<p>So, I have dreams of being a high school history teacher. In spite of the complete lack of interest on the part of most students as well as the endless amounts of drama with fellow teachers that I except, I believe that it would be a rewarding and interesting job. I'm beginning, now, to take a look around for colleges that offer some of the following (basic) courses. These are the one's I'd be most interested in, but if you all have some suggestions, I'm open to ideas: </p>
<p>Major American History
Major European History
Minor in European (perhaps specializing in Russian) History
Minor in Economics
Minor in Political Science</p>
<p>So, what're my basic options?</p>
<p>P.S. I'm mostly an A student, with the exception of math, which is usually just a B. I take all honors courses and one or two AP's.</p>
<p>For many students who are interested in becoming teachers, it’s best to go to school in your own state.</p>
<p>What state are you in?</p>
<p>Have you visited any colleges in your state? Your state flagship may be your best bet if it’s affordable. Do you know how much your family will spend? If you’re going to be a teacher, you want to minimize any college debt because newish teachers don’t earn much.</p>
<p>I live in MA. I haven’t visited any colleges yet. As a high school Junior I’m graduating early this year, and planned on applying to MCLA to take pre-requisites and such before going to the college of my choice. I have something around 100k available for college (maybe a little more?) in a trust fund, and my family’s willing to pay decently (just not, like, Harvard level :S).</p>
<p>I’m not sure how much MCAS (Massachusett’s standardized test) counts for colleges, but on last year’s MCAS I scored Advanced in all categories. Not sure about previous years. My school is taking the SAT’s in March, although I did ok on the PSAT we did a few months ago (by OK I mean a 64 in Critical Reading, 50 in Math and a 48 in Writing Skills. This test was given without much notice, so I’ll obviously do much better when the actual SAT rolls around), but I can’t give SAT scores yet.</p>
<p>Be aware that if you start at MCLA you will be considered a transfer student which will give you much less opportunity to get any merit aid. MCLA offers a history major. Why wouldn’t you stay there? Are you interested in teaching at the college level?</p>
<p>To be frank, I’m still a bit iffy on whether to teach at college or high school. I’ve been told I’d be much happier at college level teaching since I’m very interested in history, and most of the students at a high school don’t, frankly, give a crap. Also, what other option do I have besides MCLA? As far as I understand, most other schools have already sent out approval or denial letters, so it may be too late to apply anywhere else.</p>
<p>As a high school Junior I’m graduating early this year, and planned on applying to MCLA to take pre-requisites and such before going to the college of my choice. I have something around 100k available for college (maybe a little more?) in a trust fund, and my family’s willing to pay decently (just not, like, Harvard level :S).</p>
<p>===============</p>
<p>So, you have $25k per year for college. That’s decent, but won’t pay for many OOS schools…many are running $35k-55k per year.</p>
<p>I think that it may not be a good idea to graduate early for a few reasons…</p>
<p>1) You don’t have SAT or ACT scores yet.</p>
<p>2) You didn’t apply to any colleges yet.</p>
<p>3) You may need merit scholarships to supplement your $25k per year and you’d be applying too late for many of them.</p>
[quote=Dwerneg]
To be frank, I’m still a bit iffy on whether to teach at college or high school. I’ve been told I’d be much happier at college level teaching since I’m very interested in history, and most of the students at a high school don’t, frankly, give a crap. <a href=“1”>/quote</a> The job market for college teaching is bad. Really, really, really bad. This is especially true in a field like history, in which only about 30% of those starting a PhD program will secure a tenure-track job. In fact, only 50% even finish their programs within 10 years. If you think that doesn’t sound so bad, keep in mind that it’s incredibly tough to get into a PhD program to begin with (1 spot for every 10 applicants at mediocre programs, up to 1 spot for every 45 applicants at top programs), these statistics are more skewed than they appear (top programs place very well, bad ones barely place at all), and 6-7+ years of graduate school for a shot at a job is a very grueling process. </p>
<p>(2) Teaching at the college level does not mean you are guaranteed to have students who care. You may well end up teaching world history at a third tier school, for example, in which most students are either well-intentioned but lacking in ability or who just don’t care about the subject at all and are trying to fulfill graduation requirements (the few talented and dedicated students are treasured in such cases). Sure, lots of people would like to teach at Michigan State or Tufts. In reality, most people are grateful if they land a tenure-track job at Northwest Oklahoma State.</p>
<p>(3) Some of the happiest people I’ve known bailed from grad school and got jobs teaching at private high schools. They have small classes, a fair amount of administrative support, and parental support. Additionally, pay at many private schools is quite comparable to the starting salaries of university lecturers/instructors or even assistant professors. (Sad but true.)</p>