[ Golden Gater Online - December 4, 1997 ]
Advising day
Carolina Wolohan Jr.
Students interested in attending SF State had an opportunity to seek advising, housing, health care and financial aid as well as speak to a variety of campus organizations in the Cesar Chavez Student Center as part of Advising Day .
The day, which is set aside to allow students a chance to speak to advisors, is also a welcome day for new students either entering the university as freshmen or transferring from other campuses.
Display booths as well as a TV monitor with a pre-recorded program helped to answer questions from students ranging from, 'How's the food ?' to 'Where will I live?' There were also booths set up for disability resources, the testing center, the career center, the safe place, and the students activities office.
"We have at least 1,000-1,500 people coming through the university today," said Karen Kingsbury, coordinator for the advising center. "I think it's a pretty good crowd for spring."
Kingsbury said two-thirds of the students entering SF State come as transfers from other colleges.
"I call transfer students the bread and butter of state," Kingsbury said.
Ashley Anderson, a 19-year-old sophomore from San Diego State, said she has been considering transferring to SF State and came yesterday just to attend advising day. After receiving a notice in the mail for the event, she thought it would be a great opportunity to see what the campus was like after falling in love with the city while on vacation this summer.
"I found the orientation extremely helpful," Anderson said. "It gave me a much better feel for the campus, to actually talk to advisors one on one. It's a lot easier to have somebody tell you something than to try and retain everything from reading it in a book."
Anderson said the orientation helped her in her decision to attend SF State in the spring.
But not all students found it as helpful, and some found the commotion confusing. Rina Lee, a 23-year-old junior who is transferring from UC San Diego said she felt a little frustrated.
"I kind of feel like I'm getting the run around," said Lee, who is transferring into the music department. "Right now I'm just figuring out what to do."
She added that she is pleased with the department she is transferring into and that administration is the same no matter where you go. "It was no better at UCSD," she said.
[ Golden Gater - December 4, 1997 ]