Suggestions/advice for my college kid?

[DawnM]

History, if you don't know me by now!  :coolgleamA:

 

I have an Aspie son, he is 19 and 5 years ago I would have told you that he would never go to anything academic beyond high school ever.  

 

But he is completing his 3rd semester of community college and we are thrilled.  He took 3 classes his first semester, 2 the second semester, and is taking 5 right now.

 

His major is Simulation and Game Development with an emphasis in Animation.  He loves the Animation part, but he is finding that he hates the programming classes and about 80% of the program overall.  He is GOOD at it, so it pains me that he is thinking of quitting that program but this is the time to figure out what you like/don't like, etc....

 

There is NOTHING around our area that focusses on just Animation.  He now wants film animation, which is different, so he is now considering just dropping the Game Design and just do General Eds next year.

 

I don't mind at all, although I hate that several of his classes essentially won't count towards anything, but here is my concern:

 

If he could take 12 more classes, he could get his AA in Game Design/Animation.  Whereas if he goes the General Ed route, only about half of the classes he has taken will count towards his electives for his AA.

 

We are 90% sure we are moving next summer (2018) and I am concerned that all of his credits won't transfer to another CC.

 

Would you recommend he just finish the AA he started at this point or would you just let him take his Genderal Eds and not worry about it.

 

I have made some calls but we have NO CLUE where he wants to go, etc.....I found 2 schools and called them, but I have no way of knowing if he will actually go to them or actually get to a 4 year college, etc.....so really, it is a moot point right now.

 

BTW:  Both schools told me they would need to "evaluate his transcripts" and can't give any actual answer over the phone without seeing his transcript AND getting a full application on file ($85).

 

Part of me says to just let him do what he wants, as long as he understands what may happen.  The other part says, "Just finish what you started and have an AA, they can't take a degree away from you and at least you will have it."

[DawnM]

Sorry to get so long winded, but I was trying to anticipate questions that typically come up, this is not a neuro typical kid, so "oh, he could just go off to the 4 year school of his choice" won't be happening.   He will most likely live at home until around age 25 at least (according to his therapist anyway.)  He just isn't ready.

[bettyandbob]

Since he won't be doing a four year degree in game design or programming, how is finishing the AA helpful?

 

It could be helpful in that he would have finished an AA. For work purposes he could check that box. And if you move he might have to start over.

 

However, if he takes that AA to a four year college they are going to look at his courses and likely many won't apply to a different degree. So, having an AA in game design won't help him finish a degree in something else.

 

My experience is when you apply to a four year college, they look at all your transcripts whether you finish an AA or not. My ds had cc and Jr college credits from different states. All of his classes transferred. He only took gen ed classes, nothing special that might not be offered at the four year school. His school doesn't have game design. I suspect some programming classes would have transferred. An animation class might have gotten an art credit. But some classes would not have transferred at all. So I'm not sure an AA in this subject would help someone seeking a 4 year degree in something else.

 

Another factor is your DS. My oldest is 2E. Even though getting him to independent adulthood is taking longer, I can't make him do anything. So, if my ds said to me he was dropping a degree program to work on general classes I'd let him. It wouldn't matter if there were 4 classes or 10 left. Once he made up his mind he wouldn't finish those classes. Paying for them would just be flushing money down the toilet. So, I would urge you to strongly consider how malleable your DS is.

[Joules]

 

 

Would you recommend he just finish the AA he started at this point or would you just let him take his Genderal Eds and not worry about it.

 

 

 

I would let him decide.  The advantages of having an AA don't outweigh the possibility that he will get burned out doing something he hates and never want to try again.  I learned with mine that it is better, YMMV.

 

I would, however, find out as much as I could about the pros and cons of each choice and lay them out for him, so he has the information to make his decision.  

[J-rap]

I might focus more on general ed classes.  I say that because if he is pretty sure he will transfer to a 4-year college, he will still want to be able to transfer the classes he took at the CC and if they are that specialized they might not even transfer.  That is what happened to my ds, and though he had his AA degree, he basically lost a year of college because so many of the classes didn't transfer to the 4-year college.  

 

On the other hand, if the AA degree is something he really loves and wants to do, then it might still be worth pursuing whether those classes transfer to a 4-year college or not.

 

One other thought is to switch to another major that still makes use of the animation.  My dd graduated with a degree in advertising design and marketing.  It was in another country, and in the U.S. I think it would actually be broken down to two degrees:  graphic design and advertising/marketing.  But the graphic design portion had a big emphasis on computer animation and web design.  Many colleges have degrees in graphic design, and most of it is computer-based and includes skills such as web design and animation.  Maybe your son would enjoy something like that?

 

Also, that is so great that he is doing so well!!!

[JanetC]

Gen eds are probably more transferable than career track courses, because different CCs offer different career training but they all have similar gen eds.

 

If he gets his AA is he going into the workforce? If you think companies would snap him up with his Gaming and Animation AA, and he wants to graduate and be done school, you might want to have him finish it. If you think he needs more time in school to mature and figure out what he wants to do, gen eds are likely fine for transferring later.

[DawnM]

Thanks guys.  

[Lori D.]

Agreeing with previous posters, esp. Diana P. when she said "Since he won't be doing a four year degree in game design or programming, how is finishing the AA helpful?"

 

My thoughts:

 

12 classes is a LOT to finish up

If he just had 2 more classes, sure, I'd say push through it. But 12 classes... That's 3 more semesters for your DS at the rate he has been accumulating classes -- and it won't be easy to persevere, esp if he's lost interest in the AA degree field, and also esp. if 80% (9-10 of the 12 classes) will be things he's not enjoying.

 

An AA in Game Design/Animation will do nothing for him:

I don't see much benefit in continuing down a path that DS has lost interest and motivation in.

- If he's lost all interest in that field, he's unlikely to look for/get a job in a field he no longer cares about, even if he DOES persevere and get the AA.

- An AA is not an employable degree on its own; it's only the first step towards a Bachelor's degree, which is the employable degree.

- An AA in Game Design/Animation is NOT useful prep for switching to an AAS or a 4-year degree in Film Animation.

 

General Education credits are more flexible

If DS is willing to continue with school, gen ed credits are more apt to help him later on with a wide variety of degrees at many different schools -- compared to the limited transferability of credits from a specialized AA, esp. if he's planning on switching away from that AA field.

 

AA degree vs. AAS degree

AAS degrees = the "degree-to-work" degrees and are usually immediately employable.

AA degrees = the "degree-to-university" degrees -- the stepping stone of the first 2 years of a 4-year Bachelor's degree.

 

You and DS might want to sit down and have a chat about schooling and work/career. How much more school does DS think he has "in him"? If only another 1-2 years, then you might want to look into a 2-year AAS degree so he has an employable degree at the end of his "educational endurance". If DS is fine with a number of years of college, then yes, look into the gen ed credits -- ones that would work towards a variety of degrees. Also consider what this current CC, and the future CC, offer as far as AA degrees and AAS degrees. Are any of those of interest to DS? Or would it just be best to work on gen ed credits for transfer to a university and plan on working towards a Bachelor's degree?

 

Transferability at a new CC

If DS is going to switch over to gen ed credits, then what you *really* want to look at is to make sure whatever credits DS takes at this current CC and at a future CC is that they transfer to a future university to knock out the gen ed credits for a 4-year degree. In that case, it won't matter so much if the new CC takes those credits if you're not working towards an AA or AAS at the new CC.

[FaithManor]

I wish I could be more positive. Our son in law went through a BA that was animation heavy, light on programming. He found it limiting to his career and after paying a ridiculous amount of money for the degree, ended up going back for more programming plus paying for professional certification courses. Most companies do not want strictly only animators. They want someone who can do both.

[DawnM]

Ok, we finally sat down this afternoon and went over everything.  Turns out, most of what he still needs is General Ed classes.  

 

I know most of you are negative on the Game Development, but if you only understood fully that 2 years ago we were looking at him going on disability and never going to school or getting a job, ever......you would understand how excited we are that he is even going to school, even if it is a "pointless degree" or a "he will never get a job" degree.  

 

Now that he is mentioning a 4 year school, our jaws are on the floor!  You just have no idea how drastic of a change it is for this kid.

 

However, we have not even begun to look at 4 year colleges, or specific classes, etc....the only two schools we have discussed so far, and not in detail, is Pasadena School of the Arts (he loved what he saw) and UNCSA, although that would mean he would have to go away to school.

 

He says he will feel more accomplished if he completes the AA, even if it means a few classes won't transfer.   We are going to let him go ahead and do it.

 

It is community college.  It isn't expensive.

 

Faith, he is kind of shifting what he wants to do.  He thought he wanted gaming, but now he wants Animation, but not in the gaming industry, he wants it more in the Film industry.  Even if he never "makes it" we are happy to see him have a goal.  I have a cousin who works for Dreamworks, in Animation, so maybe at some point he could get him an internship, even unpaid.  We will see.

 

Thank you all for your input.  

[Laurel-in-CA]

I think the progress he's made is amazing, as is his willingness to evaluate different pathways. I have a kiddo who probably won't go past CC, but we've asked her to finish an AA in whatever interests her plus general ed. If she changes her mind later, she'll be equipped. She doesn't need the degree, though, to do what she loves doing right now (elder/disabled in-home care).

 

BUT I also have a dd who went to an art college. Frankly, the college was going to re-evaluate every. single. class. she took in art if she went to a CC first. They have standards, y'know. (haughty sniff.) She would only have gotten credit for classes taken elsewhere IF they met the standards for the art college, not just in terms of quality of work produced, but in terms of workload (how many sketches/week for life drawing, etc.)--might have accepted general ed classes, but even the general ed classes at the art school are tipped towards an emphasis on the arts. English was theater and went into photography, set design, lighting, etc. They cared little about her high school transcript but a LOT about her portfolio. Her school had a whole major in game design and another in animation. Art colleges typically have a fair number of quirky/unusual students. So you might want to look into a school like that. Just FYI. I have no idea what the job market is like for kids that come out of art school into the gaming industry, but dd's school had connections with some major companies and offered student internships at them.

[DawnM]

I think the progress he's made is amazing, as is his willingness to evaluate different pathways. I have a kiddo who probably won't go past CC, but we've asked her to finish an AA in whatever interests her plus general ed. If she changes her mind later, she'll be equipped. She doesn't need the degree, though, to do what she loves doing right now (elder/disabled in-home care).

 

BUT I also have a dd who went to an art college. Frankly, the college was going to re-evaluate every. single. class. she took in art if she went to a CC first. They have standards, y'know. (haughty sniff.) She would only have gotten credit for classes taken elsewhere IF they met the standards for the art college, not just in terms of quality of work produced, but in terms of workload (how many sketches/week for life drawing, etc.)--might have accepted general ed classes, but even the general ed classes at the art school are tipped towards an emphasis on the arts. English was theater and went into photography, set design, lighting, etc. They cared little about her high school transcript but a LOT about her portfolio. Her school had a whole major in game design and another in animation. Art colleges typically have a fair number of quirky/unusual students. So you might want to look into a school like that. Just FYI. I have no idea what the job market is like for kids that come out of art school into the gaming industry, but dd's school had connections with some major companies and offered student internships at them.

 

 

Yeah, both schools we have discussed so far are specifically for art types.  As I mentioned, he doesn't really care for the gaming anymore, but does want to do film.

 

I would like to find a UNCSA (Univ. NC School of the Arts) type school in CA.  I guess I need to start searching.

 

Right now we don't live close enough to a good art college for him to really get "haughty stuff."  

 

I guess when we move, he can just get things evaluated and decide what he wants to do.

Edited March 11, 2017 by DawnM