I’m currently in my 2nd year (3rd semester) of community college on track for a AA-T in sociology. I started off with a AS-T in biology but I switched in the spring because I thought it’d be the safer option/cheaper, so I’m a year behind in sociology. I currently work in a biology lab and also just got offered (and accepted) a research internship in the lab and I’m really regretting going over to sociology.
My brother suggested finishing this as just an AA, then going back to CC to get a biology AS-T and continue my undergrad as a biology major. Would this be possible? I’d have a lot of credits and I’m worried that I can’t transfer even if those credits have been applied to an AA. Should I just switch to biology now? I’m just concerned about the 70 unit limit that California universities have.
On that note, if I were able to go through with this plan, would I need to complete my GEs again or could I just prep for the upper division courses?
(Money is a bit of a concern but I will take loans if it means I’ll be fulfilled in my career)
The CSU’s and UC’s cap all lower division units at 70 semester/105 quarter units so as long as you are at a CC, you are not in danger of having too many units. Any units over the cap which are lower division (CC units), will be given subject credit.
If you want to pursue Biology, then I would just finish the major course prep and GE’s for transfer. An AA-T is not required but it can give a bump for your local CSU and it only guarantees you a spot in the CSU system if you are not admitted into your choice CSU’s. The redirection campuses for AA-T are usually campuses such as Channel Islands, Dominguez Hills, Humboldt etc…
No advantage for the UC system with an AA-T.
Bottom line, finish up your transfer requirements and apply for transfer for Biology if that is what you want. Good luck.
Instead of getting college advice from your brother you’d be better off visiting the transfer center at your CC. They undoubtedly have handouts and workshops explaining transfer options, they have counselors there to answer questions, and they are regularly visited by UC and CSU counselors that you can meet with. Depending on your gpa you may be eligible for guaranteed admission to a UC campus thru the TAG program. The CSU in your local service area may also a more-or-less automatic admit.
Working in the Bio lab is great experience. As you’ve probably noticed the jobs with more potential for advancement and better pay typically require a PhD so you should factor that into your career plans. Visiting the Career Center at your CC would also be a good move.
This is my reaction also. I think that the experience you get in the biology lab will be important. I agree that you should talk to academic advisors and/or transfer advisors at your CC. However, to me if you want to do biology, then you should do biology.
One daughter was a biology major, and currently is working with just a bachelor’s degree. I have heard that people with just a bachelor’s degree in biology and no other education typically have trouble finding a well paying job. However, her experience was pretty much the exact opposite. I think that the reason was specifically the large amount of lab experience that she got while she was an undergraduate student. This can be quite valuable. Some of her coworkers only have a bachelor’s degree, some also have a master’s degree, and some have a PhD. Typically the direction that research is going to take gets decided by the PhDs, but the people with just a bachelor’s degree do have good jobs that pay pretty well (not quite as well as a bachelor’s in computer science, but closer than I would have expected).
I think that you should be able to undo this switch. Talk to the person that you work for in the biology lab, and to an academic advisor.