Summer Vacation and Other School Stuff

The girls are out of school for the summer.  Yahoo!  I am as relieved as they are.

On my last day of school I had one of my instructors approach me about participating in a bachelor's degree program at the community college.  One of the state universities has a distance learning program on the community college campus, so I can take all of the classes right there without moving.

One of the main reasons for moving was because I was told only 24 of my previous credits would transfer to Arizona.  I do not want to repeat 36 credits so I was going back to my old school.  However, I found out that universities accept more credits than community colleges do.  (That would have been nice to know way back when!!)   I had my transcripts reviewed and learned the state university will accept all but 8 of my prior credits (mostly religious ones), so we are staying put.  The girls are thrilled and so are our extended family....and our friends.

Yesterday I met with the community college advisement office.  I need to complete the state general education requirements before Fall 2012 so I needed to find out what classes would satisfy the different requirements.  In addition, I found out that I can meet all pre-requisites for the state program AND an Associates degree by next May!  I will have a pretty heavy load for Fall and Spring, but I am closer than I realized.  That is certainly good news!

I will be taking two classes this summer, cramming 16 weeks of study into a mere 5 weeks.  However, these two classes are pre-requisites for all other pre-requisite courses for the state program.  I need them before the Fall and Spring courses can be taken.

I also found out that all my science courses transfer as electives but not as science classes.  The differences in state requirements mandate that I re-take two science courses, this time with labs.  The other frustrating news is that the labs are two and a half hours long each week....in addition to the normal three hours in lecture time each week.  That's five and a half hours of class time for four credits.  Ugh!  But I am determined to make the most of it.  I just have to decide which two classes to take:  chemistry, astronomy, or nutrition. 

While my daughters are celebrating the start of summer vacation, my short summer vacation will be over this weekend.  I start classes again on Tuesday.  However, I am excited because every class I need is now mapped out for me and I will be able to see the progress I make.  I am so excited to get my degree!