ughh- college applications


Squirrelhunter91

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Well.. I'm a little late I admit on filling these things out, but man this is so boring. I'm looking into a bunch of different colleges some SUNY schools here in NY, others community colleges here in NY. Nothing out of state, unless someone here has suggestions for my intended major & minor??

I'm pretty sure I want to do something with law enforcement and environmental law. So I considered working for NYS DEC as Environmental Conservation Officer. But now here's the thing, should I do 2 years at a community college majoring in Criminal Justice, get my bachellors then transfer to a 4 year school with a major in Biology or Wildlife Biology? Or should I just go to the 4 year school right from the getgo and major in one and minor in the other? I'm not sure which needs to be the major and which needs to be the minor. This is all so confusing and frustrating.

Any help or input is appreciated.

Thanks.. Joe

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What year are you? Thought you were a sophomore? :confused:

Some community colleges will offer a 2+2 program where you can get your bachelors, but most (at least in Ohio) only offer associate degrees, you have to transfer to a 4 year college to get the bachelors in most cases.

As far as majors, decide what you want to do in life first. I saw and have seen a lot of students go in thinking one thing, then switch majors. When you switch majors, you might as well add at least an additional semester to your degree, in some cases add another year to your degree. That gets expensive. One of my brothers took 6 years to get through college, the other one 5. I didn't know what I wanted to do, so I went to the military, by the time I got out I knew I wanted to teach so I put every effort into college and graduated a quarter early.

If you don't know what you want to do in life, IMHO college is not a great choice unless you go "undecided" or "undeclared" for the first year or two, then if you still don't know what you want to do, major in English, that's kind of the universal degree and is a ticket to a lot of jobs. Once you get your degree in English, you could go to grad school in your chosen career field.

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Joe, Whatever field you decide to get into your making the right choice IMHO about going to school now!

I waited until later in my life to get an education figuring out what I wanted to do. I ended up going to SUNY Morrisville at the age of 42. It was tough to say the least.

Start NOW...Like others have said at least get your first year in and get some of the basics out of the way.

...and Yes...at the one and only Frat party I attended by invitation they called me "Blue"...so Dont Wait...GO TO SCHOOL NOW!!!

...or risk looking like this when you do finally go...LOL

003OSC_Patrick_Cranshaw_002.jpg

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If you know what you want to do, don't go to a community college unless money is a issue. Community colleges are great from that perspective. If you go to a community college the classes you take there may not transfer to a 4 year school and you'll end up having to retake those classes..trust me, I know from experience. :rolleyes: Good luck in whatever you decide...8 years of school just isn't for me...;)

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I just graduated college this past Spring, so I know exactly how you feel. It sounds like you want to do something with the environment. I minored in Urban Planning with environmental planning as my focus. I guess what I'm trying to say is you don't really need to major in environmental studies to get a career in the environmental field. A four year college is the way to go to avoid dealing with taking classes that don't transfer and basically get thrown away.

Senior?? You should've had this figured out last year!!!

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So long as the community college is accredited your classes should transfer with no problems Joe. We have a few years yet for our oldest daughter to start looking at colleges, but will be facing some similar questions depending on exactly what she chooses to do.

Not sure about where you are, but think some community colleges do offer paths to bachelors degrees through universities and there are tons of options out there in online programs nowadays. Would explore all the options and see what would work best for you. Also would agree with Joe about talking with someone in that career already and see what they suggest.

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If you know what you want to do, don't go to a community college unless money is a issue. Community colleges are great from that perspective. If you go to a community college the classes you take there may not transfer to a 4 year school and you'll end up having to retake those classes..trust me, I know from experience. :rolleyes: Good luck in whatever you decide...8 years of school just isn't for me...;)

Correct. Make darn sure you're talking to your 4 year school before you take a class at a 2 year school because they may not transfer. I had to re-take 2 classes, one because it wasn't offered at my 4 year school, and another one because my 2 year school considered an English course as a composition course, while The University of Toledo considered the exact same course (same textbook in fact) as a Literature course, so I had to repeat it. But other than that, my Associates totally transferred to my Bachelors.

Chris.. I'm a senior. I graduate in June 2009.

Really hard to believe that. Seems you just started high school last year. Are you graduating early?

So long as the community college is accredited your classes should transfer with no problems Joe.

Not necessarily.

Not sure about where you are, but think some community colleges do offer paths to bachelors degrees through universities and there are tons of options out there in online programs nowadays. Would explore all the options and see what would work best for you. Also would agree with Joe about talking with someone in that career already and see what they suggest.

Yep, that's true.

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