#CollegeAdmissions #HigherEducation #MajorsAndMinors
Hey there! 🎓 Are you feeling lost in the sea of information surrounding college admissions and don’t know where to start? Trust me, you’re not alone! Here are some tips to help you navigate the process and make informed decisions:
– Research different colleges and universities to find the best fit for your interests and goals.
– Reach out to admissions counselors for guidance and support.
– Understand the difference between majors, minors, and masters programs.
– Familiarize yourself with core classes and general education requirements.
– Explore financial aid and scholarship opportunities to help fund your education.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions and seek help from professionals in the field. Remember, the journey to higher education is unique for everyone, so take your time and make informed decisions that align with your aspirations. Good luck on your college journey! 🌟
go to your local community college and speak to
an admissions adviser
With your legs.
The process of starting is best cleared up with admissions. You can literally just walk in and ask to talk to them and they’ll lay it all out and get you to very helpful people that will walk you along.
Essentially, you figure out how you’ll pay for it first – usually financial aid, grants, scholarships, or a combination of all three (please apply for all the grants/scholarships you can – it’s literally people writing off costs of tuition or giving you free money towards tuition. Admissions will help you here too).
Do a little research and PLEASE know what you’re taking on in loans/debt for this because it’s SERIOUS, large, and cannot be discharged ever (barring a few specific instances). I’m sure you’ve heard the stories.
One strategy people do often is doing the Associate’s at a local community college or online because it’s usually cheaper.
Please understand this is debt that will likely be with you for most of your adult life – so it’s important to be sure this is the move you want/need to make.
If that didn’t scare you off (it shouldn’t) then get that process going with the admissions people first.
After you pick your school and enroll, you’ll start your Associate’s degree (core curriculum) most likely. It’s basically an extension of stuff you learned in high school with a focus towards your intended path, or, if you don’t have one picked out yet, the general stuff to make you well rounded and prepared to move into your Bachelor’s degree.
Typically you spend ~2 years doing this at around 3 classes a semester (usually 3 months of time). I spent like 2.5 years cause I didn’t know what I wanted to “major” in and was testing the waters in a few things.
So for example you might be looking at something like your first 3 month semester with courses like Math (101), Chemistry (101), Psychology (or some other ‘elective’ if you like – ‘electives’ are basically extra classes you’re interested in that fill out the credit requirements.
Then next semester you’d take the next in the series of Math (102), Chemistry (102), and some other elective like maybe philosophy or English lit or something.
These aren’t hard & fast rules – you can pick whatever you like. The school tells you when enrollment opens up and you pick your classes on that day/time.
Again, the Associate’s focuses on core stuff like math, science, English, liberal arts, electives, and things you’ll require for your ideal path (AKA: Your Major). So like, if you want to be a chemical engineer for example, you’ll need an intense load of chemistry and physics courses (to put it lightly).
The advisor can help you plan all this out too, so if it seems like a lot just know there’s people whose job it is solely to help you (and others in your same boat) navigate the process.
Eventually you earn enough credits and complete the required classes for your Associate’s degree, apply for it, and boom. You get the paper.
Then you rinse and repeat for a Bachelor’s degree. This will be a lot more focused on your area of desired expertise (your major). So for example, if you intend to obtain a business degree, you’ll start doing accounting, economics, business law, etc. More advanced classes that hone in on things you “need to” (lol) know for that field (as opposed to a generalized extension of the core stuff you did in H.S.).
I never really focused on a minor, so I can’t be much help there. Effectively, my understanding was that it’s just something nice to put on a resume/CV saying you’re also knowledegable in this second area too (So like, you could major in Chemical Engineering which is your main focus, but also your coursework focused a little bit on like, biology or something as well, so you could have a minor in bio).
A Master’s just continues that trajectory, diving further into the area of expertise (your major). At the end, you’ll likely have a large project focused on something specific pertaining to your major. For example, in business we had to literally create a mock business and on a 4-person team. We’d run a simulation where we were in charge of R&D, Sales/Marketing, Accounting, and Prodcution and you had to turn the highest profit possible (or at least exceed a certain amount to pass).
Different fields obviously have different things at this level. You can then go into a PhD, Doctorate, whatever.
Congrats on your decision to think about college! It’s definitely a lot to take in and can be confusing. Here are some important words to help you get started:
**College** = A school that is organized into different “schools” based on subject matter but not different colleges. Takes 2 to 4 years to complete.
**University** = A school that is organized into different colleges based on subject matter. For example, it has a college of business, a college of education, a college of science, etc. Takes 4 years to complete.
**Liberal Arts** = Not a political term like liberal/conservative. Means classes that relate to the humanities like art and music. Some colleges don’t provide liberal arts classes if they are a technical school. All universities will provide these classes.
**Humanities** = A special category of classes that relate to culture and society. Examples: art, music, philosophy, history, language, etc.
**Professor** = The word for a teacher who teaches at a college or university. Usually has a masters degree or a doctorate degree. If they have a masters degree you should say “Professor” before their name. If they have a doctorate degree you should say “Doctor” before their name.
**Undergraduate Studies (Undergrad)** = Schooling that comes before you earn your degree. Must have a high school diploma or a GED to sign up.
**Major** = Official title of what you are studying. For example if you want to be a high school teacher your major will be called secondary education.
**Double-Major** = When you study two different majors at the same time and earn two degrees.
**Minor** = When you study a different field than your major and you earn about 30 credits in this other field. You can’t get a minor unless you have a major. Some people do this if they are interested in learning something but want to get a bachelor degree in something else.
**Declared** = Formally committing to a certain major. Once you do this the registrar’s office will start counting credits and keep track of your progress.
**Undeclared** = Not formally declaring a major. Usually happens in your freshman and sophomore year if you aren’t sure which major to pick. You can take all of your core classes before you decide to declare a major.
**Switching Majors** = When you decide that you don’t want to do the major that you’ve declared so you switch to another one. Example: Switching from an English major to an accounting major.
**Core Classes** = Classes that everyone has to take even if it doesn’t relate to their major because colleges/universities want everyone to have the same basic education. If you don’t take them then you aren’t allowed to graduate. An example would be a basic math class.
**Major-Specific Classes** = Classes that you only take if it relates to your major. You are required to take a certain number of major-specific classes in order to graduate. An example would be a class in classroom management for an education major.
**Credits** = Similar to high school credits. Each class is typically worth 1-3 credits. A 1 credit class meets for 1 hour a week. A 3 credit class meets 3 times a week for 1 hour or could be a 3 hour night class that meets once a week.
**Associate Degree (AA)** = A degree that’s considered “half” of a bachelor degree. Takes 2 years to complete. Some jobs won’t hire you if you have an associate degree instead of a bachelor degree. You can use an associate degree to get into a bachelor degree program and earn a bachelor degree after another 2 years of schooling.
**Bachelor of Arts (BA)** = A degree that focuses on the arts and humanities. An example would be a bachelor degree in fine arts. Takes 4 years to complete.
**Bachelor of Science (BS)** = A degree that focuses on science. An example would be a bachelor degree in chemistry. Takes 4 years to complete.
**Graduate Studies (Post-Grad/Grad School)** = Schooling that comes after undergraduate studies. Must have a bachelor degree before you can sign up. Can be useful if you want to make more money or go further in your career.
**Graduate Certificate** = The post-grad version of an associate degree. Is considered “half” of a masters. Not the same thing as a professional certificate. Must have a bachelor degree before you can sign up. Takes 1 or 2 years to complete. Relatively new concept and not all colleges/universities have it. An example would be a graduate certificate in international relations.
**Master of Arts (MA)** = A masters degree that focuses on the arts and humanities. An example would be a masters degree in English. Must have a bachelor degree before you can sign up. Takes 3 years to complete.
**Master of Science (MS)** = A masters degree that focuses on science. An example would be a masters degree in biology. Must have a bachelor degree before you can sign up. Takes 3 years to complete.
**Doctorate Degree (PhD)** = Advanced degree that gives someone the right to call themselves a doctor. A doctor doesn’t have to be a medical doctor. Most majors have a doctorate degree. You must have a masters degree before you can sign up. Takes 4 to 6 years to complete. An example would be a doctorate degree in computer engineering.
**Post-Doctorate Studies** = Schooling you can get after you’ve gotten a doctorate degree. You don’t earn a degree, it’s just something you can do if you really like going to school.
No one is born and understand how college works. It is either you came from a family who taught and showed you the ropes of navigating through college. Or you put your foot other there and took your first step and learned as you went.
It really is not as difficult as you think it is.
But fitst, you need to be very specific in what are your fears on taking this first step.
Credits: Each college course have a certain amount of college hours. An associates degree require 60 credit hours. For example, my public speaking course is 3 credit hours and I am charged by per credit hours by x amount of dollars. For example, Public Speaking cost $300 a credit hour at Lansing Community College (just an example).
Each of the credit hours add up to your degree. Which is typically 60-63 credits for an associated degree, and 120 for a bachelor’s degree.
Do not ever worry about minors. From a sociological and realistic perspective, you get your job first and build upon those experiences. What I mean by this is for example; let’s say I am interested in becoming a substance abuse counselor. I do not need to wait until I am a therapist to make positive change in this career route. But what I can do is maybe apply to that job, or reach out and ask can I have job shadowing experinece, or reach out and show my interst of volunteering. This way, you would know what you are getting yourself into. And before you know it, you have way more experience than someone who went to university right after high school and went the traditional route.
If you want to see your life differently, then you are going to have to do things untraditionally. You are going to have to put effort into the dream you wish you could have and live by daily. But you can only do that if you believe and have faith in “something” that it will occur.
You are kind of vague in what you are asking, so I am going to stop here, unless you have specific question to ask. I do not want to write a wall of text, if I am not clear on what you want to know specifically about college. I can go on and on about credits, studying, major, minors, and masters. But it will serve you no good to continue to throw everything at you, if you have no specific questions.