<p>So, my situation is that I am at a community college in California, planning and hoping to transfer this coming year to a UC. I'm faced with a sort of dilemma though, as I'm considering staying a year to get my AA degree in Sciences, Math, and Engineering, but my bachelor's degree will be in a field in either the social sciences or humanities. I wanted to know from people with experience, would it really matter that much if I stay one more year to complete my requirements to get an AA degree? Will employers be impressed with this AA degree in addition to my bachelors? Also, is it possible to get an AA degree after you get your bachelors, and is that advisable?</p>
<p>On another note, I think my parents will cut me off when I transfer and I want to ask what's the best method to get tuition paid off? Should I work part time or should I take a loan?</p>
<p>Probably not. A lower degree in a different field is generally much less important than the higher degree in the field of interest. Plus, an AA is generally of little value in any profession that expects a bachelors or higher.</p>
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<p>It is always possible, but in general the only reason to get a lower degree is as the start of a career change. An employer or grad school would probably look at it as a distraction from your main field, and either question why you spent time on it or assume you want to go in that direction in the future.</p>
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<p>In general, as long as it is not distracting you from your studies I would always recommend paying as you go instead of taking on loans. Depending on your field, the loans may be hard to pay off - check what your payments would be on the loans and compare to your anticipated salary in your field of interest. Any loans you take on are a calculated risk against your future income, so make sure you get your money’s worth and do not waste it partying or bouncing between majors.</p>
<p>I also have the problem of if I get accepted, should I go to a UC and work park time or take a loan or should I stay for one more year, maybe work towards an AA degree and work part time while at a community college? Will I have enough money to afford to attend a UC if I go now or should I stay, or would it not make any difference at all? And if I do get a job, it would most likely be in retail or I could get a internship which is prestigious but offers no pay? I want to know whether it matters to grad schools or employers later on?</p>
<p>I would just not get an AA and save that tuition money. Get into a UC and get a job/work study while doing your undergrad courses. Save as much as you can so that you can start applying for internships in the latter years of undergrad. Honors helps set you apart from other applicants, but I don’t think its THAT significant. You’ll have to decide if you have the time to dedicate to an honors program. Internships probably matter more than honors courses.</p>
<p>i think sydneya’s instincts are right, but i will say that for a humanities PhD, honours counts for more than an internship because, presumably, your honours degree requires you to complete an independent research project. you’ll likely pull your writing sample for applications from this research paper, and it will also likely be the way you connect with profs who are able to write strong letters of recommendation for you.</p>
<p>I agree with most everything above…also as a person with $30,000 in student loan debt (and that is 4 years after graduating as an undergrad) I would say bust it as much as possible and resist taking out loans if at all possible.
The eptar32 of the future will thank the eptar32 of today if you can pay off tuition without accumulating big debt.</p>
<p>In California there a a few sources of financial aid that you will want to look into. If you haven’t already you will need to fill out a fasfa application asap, if you plan on enrolling in the fall of this year. You also should look into the Cal grant which is about $3,000 of free money that you may qualify for.<br>
Also, you can find out about becoming recognized as independent which will qualify you for more aid.
There are also quite a few scholarships out there for people transferring from community college, just do some web searches or talk to the office at your community college.
You also should speak to the financial aid office at the UC you’re interested in.
Working and going to school is possible, but working more than 20 hrs and going full time is basically impossible. Unless you are making a substantial amount of money you won’t be able to afford more than gas and groceries.
If you want to work to pay for school you would probably have to go to school half time.</p>