What is the academic college process with all the terms explained? I know I apply for college, get in the college/ or not, and assuming I get in I do 2 years GE and then work towards my major for the remaining 2 years? After that, I really don’t know what comes afterwards, I was never told this and was afraid to ask.
@Goosebump012 What year are you currently in, and/or when do you plan on applying?
Pretty much. But make sure you have the transcripts, standardized tests (such as the SAT or ACT, and/or subject tests), letters of recommendation (if required) and everything else required on the applications.
Not necessarily. It’s likely true that most undergraduate students will finish their general requirements early on, and some general ed courses are prerequisites for more advanced courses in the major. But it may not necessarily take 2 years (for me, I was essentially done with the general requirements after 3 semesters except for HASS classes, and that was already with a couple major classes in there). Likewise many, but not all, students finish their bachelor’s in 4 years. I will be finishing my bachelor’s in 4 years, for example.
You…graduate? Go into the real world? Perhaps find employment, or if you wish, continue your studies for a Master’s or Ph.D. (Ph.D. especially if you wish to do research or go into academia). Maybe do other things that you want to do…
Thank you for the reply! Lets say I take the community college route and decide to transfer in after 2 years or taking all the required courses for my major, what happens then?
@Goosebump012 I can’t say directly (although someone else might). But generally if you transfer into a 4-year college, you may end up losing a couple credits if the school you are transferring into doesn’t accept a certain CC course for credit.
@Goosebump012 . Some students go 2-3 semesters at a community college then transfer. They don’t finish an associate but they have figured out that the courses they need are not offered locally. Also, depending on what you want to major in, you might find out that you are behind in sequencing of courses when you transfer. A family friend’s daughter found out that if she went to our local community college her classes would transfer but only as electives and not towards classes in her major. This would put her behind and effect her sequencing of classes.
Once again, depending on what you want to major in, some majors have a lot gen eds in the first 3-4 semesters while you are taking intro classes for your major. The intro classes are building blocks (sequencing) for higher level classes. You might have a higher level class that has 2-3 prerequisite classes which might take a year+ to complete that sequence. Some majors have a lot of intro classes for their major and those students might take 1 gen ed class a semester and might still be taking gen eds their senior year of college.
Another thing to look into, if you need fin aid, is some colleges give more aid to incoming freshman than transfers. But if you don’t know what to major in going to a community college would give you time to think that out.
With regards to general education in your first 2 years, I know a lot of people who went to CC to get those done before transferring to a 4 year. But in some majors at my school (computer science, engineering are the most open about this), they actually recommend that you leave some general education classes unfinished. It gives you the option to balance your schedule as a transfer without having those balance classes be “useless” credits-wise. Of course, these are also prereq-heavy majors that benefit from you focusing on getting those done before transferring.
Basically what I’m trying to say is, your specific goals in your first two years and at a CC will depend a lot on your intended major.
Personally, my GEs were done after 4 quarters, so after my first quarter sophomore year ended. But I’m also double majoring in a science and a social science, so my major requirements fulfilled most of my GEs. I only had to take a few classes outside my major just for GE requirements (though I’ve taken a few outside of them just for fun/interest).
I know a lot of people in the sciences that load up on their prereqs initially to get those done, while only fitting maybe one class each quarter for GEs to balance it out a bit. Then they take most of their GEs junior and senior years when the major classes get more intensive and balancing is more crucial. Of course I also know others who finished GEs quickly, who spread them out evenly…a lot of this depends on preference. For what it’s worth, usually the people I see following the “typical” (if there is such a thing in this case) route of 2 years GE -> 2 years major are humanities and social science majors. But again, it really depends on the person and their preferences.
And of course, it also depends on your school. Some schools may be very strict on GE sequences, and I’m guessing most are more lax. Heck, some schools don’t have any required GEs (called open curriculum, if you’re interested in that).
Actually in general, when it comes to college things keep in mind that a lot of it depends on the school and personal preference. There’s (usually) not a one-size-fits-all answer.