<p>Does anyone have an experience in starting college Spring Semester instead of Fall?</p>
<p>I'm about to enlist in the National Guard to pay for my college, and Infantry training will cause me to have start in January at Purdue or Indiana University. Would you consider having 100% tuition paid for as well as an extra $400 per month WORTH missing my first semester of college? My recruiter said that basic training qualifies me for around 8 college credits, so I'm assuming I could make the rest I need for my major up the following summer?</p>
<p>Any advice or prior experience is appreciated.</p>
<p>Assuming you want to be in the guard, absolutely. Many transfers miss the first two years of their college, and plenty end up having a rich and fulfilling experience. One semester is not a big deal. At all.</p>
<p>Of course I want to be in the Guard, this is possibly my one chance to get the job I want and serve! My family is just really on me about missing a semester, saying it’ll ruin my whole college experience. I disagree, but hopefully I can prove them wrong!</p>
<p>Some colleges accept spring admits like USC, UC Berkeley. I know several students who got accepted as spring admints and they don’t think it is a big deal. One semester probably doesn’t matter much over the long run.</p>
<p>Some concerns are making friends since a lot of that might have happened in the fall, some classes being offered only in the fall/missing the start of a class sequence.</p>
<p>Have you talked to your college to see what they have to say?
How does it work with the dorms if you don’t move in until spring?
Depending on your major, what about classes that have prerequisites or sequences?</p>
<p>Unless your college think there is an issue, it sounds like a good deal.</p>
<p>Frankly, your family basically has no say in this as you have the opportunity to pay your way through a state flagship (assuming summer earnings). Starting school a semester late is NOT a big deal.</p>
<p>How on earth would missing one semester (the first one freshman year, at that) ruin your whole college experience? Considering how many students transfer, drop out for various reasons, or take gap years, starting one semester late in exchange for full tuition reimbursement seems like a no-brainer, particularly since you really want to be in the National Guard.</p>
<p>What are your family’s arguments against doing this?</p>
<p>The only issue may be if your attend a school where your major has a rigid sequence of courses, each of which is offered once per year with the assumption of students starting in the fall. In this case, a semester delay in starting may result in a year delay in completing your major and graduating.</p>
<p>You can check the catalogs and schedules of your school to see if this would be an issue for you.</p>
<p>8 college credits from basic training would only be about half a semester’s worth, and may not be applicable to any specific subject requirements, so you should plan on taking a full 8 semesters (fall graduation if you attend continuously in spring and fall semesters) unless you come in with a lot of useful AP or college credit.</p>
<p>Don’t worry too much about the “college experience” if you are a semester offset if you attend a big university. Lots of students are a semester offset for various reasons (co-op jobs, semesters off, early or late graduation, spring admission at some universities, non-traditional students, transfer students, etc.). Highly structured four year college experiences are more likely to be found at elite admissions schools.</p>
<p>At IU at least I’d be a Business major, and they follow a Gen-Ed program so I’m sure they would have the required general Ed classes year-round.</p>