Where/how do I start again? CC in Philly?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>I'm kind of in a pickle.</p>

<p>I need a fresh start in college. I started off as an ambitious student with mediocre grades, I got into Florida Institute of Technology, and I hit the ground runnign chasing a Computer Engineering degree. However, after 2 and a half terms, it was becoming ever more evident that I wasn't cut out for ECE. It really wasn't something I wanted to do after all, and I found myself lost and uninterested in the material. With how terribly I was doing so far this past Fall term, I withdrew quickly, while my grades could be put down as "W" instead of "F".</p>

<p>I really love cars - it is a huge passion for me, as was computers, to an extent. My original plan was to go to a technical automotive school like UTI, but there are a number of issues with that.
1. I've talked to some friends in the automotive business, and they generally agree that an education-first approach does not work well for getting into automotive work. Companies far prefer to see practical experience before a piece of paper that says you can do X,Y, and Z.
2. I'm really not sure I want to limit myself to being, at best, a glorified greasemonkey. I love working on cars, don't get me wrong, but I felt the same way about computer hardware before, and it turned out to just be a great hobby.
3. It's a year straight of classes, and that's it. No dorms, dining halls, vacations, nothing like college at all. The one thing I really loved about my college was having the college experience itself - that's the one thing I don't want to give up.</p>

<p>Now I have found myself looking at another option - Starting again as a Freshman, and going into a college undecided. My guess is that I am looking for a community college at this point, as my GPA was not good at FIT (~2.3), and my high school transcript was dotted with Ds, too. My shining star was my SAT (1890), but I'm sure that's too old to be used now. </p>

<p>Finances are not an issue - I have full financial support from my parents.</p>

<p>The area I'm looking at now is around my parents house (outside of Philadelphia), and I'm not sure where to start. Are there good CCs around the Main Line area? Would somewhere like Drexel be a better fit, and would I have a chance of getting accepted? Like I said, Where do I start???</p>

<p>Please let me know if there's more information I should post to help figure this out.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance, I'm really at a loss of where to turn.</p>

2

<p>You are a transfer student now, so you will need to provide copies of your transcripts from your first university whenever you apply to a degree program. For transfer specific advice, you should start by reading through the “Transfer 101” thread at the top of the Transfer Forum. Click on “Discussion Home” in the upper-left of this screen, and scroll down to find that forum.</p>

<p>For ideas on getting into the sector of the automobile industry that you are most interested in, you could post a thread with a title along the lines of “Starting over and transferring for Auto Engineering/Design/Repair” in the Parents Forum. There is a link to that forum on the left-hand side of this screen.</p>

<p>Back in the last century a car-crazed cousin of mine did a two year degree in auto something or other at one of the PA CCs. He was hired by Cummins Motors, eventually got a bachelor’s in something auto (or maybe engine/motor???) related at a university in Colorado, and has moved up the ranks of that firm. He certainly isn’t where he would have imagined when he was your age, but he has a very happy and productive life. Starting as a grease monkey may not be that bad a thing for you either.</p>

<p>Wishing you much success!</p>

3

<p>

You can’t do this, you’re a transfer. And don’t think about “forgetting” to list your previous college because there are national registries set up to track attendance and this will easily be discovered. At which point you’ll be kicked out of your new school, along with facing legal problems if you’ve accepted any financial aid as a “freshman”.</p>

4

<p>Ah OK - I wasn’t trying to cheat the system at all, I just don’t know the rules… which is why I came here :)</p>

<p>Thank you for the clarification - so wherever I go I have to apply as a transfer. Still, where do you think I have a shot with iffy grades from FIT and a “just OK” high school transcript?</p>

5

<p>Since your parents can pay, you will have options.</p>

<p>In my opinion it’s important that you get a 4 year college degree. Whether or not it’s car related will probably have little to do with a future working with cars.</p>

<p>A friend of mine has had a lifetime passion for cars. He got an engineering degree and worked in high tech companies, spending his free time learning more about cars in lots of ways from reading to visiting all kinds of shops, spending time, learning from owners.</p>

<p>He spent his available money buying vintage cars that needed restoring. He learned how to restore them to prize winning glory.</p>

<p>In his 40s, this grew into a business. Today he has a team that restores high end cars worth millions and spends his time at car shows and selling these cars to the wealthy all over the world.</p>

<p>So an education for you might include business classes, German or Italian lessons (many high end cars are in these countries), international relations and much more than grease monkey stuff.</p>

6

<p>I would agree… I definitely would like to go to a 4-year college, maybe studying business eventually. However, I didn’t fare well at a competitive 4-year like FIT, and now my record is tainted. Where in the Greater Philadelphia area would I be able to get into? Where should I be applying?</p>

7

<p>I think you are on the right track with community college. Try Montgomery County CC.</p>

8

<p>I agree with rocknroll, Montco is a great school. </p>

<p>If you don’t want to be a “glorified grease-monkey,” try getting an engineering degree (maybe mechanical engineering?) that will give you the skills to design cars rather than fix them.</p>