Hello guys,
In a prior thread, now closed, I concluded that it wouldn’t be in my best interest to attend a 4-year college straight out of high school. This is mostly due to the fact that over the span of 4 years I would probably acquire 100k in debt by the time I graduate.
I also want to thank everyone who suggested I go to community college first. Community college is way overlooked. Anyways, my current situation is that I have to graduate early. Because of my AP and dual credit classes they said to complete my associates I would enroll in college in the spring of 2020. However, for most of my gen eds it doesn’t require me to have to take the extra classes that an associates degree requires. The other problem I am running into is knowing what I want to major in. To transfer into the business schools they require me to enter in the fall and also take the following courses
- Macro and Micro
- Calculus (requires me to also take precal as a prerequisite)
- Accounting 1 and 2
At this point, I am very unsure about what I should do. I have an interest in both the legal field and in finance. I know that if I decide that I don’t want to major in finance that i will be taking some classes that I don’t need. I know that I don’t want to be an accountant. Also, I know that we did talk about the debt of law school, but I can totally see myself loving the field.
Please let me know your thoughts and advice. Also I know that when I select my school if I plan to attend law school I have to be careful about my GPA. I just want a degree that will allow for stability.
Law school does not require any specific undergraduate major, so you need not have the potential for law school be a constraint on how you choose your undergraduate major. http://lawschoolnumbers.com/application-prep/ugraduate has some suggestions regarding undergraduate preparation for law school. Obviously, college GPA (including college courses taken while in high school; see https://www.lsac.org/applying-law-school/jd-application-process/cas/requesting/transcript-summarization for how law school applicant college GPA is calculated) and LSAT score are the most important factors in law school admission.
I agree with @ucbalumnus you can take your required financial classes and major in law after your undergrad. LSAT and grades are most important in getting into law school.
My question is if it is worth it to take the required classes even though I am not sure I want to go into finance.
Accounting is a requirement for all business majors, even those who don’t want to major in accounting.
It’s also weedout so you’ll have three difficult classes. Beside these 3 each semester, I’d recommend you take one each of Philosophy, History, and English, + one from Sociology or American Studies. Total 5 courses per semester.
That would cover everything for a typical Law school major and for a business major.
Why 5 classes? Won’t u think that is too much classes?
5 classes should come out to be about 15 hours. That’s what you need to take to graduate on time. My son’s college has a new saying: 15 to Finish. That means taking 15 hours/semester to graduate on time.
"Anyways, my current situation is that I have to graduate early. Because of my AP and dual credit classes they said to complete my associates I would enroll in college in the spring of 2020. "
This is not clear. Where are you graduating early? High school? Or are you saying that with your DE and AP credits you will be forced to graduate early from the community college?
Talk with the Transfer Advisor at the CC that you are planning to attend. Usually they are very good at helping students plan their courses so as to be able to transfer to the best place for them.
This this is for community college. I already graduated high school.
For some reason 4 classes will be 15 credit hours for me. Precal is 5 credits and Accounting is 4.
Hey @bubblytaco ,
I think that you and I have chatted via PM. Community College is a smart choice. I attended CC and then transferred to a private LAC. Would I have preferred the four-year experience? Of course. But I transferred and never looked back. I went on to earn an MA and received a fellowship for doctoral study. Not too shabby for a lowly former CC student, eh?
I do have to ask because I see this so often from posters, but why would your four-year degree put you 100K in debt? Undergrads can only borrow up to 28K on their own. Beyond that, parents can take out PLUS loans (and insist that the child pay them back), or parents can cosign for additional loans. However, in theory, no one should be looking at a school that cannot put together a financial aid package that covers (with loans included) the cost of attendance. Yes, some schools “gap,” meaning they fall short of covering the full cost and the student/student’s family must make up the difference, but it’s not 25K per year of a gap! What am I missing here?
Don’t worry too much about course selection at the CC. Sure, take certain classes if you feel that they’ll be a hard requirement for a certain major down the line, but mostly your goal is to complete your two years and make absolutely sure that you’ll transfer to your target school(s) with full junior standing. It sounds like you need the time to figure things out. You don’t have to have it all figured out now. Oh, and five classes per semester is the norm. If you are able to attend full-time and commit your full energy to studies, you should be able to stay on top of things. Best of luck.
Thank you. And 100k a debt I was referring to law school.
So my current schedule is:
Accounting
Precal
Microeconomics
*English 102
*possible HUM 101
Next semester
Calculus
Accounting 2
Macroeconomics
*Philosophy of Religion
*possibly Humanities of the Middle East
What do you think about this. If it is * then it means I can switch to either semester.
Your first semester schedule is good, but I’d take sociology 1 or American Studies 1 because it’s an easy class, and perhaps leave Accounting for second semester?
Unless you want to finish CC Spring 2020.
What does the transfer adviser say? Where do you plan to transfer?
I have to take accounting both semesters. I checked an all the courses I am signed up will transfer. I am looking into uiuc or Illinois State.
Don’t you have to take a 1-credit/easy A freshman “seminar” where you learn about notetaking, using the library, etc?
Stick to 16-17 credits max.
So if accounting is 4, and Precalc 5, perhaps only 2 more courses would be best: Econ and English?
Is that schedule taking into account the fact you have dual enrollment credits (I assume you got some English credits?)
If you want Finance, or any other business major, accounting is necessary.
Btw why do you have to take precalculus? Didn’t you take it in HS or did you score too low on the math placement test?
Wait, why precalc? I thought you had AP credits ?
Yes I have AP credits in other classes. I did score very good on my math placement. It was either precal or calculus. But I placed into precal. I took Quant Lit senior year of High school.
Depends on if the normal course is 3 or 4 credits. If most courses at the college are 3 credits, then a typical course load is 5 courses. If most courses at the college are 4 credits, then a typical course load is 4 courses.
Do you guys have any advice on what courses I should combine during a semester.