Can anyone explain Citrus College's transfer pattern?

I'm trying to understand Citrus College's transfer pattern to plan my courses efficiently. How structured is this pattern, and how can students best utilize it to ensure a smooth transfer process?

Sure, I can help explain the concept.

Community colleges like Citrus College offer programs designed to prepare their students to transfer to four-year colleges, and this is often referred to as their transfer pattern. These programs allow students to complete the lower division (first and second year) requirements before transferring to a four-year institution.

Citrus College uses the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) pathway and the California State University General Education (CSUGE) pathway for transfers to University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) campuses respectively.

In the IGETC pathway, students take courses in English, mathematical concepts and quantitative reasoning, arts and humanities, social and behavioral sciences, and physical and biological sciences. The CSUGE pattern also covers the same core areas but has different course specific requirements.

Now, to ensure a smooth transfer process, students should:

1. Determine their intended major: This will guide the choice of courses during their study at Citrus College before transferring because some majors require specific courses to be completed at the community college.

2. Visit a Counselor: They can help students understand the requirements of their intended pathway (IGETC or CSUGE), and plan a class schedule that fulfills all necessary requirements.

3. Cross Check with the intended four-year institution: It’s always good to cross-check the transfer program with the four-year institutions of interest, to ensure every course taken aligns correctly.

4. Use Assist.org: For California students, Assist.org is an incredibly valuable tool for verifying transfer credits between California public community colleges and universities.

Remember, the aim is to ensure that students satisfy as many general education and major prerequisites as possible before transferring. Time and credits can be saved by planning well and checking with both a counselor at Citrus and an advisor at the future four-year institution.