Discovering Opportunities at LA Pierce College: Zhuoya Chen’s Story

Encouraging Other Students to Start Their Journey at LA Pierce

Hi everyone! My name is Zhuoya Chen, also known as Bonnie, and I am a Los Angeles Pierce College (LAPC) graduate of the class of 2024. As a foreign student from China studying in the United States, I gained most of my great experiences and memories at LAPC. I would love to share my stories during the 2 years I studied at LAPC, and why I believe it is a great place to pursue higher education. 

Why I chose Los Angeles Pierce College

In my life, I think the best decision I made was to attend LAPC. After graduating from high school, I didn’t get into my dream school and wanted to repeat a year until my counselor introduced LA Pierce’s transfer program. 

While I was skeptical about community college at first, this idea went away when I got a tour and made a call with Donna, an admissions advisor. Donna told me that LA Pierce is certified by the government — it is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, which is a widely recognized regional accrediting agency. 

Moreover, LAPC offers a great guarantee program that cooperates with UC which could make sure every student will at least have one university to transfer to. Therefore, I knew my second chance was here. 

The international office helped me so much

By studying at LA Pierce College, I feel that the international office is like my home in the United States. From the beginning, my English was not very good at that time, so sometimes I didn’t understand Donna’s instructions on what and how to prepare the things for application to enter this school. But she patiently guided me through the application step by step and explained everything that was confusing to me from beginning to end. 

Meagan will send sweet birthday wishes and creative events to every student from different countries for us, such as my favorite “Tie Dye” event. And she also provided me with a sense of security because when I needed help, she always is here to provide help to me. 

Abby, an academic counselor, helped me develop an education plan while she could catch my feelings. As the application season was approaching, I was very anxious but Abby noticed my emotions and helped me review my essays. She was also taking care of my emotions and this kind of thoughtful care made me feel supported and encouraged at that time. 

The financial benefits of going to LAPC

After I attended LAPC, I realized, it saves a lot of money and time for people like me who want to go to UC, because of the different allocations international students might have to spend 3 times more to study at a public university. 

While studying in the community college, I was able to complete two years here and transfer by using less than one year fees at UC. Moreover, it saves a lot of time after transferring from a community college. 

I would get the same degree by continuing study for another 2 years rather than starting over from 4 years again. In those two years, it gave me more time to practice English and adapt curriculum structure in college life. 

Learning is easier at LAPC

And small class sizes allow students and professors to easily communicate and focus on the course teaching thus good to take care of each student‘s learning. Like during the class, I can ask questions immediately when I am confused, professors can better understand my problem promptly and provide personalized guidance. 

For example, I am a person who is not very good at taking exams or studying, but in the small class environment of LAPC, I get more attention and support. And professors will give us great feedback on each of my works by analyzing my mistakes in detail and providing suggestions for improvement to help me find learning methods and improve learning efficiency. 

Help from professors and the tutoring center

By studying here, my self-confidence has been greatly improved. In my life, I have never had high expectations for exams and studies because I have been a “bad student” with poor grades since I was a child. No matter how hard I tried, I feel that it would never favor me with grades. Until the professors’ positive feedback and the outcome of full marks every semester made me feel that my efforts were recognized. 

However, my good grades cannot do without help from the tutoring center. Whether it is math, science, or writing and language learning, the tutoring center has professional tutors to help. I often go to the tutoring center to review course content with the tutors and discuss difficult problems, and I feel that they are excellent students who work on the subject that they love and are good at. Everytime that I need them, they always be there. 

Start your own wonderful journey at LA Pierce College!

If you are looking for a college that can support your growth in all aspects, I strongly recommend you to consider LAPC. I hope you can find your own wonderful here! 

If you are interested in LA Pierce College, welcome to visit the school’s official website for more information. Apply for admission, participate in campus activities, and start your wonderful journey at Pierce College! Believe me, this will be one of the best decisions you have ever made! No matter what the future holds, I will always remember the good times I had here.