Career/College Advice Please

[SIXX99]

So I pretty much screwed around for my first year at Community College and by dropping a class in both my fall and spring semesters and changing my curriculum/major between the two semesters. Now I'm thinking about going to a different Community College in my area and going into either Psychology or Advertising and then transferring to a four year school. Any advice?

[terrifNick21]

Go to a four year school first and be done.

[mjm4soccer]

What is your goal when you are finished? What are your plans for after you get your degree? Psychology and advertising are two completely different majors. Which one are you more passionate about? Doing what you like to do and want to do will typically make classes less painful and work a lot easier to wake up for in the future.

Check with some of the 4 year schools you might be interested in to make sure that classes will transfer. Some schools are very particular about what classes they will and won't accept. A friend of mine took 40+ credits at a "business college" and some 4 year university's would only accept 6-10 of them. He eventually found one that would take 30-32, but that is a lot of work and money wasted.

The less you can switch majors, the less it will cost you in the long run. Generally the first year and a half to two years will be about the same everywhere. After that you'll start getting more specialized, and then you'll basically need to start over when you switch majors that aren't closely related.

Another thing to keep in mind is prerequisites. Some classes will only be offered in the fall or spring, and if you don't take it, you can't move up into other classes you need. I saw way too many people I went to college with that got stuck staying an extra semester because certain classes were only offered in the fall or spring.

Hopefully that helps a little bit.

[DCSaints_fan]

Does VT still have the automatic admission policy if you get an associates at a Va community college and get above a certain GPA?

[skinsngibbs4life]

Does VT still have the automatic admission policy if you get an associates at a Va community college and get above a certain GPA?

I thought every school in virginia was required to do that?

[Kosher Ham]

Psych is a waste unless you are truly going to do something with it and pursue further education down that path, eventually to a doctorate.

[dfitzo53]

Do you have any idea what you would like to do for your career?

[bushwack]

I thought every school in virginia was required to do that?

I believe they are. All public institutions have to allow a community college graduate admittance into their school, as long as said student has a certain GPA, which is different for every college.

As for the OP, don't considered yourself screwed at all. Your at community college where you are allowed more room to make mistakes, at least financially, before you go to a 4-year school. My advice would be to make sure you know what you want to do, get your associate's at CC, and then get your bachelor's at a 4-year school. Then if you want to get your master's then you'll have much more money saved to do so by not paying those 2 or 3 extra undergrad years at a 4-year school.

[Spanky22]

Psych is a waste unless you are truly going to do something with it and pursue further education down that path, eventually to a doctorate.

This. I loved my psych classes. They were absolutely fascinating and taught me many things that are applicable to every day life. However, I wouldnt recommend it unless you are planning on going to grad school. You wont get a job in psychology without further schooling. If you dont get a job in the field that you got your degree in, youve essentially just wasted 4 years of your life and a lot of money to get a piece of paper that proves that you can go to class and take tests, just like everyone else.

Get a degree in something that you can actually get a job in. A regular old liberal arts degree (psych, sociology, womens studies, etc) in a field that you dont intend to work in is worthless. Business, econ, finance, accounting, engineering, etc are all much better bets on actually getting a job, especially in this crappy economy. If you arent interested in those, go to a trade school and become an electrician or something. It will be less of a waste of time than a worthless liberal arts college degree.

/things I wish someone would have told me before I went to college

[DCSaints_fan]

I believe they are. All public institutions have to allow a community college graduate admittance into their school, as long as said student has a certain GPA, which is different for every college.

No, I don't think UVA and William and Mary have to, but I could be wrong.

[Spanky22]

No, I don't think UVA and William and Mary have to, but I could be wrong.

They both do. All VA public schools have that deal. Lots of Richard Bland CC people end up at William and Mary. It's a great deal.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Become a plumber.

[TheGreatBuzz]

Join the Navy. I'm a high school drop out (GED) and I make equivilent to $80k a year. I have been in for 8 years. And they pay for all my college. All I pay for is books. And now I can use my GI bill for my wife to get her masters.

[SnyderShrugged]

Focus on skill building for whatever you choose as a career. anything else is a significant waste of time.

[Elessar78]

First, are you serious about your studies now?

Second, I work in advertising and am curious why you want to go into the field? Let me guess you see all the cool ads around you and that's the kind of work you want to do? Advertising is everywhere, it's relevant blah blah blah.

It's a good gig if you're good at it. But there's a ton of wannabe advertising majors going into a field that's not very recession proof. The ads you admire are "home runs": great idea, great execution, client loves it and is willing to pay for it. Most ads aren't like that, there's a ton of compromise with people whose opinion you may not really respect.

A lot of people seem to advocate the "pursue your passion" line of thinking. I go with "choose a practical major". Pursuing your passion doesn't always pan out—you can make a living at it but it can also suck the passion out of it when you have to deal with the daily nitty gritty of things. Let your passions be your hobby, choose something that you have a real aptitude for. Good at Math? Try something in the quantitative field.

[DCSaints_fan]

They both do. All VA public schools have that deal. Lots of Richard Bland CC people end up at William and Mary. It's a great deal.

Wow as selective as those schools to get into out of high school , I'm surprised they have that in place. Isn't it restricted only to certain majors (business, if I remember right?)

[Spanky22]

Wow as selective as those schools to get into out of high school , I'm surprised they have that in place. Isn't it restricted only to certain majors (business, if I remember right?)

Yeah, that's why it is such an incredible deal. Do two years at a community college, keep a B average, and you are automatically accepted into any state school. Granted, you have to pass once you get to that school, but assuming you do, your degree says W&M or UVA and not community college.

I dont believe that they have any restrictions on majors, but Im not sure about that.

[War Paint]

So I pretty much screwed around for my first year at Community College and by dropping a class in both my fall and spring semesters and changing my curriculum/major between the two semesters. Now I'm thinking about going to a different Community College in my area and going into either Psychology or Advertising and then transferring to a four year school. Any advice?

Going to community college and knocking out some of your transferable courses is good. Community college is much cheaper. No point in blowing thousands more in tuition to take algebra and other general classes at a university. I'd get my two year degree at a community college and take care of your transferable general ed, then go knock out a four year degree in two years at a university.

Also, if you want a job when you get out, don't major in Psychology. I wouldn't go to a four year school unless you are going to major in a hard science or something in health care. If you do a business degree, major in accounting. If not accounting, don't major in business. Don't waste time and thousands of dollars on worthless degrees. You'll seriously regret it.

[SIXX99]

Thanks for the input everybody. I'm still not sure what I want to do yet but I like having a lot of different perspectives.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

If you do a business degree, major in accounting. If not accounting, don't major in business. Don't waste time and thousands of dollars on worthless degrees. You'll seriously regret it.

Not sure I'm following this logic. Most companies that I'm aware of value almost any business degree. It's not difficult to switch your line of work once you get your foot in the door at a company.

I wouldn't value an accounting degree over a finance, MIS, etc. degree at all. If you major in business, you will do just fine regardless of the concentration.

[jnhay]

I think you need to start setting some goals for yourself, and actually really try to achieve them. It sounds like you're unsure of a lot of things, which is fine, but don't let that keep you from progressing towards something rather than just staying in limbo.

[SIXX99]

I have decided to start from the end and go backwards. So my question is now, how can you find what a 4 year school is good at?

[Elessar78]

Honestly, if you go to a school with a good overall reputation it's not going to hurt. Most state schools have a good reputation for their business and engineering schools. Although I did advocate for being practical/pragmatic about what you study, don't be unimaginative either. Mathematics, the sciences, computer science, even in the arts.

Just have a realistic idea on how you will make a living at it when you get out and if you will like doing that kind of work. Maybe contact some businesses in the fields you're interested in and ask if you can come see what they do. What opportunities there are.

I did something like this before college, although not as extensively as I should have. Think of college as a huge investment in time, effort, and money. Put a lot of research into it before you commit to a college or major or a sum of money to it. Although, I can tell you that a possible outcome of the research is that you realize there are so many options out there that excite you that you can't decide. But that's a good problem to have. And you can use the first years of college to buy time before you have to make a decision.

[SIXX99]

Would Civil and Environmental engineering be a good choice for todays job market? And I realize I have thrown out some wild suggestions but I really have no idea what I want to do.

[dfitzo53]

Would Civil and Environmental engineering be a good choice for todays job market? And I realize I have thrown out some wild suggestions but I really have no idea what I want to do.

What makes you want to do engineering if you have no idea what you want to do?

Do you already have the money/financial aid you need for college, or will you have to be working to pay for it?

Do you currently have a job? If your first time around in a community college didn't go so well, why do you feel the need to jump back in right away? Despite what people want to tell you, college isn't for everybody.

Do you really have no idea what you want to do? I mean you're bouncing all over the spectrum with Psychology, Advertising and Engineering.