I attend Ivy Tech in Indiana and I hate it here because they have no courses in Zoology, Environmental Science,or Meteorology! I can’t get into a University to study these things!
Use the CC to get your general ed credits and basic math & science taken care of. Then transfer to a 4 year college in your state.
Decide what four year college you would like to go to and as the previous poster said, get all your general education credits done at CC. You might also want to check in with your CC advising office because many CC have direct transfer programs to four year schools. That way it will be very easy to get on the right track and move right into your four year school. Good luck.
Seems like you should do an Associate of Science in some related area…for example here it is for Biotechnology:
Associate of Science in Biotechnology
https://wwwapps.ivytech.edu/cgi-bin/curr/gpcurriculum_print.cgi?currlinkid=4525&campusid=4
or Pre-Engineering:
https://wwwapps.ivytech.edu/cgi-bin/curr/gpcurriculum_print.cgi?currlinkid=4509&campusid=4
@booper is BioTechnology similar to Zoology and could possibly transfer into a Zoology program? Would Pre-Engineering give me the appropriate background for meteorology because it Is just as math heavy and requires almost the same courses with only a few differences in curriculum as Engineering? Environmental science has a cross between Engineering and Science!
I can’t speak to the bio or environmental interests, but the pre-engineeing program linked above is pretty similar to pre-atmospheric sciences program my daughter is following. Check the prerequisites for meteorology at your transfer school, too. The
@AroundHere can you tell me what school your daughter attends so that I can research the school and program, compare courses, and see if there courses in the pre atmospheric sciences program are offered at my school?
What I would do is look at your State University (or other universities in your state) that offer your major, and see what the pre-reqs are.
For example, Valparaiso U has a meteorology degree.
http://www.valpo.edu/geography-meteorology/meteorology/degree-programs/
If you look at the requirements for “additional courses” you can see they are what you would take for pre-engineering.
Additional Required Courses 23 credits
MATH 131 Calculus I 4 credits
MATH 132 Calculus II
4 credits
MATH 253 Calculus III 4 credits
MATH 260 Linear Systems and Matrices 1 credits
MATH 270 Ordinary Differential Equations 3 credits
PHYS 141 Newtonian Physics 3 credits
PHYS 141L Experimental Physics I 1 credit
PHYS 142 Physics: Electricity, Magnetism and Waves 3 credits
For Zoology, you would take more of a Pre-biology type course of study.
The first two years for all college students will be focused on taking care of the general requirements. Ask the advisors at your college what 4-yrs schools, particularly in-state, have other accepts their students as transfers.
I mean why can’t Communtiy colleges offer what I want If I’m paying them money to attend there?
Colleges can’t afford to create courses tailored to the individual interests of every single student. Are there any other colleges within commuting distance of your home? If not, take the courses at your current college that interest you the most.
You are at a community college. They only provide foundation courses and then you transfer to finish the degree.
Post #3 shows the programs related to your interests.
You can’t just skip prerequisites and general education and only take upper level classes in your major.
Foundation courses aren’t silly hoops to jump through to get to “the good stuff”. They give you the skills you need to actually do “the good stuff.”
@AroundHere I mean they should atleast have introductory level Zoology,Meteorology,and Environmental Sciences becuase the high school in my town has those courses and If high schools have them,why can’t community colleges have them!
@SuperGeo5999: My son will be graduating from a California UC for Environmental Science. He did not take any Environmental Science courses at the UC until his Sophomore year. As stated by @AroundHere, CC’s provide foundation courses for your major to allow to transfer into a 4 year college and then take upper division major courses.
My son’s first year courses consisted of General Chemistry/General Biology/Calculus/Stats/Geology and GE courses such as Literature/Anthropology/Spanish etc… If you do not like the course offerings at your CC, try to find another local CC if possible that may offer courses more to your liking. Either way, there is no way of getting out of taking these foundation and GE courses if you plan to transfer.
It’s most certainly a matter of money, having the appropriately-trained faculty to teach the courses, and having a critical number of students who want/need to take these courses. A high school teacher would not be expected to have an advanced degree in meteorology in order to teach an intro high school class, but more specialization would be expected of a professor, even at a community college. A community college just isn’t able to do everything…it fills the niche of covering basic coursework that a student can build upon with further studies elsewhere. Try to think of the CC as a “plus” rather than a “minus” until you can get to a four-year school! In the past, I believe there were far fewer CCs, and so any kind of higher education was impossible for many people who could not get to a four-year school. CCs are a sort of a bridge.
If you plug away and do your best with what you’ve got, you will get there. Life WILL get more interesting if you do. If you show dedication to your classes,… even those that you find hard or boring, you may find professors who want to mentor you and help you get to a better place. If you let yourself become despondent over what is not possible right now, you may lose your way. I don’t think you want to stay stuck. Life is just hard sometimes. Keep your long-term dreams in mind while you try to find something interesting in the things you can study now. If you still find them uninteresting, become interested in the fact that YOU are mastering them anyway. These basic courses are the path out.
Just took a look at some of the courses offered at your CC.
You want a Zoology and Environmental Science, take Biology 122. Look at the description::
::: Anatomy,Physiology,Development and Behavior of Animals= Zoology
:::Conservation Biology= Environmental Science
BIOL 122 General Biology II 4 Credits
Prerequisites: Demonstrated competency through appropriate assessment or earning a grade of “C” or better in ENGL 093 and ENGL 083 or
ENGL 095 and MATH 023 or MATH 080. Students will be introduced to those principles associated with evolution, form and function of plants and animals, and ecology. The course will trace the evolution of organisms and explore plant structures, development and interaction with their environment. Students will look at anatomy, physiology, development and behavior of animals and will learn aspects of conservation biology.
Also for Environmental Science, the Ecology Course:::
BIOL 240 Ecology 4 Credits
Prerequisites: BIOL 105, BIOL 107, CHEM 105. This course examines the complex interrelationships between organisms and the natural world. Contemporary issues in population, community and ecosystem ecology are emphasized as they relate to evolution and biodiversity, resource acquisition and resource utilization within an ecosystem. Course content includes competitive exclusion, resource partitioning, trophic status, food webs, succession and biogeochemistry using examples from current and historical literature. Students will be challenged to think about how ecological patterns and processes inform the regional and global issues facing human society.
Not sure what your problem is with your CC. It seems to have a wide variety of courses that would fit into your interests.
@Gumbymom the problem is that courses are only offered at certain campuses! I would have to drive an hour to indiabapolis To take come of these courses! General Biology 2 is offered at my campus but not Ecology!
@Gumbymom Is Geology at UC like Earth Science or is different?
@SuperGeo5999 are any of these courses offered on-line?
I really think you should be more concerned about retaking your algebra class and increasing your GPA so you at least you have the possibility of transferring to some place more to your liking instead of complaining what your college doesn’t offer.
@SuperGeo5999: Geology would be a required course at any university that offered an Earth science major.
I agree with @3scoutsmom, your priority now should be to do well in all your pre-req/foundation courses so you will have several options upon transferring. Once you transfer, you will have at least 2 years to explore the upper division courses of interest.
Best of luck.