The UC released its new Transfer Hub website in October, providing a centralized place for information about transferring to the University.

The Hub provides direct links to common tools utilized by students looking to transfer to the UC and California State University schools, including the UC Transfer Admission Planner, which helps students plan their courses in alignment with UC requirements. The hub also allows access to Transfer Admission Guarantee, an application that promises an acceptance to a UC campus if a student meets the requirements, and ASSIST, a tool that allows students to see which courses will transfer to their UC degree.

The website also provides a direct link to the undergraduate major requirements page for each UC campus.

“The transfer hub is intended to improve communication and transfer preparation by centralizing UC’s transfer information,” said Stett Holbrook, a spokesperson for the UC Office of the President, in an emailed statement.

Catherine Jonaris, a third-year sociology transfer student, said that beyond completing the already tedious UC application, understanding the application process and class requirements can make transferring a challenging process.

Adolfo Gutierrez-Mercado, a third-year psychology transfer student, said he struggled to sift through large amounts of information to find what was relevant to his transfer process.

“When you’re trying to find information, you find a lot of information that is there and you don’t know what to dissect and use to your advantage,” he said.

Jonaris said it was difficult to understand which community college courses would be transferable to UCLA while she was preparing to transfer. The new website seeks to solve this problem by linking ASSIST, alongside links to each UC campus’s transfer programs, to the website.

Gutierrez-Mercado said he expects the new hub will be beneficial for transfer students, especially for those coming from community colleges with looser ties to UCLA.

“Sometimes you can go to a school and they aren’t necessarily equipped to help you transfer,” he added. “I live in LA County, so there are connections between my school and UCLA, as opposed to other schools who might be coming from the Bay where they might be more knowledgeable on UC Berkeley or other schools in that area.”

Despite the greater accessibility provided by this new tool, community college counselors remain extremely important figures in assisting students through the transfer process, said Jessica Shadrick, transfer center coordinator counselor at Fresno City College.

Shadrick added that, regardless of the new website, the UC application process is a tedious three-step process, which community college counselors help their students navigate every year.

First, transfer students typically complete UC TAP, said Shadrick.

Then, prospective students can use TAG, Transfer Pathways or Pathways+. Students who have a specific UC campus they want to attend select TAG, those who want to apply based on their major choose Transfer Pathways, while Pathways+ is a combination of the two.

Finally, they complete the process by filling out the UC application, added Shadrick.

“We can’t change the application process,” Shadrick said. “So we’ve had to have creative ways to help our students function within that three-part system.”

To assist her students, Shadrick said she offered daily UC and CSU application workshops throughout the months of October and November. She added that she regularly trains her staff on the transfer process and ensures that her students are aware of transfer opportunities by emailing them and advertising the transfer center.

Shadrick said she is hesitant to declare the UC Transfer Hub a success before seeing whether it effectively informs prospective transfer students. She added that it is important to note that the UC hub is a tool for student research that must be coupled with the guidance of community college counselors.

“It’s a great starting point for a conversation starter, for them to get in to see a transfer counselor,” Shadrick said.