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TrekkieMage

College

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Since it's about that time of year when applicant begin to get their letters back from colleges, I was wondering who here goes to college/went to college/has applied to what colleges. I personally have applied to 8 colleges, and have gotten letters from two (Earlham college, and Christopher Newport College).

 

Anyone else?

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I have a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Baltimore.

 

My son is currently in his 2nd semester at the University of Maine.

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I have a Bachelor of Communications degree from the University of Kentucky and my husband holds a B.A. and an M.A. in music education from Northern Kentucky University.

 

If I could write a letter to my 18 year old self about college, I would stress the importance of really focusing on how you plan to make a living once college is over. I would have been much more specific in choosing my degree so that when I was finally out I was actually QUALIFIED to do something specific. Liberal arts degrees are a waste of time IMO if your goal is to provide an income for yourself once you are out.

 

Of course, some people think (and rightly so for them) that you need to find something you are passionate about and do THAT. I'm passionate about making myself comfortable and financially stress free, so specificity would have been a better way to go!

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^I'm actually going to a liberal arts college (all of the schools I applied to are liberal arts). My logic is that I don't really know what I want to do yet, and I see college as a way to figure out what I'd like to do. I'm probably going to spend freshman year figuring out which classes really spark my interest and going from there. Right now I'm looking at taking classes in political science and computers (web design, I'm not much of a hard core programmer) and maybe some work in the field of aviation (probably through local airports, not many liberal arts schools have aeronotical classes B)).

 

Both my parents got liberal arts degrees, and the only thing straining us financially is the fact that we need to learn how to budget better, so specificity isn't necessarily important, in my personal experience. I think what's really important in a college is how it fits the student and the student's needs. I need more flexibility and cultural and social experiences, not a rigid technical school, or a highly competitive program, so I've found that liberal arts is more suited to me and my education, so that's where I'm gonna go :laugh:

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i currently have an associates degree in liberal arts and i'm working on an associates in web technology. the liberal arts one wasn't getting me anywhere. i'm planning to transfer to a four year. got to find one with the technology stuff. i've got a few that i'm looking into.

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Bachelors Degree from UW Madison, achieved while on active duty in the Navy. Secondary Education, with a minor in History. I guess it could be said that I live to serve...

Edited by Jim Phaserman

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Unless you train something technical, the best a college degree will get you is a foot in the door. Just because I have a degree in business didn't mean I was a great businessman when I graduated. I had to go to another college to achieve that.......the College Of Hard Knocks..lol. My degree got my foot in the door to get a job. Every practical thing I learned about business I learned on the job.

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Unless you train something technical, the best a college degree will get you is a foot in the door. Just because I have a degree in business didn't mean I was a great businessman when I graduated. I had to go to another college to achieve that.......the College Of Hard Knocks..lol. My degree got my foot in the door to get a job. Every practical thing I learned about business I learned on the job.

 

Truer words have never been spoken ... all of my best qualifications were learned "on the job" after I got out of school. I always worked in the Communications field (public relations, journalism, marketing), but I really didn't learn how to "communicate" effectively in writing until I worked with a fabulous writer at an insurance company. I learned more from her in six months on the job than I ever learned in college.

 

That piece of paper got me in the door, but that's it. I didn't know @#$! from shinola about my "field" until I worked with Jan Torason.

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In either my Jr. or Sr. year of HS I had been accepted to Auburn University, but I ended up turning them down on the grounds that since I would have to pay out of state fees and my scholarship was only good in the State of Florida. Along with that, I turned them down when I admitted to myself the MAIN reason I wanted to go to AU was to compete in collegiate gymnastics (and being only a Level 8 gymnast, nationally ranked or not, I did not stand too high of a chance of making the cut because colleges tend to look for Level 10 or Elite level athletes).

 

I was a dual enrollment student my Junior and Senior years of high school. And I graduated from the local community college here with an Associate in Arts degree, general education degree for transfer to a 4 year school.

 

I did go to the University of North Florida for a short time, but because of a severe illness I had to cut my semester short. And when I did they said I did not have enough credit hours to continue my scholarship and told me I could not reinstate it even though my GPA was really good. And since I really did not have the funding to be able to continue at a University and also really was getting burned out with school I took a break for a little while. I was going for a Bachelor of Science in Physics and had planned to add Chemistry or Dance as a minor.

 

Burned out on the grounds that I went from Preschool through to my junior year of college without any real stops (summers I usually had off). That and from the age of three until the age of 22 I had also had countless hours of gymnastics training as well, so I just needed a break for a bit (though I would go on to train in gymnastics for a year before retiring from the sport)

 

 

I returned to the community college to get an Associate in Science degree in Chemical Technologies. And when I really sat down and thought for a while... though I have high grades in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology; I really have been more into Meteorology and Astronomy since I was very very young (A Star gazer and storm chaser at heart).

 

So when I go for a Bachelors degree I will head for a Meteorology one, and minor in either Astronomy or Chemistry.

Edited by Yillara_Skye

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I was a business administration major but what I really wanted to do is go to law school. But then I became involved with our student government as Treasurer and then started a business club and then ran a business on campus, so I figured out my true calling was business. So I changed my eventual plans from law school to an MBA.

 

But I didn't want an AA in business and then a BA in business and an MBA. I didn't want the same basic subjects 3 times. I wanted some diversity. So I added an AA in accounting and then transfered to a 4-year school as a BA in economics.

 

Eventually I changed my major again to a BS in ecomonics (more rigorous and quantitative, thus a higher earnings potential, but because it is a BS instead of a BA it is treated as a change in major), and took a minor in business finance.

 

Then I got a job as an accountant and am now pursuing a Certified Management Accountant certification. I keep telling myself I will go back for an MBA but realistically I won't.

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i find that trial and error works pretty well. i thought i wanted to be a paramedic. i enrolled in my community college luckily for me they stuck me in liberal arts. i took the emt course and when it came for the practical exam i failed three stations and you were only allowed two. after that heart breaking blow i continued with my liberal arts degree it took my digital art class to make the decision that i want to work in something with computers. and here i am today working on that. i found that i can sit at a computer better than no offense a paper and pencil job. i'm really loving it now. there's so much out there with computers i'll find something that suits me.

 

tm

Edited by stvoyagerfan21

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Quit braggin' Sarge!

 

Unfortunately, Associates is as high as I've gone. I'm afraid to say I dropped out. I don't have much time for college. I work 45 hours a week, plus have a family, and have drill time to do. College just isn't feasible right now.

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I never went to college I'm 24 years old now after high school back in 2000 I never went on to college I have a job at Holiday Inn and I still live at home with my mom and dad.

Edited by Ashley Tisdale 24

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I moved out because I had to, really. Space at Dad's was kind of limited, and having a wife and kids living there, too complicated things.

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The daughter of someone I work with has to decide between her two choices this weekend. Her choices are Grinnell in Iowa and Beloit College in Wisconsin. She has visited and likes both. She likes gaming and that could be a factor since Beloit is supposed to be a hotbed of gaming. But Grinnell had better food in her opinion. That would win my vote :dude: . Then again Wisconsin is noted for a certain food product B) So we'll see Monday where she goes.

 

As for me I went to Western Illinois University for my undergraduate degree in History (Education). After my stint in the Navy, I came back to Western to get a certification in Elementary Education. Western was my choice because of location, a strong education program, a number of friends who were going there, and family members who had gone there. (I also had a Illinois State Scholarship to help with costs) For my Library Science Degree I choose the University of Iowa, based on program length, location, and the fact I could start in January, whereas other programs only started in the Fall. My last two college stints were paid for by the GI BIll. YES!

Edited by trekz

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Did you go on the Illinois Veteran's Grant, Trek? I may wait till after I get out of the Army to go to college, take the IVG, and draw the GI bill. IVG pays for a full ride at any approved college in Illinois, and I'd basically get a paycheck with the GI Bill. Cool thing about waiting is that when all the 18 and 19 year olds talk about how "Cool" the stuff was they did in High School, I'll have way better stories to tell..

 

"This one time, the Battalion was in Germany..."

 

"Yeah, me and some of the other guys were down in Tijuanna..."

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