Throughout high school, teachers, administrators, and other academic faculty guide you through your journey towards graduation. Whether it was choosing classes, encouraging you to take challenging courses, or telling you that summer school was essential; counselors were always monitoring and helping you achieve academic success.

However when I first arrived at Rio Hondo two years ago in the month of January, I refused to seek a counselors guidance in part because I had a feeling I’d end up trapped on this campus for longer than two years. I’d always hear stories about students who weren’t able to add classes on time or how they’ve been attending a community college for four years. It blew my mind away because my high school teachers would always emphasize that it only takes two years to transfer to a four-year university.

Quite frankly, it does. Well, depending if you are capable of beating the “system” and if you are 100 percent sure you know what you want to study in.

If you are sure about both, follow my steps and read my personal story. Fair warning: your chances of succeeding are not guaranteed by listening to my advice.

Okay let’s begin.

First and foremost, counselors are here to provide students academic assistance and creating an educational plan with each student. I will acknowledge that there are many counselors on this campus that genuinely care about each student and want each student to succeed and accomplish their goals and aspirations.

However, some educational plans actually backtrack students in an effort to keep students longer for the sake of the school to sustain enrollment and make money like a business. The longer John Doe attends campus, the longer he will continue to buy books and supplies on campus, spend money at the cafe, and purchase a parking permit.

I was appalled when my friend showed me the educational plan a counselor created for him in which he was told to take a counseling course, reading, and cram 3 general education courses all in one semester.

That’s hell ladies and gentlemen.

Now, if you’re looking to earn your Associates Degree and actually graduate from a community college then it makes sense to abide by an education plan such as the one my friend received. I however, knew from the get-go that I wanted to major in journalism, receive my certificate, and transfer as soon as possible. I began by skipping my placement exams and simply enrolling in fun general education courses that would interest me, yet satisfy IGETC requirements. For those unaware, IGETC stands for Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum and is accepted by the Cal State University and University of California Systems, as well as private institutions. By abiding to IGETC requirements, I’d be able to essentially transfer to any university especially with IGETC certification.

However, I personally dislike both the CSU and UC systems and favored a private institution. CSU and UC schools require that you complete at least 90 units of transferable coursework, as well as English and math. UC’s also additionally require that you complete a foreign language requirement. Most private universities will allow students to transfer with less than 40 units and without taking both English and math courses. Although it’s possible to transfer in less than 3 semesters, I wanted to complete two years in an effort to save money.

So what did I do first? I did the one thing counselors advise most students not to do and the one thing that upsets counselors the most. I took all my major classes first before general ed’s and was able to boost my GPA easily in the mid 3.0 range. I took newspaper and magazine in the summer of 2014, followed by all journalism classes in the fall of 2014 which earned me a 4.0 GPA and a spot on the deans list. When it came time to fill out applications for transfer admission, I was able to include that I was on the dean’s list making my candidacy for admission stand out. Smart right?

Upon completing all my major requirements for a certificate in Print Media, I finally began taking general education classes by following the transfer articulation agreement between Rio Hondo and the University of La Verne. No counselor, no guidance, just my own individual research and making sure I completed the courses I needed to avoid as much general education as possible at the four-year level. I began by taking sociology and health online last summer, then in the fall I took English 101, geology, and philosophy.

While taking philosophy, I developed a huge interest in the subject and decided I would minor in that field. During the winter session I took public speaking to fulfill my oral communication requirement, and currently I am taking English 201, political science, intro philosophy, and political philosophy.

No math, no counseling, no reading courses, and I was accepted into the University of La Verne with junior standing upon completion of the current spring semester. I was admitted with a 3.5 GPA and received an $11,000 scholarship.

How’s that for not seeing a counselor throughout my time at Rio?

Not once in my two years at Rio Hondo have I visited the transfer center or talked to an academic representative during an on campus transfer fair. I achieved my academic goal of completing a community college in two years and now I will complete another two years at the University of La Verne, earning my Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism in the traditional four years.

Although I was accepted without completing math, I will have to obviously take it at La Verne, however it will be much easier completing the set requirements instead of having to take Math 30, 50, 70, and so forth here at Rio since I know I am horrible in Math. Aside from Math, I will only need Biology, upper-division requirements, a few small university requirements, and of course my major requirements in order to receive my degree.

In no way, shape, or form am I saying counselors aren’t doing their job; however if you want to quickly transfer out of community college you definitely can without ever seeing a counselor.