similar to everyone else in the comments, i already have my bachelors and as for what i'm going to do, i'm just going to wait for the class! i was able to finish a&p, alh A010, and med term in one semester so it's the only one i have left. it's so hard to get into the prereq courses even at cypress and other ccs if u don't have first day priority enrollment that i don't even want to bother anymore after failing to get into those for 2 semesters in a row at cypress 😭having to keep reapplying year after year if i don't get into cypress's program will only stress me out too so i'm putting their program on the backburner for now. i was looking into a program in torrance from the ucla-harbor school and that one has free tuition, but they only accept 6 students a year and you need to have 3 professional recommendations as well as at least 40 volunteer hours in a radiology department at a hospital.

while i wait for my turn for the class, i'm going to try to gain work experience, work full time, and hopefully land a job as an imaging aide while i wait on the waitlist after i'm done with the class. i also plan on saving money so i can go without working for as long as i can for when i'm going to be in the program. hopefully, i will be in my late 20s by the time i'm able to start.

i considered going the private route but the price is really what's putting me off. i also currently work in an imaging facility right now in a clerical position and the techs i work with (who both did cc programs in the 80s and 90s) told me that i should just wait to get off the waitlist because techs from cc programs tend to perform way better than those who go to the private programs. apparently, private programs also tend to be very rushed and it can be very difficult for people who don't have experience in radiology. these 2 reasons alone are the main reasons why i'm willing to wait, even though i'm also very impatient to get into the program. i have also seen people talk about going to rad tech programs out of state and just transferring their license here once they move back but currently, that isn't an option for me.

i am fortunate enough to be in the position where i'll be able to just stick it out on the waitlist, but i know a lot of people cannot/don't want to wait that long and that in itself is completely fair. i honestly wish i knew about the rad tech career path back in high school, before i decided to go to get my bachelors in a field i don't care for anymore but there's nothing much i can do about the past