<p>Well, it's about that time for me. I have plans to transfer to a four year university, but at the moment, I don't know for what! I should probably figure that out.</p>
<p>As it stands, I only need two more classes to complete my associate's degree, which are 1 hour P.E. courses, which I can take pass/fail and really not even worry about ruining my GPA. (I currently have a 4.0 GPA and expect to keep it at the end of this semester, considering how all my grades right now are pure 98s or higher.) Really, those two credits are the only thing that I need to complete my associate's. There's two more classes I COULD take as "backup" classes since I am not sure what my major is or where I'm even planning on attending: Engineering statics and linear algebra. Totaling up to about 8 hours of coursework if I even bothered to take those. I'm not even sure linear algebra will transfer.</p>
<p>But other than that, what should I do in terms of classes next semester? I'm hesitant about taking more classes, seeing as how (assuming I pass the final exams this semester) I'll be able to leave my institution with a perfect record, which I . I'm not sure I want a full-time job, simply because that will mean I'll essentially be taking a semester off. I'd get the opportunity to earn more money for the university I know I won't be able to afford! But I am someone who needs variety.</p>
<p>Has anyone ever run into a situation like this? How do you handle semesters where you're pretty much doing nothing?</p>
<p>Talking to an adviser is the absolutely worst thing you can do at a community college.</p>
<p>They know nothing and have misled virtually everyone I know. I knew not to trust them from the beginning about how many courses I need to take to transfer, what universities I could get into, etc. The only person I really went to for guidance that I trusted was a professor and honors adviser.</p>
<p>If you’re not sure of what to do, you need to figure this out by doing your own research. You know what you’re interested in. Be an adult and figure it out. I’d be more worried about going into your senior year of college and worrying what to do with your degree. </p>
<p>I think you should get a part-time job if you’re going to have a lot of time on your hands. Or even try for an internship. Participate in clubs. </p>
<p>By the way, you cannot say that grades don’t transfer. Grades absolutely do transfer for people. There’s an OVERALL GPA at my institution, which is made up of my community college grades + the grades I’ve earned at Cal Poly Pomona. Then there’s an institution GPA. All of my credits transferred. Some of your courses may not transfer. </p>
<p>Also, if you can find a way to pay for a university you want, then go there. But don’t get saddled with thousands of dollars in debt if it isn’t worth it. It is mind-boggling how I even thought I should take 60K in loans to pay for a college I really wanted to go to, but I decided to go to a much cheaper option that will probably serve me better.</p>
<p>Linear Algebra I’m assuming is important if you’re going to pursue engineering. I use it all the time in my applied math major/physics upper-divison classes. Only go into a hard science if it is absolutely what you want to do because community college is a joke in comparison to the rest of what you’re going to be exposed to.</p>
Your real problem is not deciding whether to get an AA or not. It’s picking a major. If you enrolled at a 4-year college right out of HS they would expect you to pick a major by the end of your sophomore year. That’s you. </p>
<p>And if you plan on attending a university this fall many will expect you to apply for a specific major, and it may be difficult to switch once enrolled. This is a generality, of course, varying depending on university and major. But its fair to say the freedom one has as a frosh to choose almost anything is rapidly disappearing.</p>
<p>In my experience, advisers at community colleges are either really knowledgeable, or totally clueless. There are one or two at my school that really know what they’re talking about as far as how courses transfer, what courses someone should take to get into a given school etc. Some of them don’t really know what they’re talking about though.</p>
<p>Personally, I’ve figured out my course plans and looked into transfer credit on my own. Most states have some kind of articulation agreements, and many of them have websites that will tell you exactly what courses will transfer as. You enter the courses you’ve taken at CC, and select the school you’d like to transfer them to. The information on there is kept pretty up to date, so it’s pretty reliable. The transfer.org page for Illinois is fantastic.</p>
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<p>What? That’s not how it is in Illinois. After I transfer, I’ll basically have three GPA’s. My GPA from CC, my GPA at UIUC, plus my overall cumulative GPA.</p>