<p>Caveat: This is going to be long, but it's a pretty important decision, so I hope you'll bear with me. :)</p>
<p>So this is a somewhat particular situation, and as such I don't know how much insight anyone may or may not have, but here goes. </p>
<p>I'm a 23 year-old high school drop out, who is currently finishing up my AA at FSCJ (Florida State College at Jacksonville), and I would like to transfer to a university here in Florida to pursue a BA in (applied) linguistics. I'm sure being a drop out does not do wonders for me on paper, but I'm confident that given an opportunity, I'd be fine. I did not drop out for academic reasons. I assume that as a transfer student SAT/ACT is no longer much of a consideration (and I never took them).</p>
<p>I'm a little unsure as to how transfer admissions are handled, but I'll try to provide as much pertinent information as possible. When I graduate with my AA I expect that my GPA will be somewhere around 3.4-3.6, so let's call it 3.5. Not stellar, but not bad. Since linguistics has no real pre-requisite courses as far as I can tell and FSCJ does not provide any intro courses, I've been using my elective credits for foreign language and humanities courses thus far. I will be transferring with 8 credit hours of German (the in-state foreign language requirement), and 4-8 credits of Chinese. I assume this will aid me in getting accepted into the program, even though linguistics isn't necessarily about learning other languages (although applied linguistics, which is what I'm leaning towards, certainly benefits from being a polyglot as far as I can tell).</p>
<p>Anyway, on to the meat of the issue. Linguistics is not a particularly available major here in Florida it seems. As far as I can tell, it's offered at UF, FAU, FIU(?), and I think UNF has a graduate program. I know that as a FTIC student, I would stand very little chance at UF with a 3.5 but I'm not sure how that fares as a transfer student. FAU from what I've heard/researched is a commuter school on the rise, with increasingly selective admissions. FIU, I really don't know much about. </p>
<p>My question is, are the programs at these schools good programs, and what are my chances of getting into them? I've tried doing some independent research on this topic, but I'm a little confused by the whole transfer process as a whole and I've had very little luck finding sources for information regarding the specific programs as opposed to the schools as a whole. Any information/experience/advice would be much appreciated!</p>
<p>Also, if anyone is curious as to why I chose linguistics, here's why (and feel free to weigh in on how this is a good/bad choice. My plans are not set in stone):</p>
<p>I've always been fascinated by language, bilingualism, phonology, etc and how it affects how we process/interpret. I've always wanted to be a polyglot, and I think that as Americans we've become rather complacent when it comes to learning other languages/cultures. Don't get me wrong, I love America, but I think we could put forth a little more effort here. I know that this isn't the primary focus of a linguistics degree, but I feel like it would give me a really solid base for expanding my knowledge and ability to assimilate and truly understand foreign language. I did not want to limit myself to a language major (although a double major is certainly a possibility), but I would still like to be involved in a related field. My tentative plan after college is to join a program such as JET or TaLK and teach English overseas for a couple years, and then possibly come back for a graduate degree/certification in TEFL/TESOL, or continue travelling the world learning languages and cultures while sharing what I have to offer from my own.</p>