC's do, and F-1 international students are invited to apply for the TAG.
4. Before you submit a TAG application, be sure to read the TAG criteria for the campus(es) to which you are applying to be sure you meet the criteria. You the student are responsible for understanding the various TAG criteria and making sure that you meet those criteria.
5. Be sure to submit a UC application for the campuses to which you submitted a TAG during the UC application filing period, November 1-30.

UC Transfer Admissions Guarantee Website

Students applying for Fall 2011 admission to a UC campus that offers a Transfer Admissions Guarantee, or TAG, will now have to submit the TAG application through a new website. Please visit the website to learn more and to submit a TAG application:
https://uctag.universityofcalifornia.edu/index.cfm

It is the student's responsibility to complete the application online. Some UC's will require students to bring a copy of the TAG application to a counselor for verification. Students should bring copies of ALL college and university transcripts when they visit a counselor, as well as a copy of their TAG application. DO NOT EXPECT THE COUNSELOR TO HAVE ACCESS TO YOUR NON-DVC RECORDS AT THE TIME OF YOUR VISIT. Bringing photocopies of transcripts to the counseling appointment will save valuable time for both the student and the counselor.

For more general information about the UC TAGs and links to campus websites with specific criteria, visit http://uctransfer.universityofcalifornia.edu/transfer_admis_guar.html

All UC's except Berkeley and Los Angeles offer a TAG, and international students may apply for a TAG. However, different campuses may have different criteria, so please read the websites of the specific campuses carefully.

UC Admissions Updates and Summer Availability

Students admitted to a UC campus for Fall 2010 are reminded that the Statement of Intent to Register, or SIR, is due by June 1. If you experienced a change in your spring schedule (e.g. you withdrew from a class) or you received a substandard grade (e.g. F, D, Incomplete, or perhaps even a C if you were instructed to make all B's or better this semester), you are required to report those changes through appropriate channels. For most UC campuses, such changes are reported through the online interface (e.g. myberkeleyapp). If you need to report a change and cannot figure out how to do so online, call the UC campus admissions office immediately. You can find the numbers in your email correspondences from the campuses.

I will not be in the office during the summer, but students with questions can email me: misham@dvc.edu. If the answer to your question can be found on my FAQs page or in this blog, you may experience a delay in my response. There will be two weeks in June in which I will have no access to email at all. A link to my FAQs page follows:
http://www.dvc.edu/international/pdfs/frequently-asked-questions.pdf

I will return to the office beginning August 13. Until then, enjoy your summer!

UC Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG)

If you are planning to transfer to a UC in Fall 2011, now is the time to start researching the Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) programs offered by all of the UC campuses except Berkeley and L.A.

The DVC Transfer Center has some links to these program websites:http://www.dvc.edu/org/departments/transfer-center/transfer-agreements.htm
Please be aware that some of the information is not yet updated. The best source of information will come from the UC campus's own website.

Also be advised that some UC campuses, such as UCSD and UCSB, require TAG participants to have completed their two English composition courses (e.g. ENGL-122 and ENGL-126 from DVC) by the end of Fall 2010 in order to participate in the TAG.

Important Updates from the University of California System

Students planning to transfer to a UC campus in Fall 2011 or later should note some important changes in UC programs: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/educators/counselors/resources/materials/ETS10/ETS10_CampusUpdates_final.pdf

If you have any questions, come and see me or another DVC counselor in the Counseling Center.

English Assessment at DVC

In order to take English 122, the first transferable and required English course at DVC, students must either (a) score acceptably on both the Reading and Writing portions of the DVC English assessment test, or submit an appropriate score from another community college's English assessment test; or (b) submit a Prerequisite Form, available in the Admissions and Records office, with documentation attached that proves the student has met the necessary prerequisite for English 122 at another college or university; or (c) submit other forms of documentation to a DVC counselor that prove the student is prepared for success in DVC's English 122 class. Requests without adequate evidence of preparedness for English 122 will not be honored.

DVC International Counseling Blog Cited on Counseling Website

I was pleased to know that my blog is mentioned in a list of Top 50 Counseling Blogs from the Counseling Courier website. There are also some other valuable blogs that you might want to check out: http://www.mastersincounseling.org/top-50-counseling-blogs.html

How to Use WebAdvisor to Register Video

There is a fabulous new video on YouTube demonstrating how to use WebAdvisor to register for classes. This might be particularly helpful for new students. Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a15cmwYxFYQ

Appealing an Admissions Decision

Many students have already received admissions notifications from the universities they have applied to, and UC Berkeley is expected to release admissions decisions on April 30. If you are denied admissions, you might want to appeal the decision if you can provide some new or additional information that was not included in your UC application. Here are some links to Berkeley, Los Angeles, and San Diego's websites with helpful information about appealing:

Berkeley: http://students.berkeley.edu/admissions/general.asp?id=113&navid=N

Los Angeles: http://www.admissions.ucla.edu/appealstr.htm

San Diego: http://www.ucsd.edu/prospective-students/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/transfer/admission.html
Please note that the San Diego link is for Transfer Student Services. No appeals information has been posted yet for Fall 2010 admissions, so contact TSS if you have a question about appealing an admissions decision.

For any other UC or university campus, contact the Undergraduate Admissions office for information about appealing a denial. Again, you can only appeal if you have new or additional information to provide that was not included in your original application.

Academic Counseling FAQs

I get lots of questions on the same topics. To save both yourself and me some time, please read my Academic Counseling Frequently Asked Questions page to determine if your questions can be answered there: http://www.dvc.edu/international/pdfs/frequently-asked-questions.pdf

Stress Management Resources

Spring Break is over, but summer is still seven weeks away, and there's lots of work to do between now and then. We all need to be aware of the effects of stress in our lives and learn how to better manage stress so that we can function as our best selves. Following is a link to a website with links to various university online resources on managing stress. Thanks to Mr. Nathan Grimm of the SR Education Group for sharing this link with me.

http://www.guidetohealthcareschools.com/tips-and-tools/stress-management

Good News from UCSD!

The University of California at San Diego will allow international students to participate in the Transfer Admissions Guarantee (TAG) program for the Fall 2011 admissions cycle. Click the link below for details:
http://www.ucsd.edu/prospective-students/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/transfer/tag.html

AP (Advanced Placement) Exams

Some students have expressed an interest in taking AP exams for U.S. college credit or to fulfill transfer or graduation requirements. Here is a link to the College Board's AP website with information on how to take an AP exam:
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/reg.html

If you are interested in taking an AP exam, please contact the College Board for more information.

Who do I work for?

Many international students are understandably quite interested in the University of California system, and especially in the UC Berkeley and UCLA campuses. Those are world-renowned institutions with many highly recognized and regarded programs.

However, international students attending or planning to attend DVC need to understand that my primary role at DVC is to help students understand the MINIMUM requirements involved for transferring from DVC to a CSU or UC campus. I often get questions from students about UC statistics and practices that I am simply unable to answer because I do not work for the UC system.

There are, though, websites that students can access to find some of the answers to their questions. Here are a few of the UC-related websites I commonly refer students to:
1. http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu is the UC system portal to the world. At this website students can learn about the various UC campuses, their programs, and even apply online.
2. http://statfinder.ucop.edu is a website from the University of California Office of the Chancellor. Here students can run customized tables showing various statistics for the UC campuses, including admissions rates and average GPA's for newly admitted students from the California community colleges.
3. http://www.assist.org is the website that students and counselors use to determine which courses a student should take to transfer into a particular program in a CSU or UC campus. It is also useful for exploring the majors offered in the CSU and UC systems.
4. http://www.dvc.edu/org/departments/transfer-center/reps-visit.htm#UC is a link to the DVC Transfer Center's schedule of representatives visiting the DVC campus from various universities, including UC Berkeley. The BEST source of information about a particular UC campus is a person who actually works at that campus. Students currently attending DVC are welcome to meet with these representatives to find out more about transferring to that UC campus.

One final thought to share: Students have the mistaken notion that there is some sort of "secret formula" to follow to get admitted to a selective UC campus. The fact is that the admissions process is a highly subjective process that examines not only quantifiable data, such as GPA and course completion, but also qualitative information such as a student's background, the student's extracurricular experiences (e.g. leadership experience and community service), employment history, and more. There is no counselor anywhere who can accurately predict a student's chances for being admitted to a selective campus or program. The best advice we can give students is to get as high a GPA as possible, get involved in extracurricular activities that are driven by the student's passion and not by whether or not the student believes that is what the selective campus is looking for, and to tell their own story in the application's personal statement. And the final piece of advice? Don't take rejection from a selective UC campus personally. It does not mean that you are not a good student; it simply means that the UC campus was not able to admit you at that particular time. Consider that many famous and successful people in the world did NOT attend UC Berkeley or UCLA, nor any other "famous" or "selective" campus, yet they are leading happy and productive lives. You can, too, because happiness and success are relative terms that are mainly the products of one's personal choices.

Read This Article from the New York Times!!!

Here is an excellent article about some colleges and universities in the U.S. that offer excellent educational opportunities for students despite being "off the beaten path."

http://www.sou.edu/marketing/nyt073006.pdf

Competition to the "brand-name" colleges and universities is getting fiercer and fiercer, so students should consider other alternatives such as the colleges and universities mentioned in this article.

An English Usage Lesson

Young people everywhere like to use slang terms that their peers use. However, not all English slang terms are appropriate for all situations. In fact, some terms are insensitive and disparaging. To demonstrate that you are an educated, culturally-sensitive person, avoid using the following terms in your everyday speech:

"That's so lame!" The word "lame" originally referred to a person who was not able to walk. Although the word is not commonly used these days to refer to a person who has a mobility impairment, some who do have such a disability might be hurt or offended by this phrase. Use a more neutral phrase, such as "That's ridiculous!" to describe something that does not meet your approval or standards.

"That's dumb!" Like the word "lame," the word "dumb" used to refer to a person who could not speak. English speakers do not usually use this word anymore to refer to a person with a speech impediment, but a person with a speech impairment might be offended by this phrase. Again, use a more neutral phrase.

"That's so gay!" Unfortunately there are still many people in today's society who are unable to accept gay and lesbian people as equal members of our culture, despite the fact that medical, psychological, and sociological research indicates that sexual orientation is a natural variation of the human condition. Whatever one's opinion on this topic, it is never acceptable to disparage another group of people based on their natural characteristics.

"Cry/Scream/Throw a ball like a little girl." Using this phrase indicates that you think little girls are incapable of controlling their emotions or playing sports effectively. In fact, there are many very capable female athletes, and little boys are just as likely to cry or scream as little girls. While researchers debate the extent of the influence of biology on behavior, choose phrases that are sensitive to the feelings of people who are different from you.

"Man up" or "Grow a Pair of __." In many cases it seems like the pendulum has swung the opposite direction, and now it is common to disparage men in our language. Men can suffer from depression, anxiety, and other mental/emotional disorders as much as women, yet we often criticize a man who seems hesitant, fearful, or anxious, making him out to be effeminate or emasculated. This is terribly unfair to the man, as we have no right to judge the internal life of that individual. Instead of extending criticism, why not just ask the man, "Why are you thinking or feeling this way?" His answer will help you understand him, and it might help him work through some of his issues in a healthy way.

Put yourself in the other person's shoes: You wouldn't like it if people went around saying "That's so Korean," or "Don't be an Indonesian" or "You act like a Chinese" would you? The world would be a much better place if we would just treat others the way we would like to be treated ourselves. That's a big, big change for the world to make, but change starts with the individual.

Is college right for you?

Earning a college degree isn't easy. It requires motivation, effective time management, good study habits, social and financial support, and more. Many students begin their college years with struggles. It is common for first-year students to make grades in college that are much lower than the grades they received in high school. This doesn't mean that college isn't the right choice for them, but it might mean that it might not be the right time for them to be attending college.

There is a lot of social pressure from family, peers, and culture to attend college immediately after high school and receive a college degree within four years of study. This is an outdated mode of thinking. Today's college students have to juggle commitments in addition to those required by college, and earning a college degree is simply more complicated than it was in the past. The average age of undergraduate students in the U.S. is around 26, and the average college student in the U.S. takes about 6.5 years to complete a bachelor's degree. If your parents attended college, they probably had a much different experience from the one that most college students today have.

If you are struggling academically in college, ask yourself these difficult questions:
1. Do I really want to be in college right now?
2. If I weren't in college, what would I be doing?
3. What motivated me to attend college in the first place (family, self, etc.)?
4. Am I struggling in just one or two areas academically, or in all sorts of classes?
5. What's going on in my life outside of college that might be affecting my performance in classes?
6. How do I spend my time each day, and why do I spend it that way?

You should talk to a counselor if you feel that now might not be the right time for you to be in college, or if you want to be in college but are struggling academically. A counselor can help you connect with various campus resources to help you be a successful student, such as tutoring or disability services. The counselor can also coach you on how to have a conversation with your family if you feel that you do not want to be in college at this time in your life.

Scholarships Website

I recently learned about this website for searching for scholarships and other university-related information: www.zinch.com I don't know much about it, but from a first glance, it looks OK. If you check it out and find something you don't understand, or if you think it's not legitimate, let me know: misham@dvc.edu

UC Statistics

Many international students are curious about the admissions statistics for the various University of California campuses. The UC Office of the President collects data each year and posts that data on a website called UCStatfinder, located at http://statfinder.ucop.edu

Here are some data from Fall 2009 that I collected from that website that might be of interest to international students planning to transfer to Berkeley, Los Angeles, or San Diego:
1. Berkeley: 1,444 international students applied, 324 were admitted, for an admit rate of 22.4%. The average GPA of these students was 3.86.
2. Los Angeles: 1,768 international students applied, 595 were admitted, for an admit rate of 33.7%. The average GPA of these students was 3.77.
3. San Diego: 1,458 international students applied, 927 were admitted, for an admit rate of 63.6%. The average GPA of these students was 3.72.

The website includes such data and more for the other UC campuses, as well.

According to the website data, DVC was the number one community college transfer institution for school year 2008-2009 for both Berkeley and Davis, with 208 and 165 students, respectively. DVC ranked number ten in the number of transfer students from California community colleges to both Los Angeles and San Diego.

Program Accreditation

There are national and international professional accrediting agencies that give their stamp of approval to programs that meet their standards. This type of accreditation is important, especially if you plan to seek a license of some sort related to your program of study. Program accreditation can also help you identify a "good" school to attend for your major.

Some professional accreditation programs include:

1. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, or AACSB [http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/standards.asp]

2. For engineering programs, ABET, Inc. [http://www.abet.org/index.shtml]

3. The National Architectural Accrediting Board, or NAAB [http://www.naab.org/]

4. The National Association of Schools of Art and Design [http://nasad.arts-accredit.org/index.jsp]

These are just a few examples of professional accrediting agencies. Visit the Career and Employment Services office, 1st floor Student Services Building, for more information about professional accrediting agencies, or come see me in the Counseling Center if your program is not business, engineering, architecture, or design, and we'll see what we can find out together.

UC FAQs

The following link is for a very useful page on the University of California system website. It has frequently asked questions relevant for community college transfer students.

http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/educators/counselors/adminfo/transfer/advising/q&a.html

Prospective transfer students should read these FAQs carefully to find the answers to common questions about transferring to the UC.

Academic Counseling FAQs

Below are the questions that you will find in the Academic Counseling FAQs in the International Student Resources link on the International Student Admissions and Services page, at http://www.dvc.edu/international/pdfs/frequently-asked-questions.pdf Be sure to check out these FAQs before making an appointment, coming for a quick drop-in question, or sending an email; you might find the answer you're looking for there and save yourself and me some valuable time.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS IN ACADEMIC COUNSELING

What does a counselor do at DVC?

How can I make an appointment to see a counselor?

I have a question/concern about my passport, visa, I-20, or medical insurance. Where do I go for help?

How do I know which classes to take?

How can I compute or predict my Grade Point Average, or GPA?

All of the classes I want to take are already full! What should I do?

How many units can I transfer with a “Pass” grade?

I have units/exam scores from another institution that I want to use to clear the prerequisite for a class I want to take at DVC. How do I get permission to do that?

I think I will make a D or F in a class! What should I do?

I plan to transfer to a private or out-of-state university. How can I know which courses to take at DVC?

How often can I take the Math and English assessment tests?

I disagree with the grade that I received from my instructor. How can I resolve this dispute?

How can I find important dates and deadlines online?

How can I find out admissions statistics for the University of California campuses?

How can I know which CSU’s are still accepting applications from international transfer students?

When am I supposed to pay my fees?

How can I apply for a scholarship?

How can I find out about student clubs and organizations at DVC?

How can I find a job on campus?

I need to drop below 12 units this semester. What should I do?

I just found out that I will fail my class, and the deadline to drop has already passed! What can I do?

Will a “W” grade affect my admissibility to a university?

I have college units from my home country. How can I determine how those units will apply toward my academic goal?

I want to take English 122, but my English assessment results indicate that I have to begin with a lower-level English class. How can I take English 122 directly?

Why can’t I take only classes that are transferable and required for my major?

Welcome to Spring 2010!

Classes have begun at DVC, and just like last semester, finding available seats in classes is a huge challenge. This is due to the economic crisis in California: The state government cut the community colleges' budgets, resulting in fewer sections of courses being offered; but when the economy is bad, people return to college for job training and career exploration, so enrollments are at an all-time high. This makes it very difficult for students to get the classes that they want and to maintain their timeline for completing their academic goals at DVC.

So, what can you do if the classes you want to take are full? I've answered that question, and many more, in my Frequently Asked Questions page, available on the International Students website, or at this link here: http://www.dvc.edu/international/pdfs/frequently-asked-questions.pdf

Check out all of the questions in the FAQs to see if your questions can be answered there.