College Program of Career Start?

[Seewhatimesdone]

Sorry if these questions have already been asked but I really need some help!

Hi, i’m interested in doing one of the Disney programs but i’m a little confused as to which one I should choose. I just graduated from high school and the fall applications are closed so I would have to apply for the spring. The thing is, the college program says you have to have a semester of college under your belt to start the program but I don’t understand how you can do the program and go to college when you’re working 45 hours a week.

Do you just tell the college thanks for the semester, i’m leaving now for the Disney program? I’m accepted to the University of Washington but I doubt they would just let me leave for five months to do an "internship" in Florida. They won’t even give me college credits because the "classes" are somewhat laughable. I'm afraid that if I decided to do the career start program instead of going to this college i'm going to end up at a 6 dollar job an hour for the rest of my life. These Disney jobs sound a little like slave labor

So what’s the real difference in the programs? They look pretty much the same except for the one semester of college needed. Should I go to community college for a few semester's and then do the college program?


Any help would be great

Also, do you get to choose which park you want to work in? I'd love to work in Epcot!

 

[CelebrationNM]

You take a semester away from college to do the CP. You tell the university that you will be taking a semester off and they could care less what you're doing; students do it all the time for one reason or another. Some colleges and universities offer course credits for the experience and others do not; it depends on your program. My opinion is that the course credits aren't important compared to the experience you'll get at WDW Resort...so I wouldn't let that keep me away from participating in the CP. Look at the CP experience as an investment in your future.

There are some differences in the roles available to CP and CS participants, but they're basically the same: frontline roles in park and resorts. If I were you, I'd start college at UW and then take a semester off at some point to do the CP, but it really makes no difference.

You may only be making $6/hour in terms of the US dollar, but you'll make your first $1 million in terms of experience after six months of the CP, provided you go in there with an open mind ready to suck up everything like a sponge. Good luck!

 

[DisneyJersey]

Sorry if these questions have already been asked but I really need some help!

Hi, i’m interested in doing one of the Disney programs but i’m a little confused as to which one I should choose. I just graduated from high school and the fall applications are closed so I would have to apply for the spring. The thing is, the college program says you have to have a semester of college under your belt to start the program but I don’t understand how you can do the program and go to college when you’re working 45 hours a week.

Do you just tell the college thanks for the semester, i’m leaving now for the Disney program? I’m accepted to the University of Washington but I doubt they would just let me leave for five months to do an "internship" in Florida. They won’t even give me college credits because the "classes" are somewhat laughable. I'm afraid that if I decided to do the career start program instead of going to this college i'm going to end up at a 6 dollar job an hour for the rest of my life. These Disney jobs sound a little like slave labor

So what’s the real difference in the programs? They look pretty much the same except for the one semester of college needed. Should I go to community college for a few semester's and then do the college program?


Any help would be great

Also, do you get to choose which park you want to work in? I'd love to work in Epcot!

you don't get to choose the park, however, you may request to work there, and they will do their best to accomodate... the career start program is more geared towards recent high school graduates that would like to get some work experience, and also get an idea of what they would be interested to do in college... the cp is more for college students.. you need at least one semester/quarter under your belt, prior to applying for the program..some colleges do give you credit for some courses, i was able to get credit for 1 of the courses since it was a requirement on my curriculum, altho i took it in disney. keep in mind, having disney on your resume may prove to be beneficial, similar to any "most admired company" would be on anyone's resume..

 

[Seewhatimesdone]

Does Disney consider community college in their college program? I was thinking of taking a semester of community college and then trying the college program but I didn't know if they considered that "real" college.

 

[Traveliz]

Does Disney consider community college in their college program? I was thinking of taking a semester of community college and then trying the college program but I didn't know if they considered that "real" college.

Yes they do - in addition the courses they offer at Disney are not "laughable". They are not gen ed classes but are more specialized to the field of hospitality and can be very beneficial and credit worthy to students in the hospitality/theme park line of study. The classes involve papers, group projects and tests just like every college class. In addition they are ACE courses and many colleges will accept them as credit.

Liz

 

[Seewhatimesdone]

Yes they do - in addition the courses they offer at Disney are not "laughable". They are not gen ed classes but are more specialized to the field of hospitality and can be very beneficial and credit worthy to students in the hospitality/theme park line of study. The classes involve papers, group projects and tests just like every college class. In addition they are ACE courses and many colleges will accept them as credit.

Liz

That sounds extremely beneficial.

My plan is this: I want to go to USC or Cal Arts eventually to study film. However, right now spending that much money just to take general ed classes is not possible for me. So I was thinking about taking general education classes for a few semesters at the community college near me, taking a semester break to get some work experience with Disney then coming back and transferring into a private college. That way once i'm done with college i'll have Disney on my resume and getting a job with Disney will be a lot easier. It sounds pretty good to me.