Ok Im going to go to school.?

[NEWPARA]

Ive made up my mind ,Im going to school.I was already sighned up a few months back ,butI had to have a bladder surgery so I put it on hold.
My question is has anyone started collage to get a degree?I ve been told to stay away from jr collages and go to cal state or cal tech.
Im not sure what Im going to get a degree ,butIm making a list of my intrest and talking to a counsler.
Anyone got any expereince with this matter?Dos and donts?

[Mike Honcho]

If you're not sure what you'd like for a degree yet, I would stick with general education classes that have the best chance of transferring credits if needed.

[Buck_Nastier]

You better start with English.

[KevinT]

Talk to a counselor and see what kind of aptitude tests they offer. Take all the tests in the same day then just let your mind mull over the questions. You'll find yourself leaning more strongly towards one field or another. Follow that hunch and do some research into it. You may find a career you never knew existed, yet now that you know you can't live without it.

Don't put too much stock in the results of the test. Follow your heart.

Kevin

[sjean423]

I agree on the basic courses. Look over the course catalogue for one of the schools. Almost all of the majors will require the same college writing, math and other entry level courses. Then if next year you are learning towards a different degree, you haven't "wasted" any specialized courses. These credits should transfer easily.

Look into vocational rehab, if you haven't. A lot of people on the board here are getting their education paid for in part or in whole. (Search some threads too, there has been a lot of stuff recently, if you missed it.)

Good LucK!

[Broknwing]

I ve been told to stay away from jr collages and go to cal state or cal tech.
Im not sure what Im going to get a degree ,butIm making a list of my intrest and talking to a counsler.
Anyone got any expereince with this matter?Dos and donts?

I disagree with the stay away from jr colleges statement....You are just starting out, therefore you need the general education courses to get out of the way, these are the same no matter where you go, but they cost on average 3x as much at a university than they do at a community/jr college. If you're not exactly sure what you want to do you have a lot more flexibility in your choices at the CC than you do at the Univ.. Once you get an associates degree at the CC it is transferrable to the Univ for upper-level admission. You would only have to worry about limited access programs at that point.

Now the $ issue may not be the same if Calif still give free in-state tuittion to residents, but it's been many many years since I last looked into that....if they give the free tuittion then the cost issue may not be as big a factor...

[SCI-Nurse]

If you don't know what you want to do, don't go to a CSU or UC campus. You need to choose the right school based on your major, and even for an in-state resident, these schools are expensive. CA has excellent community colleges where you can do your GE classes, get career counseling, and explore different career options at very little costs to yourself (or the DOR). I don't know if the UC or CSU system was ever free...it certainly was not when I was in college in the 1970s, and definitely is not now.

Once you have determined a degree path, then look at the UC or CSU system to complete your education, or proceed to graduate studies (needed for many professions now days). Again, the community college system counseling offices can help you choose the right upper division school for you, and will help you with applications, etc.

Have you opened a DOR case yet? If not, you should do that now so that you are getting state assistance for books, class fees, etc.

(KLD)

[NEWPARA]

If you don't know what you want to do, don't go to a CSU or UC campus. You need to choose the right school based on your major, and even for an in-state resident, these schools are expensive. CA has excellent community colleges where you can do your GE classes, get career counseling, and explore different career options at very little costs to yourself (or the DOR). I don't know if the UC or CSU system was ever free...it certainly was not when I was in college in the 1970s, and definitely is not now.

Once you have determined a degree path, then look at the UC or CSU system to complete your education, or proceed to graduate studies (needed for many professions now days). Again, the community college system counseling offices can help you choose the right upper division school for you, and will help you with applications, etc.

Have you opened a DOR case yet? If not, you should do that now so that you are getting state assistance for books, class fees, etc.

(KLD)
I think that is good advise.Ive already opened a case with DOR but I m going to get an apointment with them on monday.Im just not sure what they will pay for as far as state collages ,I know they were talking about city collages before? Thanks for your input!

[NEWPARA]

You better start with English.

Yeah my spelling sucks.Thanks for the negitive input jerk.

[Buck_Nastier]

Yeah my spelling sucks.Thanks for the negitive input jerk.

You're welcome. It was a joke, relax. Good luck with school.

[betheny]

Another advantage, jr. colleges = smaller campuses. My son isn't disabled but he is going to jr. college next semester. I found state university to be overwhelming as an 18 year old. So many choices, so many distractions.

[darkeyed_daisy]

My daughter is doing the same Betheny. Not to mention the savings in tuition......She will be taking her general education and then transfering. Plus some kids just do better in smaller classrooms and she is one of those kids. She would go into a panic in a biology class of 150 like I did at the university that I attempted. The teacher never knew if we were there or not.

I think you should give Community/junior colleges some thought.....

[luckydog]

I went to a Junior College for two years; then transferred into CalPoly as a Junior and I now have my Master’s Degree. I think Jr College is a great place to start. It won’t impact you negatively. Just stay away from for-profit institutions (like Axia or University of Phoenix) because their credits will not transfer into the nonprofit state and uc schools.

[Lizbv]

Good advice on the junior college from everyone. After my accident, I started at a community college also. Then transferred to a university. Good luck getting back to the workforce

[lynnifer]

Regardless, tuition is crazy. Used to be ~$150-$200 per course when I was young .... now it's over $500 and that's just 15 years later! ... in Canada at least.

[NEWPARA]

Thanks agin for all the advise !Im excited at least Ill be doing somthing instead of felling sorry for my self.:)

[Israel]

Yeah my spelling sucks.Thanks for the negitive input jerk.

HEY WHATS UP PARA I WOULD RECOMEND TO START AT A CC FIRST AND TAKE ALL UR GE CLASSES AND GET THEM OUT OF THE WAY ITS LIKE STARTING SCHOOL ALL OVER BUT BASICALLY ALL YOU NEED ARE 60 TRANSFERABLE UNITS TO TRANSFER, THATS WHAT IVE DONE SINCE MY INJURY 2 YEARS AGO THIS IS MY FIRST SEMESTER AND ALSO TRY TO TAKE AS MANY CALSSES U CAN HANDLE SPECIALLY IF UR NOT WORKING LIKE IN MY CASE SO U CAN GET UR UNITS FASTER TRY TO GET HELP FROM DOR THEY CAN HELP U PAY FOR CLASSES REGISTRATION BOOKS ETC PM IF U NEED ANY MORE ADVICE GOOD LOOK:applaud:

[fishin'guy]

New P- do NOT fall for their Assoiate Arts degree's, you get it , and 25% of the courses don't transfer, here in Wa anyway. And that hasn't changed from when I went in the 70's till last yr when one of my son's friends found out the same thing. ( Geee, I graduated from CC, great, whoops, i gotta take 2 more Qtr's so I qualify for big U's.)

[uscmolly]

Just a different perspective--I don't think that community colleges are always a savings, particularly if you end up at a CSU campus. Some times they even "cost" you more money. My husband just finished his degree at CSU Long Beach and the annual tuition is about $3,000...a steal in my book (I went to USC, where the current tuition is upwards of $30,000). From what I've seen, it's harder to graduate in 4 years when you transfer from a CC. Assuming you'd be employed following graduation, if you take 5 years instead of 4 years, you are technically losing out on the income you would make in that 5th year...even modestly, we're talking $30,000 and possibly way more depending on your field. Just a different way to think about things.

But with that said, if you really don't know what you want to study and aren't in any rush, the community college route is a great way to investigate your interests and get some GE classes out of the way.

[feisty]

Just stay away from for-profit institutions (like Axia or University of Phoenix) because their credits will not transfer into the nonprofit state and uc schools.
I agree wholeheartedly with this. I had a roommate who got a degree from the U of Phoenix and then realized afterward if she wanted to continue her education in the state system, that previous degree wouldn't apply toward anything. It was like starting from scratch everywhere except for in the student loan department, because she was still trying to pay that initial loan off... what a drag.