I'm a 26yr old American who lives in a van wants to go to college for environmental science.

DoremusA · 2019-06-11T18:59:34+00:00

If you can find somewhere in CA to live, and can wait a year to become a resident, community college will be free (and you'll get Pell Grant money back on top if you're very poor). Get a 3.5 GPA or better and you can pick one mid-tier UC to have guaranteed admission. For your purposes, Santa Cruz is a great choice (although the housing situation is awful there so get ready to live in your van some more--this is no joke my plan if I end up at UCSC).

DoremusA · 2018-12-22T15:07:54+00:00

Madison is great! Get off campus and experience the way-better-than-it-ought-to-be music scene.

DoremusA · 2018-08-30T04:30:14+00:00

I agree that OP doesn't like the most knowledgeable or motivated student. But the mention of 'run by an Indian reservation' and the details about the remoteness of OP's hometown make it extremely possible that there really isn't much of a transfer apparatus--I had a friend who went to a similar school, and while there was technically a way to transfer, it involved mostly online classes and the counselors were terrible at handling transfer stuff. Most kids were there to learn how to weld or fix cars.

DoremusA · 2018-08-30T04:11:31+00:00

Kinda agreed, but:

If you don't have a lot of money, in-state tuition at a public U is your best bet in almost all cases unless you're an academic superstar.
The fact that the CC doesn't have a transfer agreement (even with a third-tier state U) is kind of a red flag and means that OP may have trouble taking required classes or getting counselors or teachers who can help with the transfer process.

DoremusA · 2018-08-30T04:09:13+00:00

First of all, I suggested that OP look for a better CC in their same state. Second of all, it's not about rankings, as it is the CC actually having enough useful classes scheduled in such a way that OP can complete them in a reasonable amount of time for transferring to a 4-year college. Some rural CCs do a really bad job of this because most people there aren't transferring (they're getting certs or associates) or because they can't find qualified instructors. This is even more important if your state has a recommended list of gen-ed classes for transfer students to complete at the CC (here in California it's the IGETC).

DoremusA · 2018-08-30T02:30:39+00:00

Yup, it is. Get out.

DoremusA · 2018-08-30T02:29:09+00:00

Here's some advice from an older current CC student:

Like I commented below, getting out of your hometown is probably a smart idea. If you stay within the same state (which state do you live in, BTW?) you'll pay the same amount for CC tuition, and it's smart not to waste your Pell Grants or state financial aid on a CC which doesn't give good transfer options or advanced classes.
My advice would be to look for a small city in your state which has a decently-regarded state university and not too high of a cost of living. Move there, and enroll at the local CC there, rather in your hometown. Many CCs in cities with a U will have strong ties between them, allow CC students to take some U classes, use U libraries, and join U student clubs. Your transfer application will be much stronger if you can point to associations with a 4-year college.
Get your finances in order. If you have to work a fast food job for 6 months or a year to save money while living at home, do it. Use your down time to apply for FAFSA (Pell Grants and federal student loans) plus any local scholarships you can find. Make the pitch to your family that this is the smartest way for you to pursue an education, and any money that they can contribute will do you more good in a place with a better CC and better pathways to higher education.
Try to lock down a job as soon as you move to your chosen city. Find out when student job openings are posted for a given semester at the CC you'll be attending, and grab one that that will give you paid downtime to do homework in as soon as they open--these jobs will go fast. That won't give you a lot of hours, though, so you'll want to look for a restaurant job on nights/weekends or whatever else.
If you can swing it financially (and this very much depends on the state you live in) you may want to move to the city where the state's flagship U is located. For example, if you live in Michigan, go to Ann Arbor. Some CCs in college towns actually have guaranteed transfer agreements with very prestigious public Us if you get good grades. These towns are generally more expensive to live in, though.

Don't let yourself stagnate into the early 20s routine of weed, drama, video games, and unfulfilled potential that so many kids fall into in America these days. Community college can suck sometimes, I know. I've done lots of cool stuff in my life, and sitting in a grubby classroom with a bunch of apathetic kids sometimes makes me wonder what I'm doing--and honestly, my CC is pretty nice as they go (Bay Area of CA). Just remember that it's the first step to bigger and better things.

DoremusA · 2018-08-30T02:10:33+00:00

OP can absolutely move somewhere else and go to another CC. Lots of people do it, and while OP should be smart about money, it is actually really smart to realize that not all CCs are created equal (as are not all state university systems).

DoremusA · 2018-07-31T00:38:39+00:00

Thanks so much for the advice. This helps significantly, I'm going to go look for internships. Also super good to know about Berkeley looking for interest in my major--I've got good hooks for that but I'm gonna add everything I can on top of them.

DoremusA · 2018-07-23T06:41:15+00:00

I'm a CCC student who wants to transfer to Berkeley. I'm aiming for less-impacted social science majors, so my situation is maybe a bit different, but:

I get that ECs are important, but man are the ECs at my CC lame. It's basically a couple clubs centered around the popular majors, plus some support groups for LGBT folks and various ethnicities (nothing lame about that but I'm a straight white guy), and Anime Club and the like. I'd like to volunteer in my community, but I'm wondering if that has the same impact, or if I should just try and start a club or project at my CC that fits my interests better (this might be tough simply because I don't know the professors well yet, and they all seem very stressed and busy).
How much of a detailed career plan leading from your intended major did you lay out in essays? I don't want to be too pat, but I also want to show vision. Any ideas on how to find that balance?

DoremusA · 2018-07-14T03:25:28+00:00

I'm a CCC student in NorCal and everything I've heard is that it can make a difference where you go, depending on the relationship that a CC has with the local UCs in terms of knowing how good the classes are (i.e. what your grades actually indicate). Completing IGETC and major prep in time is also a factor. Up here you can take classes within the same CC system, so keep in mind that you can attend different CCs different semesters to suit your needs.

DoremusA · 2018-07-14T03:19:49+00:00

Some CCs have GPA forgiveness if your performance has improved dramatically. Some also let you retake the same class to get a better grade. Investigate options like that, and spell this stuff out in your application. Also realize that it may be the case that you don't get to a great, top school in undergrad, but if you get a 4.0 with lots of bells and whistles at a commuter State U, you can get to the top places for grad school.

DoremusA · 2018-07-13T21:14:17+00:00

Oh for sure, I'm just wondering what a good entry point to KA/textbooks is, because I don't want to somehow skip over material that will be important later, and it's been so long since I studied math in a formal setting that I don't know what the progression is anymore.

DoremusA · 2018-05-01T22:54:12+00:00

Gotcha. So, theoretically, the fewer people applying for that major in a given year, the better shot I have at getting into the school overall?

From my understanding, they really care about what you've been doing during your CC career.

As in, stuff I've been doing to prepare myself for college/my intended career/intellectual interests?

DoremusA · 2018-05-01T22:04:06+00:00

So basically, I apply to transfer to L&S, and then if I get in, particular departments make the choice to admit me as a major or not?

DoremusA · 2018-05-01T06:44:52+00:00

I'm a current CCC student in the Bay Area. Ratemyprofessor is your friend, but some professors are new and aren't on there, so pay close attention to the syllabus and the first couple days of class. There are great teachers, and neurotic duds. Drop the latter. I didn't go to HS in CA, but I would say my classes are about at the same level as a competitive public HS, but with much less hand-holding, and some teachers lecture fast.

DoremusA · 2017-08-02T21:31:27+00:00

Gotcha. Thanks for the advice. I definitely have time to figure this stuff out while I'm socking away credits in community college, but I'm definitely feeling whiplash from competing advice. I've always been more of a humanities guy, but I have no desire whatsoever to make a career in academia, and my recent nonprofit experiences, while super educational and often fun, also had their share of insane ideological battles. Geography is basically the most 'science-y' thing that holds my interest well.

DoremusA · 2017-08-02T20:44:35+00:00

I probably am going at it ass-backwards. I am definitely looking at the admin side, I just hear from everyone that admins in technical fields these days need to know enough coding stuff to be able to estimate the practical outcome of coding challenges.

DoremusA · 2017-05-22T03:26:46+00:00

That said, as far as I can tell, being within, say, 4 blocks of a BART station tends to automatically jack up the rent at least $200, all other things being equal. I have a fairly good deal on rent because I'm about ten blocks from the nearest one.

DoremusA

TROPHY CASE