<p>Sorry to bump, but I have my placement exam Tuesday… after which I will meet with my academic advisor to consider my Fall schedule. Could anyone offer any advice re: what I assembled in my previous post?</p>
<p>Thanks so much. :)</p>
<p>Well since you asked. The classes you have chosen are difficult and will be a good test but they present one problem there will be tons of homework. Perhaps it would be better to take English Comp, a humanities class, or something other than classes that pertain directly to your major. Another thing if you have any clue what school you are thinking of transferring to after the CC time you could contact a transfer adviser at that school and see what they recommend, or for example if you were to transfer to UMichigan than they have a very extensive listing of classes that transfer from schools across the country. </p>
<p>[UM</a> Transfer Credit Equivalencies](<a href=“http://www.ugadmiss.umich.edu/TCE/Public/CT_TCESearch.aspx]UM”>UM Transfer Credit Equivalencies)</p>
<p>Just as an idea.</p>
<p>It really might be a good idea to ease back into school with a class that meets your GE requirements but is less intensive and homework filled. Just saying you do not want to get discouraged your first semester if you did have a hard time. The amount of credits is fine, I would just consider the homework and actual work required for the class.</p>
<p>@bleedmichigan - Thanks a lot for your input! I’ve actually been in contact with a bunch of schools re: their credit requirements and the transferability of various classes. You definitely may be right that it’s a little too heavy for my first semester back. I’ll try and get some feedback from my academic advisor.</p>
<p>Well, I took my placement test. That was my first academic assignment in over five years! It was a little intimidating but it ended up being not so bad. The writing and reading sections were trivially easy. The math was a little trickier. There were quite a few trigonometric properties I couldn’t remember for the life of me. But we were allowed a scientific calculator, so I kind of intuited some answers just by brute-forcing some figures. I’m pretty sure I ‘maxed out’ the test and won’t have any problem selecting the courses that interest me.</p>
<p>My academic advisement appointment is next week. I’m nervous! This is really happening.</p>
<p>SRyJohn,</p>
<p>Every time I read your posts I have to smile. You are a delightful student with so much to offer. It is quite apparent that if you maintain this can do attitude with eyes wide open you will go far. Truly. Best of luck, there are many out here cheering for you.</p>
<p>Today was my registration!</p>
<p>I took to heart the advice that my previous course load might have been a little too ambitious. I replaced the lab physics with discrete math. My thought process was that it’s still a challenging, STEM oriented course load- but without the lab it’ll give me more time for studying and homework. So it’s:</p>
<p>Programming & Algorithms
Calculus
Discrete Mathematics
Composition</p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>Hello again! Just updating what’s happened since my last post. </p>
<p>After talking to an advisor (and reflecting a bunch- thanks, Waverly!) I’ve decided to wait the two years before trying to transfer. The allure of saving some money is strong- plus, I’d like to take a crack at an internship over next summer here where all of my friends are, where I already have something of a network of potential sites. </p>
<p>So I’m still looking at mostly the same schools:</p>
<p>Cornell
Lehigh
Rice
USC
UVa
UNC @ Chapel Hill
U of Chicago
Georgetown</p>
<p>A few I’m interested in for the department, others for the location. </p>
<p>I’m still registered for the same courses as I mentioned in my previous post, but I shifted around the schedule a little bit so that:</p>
<p>1) I’ll be waking up earlier everyday, and
2) I’ll have class on Friday, too</p>
<p>I’m excited about these changes because they really create an environment where I can’t easily rationalize lazy weekends, sleeping in, et cetera.</p>
<p>School’s almost at hand. </p>
<p>Financial aid is all done and processed. School is officially ‘paid for’ for 2012-2013. I was awarded work study, too, which is nice. A little bit more breathing room in my bank account will alleviate some stress. Well, free it up for classes anyway. 
</p>
<p>I’ve been talking a lot to transfer counselors at my school. I’ve decided that just harboring this huge list of ‘schools I might be able to get into that will meet most or all of my need’ isn’t great. It means I do less focused research, and I’m less passionate about each school (which will show in my essays). After being informed of a few different programs I’ve realized that one of my preferences (a school in a big city) probably isn’t going to happen. Instead I’ve prioritized strength of program, alumni networks, career opportunities, chances of admission et cetera.</p>
<p>I’m looking at:</p>
<p>Cornell
UNC Chapel Hill
Lehigh
Bucknell
Penn State
UVa </p>
<p>I will post back once school starts I guess! I’m a little too self conscious to keep a hard copy of a diary or anything so forgive me for using this thread as a log.</p>
<p>
And by doing so, you’re probably helping more people with their college navigation than you realize.</p>
<p>
I agree with this. Same goes for non-transfer students. No list should have 10+ schools. I think I remember reading from someone knowledgeable about how many schools to apply to and they mentioned 7 as a good figure. 2 reaches, 2 mathches, 2 safeties, and 1 wild card/financial safety. Anymore than that and the typical student feels spread too thin trying to make everything they do “fit” to each school.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback, turtlerock. I didn’t list it but Temple is my safety. It has a dual admissions program with my school. Though they don’t give much of anything on top of federal need-based awards, they do give a few thousand if I seamlessly transfer from my CC. So if none of the other schools that interest me offer admission, I’ll be happy with Temple. I’m trying not to get pessimistic; even if their CS program isn’t the strongest and I’ll have to take the full Direct Loan amounts for those two years, I’ll get my bachelor’s degree. It’s in a big city, too, so it’s a comfortable fallback.</p>
<hr>
<p>I found my work-study job. I’m working at a nonprofit that refurbishes donated computers and peripherals and sells them at deep discounts to low income members of the community. While it’s not exactly teaching me any new skills, I love the ‘social good’ aspect and it’s nice to have a somewhat tech-y listing on my resume, finally.</p>
<p>^The loans wouldn’t sit well with me, but CS in a big city theoretically leaves you with as good a chance as anyone to get the immediate opportunity to pay them back.</p>
<p>
Don’t feel constrained to what the program that is already set up is supposed to accomplish. Think outside the box and if you see inefficiencies in the program or you think something can be added for improvement, don’t feel afraid to suggest them. Doing things to improve you is just as respectable as using the skills you have to improve the things you’re doing.</p>
<p>Not enough low-income people in the community to use the computers because they don’t know how to use one? Set up a basics computing class (if that’s not part of the program already, just an example).</p>
<p>I’d definitely prefer to get into one of the more selective schools that subsidizes tuition for low-income students. Unfortunately even many of them still define demonstrated need as serviceable in part with loans. So while I’d love to be accepted to Stanford (which is almost certainly too selective) or the Bucknell Community College Scholars program (which is also quite selective) or the UNC Carolina Covenant program (which I can’t because I’m an independent)… in all likelihood, I will have to incur a big chunk of debt. Hopefully less than the amount I’ll amass in CC + (12,500*2), though!</p>
<p>As you mentioned, though, CS is one of the best positions to be in (wrt security and pay) so if I do have to go that route I think my chances of getting on my feet are quite good.</p>
<hr>
<p>Thanks very much for the advice about my work-study program! The director of the nonprofit is actually very friendly and hands-on so I hope I’ll be able to contribute some interesting ideas.</p>
<p>Good luck at NTR. It’s an excellent agency with a strong track record.</p>
<p>When you’re ready to transfer, look for an employer that will pay for/reimburse you for classes. Some of the banks still do, I think. Also try the big insurance companies like Blue Cross and CIGNA, or the utilities. Investigate hospitals; I think the Penn health system might pay for any school, not just Penn. And do you know that many colleges allow their employees to take free courses, scheduled around their work shifts? It takes longer, but it really reduces your costs.</p>
<p>Wordworker: thanks! Good guess on the employer. :)</p>
<p>I am really hoping to complete my bachelor’s degree before 30. I’m not looking to work during the day and accrue credits slowly. I appreciate the advice, though.</p>
<p>I’m two weeks into the semester and things are looking up! The first day of Calc was rough, even though it was just reviewing high school algebra. I was humiliated, since I hope to minor or even double major in math (in addition to my primary CS ambition). But today I went to office hours for Calc and my first question was halfway out of my mouth before I realized that I already knew the answer. I almost broke down in tears in the professor’s office when I realized that I’m not too old or stupid to do this and I think I have an A-level understanding in all of my courses right now.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Eek! That was a rough semester. 3.0. </p>
<p>I’m a little disheartened that I got a C that early in my college career but I am going to try and not to be too beat up about it. Some of it was difficult material but plenty of it was poor study habits after so much time away from the classroom. I also keyed in on some of the available resources (like the learning labs) a little too late in the semester to make good use of them. I’ll definitely be focusing on these from the outset come the spring.</p>
<p>I’ve narrowed down my transfer applications list to:</p>
<p>Safety: Temple
Match?: Penn State University
Reach: Cornell, UNC, UVA</p>
<p>In terms of EC I’ve been doing BJJ (which is a lifelong thing), some soup kitchen type volunteering, and participation in the international student association (even though I’m not exactly that).</p>