<p>I'm not very familiar with the transitions from High School, Undergrad to Grad. I've read some information online about it and I understand that you get Bachelor's degree, then Master's and the Doctoral (Ph.D)... However, I still don't know how everything works. I'm from a family where my parents only graduated from high school. I'm also the oldest. Are there any books/ sites online about this stuff?</p>
<p>More specifically, I would like to know more information about majors. Like if you choose a major, do you have to stick with it? Do you <em>need</em> to take classes that correspond to the chosen major? Is it easier to get into a school if you apply for a unpopular/uncompetitve major (can you transfer later?)? There are so many things in the application process that I do not know where to start. Should I start researching this summer or wait until next summer (after Junior year).</p>
<p>you can never start researching (or visiting colleges) too early.</p>
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Like if you choose a major, do you have to stick with it?
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<p>it depends. at my school (Swarthmore), you don't pick your major until the end of sophomore year. if you want to change it afterwards, you can, but it's difficult because you would have to take, for example, 6 math courses in 3 semesters or something. every school does it differently though.</p>
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Do you <em>need</em> to take classes that correspond to the chosen major?
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<p>yes - if you are a math major, for example, your requirements will include X number of math courses. but if your question is regarding high school - then no. if they ask you to pick a major on the application, it would probably help to have taken courses in high school, but otherwise it doesn't matter.</p>
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Is it easier to get into a school if you apply for a unpopular/uncompetitve major (can you transfer later?)?
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<p>probably not. let me give you a specific example. the University of Virginia has various "colleges", including the College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Engineering. depending on your background, one might be easier to get into than the other (for example if you are a terrible science student, the College of Engineering would be a hard choice). but specific majors (for example music vs. philosophy vs. chemistry) rarely matter.</p>
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I've read some information online about it and I understand that you get Bachelor's degree, then Master's and the Doctoral (Ph.D)...
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This is not a straight progression -- most people never go to graduate school at all, and even among those who do, not everyone ends up with a master's or a PhD. For example, my fiance will get a master's but not a PhD, and I will get a PhD but not a master's.</p>
<p>Going to graduate school is not a default path -- you should choose to go to graduate school after college only if you have a compelling reason to do so.</p>
<p>Since you are entering your junior year now is an excellent time to begin thinking about college. This way you have lots of time to inform yourself about the process, explore and find the places that would be right for you, and time for a few false starts and to change your mind. Kids that begin thinking about college the start of their senior year have a compressed schedule and much more stress!</p>
<p>Rather than making any decisions now, what I suggest is first read a book on admissions to get a handle on the process. A good book is "Admission Matters" by Springer and Franck. There are many others, so check your library or amazon. You need to learn how colleges make decisions, about financial aid, about finding a college that is a fit for you. I can't stress enough the importance of having your parents fill out one of the online financial aid estimators and seeing if they can afford the number it gives for their contribution. If so, great. But if not you'll need to search for schools where you'd be eligible for merit aid, or lower cost alternatives such as your state system. You don't want to spend all your time learning about and applying to schools you're not going to be able to afford.</p>
<p>Ok, so I know financial aid is important. However, if you are from a low-income family, don't you get a lot of financial aid, grants, etc. if you apply for them? So, these financial aids come from colleges and other organizations right? </p>
<p>For a low-income student, I heard from a couple of speakers that you only have to pay around 3,000 per year after grants, and other loans. They said loans can last you forever until you stop studying (undergrad through whatever).</p>
<p>Also, how competitive is it to apply for a Ph.D at a good school? I would believe it is much harder than the high school -> undergrad process? I would assume that it is much harder to apply for a good Ph.D program at a good college from a lower-level undergrade college. For example, what if you went to UCD and want to get a Ph.D at UCB? How hard would it be than if you were already at UCB for undergrad? </p>
<p>Do jobs generally look at the highest degree you obtain and at what school? Do people want to get into a good undergrad college because they want a better education or for jobs? Would there be any difference getting jobs if you went to UCB vs. UCD? Sorry for asking so many questions... I will definitely check out one of those books when I have a chance! Thank you all for your replies! They are very helpful indeed =]</p>
<p>It's impossible to say how difficult it is in general to get into a PhD program -- acceptance rates and competitiveness vary quite a bit from field to field. You also wouldn't speak of getting into a good "school" for your PhD, but rather getting into a good program. PhD programs admit individually (that is, the English PhD program and the chemistry PhD program at a given university will have completely independent admissions), so it doesn't make sense to talk about getting into a good school. Some schools that are not prestigious at the undergraduate level have certain PhD programs that are absolutely top-notch, and some schools that are very prestigious at the undergraduate level have non-top-tier PhD programs in certain fields.</p>
<p>Top PhD programs in many disciplines have many students who went to top undergraduate schools. Generally, to get into a top PhD program, you need to have very good grades (although grades matter less if you go to a notoriously difficult school), excellent professor recommendations, a solid score on the Graduate Record exam, and a strong record in whatever else is required in your field (for example, undergraduate research for science PhDs). You should choose a school for undergrad that you feel will support you and help you obtain those elements. This supportive environment is found at many top schools, but it is also found at many other colleges around the country.</p>