College Dilemma...

[Whitney in KY]

Long story short. My son went to local community college for 2 years and will receive a AA and AS. Mostly gen. ed. classes. His PLAN was to transfer to University of KY (local) and apply to the speech pathology program. He did apply and did not get in. (Only 40 of 130-200 applicants get accepted) He is ok with this and wants to move on to his next choice which is a radiology technician. Problem is....the deadline for application is past...March 1. ARGH!! So we need him to stay a full time student in order for him to have medical insurance.

 

What should he do??? The rad. tech. program will take 2 years to complete but he can't start until the fall of 2013. Would you have your son work a year and make money to save or go to school and get some type of medical "certificate" such as medical transcription, medical office technology....All of these can be completed in two semesters. Or is he wasting his time?

 

So confused... Any advice?

Whitney in KY

[Melissa B]

Could he spend the year taking classes that would make him a better prospect to the selection board next year? Is he reapplying to the speech program too? I don't know what classes they would like to see, but the rad tech program would probably like to see Anatomy I and II, Medical Terminology, higher math classes, gerontology, etc.

[ktgrok]

Have him take classes as a non degree seeking student. He may need to get waivers to take the courses, but probably not. Just take the same courses that he would need for the Rad tech program.

[Trish]

I thought kids are covered under parents' insurance until age 25 under Obamacare.

[justasque]

So we need him to stay a full time student in order for him to have medical insurance.

 

I thought kids are covered under parents' insurance until age 25 under Obamacare.

 

Double check with the insurance company. The rules have recently changed, so that in most cases kids are covered until age 26 or so.

 

As to the college stuff - ask the college where he wants to attend what he can do to make himself a more competitive student for the next round of admissions.

[bettyandbob]

He should be covered until age 26

[OrganicAnn]

Can he talk to a counselor at UK to find out 1) is there any courses that he could take in the coming year that would help him get into either program. 2) is there any job experience he could do for a year that would help him get into either program, and 3) are there non degree oriented courses that he would need to take no matter what program he is in for his degree (if he needs a math course or a foreign language, then he might as well be taking them now).

[QueenCat]

Double check with the insurance company. The rules have recently changed, so that in most cases kids are covered until age 26 or so.

 

:iagree:Check with insurance. Under the Affordable Health Care Act, you're supposed to be able to keep them on, even if they are not full time students. This part of the act has already been implemented.

[*********]

He should be covered until age 26

 

:iagree: I did recently look up this info on our insurance, as dsd will be 18 soon. No idea, however, if it's industry wide, or if it varies depending on your insurance company/policy. Check yours, you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

ETA: I googled, there's lots of sites that talk about the new 'covered until age 26' part of the health care reform law. Here's a CNN article about it.

 

**DISCLAIMER: I am in NO way politically active! I have NO idea if posting a CNN article will offened anyone of any political persuasion! Just trying to help the OP.

Edited March 15, 2012 by bethanyniez

[LibraryLover]

He should be covered until age 26

 

 

He is. Has he thought about applying further from home. Schools are looking for greater geogrpahic diversity these days.

Edited March 15, 2012 by LibraryLover

[Whitney in KY]

I did not know that he even MIGHT be covered without being a ft student. That is certainly a good thing. Problem is, he started taking classes as a junior in high school (24 hrs) his jr/sr. year, that he had enough credits to get an AA and an AS without even realizing it. His advisor recently told him he qualified for both.

 

So, I think there are only 3 pre req. classes that he could take before he gets into the rad tech "Rotation" which starts in the fall only. Maybe he could take those three classes and then work in the field part time.

 

There is also a chance of him getting some type of "certificate" in a multitude of areas (medical transcription, office tech, desktop publishing) that could possibly help him with the resume.

 

He actually was relieved that he did not get into the program (speech) because he was having second thoughts concerning that being his career.

 

You have given me a lot to think about and research.

 

p.s. He is not interested in going out of state. My daughter is doing that this fall. sniff!

[LucyStoner]

How competitive will he be for Rad Tech? It can be hard to find openings because of all the retraining laid off workers in this economy. As such, I would spend the year making myself as competitive as possible. He should do some job shadowing, healthcare volunteer hours and similar. This will help his application. I would take some class or two but also try and work/save up.

 

Has he looked into other healthcare jobs?

 

I personally would skip on the med assistant/transcription certs. Those are not going to help his resume for rad tech.

[Mom0012]

I thought kids are covered under parents' insurance until age 25 under Obamacare.

 

It is at least 25, but I think it's actually 26. They can even have a full-time job that offers insurance, be married and have a child of their own and still remain on their parents' health plan. Ask me how I know.

 

Lisa

Edited March 15, 2012 by LisaTheresa