Accounting is great prep for journalism. Just look at the testimony in the most recent Trump trial and how much accounting knowledge was required to understand the issues. Look at how the media reported on the financial crisis in 2008/2009, how it continues to cover major corporate bankruptcy stories, etc.
Kean and accounting…sounds like a plan. And tell your parents that every large hospital system, HMO, pharma company hires accountants…and they are paid very well .
Good luck!
Yes, I think so too. I haven’t discussed it with them yet, but I’m sure they’ll at least be open to thinking about it.
Noted! 
Actually, Kean doesn’t admit you to an Honors college before you enter; you can be elected to an honors society in your upperclassmen years, or you can graduate with honors. I’ll make sure to try for both.
I’ve already looked at their newspaper- they have a pretty cool website called The Tower which I hope to join as soon as I enter in the fall.
Thank you MYOS!!!
If you want to take the CPA exams you will need to take an extra 30 credits in college.
Wow, I didn’t know this! Thanks for the info!
I’ll make sure to emphasize that part… even though that might not be in my own plans 
Thank you for coming back with an update, and for doing so much heavy lifting in correcting all of the assumptions that were made. Assessing any situation described here involves some filling-in-of-blanks and connecting-of-dots, but we all need to avoid relying on stereotypes in the process.
How incredibly frustrating that your parents were pushing Education as a “plan b” all along, and then when you agreed to it, they withdrew their support for their own plan!
Accounting at Kean sounds like a reasonable plan. (Would the Data Analytics major we talked about earlier also be an option, since they were in favor of data science at NJIT?) The lower-division curriculum is pretty similar across the business majors, so you could also consider later whether you might want to slide into an adjacent major like Global Business or Business Analytics. But organizations of all types need accountants, so that credential could be your foot in the door to almost any sector you want to be involved in.
It’s great that you and your sisters are working together on a plan to gain some more independence. One thing you might want to think about, in terms of finances, is that even though you have a loan-free full-tuition package at Kean, you are still allowed to take the guaranteed loans (on your own - no parental involvement needed, at least once you’re 18) providing that you filed the FAFSA (which I think you must have done, since it would have been needed for other schools you applied to). That could be a way to fund your own bank account and have a financial cushion in place. If you don’t spend it, all the better - you can pay the loans back early - but in the meantime at least you’d have some buffer.
You have been so reasonable, flexible, and open-minded about this whole process; I’m sorry your folks haven’t been able to meet you halfway. In most families, the oldest kids bear the brunt of parental inflexibility and the parents soften (or at least fatigue, lol) for the younger ones… but it doesn’t seem to be working that way for you, unfortunately.
The double-depositing isn’t great (and it doesn’t sound as if it was necessary, since Kean’s deadline isn’t for a while) but hopefully you can walk back the Rutgers commitment as soon as you get your parents to sign off on a plan at Kean. Try to appeal to your parents’ consciences about the fact that the pharmacy program is limited-capacity and there are undoubted people on the waitlist who truly want that spot.
I’ve said it before, but your handling of this thread, as well as your situation generally, tells us all we need to know; you will bring an impressive combination of intelligence, resourcefulness, and diplomacy to whatever you decide to do in life. I really hope you’ll come back and update us again in the future, in spite of the aggravations of wrangling a public forum like this one. Wishing you the very best with your path forward.
I was referring to a set of special courses that require more reading as the basis for discussions (rather than lectures) and different approaches… but I found the info below
https://kean.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2023-2024/undergraduate-catalog/academic-standards-policies-and-procedures/honors-program/
Ie., that the Honors Program was being revised in 2023-24. I hope it’ll be functional Fall 2024 and during orientation make sure to ask about Honors courses and the Honors program.
In any case Honors courses still exist, such as this mention reveals
https://kean.smartcatalogiq.com/en/2021-2022/undergraduate-catalog/colleges-programs-by-college/college-of-liberal-arts/school-of-social-sciences/political-science/honors-courses/
Or as the 2024 course catalog indicates.
For instance, there is a placement test for English and if you score “normally” you take Eng 1030
“Students learn reflective processes for developing texts; strategies for critical writing, reading, and thinking; and methods for technological tools for composing.” ; if your results show you need help with some aspects of writing you take 1025 before 1030 and if English is not your first language you take 1300. Then some courses are part of “cohorts” - students take 2 or 3 freshman gen eds together so they can make friends and socialize faster, form study groups more easily, etc. (They appear as Ge01,GE02, Ge03… on the course schedule for English 1030.)
Finally, you have ENG-1620: HONORS COLLEGE COMPOSITION
“Students develop flexible processes for composing writing to meet academic purposes across the curriculum through guided experiences in reading, writing and conducting one-on-one conference with student writers.”
This replaces 1030 and is more personalized, with stronger writers who can focus on content alongside form. Whether journalism or Law school that’s the course you need.
This would be decided by your SAT English score and/or your ACCUPLACER tests (where it’s good to do well so that you can take as many advanced electives or classes for your minor as you wish! Fewer lower level classes = more upper level classes of your choice )
https://www.kean.edu/placement-testing/placement-testing-faqs
And of course if you took AP English lang&scored a 3, you don’t need to take any of the above classes and could choose an upper level writing class instead.
https://www.kean.edu/academics/general-studies/advanced-placement-ap-credits
Nothing bad will happen from the double depositing. Once you have secured your place in Accounting at Kean, you can cancel the Rutgers deposit.
I appreciate this so much! I hope I made everything clear to you all. Sorry for taking so long 
I’m hoping to look into more majors once I’m official, but for now I’m just looking to start out with the Accounting suggestion since it would seem more simple and clear-cut to my parents, who like simple and clear-cut things.
Hmm… I didn’t know that! Could I only take out subsidized loans? I’m trying to avoid paying any interest at all costs, since it goes against Islamic law. I guess that would be something to look into if I ever am in a pinch for money.
Will do so! Thank you for the advice!
I see! It wouldn’t be too late to talk to my college advisor about the Honors Program in the fall, would it?
The only issue I might have with Accounting (besides the fact that I am not very mathematics-oriented) is that I worry my AP exams won’t transfer into credits. I took AP Lang, APUSH, and AP Seminar last year (5 on all) and this year I took AP US Gov, AP Stats, AP Spanish, AP Research, and AP Lit (I get my scores back on July 8). Other than GED and core classes, how can I transfer these into my Accounting curriculum?
That’s a relief. So all that’s left is a ‘talk,’ I see, and making sure my parents and I are on the same page.
Yes, you can - and you deposit it into your bank account, to be saved for when you need it. That’s “to bank your federal loans”. You will need your (secret) bank account open before the subsidized loans can be deposited into it. You don’t need anyone’s permission for that.
If they’re not using their loans, your sisters can do the same.
However they’re not retroactive - you can borrow and save each year, but you can’t borrow freshman + sophomore+ junior year loans for junior year if you didn’t take them before.
(Do check because these things change, but AFAIK the above still applies for fall 2024.)
A fascinating subspecialty in accounting is forensic accounting. The job entails ferreting out the criminal cooking of the books to hide the fact that money is being diverted. Combine accounting with a law degree, could be very lucrative indeed.
You don’t. Classes for your major are more advanced than AP classes, which are advanced for HS but represent only roughly the 1st semester or 1st year in a general education curriculum. However they may cover prerequisites you need before you take classes for your major.
If you took precalculus in HS, you must do VERY WELL on your math placement test and you won’t have to take any math course beside statistics (which should be a cinch since you took AP Stats). The math test is not timed so you can take your time to give the correct answer and you can practice/review beforehand (hint, hint).
I cut and pasted the link for AP credit at Kean upthread but this is your 4 year plan for accounting;
https://www.kean.edu/offices/registrars-office/curriculum-sheets/college-business-and-public-management-curriculum
As far as I can tell
AP Lang => English 1030 is covered
APUSH => 6 credits of History (1st and 2nd year credits are done, so that’s 2 courses you can take instead later on once your pre-reqs are completed)
AP Seminar => no credit (but you’ll surely use the skills)
For this year’s APs, all you need is a 3.
AP US Gov => 3 credits, American Gov (2md year 1st semester class)
AP Stats => 3 credits, Maths 1016: statistics (ask your adviser if it’s considered equivalent to MGS 2150, statistics for business -if not, it’s excellent background)
AP Spanish => 6 credits of Intermediate Spanish
AP Research => nothing
AP Lit => credit for required 2nd year lit course
It means your 1st year would be
Good point! I worked with forensic accountants as a lawyer working on white collar cases, and they were having a lot of fun as well as making a lot of money.
Also, never forget: People from any major can write for the student newspaper. And after you graduate clips are all that matter.
At Kean, this means equivalency to completion of the 4th semester Spanish course there.
However, you may want to check with the Spanish department what Spanish course you should enroll in if you desire to take additional Spanish courses. This may depend on the specific AP score (i.e. they may recommend different placement for a 3 compared to a 4 compared to a 5).
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