Santa Monica College Fair Draws 4,000 Students

By Lookout Staff

October 10, 2018 -- Some 4,000 Santa Monica College students took part in the school's Fall 2018 College Fair ON Tuesday, making it the largest event of its kind in California, college officials said.

The students had the opportunity to meet recruiters from 173 four-year U.S. and international four-year institutions, as well as two SMC programs, that registered to participate in the bi-annual fair.

"I heard nothing but good feedback from the representatives about SMC students,” said Janet Robinson, SMC Transfer Center faculty leader.

“The best possibilities for the students’ futures are right here on campus, in one place,” she said of the fair.

SMC is California’s leading transfer college to the University of California (UC) campuses, the University of Southern California and Loyola Marymount University.

It is also the top “feeder college” west of the Mississippi and has the second-highest number of transfers nationwide to the Ivy League Columbia University in New York.

The 2017 school year marked the 27th year in a row SMC led all community colleges in transfers to the University of California (UC) system, with a total of 1,194 students transferring.

SMC also sent 1,081 students to the California State University (CSU) system, officials said.

In addition, it placed the most black and Latino students in statewide universities ("Santa Monica College Ranks First in UC Transfers for 27th Straight Year," December 17, 2017).

Participants at this year's fair included UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC Irvine, as well as California State University (CSU) campuses from Long Beach, Los Angeles and Northridge.

Out-of-state participants included Arizona State University, Cornell University, Syracuse University and the University of Michigan.

Also attending the fair -- which also is held in Spring -- were 18 international universities, including the American University of Paris, France; Temple University in Japan and the University of Manchester in the U.K.

To learn more about the transfer process, and to see a list of all the colleges and universities at the fair visit www.smc.edu/transfer.

The SMC Transfer/Counseling Center can be reached at 310-434-4210, and counselors on staff assist in helping students plan their pathway to the best possible four-year college/university for them.