Which college is best?

[VampHeartless]

Okay, so I'm in the Army right now, but I DEFINETELY don't plan on staying forever...

I get out in July of 2006. I'm currently in my second year of college at University of Maryland, with a 4.0 GPA, (About 50 semester hours). Never took the SAT's though. My high school GPA was only a 2.69, so that's why I'm going to college to better my grades.

The plan is to get out and go to college, try to get a Masters degree in social work, and possibly a bachelors in something fun like filmmaking or video graphics type stuff...or journalism/writing, since I'm a really excellent writer.

But...I don't know where I want to go!

Well, I want to go to Harvard, but getting in would be tough, and then paying for it would be murder. So, what are some other alternatives that would challenge me and have good name recognition? I open to pretty much anywhere...but I like places with big cities nearby...can't stand being stuck in the country.

Any suggestions or ideas?

 

[danacara]

Are you a Maryland resident? If so I bet you were getting a really awesome deal. I might stay and save the money for grad school. Otherwise, I might look at Syracuse (strong school of social work), and a couple of smaller schools? Having read your posts, I bet you'd like a smaller school a lot, where there's a lot of nurturing and attachment.

 

[bsnyder]

The price tag is pretty steep but the University of Southern California has the #1 film school in the country. Their Communications school is one of the best also. And it's right in the heart of L.A.

 

[miste76]

First thing that I would suggest.... Look into the state where you signed up, they may offer a tuition incentive. I signed up in Illinois, came back to Illinois after my 4 years of active duty in the army, and now they're paying for my tuition to dental school (about $13,000 per year). I already used up the GI bill but that was extra money in my pocket.
If you don't have any extra incentives... consider staying in the reserves and get incentives through that... or maybe even doing ROTC and going into the reserves after that. There's a lot of opportunities out there. You can get lots of information from your education office!!!
Good Luck!!!

 

[Trinity721]

Hey Vamp! Don't worry, it'll be July 2006 before you know it. I have been trying to help DH look at schools too, and he doesn't get out until May 2007!

I would say that before looking at any schools, decide what you are comfortable with and what program of study you are looking to get into. With your GI bill you should be able to go to a good state university, and with your current 4.0 GPA transferring to a good school should not be hard. I don't know how much the GI bill pays for a private school, but those are other options also. Look into programs that are accredited and have national recognition by the state board. For example, I got my BS in Psychology and the board that accredits Psychology programs/studies is the APA. Many schools these days offer BS/Masters track programs where you can get your BS and Masters in 5 years, instead of only a BS in 4 years.

Do you think you'd be comfortable in a big school, or smaller school? In large universities you tend to get lost in the crowd, lack individualized attention from teachers and I know a lot of students can't thrive in this kind of setting, although there are many who love the big university. In smaller schools, you will have smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.

As for location, I am a little biased... But I think going to school in Chicago was awesome!!! I went to a small private university right on the Lake Shore, very close to downtown (a 15-20min L ride away), a lot of culture and a lot of things to do... when you're not studying of course! Other good schools around here and close to the city are University of Chicago, Northwestern University, University of Illinois Chicago. if you are interested in the Arts, there is the prestigious Chicago Art Institute.

So many options! It's hard to know where to begin. If you have any questions, I would be happy to help you as much as I can, being a recent graduate... It's still very weird to me that I'm not going back this month. But I don't think I'll feel that way once midterms come around.

 

[Dan Murphy]

We have lots of meets here in Chicago. And great schools too, along with nice graduates.

 

[tar heel]

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has top-notch schools of social work and journalism. I went there to major in social work and ended up with a degree in journalism! While it's not in a city, there are two cities nearby although they might not be as big as you would like. Location is great -- mountains or beach in three hours and you can drive to Disney in a day.

 

[Judy from Boise]

Do you have a topic in social work that intrests you ? If so it is never too early to think about your thesis topic. What I would then suggest is have a reference librarian help you check the social services databases, and see which schools are publishing the most research in areas that intrest you.

 

[Jolie C]

How many times do I have to tell you, Vamp???

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN