You're Wanted!

[Trivium Academy]

A college advisor for ME! Goodness gracious, my head is spinning! :willy_nilly:

 

I want a BBA (Bachelor of Business Administration) but first I want to obtain an Associates and start working in the field, although I am already b/c I'm a front-end manager at a grocery store but I'd like a better paying position in the field ;).

 

Do I go to a cheaper college for the first two years and transfer or just attend one college so that I know for sure the classes I take will count? Can I really trust admissions officers to ensure courses from one college will transfer to another college to complete a Bachelors?

 

If someone would like to be my advisor for a day, I'd really appreciate it! I have three colleges I'm considering, one with classes started Feb 22 :blink:, one other starts in May and the other has a deadline admission for April 6.

 

I have no time to waste in making this decision, each individual college is vying for me to go to their school. Help!

[Jen in PA]

When I was in college, the admissions office had lists of courses at other local schools that they guaranteed they would accept as transfer credit with a certain minimum grade. This allowed students to choose courses they could take for less during the summer, or to help students considering enrolling know where they would stand upon admission. I'd see if the school you want you final degree to be from has lists of that sort.

[kiana]

Many CC's have developed articulation agreements with local universities; see if you can find such a pair. At the CC I attended and the CC my brother's attending, they had many handouts (for me they were printed, for him they're online) with "If you're going to X university, courses transfer thus ...", and for me at least, they would have. It's not the CC's fault I changed major and they didn't count. :)

[Liz CA]

When I was in college, the admissions office had lists of courses at other local schools that they guaranteed they would accept as transfer credit with a certain minimum grade. This allowed students to choose courses they could take for less during the summer, or to help students considering enrolling know where they would stand upon admission. I'd see if the school you want you final degree to be from has lists of that sort.

 

Junior or Community Colleges usually work closely with the closest 4-year university and you should not have a problem transferring. Ds is doing this right now. We pay attention that most of his classes count for transfer to state university or UC (we are in CA).

I would go to the inexpensive community college until you have enough units to transfer. It saves a bundle. Check with the university of your choice what their working relationship is with the community college you are considering. Dh did the same thing and had no problems when he transferred to a 4-year university from a well-reputed community college.

[Pink Fairy]

I vote for community college. My dh went this route, and it saved us many thousands of dollars over what we would have paid if he'd gone to the university all four years. There was never a problem with transferring credits, no mistakes were made and there were no surprises.

 

Good luck! :grouphug: It must feel wonderful to have three colleges vying for your attendance! :001_smile:

[Beth in OH]

Many CC's have developed articulation agreements with local universities; see if you can find such a pair.

 

"Articulation agreements" are exactly what you want to be asking about. They are binding agreements between schools that pre-determine what credit will be given to various courses taken elsewhere. In some states, state law will do the same thing between state schools. Any other assurances, by guidance/admissions counselors will not be binding on anyone. Rely on them at your own risk.

 

If you know where you want to pursue your bachelors degree, start by talking to someone in your degree program there. You need to know what courses that school requires for the degree you ultimately want to attain. Otherwise, you may take unnecessary courses at the CC that will only transfer as elective credit--you want your CC courses to count toward your BS. Ask the university which CC's it has articulation agreements with (you may have to ask this question of the admissions personnel, not the academic department).

 

If you don't know where you want to complete your BS, ask your CC which schools it has articulation agreements with. I would want to see agreements with state universities--it will give you some more affordable options for your BS, and it lends credibility to the CC courses if you end up having to apply for credit at a private uni.

 

Good luck! I know it's a lot of legwork right now, but you could save yourself whole semesters (not to mention dollars) if you lay out a plan at the outset.

Edited February 4, 2009 by Beth in OH

[rafiki]

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[The Governess]

Yes, you can do it! I have a Bachelors in Business Administration and I took classes at a community college my first year, and transferred them. After I started going to the university, I still took some general education classes at the community college during the summer and over winter break as well, without any problems.

 

In your case, the only problem I foresee is this: what kind of AA degree are you looking to get? If you are getting an AA business degree or something similar, the business classes you take at the cc will most likely NOT transfer to a university. Math classes, general education, etc. should be fine (as long as they are on the list of approved courses) but in my experience the university will want you to take your business classes (accounting, economics, etc.) at the university level as opposed to the cc level. So, there may be some courses you will have to take twice if you go that route. Your other option is to go the general education (GE) course. Most (or all) cc's have a GE certification program through which you take all of your GE classes, and then when you attend a university you only need to take your major classes there. They certify that ALL of your GE courses have been completed and will count towards your bachelor's degree. But a GE program isn't an AA that will give you business skills that you could put to use right away.

 

Your counselor should be able to give you a list of transferable courses if you tell her the universities you are considering applying to. I would also search the universities' web sites and get a list of all of the required courses for their BBA programs. They may even have a list of transferrable courses, or link to a third party web site that will tell you which cc courses are equivalent to the courses in their catalog.

 

You can do this!!! In my experience, community college classes are equivalent to a college prep high school class in terms of difficulty, homework, etc. And a lot of the students *act* like high school students too. :glare: After a year of cc I was ready to go to a university where the students took their courses a little more seriously.

[Emmy]

What sort of job are you looking to get after you get your business degree? I only ask because while that "piece of paper" does help in the job market, getting a business degree is kind of generic and I remember when I graduated the people I knew that had that degree didn't seem to know what field to go into - kwim? A business degree can be applicable to all kinds of fields.

[KidsHappen]

Community college will save you a ton of money and most public cc and universities in the same state have articulation agreements. If you intend to stay in the retail field it doesn't really matter what kind of degree you get, a B.A. in Liberal Arts will do the trick and you will get a well rounded education should you decide to change fields later. You can make good money in the retail field but the work is hard and the hours are long, not necessarily the best for raising children on your own. There are many other fields that require less education, have better hours, and pay about the same amount of money. In any case you will need to get your general education requirements out of the way and they will be the same at any public in state institution so I would start with those out a community college as you work out where exactly you would like to go from there.

[Trivium Academy]

"Articulation agreements" are exactly what you want to be asking about. They are binding agreements between schools that pre-determine what credit will be given to various courses taken elsewhere. In some states, state law will do the same thing between state schools. Any other assurances, by guidance/admissions counselors will not be binding on anyone. Rely on them at your own risk.

 

If you know where you want to pursue your bachelors degree, start by talking to someone in your degree program there. You need to know what courses that school requires for the degree you ultimately want to attain. Otherwise, you may take unnecessary courses at the CC that will only transfer as elective credit--you want your CC courses to count toward your BS. Ask the university which CC's it has articulation agreements with (you may have to ask this question of the admissions personnel, not the academic department).

 

Exactly! Thank you Beth you articulated exactly what I was trying to say! Lol.

 

I would also search the universities' web sites and get a list of all of the required courses for their BBA programs.

 

 

I've been doing this, esp. with the big universities that are just out of my reach financially and by distance. This is what spurred this question. One of the other concerns I have is that some ABA require Government and World History whereas other programs only require US History before or after 1877 in General Ed. PLUS, the Bachelor programs are dependent on grades and performance during the first two years so if I don't pick wisely and do WELL, I'll be spending more money/time down the road.

 

No pressure or anything. :001_huh:

 

Michele mentioned not having a degree. I've been there, done that and I'm aiming a little higher than entry-level positions. My work background plus a degree will open doors at the mid-level and higher.

 

Giving 110% and excelling does not guarantee that the owner of the company wouldn't feel more comfortable with someone else with a BBA in the same position. Plus, right now and probably in the foreseeable future, you need a degree just to get your resume in the stack!

[JenniferB]

Have you looked into CLEP testing? This is a way you can test out of a particular class that you already have knowledge in. My husband is going through a major career change right now (going from business owner of a print shop to airline pilot). Most airlines require or highly recommend a bachelor's degree. We figured out a way to save a ton of money by CLEP testing out of several or nearly all of the "AA" type courses. My husband is knowledgeable in many subject areas just by listening to audio books in his spare time or during long print jobs. He did some practice tests, and passed them EASILY. The pass requirements are fairly low, like above 50% or something to pass the test. I don't remember all the particulars because we looked into this about 1 year ago, but they have a lot of information online, if you google CLEP testing. Also, you could find out through your local CC if they offer the testing, and you can find out from the college you want to graduate from if they accept CLEP testing. The college my husband is working with is Embry Riddle University (top of the line for airline pilots), and they accept CLEP testing, and they have an advisor as well who specializes in helping the student get the most out of the testing. This college also offers many of their courses online, which you might want to look into with the college you choose to work with. ;)

[The Governess]

One of the other concerns I have is that some ABA require Government and World History whereas other programs only require US History before or after 1877 in General Ed. PLUS, the Bachelor programs are dependent on grades and performance during the first two years so if I don't pick wisely and do WELL, I'll be spending more money/time down the road.

 

If I were trying to ease back into school, I would pick GE classes for the first semester that are mostly reading/memorization and less skill based, such as sociology, intro to psychology, geography, etc. to start with. With these type of classes, as long as you are present in class and get all of the reading done and take good notes, you'll do fine. Classes like these usually have one or two short papers (psychology may have a research project) and most of your grade comes from tests based on the lectures and reading. After you've taken a couple of these classes and gotten back into the swing of things, you can move on to more intensive classes such as math, science, etc. where you have to not only do the reading, but also grasp new concepts (unless you already know you're good at a certain subject!).

 

When you're making your schedule, I would assume 1 hour of reading/homework per hour that you are in class, plus extra time for studying or papers. How many classes are you going to be taking? Remember also that you have some time to drop a class without having it go on your record. So if after a few weeks you feel you've gotten in over your head, you can drop a class and try it again later without any penalty (except you may not get your money back for the class). You might also try emailing the professor who is teaching a class you are considering and ask to see a copy of the syllabus before you decide if it's going to be too intensive or not. I've found that cc teachers really enjoy having "older" students in their classes and are usually happy to help.

 

Some ccs also offer correspondence/video classes. I've taken a few video courses where you only meet at the campus to take the tests. In my experience, these classes are usually less demanding because the teacher simply relies on the book/videos to teach you and tests straight from the material. One of my teachers even let us do our midterm and final open book. :001_huh:

 

Anyway, I hope something in there helps, and I'm sorry if I'm just telling you things you already know! I've been there recently and know how hard it is to balance work, school and caring for kids all at the same time. It's hard, but doable. I really hope that school is an enjoyable experience for you. I have really enjoyed the classes I've taken and the "brain exercise" :lol:.

 

Oh, and in CA, we have a website called ASSIST that is a database of cc classes and all of the state university classes that they transfer to. So you can look up your cc and the state university you're interested in, and put in each specific class and it will tell you if it transfers or not, and which class it transfers as. Maybe your state has something similar?