University Path

Undergraduate degrees are also referred to as post-secondary degrees. That is, they are degrees earned after completedly a secondary education (ie., high school diploma or GED) but before a graduate degree. Undergraduate degrees – bachelor's degrees in particular – usually have a general education, elective and core (major) component. General education curriculum focuses on a breadth of higher education subjects and skills including writing, mathemathics, history and science. Core curriculum includes major coursework required to become proficient in a specific area of study. Elective curriculum, while in line with a student's major, is chosen independently by each student. Undergraduate students attending the same college, regardless of their major, are typically required to complete the same general education courses. Major courses are determined by individual departments and academic colleges. Elective courses are chosen by each student under the guidance of their major department and an academic advisor.

There are two types of undergraduate degrees recognized in the United States: Associate and Bachelor. Associate degrees are offered primarily through community colleges. There are however a few vocational schools and four-year colleges that also offers associate degrees. Earning an associate degree typically requires two years of full-time study. Associate degrees are designed to prepare students for a career, or qualify to pursue a bachelor's degrees. Associate degrees designed to prepare students to pursue a bachelor's degree at a four-year college or university are known as transfer degrees (or academic degrees). Associate degrees designed to prepare students to pursue career opportunities upon graduation are sometimes referred to as occupational degrees. Bachelor degrees are offered by major colleges and universities and are four-years in duration. Bachelor's degrees can be career focused or designed to prepare students for graduate school.

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Colleges have varying policies when it comes to allowing deferring students to take college classes for credit. Many schools put a limit on the number of credits that can be accrued during this period (usually in the neighborhood of six to 12). Some do not permit taking classes for credit at all. So you will have to contact the college you plan to attend to ask what the rules are there. Yet "The Dean" can practically bet the mortgage money that you won't be allowed to rack up a significant number of community college credits during a two-year "deferral" without being expected to reapply to your first-choice school as a transfer. If you're really lucky, however, your college may offer you a "conditional" transfer acceptance but not a guaranteed one (i.e., when you earn a specified GPA at the two-year college, you would be able to enroll as a transfer without reapplying). But this is a long-shot. After spending half your undergraduate career at a community college, your first choice will most likely insist that you reapply.

Of course, since you were already accepted by your top pick, and if you're optimistic that you can be successful at a two-year school, then your money-saving gambit might make sense, even if you have to take your chances with a transfer application down the road. Look up transfer-admission statistics to get a sense of whether admission odds are better, worse, or about the same for transfers as they are for freshmen at this top pick. If you're seeking merit aid, check to see what scholarships — if any — are available for transfers because, as a transfer candidate, you probably won't be eligible for any merit scholarships that you were offered already. Also keep in mind that, a couple years down the road, your ardor for your current first-choice college could diminish, and you might decide to choose a different four-year school instead. Click here to read the full article.