CCAC is a community college. It offers ASSOCIATES degrees (not bachelors degrees), certificate programs.
It does NOT offer four year degree programs. You also have already completed two years of college. I can’t imagine what you would even take for courses there that would be able to used towards your bachelors degree.
To become a teacher…you need a bachelors degree from a college that gives bachelors degrees and offers a orgram in teacher education. CCAC doesn’t do that.
The only thing CCAC fulfills…it’s affordable. Maybe. Keep in mind, schools,can only award you need based aid that is up to their cost of attendance. So, it’s very possible that you would not get $16,500 a year in financial aid at CCAC.
If you really want to become a teacher…you need to go to a college that is affordable, and has a teacher education program awarding the bachelors degree.
And really…you could get that in West Virginia for a very modest and likely affordable cost.
Also, as noted above someplace…the term younstudent teach…which will be one of your senior year terms, you will not be able to work TWO jobs, and might not be able to work one.
Associates degrees at community colleges are two year programs. This CC does not award bachelors degrees…just associate degrees.
You NEED a bachelors degree, not an associates degree, that includes student teaching, to get a teaching job…and then to get your masters or just teach.
You can’t just jump to a masters degree from an associates degree in education.
I want to be a teacher but also thinking about maybe getting a paralegal degree which initially only take two years to get, and can be done very cheaply as well. My Boyfriend mother did it and it only cost her $4,000 for the two year and she makes great money with bonuses included. My brother is going to school in WV and is still $7,000 short on tution and my parents are sure how to pay for that. I don’t think I’ll be able to finish getting my teaching degree at all after all the information you have given me.
Why is your definition of “good”? In my opinion, as an educator, you need a program where you have some practicum experiences starting now. The “good” teaching programs around here have junior year mini assignments in schools…some observational, some actual participation.
Then there is student teaching as well.
Unless an online school offers these options, I would not call it “good” in terms of your job application prospects in the future. Remember, there will be a LOT…like a couple hundred…applicants for,good jobs in high paying school districts.
You need a teaching degree that is going to give you the experiences needed to be a competitive applicant.
I don’t think becoming a paralegal in Pittsburgh is that cheap. CCAC if it offers it, costs about $8,000 OOS for tuition.
WVU if dorming might be unaffordable, but tuition is $8,000 and not sure how much room and board on campus is. Your brother would get the same $5,000 Pell grant, a few thousand state grant, and a max $9,5000 loan.
That should not leave a $7,000 gap.
Is your brother going to a private school in WV?
What was the school that cost $69? Could he go there? Could you go back there now that your GPA improved.
I don’t think you should give up on becoming a teacher if you want to be a teacher. If you and your brother attended WVU, maybe you could rent an apt together if it’s too far to commute from your parents’ house.
You should have enough aid for that because the tuitioon is only $8,000, probably almost covered by Pell and state grant. Leaving the loan amount of you and your brother for living costs.
My brother got he financial aid package from WVU and the gap was $7,000. No college is cheap. I just want to have a good job and make decent money most about $60,000 a year. CCAC offers paralegal and if $8,000 without financial assistance it would probably be about $3,000 per year which my family could make payments on. Also looking at western governors for possibly perusing teaching online that way I can still get my apartment with my boyfriend.
I don’t think you can do an entire elementary education degree online.
But you can call Cal U and Slippery Rock which are closest and inquire about that, but also about the costs you would have to pay.
I believe non resident tuition (if you qualify for reduction with a 3.0 cum GPA as transfer) is $14,000 per year, and SRU is about 50 min away from Moon PA.
You’d be further ahead to go to WVU and be about the same distance, but less cost.
You have prioritized getting an apartment with your boyfriend over going to college. That’s your right, but you need to understand that any loans you have taken out from your prior years if you aren’t going to school.
Okay I know that but I have talked with my parents about changing my path to becoming a paralegal it’s less time in school and less money and I would still be making good money if I would get into a good firm.
WVU offers online courses and you’d be considered instate. You would have to do the Multidisciplinary Bachelor’s degree with three minors, which, due to your need to continue with the Education Master’s (also available online), would have to be exercise psychology, professional writing, and history - this would cover science, PE, English/writing, and social studies requirements. You need to make sure you’ve taken math (statistics, math for education), too.
It’s $377/credit, for 15 credits =~ $5,500 in tuition. You can keep working in giant eagle and you can share the apartment.
OP, I’m just worried for you because you seem to be changing all your plans for your education and career for a possibly new relationship without knowing how it will turn out in the future. I would hate for you to someday regret it.
I’m also a little concerned about your boyfriend and his family encouraging you in ways that don’t seem to be in your best interest.
I realize I don’t know the full story, but these are the things I’d be concerned about if it were my daughter or my friend.
Teaching is a good career. The salary might not be the highest but the hours and summers off are great for family life, travel, and pursuing other interests.
My boyfriend and I have been dating for 2 years I didn’t meet him at RMU. His parents never encouraged me to change my major and honestly I have seen my own parents struggle with money growing up. I honestly just want to make good money to live comfortably and provide for my family one day. I wanted to be a lawyer when I was younger and paralegal is in that type of field, plus you can work with a good firm and get good benefits.
Paralegal is a disappearing job due to automation and AI (tasks once performed by Humans are now performed by machines). It once was a very good job and likely is great for your mother in law, because she’s been working that job for a while at the same firm. But I don’t think they’re hiring new paralegals. Few firms are hiring paralegals as they used to and almost all hires, as far as I know, now have bachelor’s degrees (I don’t know what in, I assume political science, perhaps business administration???)
Teaching is a good job and it’s not disappearing. Especially if you can get an ESL or special ed certification, it can become a secure middle class job.
First you need a bachelor’s degree. The WVU online degree doesnt have a major but requires three areas of specialization, which is great for a future elementary teacher since you need a strong background in several subjects (English, math, social science, and science.) The three minors I listed combine with general education requirements to make a bachelor’s degree from which you can apply for a Master’s degree in teaching. Depending on the classes you’ve already taken, this should take you about two years. If you plan on teaching in PA though you’d need to get that degree in PA.
One of the things that you must consider, you can’t be going around flittering from program to program because there is a max on the amount of loans that you can take out and there is a max on the number of terms that you can receive Pell. Many good paying paralegal positions (especially at white shoe firms) now want students with bachelor degrees.
I am going to link @zoosermom in on this thread because she does a lot of legal hiring. She can tell you if this would be a good path to take for a well paying paralegal position.
I read about a few jobs for paralegals now and one said it is preferred to have a bachelors degree but not require and the others I looked at said just to have 2-5 years experience in a previous law firm.