College

[Dan J 277]

I feel like I understand ZERO. Time to call the school (once again..) and ask my questions I guess.

Should not be that difficult to figure all that out but I feel like I am stuck, I just don't get it.

Oops, something I should have mentioned:

It is not a 2 y. college. I think it already is a 4 year university...

http://www.wiu.edu/

Yup you are looking at a 4yr school, but you were mentioning associates degree when you probably meant bachelors.

[JuneFirst 1]

Yup you are looking at a 4yr school, but you were mentioning associates degree when you probably meant bachelors.

well, i do not have an associates so far?? can i just go from "high-school-diploma" to bachelor without achieving an associates?

[Niels Bohr 72]

Yes.

Just like you can get a Ph.D without getting a Masters.

well, i do not have an associates so far?? can i just go from "high-school-diploma" to bachelor without achieving an associates?

[Dan J 277]

well, i do not have an associates so far?? can i just go from "high-school-diploma" to bachelor without achieving an associates?

Yes you can. Some people do take classes at a 2 yr collage, then transfer, since its often cheaper. But you can go straight to a 4 yr collage if you want.

[JuneFirst 1]

Yes you can. Some people do take classes at a 2 yr collage, then transfer, since its often cheaper. But you can go straight to a 4 yr collage if you want.

yikes, now it's getting real confusing.

So, I guess I am not gonna be working towards an associates then but towards my bachelors.

That "GenEd".thing really irritates me. It sounds like it is some sort of a program to prepare students for their college-career?

[Empress of Groovy 373]

"Gen ed" isn't a program per se, but a generic term for required courses that may be unrelated to your major. For example, my degrees are in English and linguistics, but I had to take two math courses, two lab sciences, two or three history courses, a music course, etc. I don't know what the numbers are, but most people who earn a bachelor's degree did not earn an associate's degree beforehand. Some people may take lower-level gen ed courses at the community college to save money (but as El Buscador mentioned, if you're classified as an international or out-of-state student, it may not be a cheaper option) and then transfer to a four-year institution, but not necessarily earn an associate's degree. The number of units required to earn a bachelor's degree varies by course of study.

As others have mentioned, if you want to take CC courses, make sure that your credits transfer to the university you plan on attending. Many CCs and universities have online course equivalency guides. It's also a good idea to speak with an academic adviser and make sure you're taking all the right courses.

[JuneFirst 1]

"Gen ed" isn't a program per se, but a generic term for required courses that may be unrelated to your major. For example, my degrees are in English and linguistics, but I had to take two math courses, two lab sciences, two or three history courses, a music course, etc. I don't know what the numbers are, but most people who earn a bachelor's degree did not earn an associate's degree beforehand. Some people may take lower-level gen ed courses at the community college to save money (but as El Buscador mentioned, if you're classified as an international or out-of-state student, it may not be a cheaper option) and then transfer to a four-year institution, but not necessarily earn an associate's degree. The number of units required to earn a bachelor's degree varies by course of study.

As others have mentioned, if you want to take CC courses, make sure that your credits transfer to the university you plan on attending. Many CCs and universities have online course equivalency guides. It's also a good idea to speak with an academic adviser and make sure you're taking all the right courses.

Alright...so I have to take some Gen. Ed. Classes PLUS classes related to my major?

Is it like that all through school or just the first two years?

How come the university just let's me pick some Gen.Ed. classes then ? And how can I take psycholgy+child development as a Gen.Ed. class if my major is (going to be?) psychology?

[The_Dude 1,142]

Alright...so I have to take some Gen. Ed. Classes PLUS classes related to my major?

Is it like that all through school or just the first two years?

How come the university just let's me pick some Gen.Ed. classes then ? And how can I take psycholgy+child development as a Gen.Ed. class if my major is (going to be?) psychology?

You can take your general education courses whenever you like really. Some, you need to take as they are a prerequisite for courses that are in your major. Those courses, you'll need to finish off before you'll be able to set off on your courses in your major.

[JuneFirst 1]

You can take your general education courses whenever you like really. Some, you need to take as they are a prerequisite for courses that are in your major. Those courses, you'll need to finish off before you'll be able to set off on your courses in your major.

Nobody has ever asked me about what I wanna major in.

All they told me was: You can take 6 credit hours, Gen Ed.

That's all the info I ever got ?

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

It takes a long time to grasp the system here as it is so different from the German one. A lot has been said about the units required already, so let me just tell you that an Associate (AA or AS) is worth nothing. The Bachelor's is the lowest degree that makes any sense, and a lot of people who work in coffee shops have BAs or BSs.

Yep.

If you want to make money, you need a Master's. However, there are 3 Master's that will not make you money: English, Philosophy (I have that one), and Psychology. Those degrees will help you to develop and to understand, but none of them are money makers. Some people may point to marriage counselors and say "they make money" but in reality . . . forgettaboutit.

Now, unless you have more money than brains, you'll start at a community college and get your "lower" division units (60 to 64, depending on your major) out of the way, then transfer to a 4-year school (university). There's a bunch of General Education units (GE) that you must take, among them language, math, science, and so on.

In order to get started at the college (to enroll as a student), you'll have to meet the residency requirement and most likely take and pass an entry exam in English and Math. Those vary, but just take 1 year on your State as a general rule of thumb. Once you meet those requirements, you can study for about $21 per unit. If you don't meet those requirements, you pay ten times the amount. I'm not sure what you are doing from Germany and at what school, but it sounds fishy to me. There are some courses you can take online and whose units transfer, but those are far in and between.

Once you are in the US and really need the 4-1-1 (code for info), you can call me and I'll "talk" you through the stages. It's simply too much to write down on a discussion board.

Edited May 5, 2010 by Just Bob

[Empress of Groovy 373]

Alright...so I have to take some Gen. Ed. Classes PLUS classes related to my major?

Is it like that all through school or just the first two years?

How come the university just let's me pick some Gen.Ed. classes then ? And how can I take psycholgy+child development as a Gen.Ed. class if my major is (going to be?) psychology?

Yes to your first question. Obviously, there will be some crossover. As in my example (English & linguistics majors), I had to take a two-course sequence of introductory English courses, which were prerequisites for some of my writing courses but were also classified as gen ed requirements. I also had to take other courses that had nothing to do with my majors (math, science, Spanish). The psychology class you're talking about might fulfill, say, a social & behavioral sciences gen ed requirement and also fulfill a requirement for your major. What most people do is try to get their gen ed requirements out of the way during the first two years and then concentrate on courses for their major thereafter. My first year, I took only gen ed requirements. My second year, I took a combination of gen ed classes & classes toward my majors. By my third year, I was taking only classes related to my majors.

A lot of people haven't declared a major early on but take classes that pretty much everyone has to take to graduate: math, English, history, a lab science, etc.

Someone please correct if me this is outdated information...I was in college in the early/mid 90s. I don't think things have changed all that much since then, but I don't want to be passing along obsolete info!

** Edit to add: In the U.S. "course" and "class" are generally synonymous. I think in Europe and elsewhere, "course" refers to a "course of study" (like a major) rather than a single class. So, in the U.S., "I took a math course" and "I took a math class" mean the same thing.

Edited May 5, 2010 by Empress of Groovy

[one...two...tree 2,762]

You can take your general education courses whenever you like really. Some, you need to take as they are a prerequisite for courses that are in your major. Those courses, you'll need to finish off before you'll be able to set off on your courses in your major.

It's been years since I attended community college but I remember that courses under 100, like 095 English are not transferable. Even with courses above 100, some of them will not be recognized by a university. It gets really tricky for a student to navigate through the requirements and even then, the university the student plans on transferring to may change or update their list of classes they will or will not transfer over.

[JuneFirst 1]

It takes a long time to grasp the system here as it is so different from the German one. A lot has been said about the units required already, so let me just tell you that an Associate (AA or AS) is worth nothing. The Bachelor's is the lowest degree that makes any sense, and a lot of people who work in coffee shops have BAs or BSs.

Yep.

If you want to make money, you need a Master's. However, there are 3 Master's that will not make you money: English, Philosophy (I have that one), and Psychology. Those degrees will help you to develop and to understand, but none of them are money makers. Some people may point to marriage counselors and say "they make money" but in reality . . . forgettaboutit.

Now, unless you have more money than brains, you'll start at a community college and get your "lower" division units (60 to 64, depending on your major) out of the way, then transfer to a 4-year school (university). There's a bunch of General Education units (GE) that you must take, among them language, math, science, and so on.

In order to get started at the college (to enroll as a student), you'll have to meet the residency requirement and most likely take and pass an entry exam in English and Math. Those vary, but just take 1 year on your State as a general rule of thumb. Once you meet those requirements, you can study for about $21 per unit. If you don't meet those requirements, you pay ten times the amount. I'm not sure what you are doing from Germany and at what school, but it sounds fishy to me. There are some courses you can take online and whose units transfer, but those are far in and between.

Once you are in the US and really need the 4-1-1 (code for info), you can call me and I'll "talk" you through the stages. It's simply too much to write down on a discussion board.

...thanks

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Someone please correct if me this is outdated information...I was in college in the early/mid 90s. I don't think things have changed all that much since then, but I don't want to be passing along obsolete info!

They now hand out smart pills.

[Niels Bohr 72]

If this helps, Gen. Ed are diversity and cultural requirement courses designed to make the student body well rounded.