Parents who don't support majors...

Parents Forum
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<p>I want to major in criminal justice... but the top national schools that have criminal justice are very limited (GWU and Northeastern) My parents are big on school prestige (like many parents) My parents have a whole bunch of other schools in mind for me...which don't have criminal justice. I want to go into the FBI which you don't need to have a criminal justice degree in, since they like variety. But since the degrees that the FBI is looking for (engineering, accounting, languages, etc. don't interest me) i was thinking about becoming a cop first then applying into the FBI later in my life. This whole FBI/criminal justice thing is unsure and is just a dream but I don't really have any other ideas about what i want to do with my life. I would like to go to a good college that offers a criminal justice course in case i do decide to go into it later in my college years. </p>

<p>should i go on to apply to one of the schools they want...? They are paying for it. The thing is that they DO NOT support this major and i don't know what to do now. Any advice?</p>

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<p>I think you should pursue what 'you' are interested in since it's your life and you're the one who'll have to live it. You should however, discuss your long term goals (FBI) with your parents some more and ask them how their roadmap for you would help you get there. They may have your best interests in mind or they might want to live vicariously through you. Hopefully it's the former. They may also think that since you're not completely certain of your direction, you'd be better off pursuing a more general degree and specializing later. The average college student changes their major one or two times before they settle. </p>

<p>Are you sure that criminal justice or related degrees (forensics) aren't available at the colleges they're steering you towards?</p>

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<p>If your parents aren't willing to support a major as respectable as criminal justice, then they're not going to let you live your own life, period. Whether they really have your best interests in mind is questionable.</p>

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<p>Bond, you're really asking two separate questions (I think) - as to the first, are you really, really interested in criminal justice, or, are you selecting it because you believe that is your best entrance into the FBI? I would encourage you to talk to the FBI career office, because, one option to consider is opting for a different degree in something else (chosen because it may interest you a LOT more than criminal justice or simply offer you a broader educational base), and then pursue refined graduate studies in criminal justice - or some other post graduate education that is of interest to you. I believe the John Jay school in NYC is supposed to be excellent for criminal justice as a graduate degree. Bottom line, there are many, many degrees of interest to the FBI, and other federal law enforcement agencies and offices within agencies that do not require, and may not even want, the criminal justice undergrad degree, or the languages, or the sciences, etc. The FBI is as happy - perhaps even happier - if you have a degree in anthropology, sociology, psychology, and any number of other things, and this might serve you better because they like to see candidates outside of the typical. (A good friend was recently hired as a special agent and his degree is in journalism. My daughter has also explored options with the intelligence community and there is really NO degree that shuts a candidate out, and all are considered - GPA seems to count a lot more than major.) </p>

<p>Beyond the college degree, the FBI and similar agencies/offices also want applicants in excellent physical condition, excellent credit, strong character, etc.</p>

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<p>I agree with LTS completely. You could look up the requirements for a criminal justice degree (besides the schools listed above, University of Illinois at Chicago Circle has a good program, I'm told). You will probably see that a range of courses in many different disciplines are required.</p>

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<p>Definitely, the degree in criminal justice requires a range of courses including social sciences so it is absolutely possible to go that route. By the way, keep in mind that forensics requires very heavy science and math. Many students think they are interested in Forensics without realizing that. If you look at schools like Northeastern that have a criminal justice major, within cj there are disciplines which include social work, security, etc.<br>
That said, do your homework on some of these websites, then sit down with your parents and spell out your goals and ideas. You may find them more receptive if you present a well thought out plan.</p>

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<p>I can understand your parents' concern.</p>

<p>Criminal justice is a specialized major, offered at only a limited number of schools.</p>

<p>Many college students change their majors. There is nothing wrong with doing this. You can't really judge a major until you've started working on it, at which point you might discover that the major you were planning on isn't the best choice for you.</p>

<p>I think that your parents are concerned that if you choose a college for its criminal justice major alone and then find that you would prefer another major, you might regret your choice of college. One issue that is likely to be of concern to your parents is that quite a few of the colleges with criminal justice majors are not particularly selective or prestigious. If you continue with your plan to major in criminal justice, this is not really a problem. But consider how you might feel if you decide to change your major to something that is widely available -- such as psychology or business. If that happens, will you regret the fact that you are attending a second- or third-tier school, when you could have attended a first-tier one?</p>

<p>Ideally, you should try to find a university that has a criminal justice major and that you would be happy to attend even if you eventually choose to major in something else. I don't know whether this is possible, though.</p>

<p>You might also want to expand your options by looking at the offerings within the sociology departments of universities that don't have criminal justice majors to see whether they offer any kind of criminal justice/law concentration within sociology. For example, the University of Michigan (which is on pretty much everybody's list of highly respected universities) offers a sub-concentration in Law, Criminology, and Deviance within its Sociology undergraduate major. <a href="http://www.lsa.umich.edu/soc/undergraduate/sub_concentration.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.lsa.umich.edu/soc/undergraduate/sub_concentration.asp&lt;/a> Would a program like that suit you?</p>

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<p>If you really think the schools you have selected are the best "fit" for you, aside from the CJ programs they offer, and you really do not think you would be happy with your parents' choices, then you should try to convince them to let you attend since you will be the one going there and will be more successful somewhere where you are happy. Also, one of the pluses about Northeastern is their co-op program which would give you a wonderful opportunity to explore the CJ field and determine whether this is really what you want to do. It is also a rising star and moved up 17 spot in the recent US News ratings this year and is now above 100 overall. They also give fairly decent merit aid scholarships. You might want to make sure your parents understand the benefits of the schools you are interested in attending.</p>

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<p>My college had a very good criminal justice program that a lot of kids took part of. They also recently added a Forensics major which was actually started by someone who was the head of forensics for the New Jersey state police or something like that, and that programs been getting a lot of buzz around here. I would explain to your parents all of the different types of courses that go into both types of majors plus what you can do with it if you add on a minor or something like that. One of my friends majored in Criminal Justice and minored in Psychology and got a job working with some troubled kids who have had criminal problems. I also know people who have gone the Forensics route at my school who have gone on to work for the FBI and other organizations like that.</p>

<p>I mean, here's some classes required by Forensics - General Chemistry I, General Chemistry II, Biology I, Computers for Chemists, Organic Chemistry I, Organic Chemistry II, General Physics I or Engineering Physics, General Physics II or Engineering Physics, Chemistry Issues & Ethics, Physical Chemistry I, Quantitative Chemistry, Criminalistics, Crime Scene Processing, Instrumental Analysis, Forensic Body Fluids, Inorganic Chemistry, Forensic Lab Experience, Forensic Ind. Study or Forensic Internship, Arson and Bomb Investigation</p>

<p>And here's some offered by CJ - Introduction to Criminal Justice, Introduction to Security and Asset Protection, Juvenile Delinquency, Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice Research Methods I, Criminal Justice Research Methods II, Criminal Law, Gender and Crime, Legal Standards of Asset Protection, Criminal Investigation, Victimology, Crime Prevention and Physical Security, Arson and Bomb Investigation, Policing in America, Judicial Process, Punishment and Corrections, Community Based Corrections, Juvenile Justice, Comparative Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice Experiential Learning, Crime Scene Processing, Policing Communities, Special Topics in Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Death Investigation, Security Planning and Supervision, Conflict Analysis and Management, Substance Abuse and Criminal Justice System, Independent Study, Senior Seminar</p>

<p>As you can see there are different types of courses that go into both majors.. it's not just how to handcuff somebody.. which i think a lot of people think of when they think of a CJ major.</p>

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<p>Sorry to post again, but the system won't let me edit the earlier post.</p>

<p>I just wanted to plug my own state's flagship university, the University of Maryland at College Park. It has about a thousand kids majoring in the department of criminology and criminal justice. And if you decide to change your major, it offers practically everything else you've ever heard of. It's appealing in other ways, too. Where else can you have the sports-and-parties atmosphere of a large state university AND be within ten miles of a major city at the same time? The main disadvantage of UMCP is that College Park is a bit of a slum, but I don't think that would bother a criminal justice major all that much.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.ccjs.umd.edu/Undergrad/index.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ccjs.umd.edu/Undergrad/index.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>fendergirl, what is the name of your school</p>