Having a bit of trouble on what I should do/which college I should go to. So my choice school was NJIT because it was closer and I wouldn’t have to dorm there. However I did not get accepted into NJIT, however I can go to UCC and take some of the courses and then transfer to NJIT. Is that a bad idea? The only other college I got accepted to was Rowan but it is far away and I will almost never be home, I feel a bit uncomfortable going there. What do you think I should do?
No help from anyone? I really don’t know where to go in my life. thinking of just getting some random ass job somewhere.
If you don’t feel comfortable going to Rowan then definitely don’t go there! It sounds like you know exactly what you want, and a year or two of community college will more than likely help you get there. Ultimately, the decision is yours, but I think if you can obtain a strong GPA at UCC and be able to save money/eventually attend your dream school, its a clear choice. Good luck!!
PS don’t just get a random ass job somewhere!
Rowan is a good university and living on campus will help you get involved. However, if you’re not ready to live far from your family, attending community college and meeting with the transfer adviser right away is a good choice. Be ready for college to be much faster than High School and requiring more independent work (ie., you’re given a syllabus, you can read: it’s your job to know what reading must be done for each class, when there is a test, when a paper or lab notes must be turned in, etc. => write it down in your planner date by date into your planner.)
Your plan to start at UCC is a good one. I saw your stats in another post of yours, and would advise you to work on math if you plan to transfer to NJIT. Community college classes move faster than high school ones, as noted above. They will give you a placement test, and it would be wise to review for it. Community colleges routinely put students in the bottom math courses based solely on these tests. You have decent grades, which shows that you are willing to put in the work. Knowing what the highest math class was on high school and grades in those classes would help for more focused advice on what path is best for you.
Rowan is a better school than NJIT and has a nice campus that gets better each year.
If being 90 minutes from home troubles you perhaps you should go to a community college to acclimate slowly to college.
It doesn’t sound like you have the conviction or maturity for college at this point.
I think it’s a great idea to go to the cc then transfer. MYOS1634 and mathprof63 have good suggestions. Keep a planner so you can budget your time. And definitely review some math this summer. Many colleges have practice placement tests online. Check your college to see if they do. If not, Google ‘college math placement tests’ and you’ll find some links.
I was a substandard HS student and I went to Union County College for a year and in general I thought the teaching was excellent. While I went to SUNY Stony Brook after UCC, the friends I made at UCC went on to NJIT and became working engineers.
Thanks for your suggestions everyone, I know Rowan is a great school but I just don’t think I would feel comfortable being so far away, it mostly just relates to fear of experiencing things that will prevent me studying (I can also go to the library but I study by reading outloud) and also being pressured/around drugs or other crap/annoyances I can I avoid. Also the whole thing of friends, yeah I can make new ones but I’ve grown really close with mine here atm. Its a pretty weird issue but I just feel I will be depressed with not being with friends or types of people I’ve grown accustom to. I am having to choose whether to go for a better academic school or where I can have good education and be happy I think I’ll go with the latter because I’ll just end up being miserable. Thanks everyone for your support I really do appreciate it and it has helped me a lot.
@Maxerdaxer I am presently an actuary and VP for a major insurance company and I look back at UCC as some of the best education I received in my years at school. You do well there and it will open up more options for you. As a HS student I would not have been able to get into a school like Stony Brook, but once I established myself at the college level things changed.
Attending Union County College over Rowan would potentially save you over $17K per year (assuming no scholarship from either school and living at home while attending UCC). That is close to $34K over two years. From the feedback I have received from students who have attended a Community College (CC), CCs do an excellent job of teaching very difficult STEM subjects (Math, Chemistry, Physics, etc.). One of my kids complete over 45 College Credits at a local Community College while being Dual Enrolled in High School (all tuition/Fees and Text Books were paid for my the State/Local School Board) and I had an opportunity to look through a number of the CC Text Books and was amazed at how well written these Text Books were. A lot of these Books were written by other Community College Professors and was very easy to follow as you progressed through the course/Text Book. A lot of these Text Books had an accompanying CD ROM and “MLab” Online Resources.
I think your choice of going to the CC route and transferring to NJIT or some other 4-year [Engineering/Computer Science] Institution, is an excellent choice and a win-win proposition for you, given your stated objectives and the potential cost savings derived from the lower Tuition cost and avoidance of the Room & Board component. You will eventually make new friends at the UCC. I’m also in agreement with the advice given regarding adequate preparation before sitting for the Placement Exam at UCC. Poor placement results will lead to remedial courses, which will extend your time at the CC for up to a year or more. Some CCs allow you multiple attempts at the Placement Exam within a certain time frame, so you should schedule your first attempt at the exam ASAP (if applicable).
Thank you again for your recommendations and help. I don’t know if I shouod make another thread as this is another question but I am confused as how transferring into NJIT will work. So I go to UCC and take the equivalent classes for njit for what, 2 years? Then I can just apply to NJIT and I will be accepted for certain? I’m pretty sure the reason I didn’t get into njit this time around was because of my sat scores, would my sat scores harm me again or no because they will look at whether I passed the classes or not? Do I need to take a test for NJIT (I don’t think I do because I remember reading a bit on something about that). some of these answers I can find myself which I plan on doing but I am posting this now as I have some free time.
I appreciate all your help and support thanks.
http://www.ucc.edu/admissions/transferJointAdmissions
Call UCC and ask some questions. UCC has an articulation agreement with NJIT.
You’ll have to do very well in your UCC classes, and if you do so for 3 semesters, during the 4th you apply to NJIT and other colleges (never apply to just one), and they decide to admit you or not based on your college grades. Your SAT will not factor in at all at this point.