college, degrees, etc.

MidniteRae

What did you get your degree(s) in?

How many times did you change your major?

Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees?

Will you get your Masters or PhD?

Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship?

Was your family supportive?

Anything else you want to say/add in?

Narwhal

What did you get your degree(s) in?
working on bach in Psychology

How many times did you change your major?
So far, this is my third.  I went from Public Relations to Broadcast to Psychology.

Will you get your Masters or PhD?
Definitely. I'm leaning towards a masters in social work, but I'm not ruling out med school just yet.

Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship?
I'm mostly on scholarships, but what they don't cover (and it's getting smaller by the day, it seems) I'm having to get loans for.  My parents aren't paying anything.

Was your family supportive?
Definitely.

Anything else you want to say/add in?
Umm. I love school. And I want to have a good job, but really more than anything i want to be a SAHM.  So I'm struggling with deciding to go to grad school or not.

KD+BC

What did you get your degree(s) in?
BSEd Childhood Education
MSEd. Childhood Education - Technology

How many times did you change your major?
Once, started as an accounting major and realized I was being dumb.

Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees?
Nope, graduated high school June 2002, undergrad August 2002 - December 2006 (stupid major change), Grad school January 2007 - August 2008

Will you get your Masters or PhD?
Have my Masters

Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship?
Undergrad: I was lucky enough to have parents who were able, and willing, to pay half.
Grad: Paid for the first 2 semesters myself, last 3 semesters were paid for by my school district.

Was your family supportive?
Absolutely.

Anything else you want to say/add in?
I'm really glad I went straight on to my masters program and didn't take time off. It's nice to have it all taken care of. Anything else I take would be purely for information sake.

Buggalo

What did you get your degree(s) in?
Working on my BA in media studies.

How many times did you change your major?
I didn't really change my major - I just changed my emphasis within my field (from media history and popular culture to film.)

Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees?
I was considering taking next semester off, but decided against it

Will you get your Masters or PhD?
I might get a Masters. What I want to do, though, doesn't really require one.

Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship?
I got several scholarships that covered a majority of the tuition. Thankfully, my parents are picking up the rest. I'm on my own for grad school, though (if I decide to go).

Was your family supportive?
Not at first. They wanted me to go to one of the public colleges, but I really fell in love with the school I'm in now. They knew if I went to the public college, I'd be miserable. And then I got my acceptance letter to my school with a lot of scholarships, and they decided that they could afford it. Now they are very happy that I'm happy (and happy that I get to keep my scholarships, which depend on keeping up my GPA).

Anything else you want to say/add in?
Sometimes I wish I just major in something practical that I'd be guaranteed a job in. But I wouldn't be happy. -shrugs-

Hope to read everyone else's response!

chipypony

What did you get your degree(s) in?
B.S. Animal Science with once class short of a minor in ecology and evolutionary biology
How many times did you change your major?
Once
Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees?
I took a semester off before starting grad school to work at an aquarium
Will you get your Masters or PhD?
Both, I will have a MSc in Animal Science a PhD in Animal Science and either a MSc in Statistics which maybe up graded to a PhD in Bioinformatics, I am still discussing it with my advisor
Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship?
My parents started off paying, but all the loans are in my name so I am paying those off. I also lived at home and so tuition was much cheaper. Now I am on a full assistantship
Was your family supportive?
Yes very.
Anything else you want to say/add in?
I am not sure what I will do once I actually have to graduate, but at the same time I cannot wait

bethsmiles

What did you get your degree(s) in?
My major is Organizational Communication with a minor in Public Relations.
How many times did you change your major?
I changed my major probably 5 times but I finally got it figured out.
Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees?
I took time off in the middle of getting my degree, just a semester though and I will still graduate at the same time I would've before. So I'm taking 3 1/2 years to get my degree
Will you get your Masters or PhD?
At this point I am thinking no. BF is getting a masters because with Bio its pretty much a must but with my degree experience will get you further than a masters or PhD.
Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship?
My parents are paying, which I am extremely grateful for.
Was your family supportive?
My family is very supportive of all of the decisions I make.
Anything else you want to say/add in?
I love school but I'm really ready to be done with it.

loopy82

What did you get your degree(s) in?
A.A. in Sommunications
B.S. in Housing Studies

How many times did you change your major?
Do you really want to know?
I like like 20.
I started in  mass communications focusing on public relations and advertising. Following in no particular order: criminology, sociology, radiology, communications, public relations, and finally Housing Studies. There may have been some others thrown in there. 

Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees?
Well as you can see above I changed my mind A LOT. I took a year off after getting my associates degree, so from  when I gradutated H.S. to when I got my B.S. degree it was 6.5 years.

Will you get your Masters or PhD?
If I wouldn't put me in more debt I would get my masters. But since I am not thrilled with the $40,000 of student loan debt that I have I will not be going back.

Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship?
My dad paid for 1 year. I paid for the rest.

Was your family supportive?
Of me going to school. I guess. I wasn't really pushed to do anything. However, I was pushed to join the Air Force.

Anything else you want to say/add in?
I went to 4 different colleges in my persuit of my degree. I do not recommend doing this or changing your major 5 times.

sapphirebaby926

What did you get your degree(s) in?
B.S Maritime Administration

How many times did you change your major?
1

Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees?
No

Will you get your Masters or PhD?
Maybe - I've been thinking about going for my masters lately

Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship?
Parents paid

Was your family supportive?
When I was going to transfer to A&M College Station they were 100% supportive but it was at around 50% when I changed my major

Anything else you want to say/add in?
Going to college was probably one of the best decisions I made and I'm glad I got my degree in what I did

ksmith67

What did you get your degree(s) in?
working on a bach in Early Childhood Education with emphasis on Special Education

How many times did you change your major?
This is my 6th major and 2nd school.  I started at a private school studying Elementary Ed, changed to English Education, then Theatre, then Arts Administration(basically teaching theatre). Then I transferred schools to a public school studying Journalism/Public Relations, and now I'm finally back in education. 

Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees?
I took a year off in between schools, so basically I did three years at my first school, took a year off, and now I'm on my 2nd year at the new school.

Will you get your Masters or PhD?
Probably not.

Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship?
I had a scholarship for 1/3 of my tuition at my first school, I've gotten loans for everything else. 

Was your family supportive?
They hate me for going to the public school, but support that I want to finish my degree despite some of the boundaries I've encountered over the past few years.

Anything else you want to say/add in?

Hazel_B

What did you get your degree(s) in?
Economics with and International Trade Specialization

How many times did you change your major?
0

Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees?
Nope

Will you get your Masters or PhD?
Never a Master in Economics but perhaps an MBA someday

Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship?
A combo of my parents, some scholarships and working.

Was your family supportive?
Definitely

Anything else you want to say/add in?
I do co-op education so I moved every 4 months for 5 years while alternating work and school.

Gamette

What did you get your degree(s) in?  I'm working on Psyc, but am about to start the steps to get into the Radiology program 

How many times did you change your major? Three, working on the fourth.  Fashion Merchandising, English, Psychology, and now Radiology

Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees? I've taken a few breaks in my education, fixing to end the last break and start classes again in the fall.

Will you get your Masters or PhD? Probably not.  

Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship? UNT- Student Loans (that are now haunting me), VC- Pell Grants, CBC (that I'm starting in the fall)- I will be paying for it myself.

Was your family supportive? My parents have always pushed for me to get a degree, especially since becoming a mother, so that I can support my kids and myself with no help.

Anything else you want to say/add in? That if anyone has the chance to go to school before having kids, DO IT!  Trying to juggle kids, school and work hasn't been easy and the only reason I'm going back right now is that I have my parent's support.  

desertsun

What did you get your degree(s) in?

English

How many times did you change your major?

Once -- I flip-flopped my major/minor from poli sci/english to english/poli sci

Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees?

Yes. I took a couple years off in the middle.

Will you get your Masters or PhD?

I really want to pursue a Master's in counseling but it's problematic for a couple reasons. Might put it off til after kids are in school. Not sure yet.

Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship?

Parents paid for some, I got loans for the rest.

Was your family supportive?

Very. But I would have done it anyway. It was important to me to get my BA and I'm so proud that I went back and finished it!

Anything else you want to say/add in?

Midnite -- if at all possible, try to get a job at ASU or UA so you can go to school for super cheap!

Ana_2985

What did you get your degree(s) in?
B.S. in  Geology.

How many times did you change your major?
I think 7.  I lost track.

Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees?
I took off one semester between when I finished my Master's and started in a PhD program.

Will you get your Masters or PhD?
M.S. in Earth Science.  I'm currently in a Geoscience doctoral program.  I don't see myself completing this degree.

Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship?
All of the above.

Was your family supportive?
Yes, completely.

Anything else you want to say/add in?
I went to both private and public schools.  The public school system in my state was a million times better.  I will never send my kids to a private school.  Maybe for graduate school, but even that's questionable.

Narwhal

Ana, I go to private school.  It might vary by state, but our private schools are ten times better (at least) than our public universities.  Super expensive, but totally better.  I am planning on going to public school for grad school, but I really like that I'm at a private school right now.

Buggalo

Yup - it totally varies by state. One of the reasons why I did not want to go to public school was because I'd be forced to take tons of classes that have absolutely nothing to do with what I wanted to major in (and I would be one sad gal if I had to suffer through college level math). But that being said, with public school (in NY, at least), you really get your money's worth.

Ana_2985

Yes, I'm sure it does vary a lot.  But where I am from (which is where I hope to live when I have children), the public school system is really great.  The private schools aren't bad either, just not good enough for me to justify the cost.

Edit:  The private school I went to is ranked in the top 15 in the country.  It was great for graduate school.  I really loved it and benefited a lot from the fact that it was a private university.  And there is a certain program there that is ranked #1, I believe.  In that case it would be worth it.  But for the more common degrees that most schools offer, it was nothing special.  In fact, it was pretty appalling.  But, no, I'm not saying all private schools are that way.

PaigeMcC

Ah! What a great idea!

What did you get your degree(s) in? B.A. in PoliSci 
                                                           A.Dp.PR (Advanced Diploma in Public 
                                                                                                               Relations)

How many times did you change your major?None.

Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees?I am currently on a break until I move on to higher education.  I'm getting experience before I move along.

Will you get your Masters or PhD? I want my masters, for sure! Maybe my PhD...

Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship? I was lucky that my parents and grandparents had been saving since I was born.  Degree #1 was a mix of mom & dad, grandparents and scholarships
Degree #2 was me/scholarship

Was your family supportive? Very! My parents are all about education...formal or otherwise.  Mom and Dad were thrilled that I would get an education and they were even more excited when I decided to get a post-grad diploma.  They know I'm considering a masters as well...my dad is jealous;)

Anything else you want to say/add in? To those who are taking PR/Communications/Marketing now...OMFG I love it! My job (although not always exclusively PR/Marketing) is fantastic! I love what I do and it's so much fun.  Good choice!!

Narwhal

I'm having a scholastic nervous breakdown.

Buggalo

Paige - I've been working in PR on and off for the past two years. I LOVE it. What PR do you specialize in?

PaigeMcC

Buggalo - Right now I'm in not for profit - so a lot of publicity, media and fundraising focus.  I'm hoping to get into event management.  That's where my passion is!

leia1979

What did you get your degree(s) in?
B.A. Communication with an extreme minor in music theory and a minor in theatre

How many times did you change your major?
Well, once in that I had to drop my B.A. in music theory down to a minor. I was four classes shy and it wasn't worth the tuition money to finish.

Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees?
Nope.

Will you get your Masters or PhD?
I should probably get an MBA, but I don't really want to spend $80k. I have no immediate plans to go back to school. I now have three years experience in my field (product marketing, though I bounced through a few jobs before I figured out what I wanted to do), so as long as I can stay employed and upward-bound, I don't think I'll be motivated to sink a ton of money into more schooling.

Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship?
I had scholarships and grants to cover about 75% of the cost. I'm fortunate that my parents were able to pay the rest. I lived at home, too, because that saved a lot of money. However, I would have had a far different experience had I gone away to college like my friends did.

Was your family supportive?
Absolutely. There was no question that I would go to college...the only question was which one.

katanne9

What did you get your degree(s) in? BA in Journalism BA in Graphic Design How many times did you change your major? Never! Although I dropped my English minor. Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees? No, I went for 4 years straight out of high school. Will you get your Masters or PhD? No. There is no accreditation program for graphic designers. I could go (for fun!), but it would make no difference in my salary bracket. Portfolio is everything in my industry. If I ever ended up going back to reporting, I would consider it. But I doubt this will happen. Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship? My parents and grandparents paid - the biggest blessing of my life. I am determined to be able to do the same for my children. I also had several small scholarships. Was your family supportive? 110%. They rock. Anything else you want to say/add in? I also attended a private school. Also, I attended a liberal arts school, so I had to take all kinds of classes to complete my degrees (read: Ancient Greek, Nude Drawing, Environmental Sciences, Women's Literature, etc). I loved it!

zipis1

What did you get your degree(s) in?
This Saturday I (had better) recieve my BS in Animal Science, with a concentration in pre-veterinary medicine.

How many times did you change your major?
It depends on how you want to look at it. The school placed me in the wrong major when I first started attending, so I had to wait over a year before they would change it to the correct one. So I was always in Animal Science. Their computers, however, think that I was once Graphic Communication.

Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees?
I'm intending to. Not sure how long, but I really need a break for a bit.

Will you get your Masters or PhD?
One day I shall have a DVM.

Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship?
I paid, and will be paying for a loooong time -_-

Was your family supportive?
Very. I'm the first in my family to ever go to college. They beat themselves up for not being able to help pay for it

Anything else you want to say/add in?
I NAILED my Endocinology final today! Yay!

Ana_2985

I apologize if I offended anyone with my comment about private schools.  I was distracted earlier and did a poor job of explaining myself.  I was NOT saying that all private schools suck and public schools everywhere are better.

What I was TRYING to say was that where I am from, the education and opportunities you can get from the public universities are equal to or better than what you can get at a private university.  Except they are much more affordable.  So I if I have children, it would be great to be able to take advantage of that.

katanne9

Haha! I wasn't offended Ana, nor did I think your original comment was offensive. There are a LOT of fantastic public universities out there. I absolutely agree with you.

chipypony

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_not-engaged-yet_college-degrees-etc?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:136Discussion:4dd253d8-9afd-470f-940c-06cefe336188Post:882912aa-dcad-4745-b3dc-472eb57137d5">Re: college, degrees, etc.</a>:
[QUOTE]Yup - it totally varies by state. One of the reasons why I did not want to go to public school was because I'd be forced to take tons of classes that have absolutely nothing to do with what I wanted to major in (and I would be one sad gal if I had to <strong>suffer through college level math).</strong> But that being said, with public school (in NY, at least), you really get your money's worth.
Posted by Buggalo[/QUOTE]

I avoided taking any actual math class while in college (I took college math in high school). I dropped Calculus as a freshman and just never took it again. Now, that has come up to bite me and I am taking all calc 1 and 2 and multivariate calculus and linear algebra so that I can get into the statistics masters degree. But those 16 credits aren't counting towards the my Animal Science masters so its just extra work. Sometimes I hate myself.

tafft1

What did you get your degree(s) in?
Nothing. I have yet to be able to afford college at age 32. I am not giving up , life has it's ups and downs but I refuse to give up on something I have wanted my whole life.

How many times did you change your major?
I have known I want to be in the medical field with a minor in buisness management since I was 20ish , this hasn't changed.

Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees?
N/A

Will you get your Masters or PhD?
I don't know if I can feasibly at this stage ion my life..but we will see.

Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship?
I had scholarships for nearly a full ride out of high school had I fisnihed , however due to personal reasons/family I had to drop out and lost it all. I had gone to some accelerated private schools and got my opwn stuident loans..and got screwed over because of a bad relationship choice. My own fault , now I have to make it right.

Was your family supportive?
My family was always suppoertive of me continuing my education , even now , the little family I have wants to see me succeed , better late than never.

Anything else you want to say/add in?
It used to affect me , realizing I had no formal education at my age ( 32 in July) , but the reality is it is never too late to complete what you started. Life isn't always as easy as we would like , usually it's much harder , but the fact I have never given up hope to go back and make something of myself proves it is possible. Age is a number that can sneak up on you , but I have to do what is right for me , not everyone else. Many people look down o me because in their eyes I am uneducated and they see me as having no desire or drive. If that was true I would just allow time to pass and not attempt to better msyelf through any means. It will take time but I will do it , on my timetable , not anyone else's.

MeShell1313

What did you get your degree(s) in?
working towards an accounting degree

How many times did you change your major?
none. knew thats what I wanted to be since h.s.

Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees?
yup. went to college for about a year after h.s. decided it wasn't for me at that point and went off to work/travel/have fun (took almost 10 yrs off). Started from scratch in spring of 2009

Will you get your Masters or PhD?
nope

Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship?
my parents paid the first time around. This time I'm paying but I happen to qualify for BoG waver and Pell Grants so the classes aren't costing me out-of-pocket, but the books are killing me

Was your family supportive?
They were not happy when I dropped out but they let me do my own thing. They're happy that I'm back in school now.

Anything else you want to say/add in?
Though as I'm going through classes and whatnot now, I realize how much easier it would have been back when I was younger and had mommy/daddy supporting me, I'm glad I took my own path. I got the chance to do amazing things. I'm still working for the same company as I started wporking for back in h.s. but I've been transfered 2,000 miles away to beautiful, sunny California. Had I not done that, I wouldn't have met the BF, that would be sad
  The idea of finishing school and getting a "grown-up" job still scares me, though

Narwhal

I didn't find your comment offensive at all, Ana.  I was just throwing out there that they're all different.  If our public schools were nearly comparable to our private universities, I'd definitely choose one.  But our state also has some grants that are meant to offset the cost of private schools a little bit. It keeps shrinking every year (hence my rush to get out of there) but at least it's something.

ekathleen684

What did you get your degree(s) in?
BA in Accounting..possibly thinking about an MBA..eek!

How many times did you change your major?
Once, I was going for elementary teaching my first semester

Did you take any time off before getting any of your degrees?
n/a but I plan on getting my bachelors and if I go for my masters I'll take my time and do it a class or two at a time.

Will you get your Masters or PhD?
I wasn't going to but it's only 12 classes so I might.

Did you pay, your parents pay, or did you get a scholarship?
Parents paid for first two years (at a community college) and I get to pay for the rest (at a university).

Was your family supportive?
Yep

Anything else you want to say/add in?
I like tater tots. LOL

Buggalo

Ana - I wasn't offended at all. Some public schools are AMAZING, and some aren't.

Tafft - I think you're amazing! I really admire you for your determination, and I hope everything works out for you.

Chipy - I came into high school with some math credits (I don't know if they are Regents exam in other states - I think it's just NY and CA) but I took the first level of the math Regents in 8th grade. After finishing the second level, I still had half a year of math I had to take to fulfill my graduation requirements. I chose pre-calculus. Lord knows why I did that instead of taking some dumb, BS course like computer coding. Le sigh. Pre-cal was hard.