Should I leave my expensive college for a cheaper one?
I am going to be a junior this fall at a too-expensive liberal arts college. I am considering pursuing a MS degree from Boston University (they offer some online classes) in international marketing.
Should I transfer to a cheaper college (because I can get a good education at UCSC for a better price) or stay at the one I’m at?
I’m concerned that transferring to the JC then to the UC (I don’t have enough credits currently) would make me seem indecisive and hurt my chances of getting accepted.
I think you can go to a junior college in the UC system and then go to whatever college you get into – it doesn’t matter. And finish the degree there. Go the absolute cheapest route you can, because the college you get the degree from doesn’t matter when it’s not a top school. The difference between BU and USSC and hundreds of other schools is nothing. They are schools that are not highly selective so it doesn’t mean that much if you get in. This is good for you because it means you can just get the degree the cheapest way possible.
Other suggestions: Work while you’re in school. Spend very little time studying because your grades don’t matter unless you are getting a PhD — which of course you are not because it’s a useless degree. If you get a D or an A in a class it doesn’t matter because you don’t ever need to tell people your grades. So get Cs and Ds in everything and spend your time working. This way you won’t have to have an entry level job when you graduate. And you won’t have a huge amount of debt either. You will have lots of options. And that’s the best place to be.
Penelope
Excellent, excellent advice, especially about grades. Can’t emphasize that enough.
UCSC looks favorably on JC transfers and some of the most engaged students I had there (whilst doing my Ph.D.) were from Cabrillo College, a local JC. UCSC has a grade option now, but when I was there, there wasn’t even an option to get grades. You got a paragraph or two of feedback about what you did well in the class and what you needed to work on. I hated giving grades, but narrative evaluations rocked. I felt like anyone could get a “C” – that is both the kid who already knows the subject matter and coasts and the one who busts her butt and starts out failing and ends up at the end of the term excelling. The narratives for those students are WAY different, I assure you. So, don’t worry, save some money, go to JC and UCSC. It’s a great environment and people have full lives outside of class – there’s a lot of community, and people are very much about doing your own thing. I currently work in marketing, too. So, feel free to email me if you want any more info.
Also, wherever you go for school…I think you should consider commiting yourself to one sport, running, volleyball, football, dodgeball or swimming, baseball….. etc, just one at the minimum. because a it keeps you fit, and b it takes a lot of mental and physical strength to do onesport well. It makes you look more valuable to employers, you will feel more valuable aboutwhat you have to offer.
Um, what? Sports in college? I’ve never hired anyone because they did sports throughout university. It’s never even come up in any interview process I’ve ever participated in.
I can only imagine this works in a very specific circumstance.