Troubles with traditional school?

Question

I'm interested in getting my bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice but don't know if I should go to a traditional 4 year school or to a technical school like ITT Tech or Westwood College.

I've tried to attend a traditional school in the past but did poorly. But when I went to a technical school for my associate's degree in business I did so much better because the classes were so small.

What does everyone recommend? Should I pursue a education in a environment where I did poorly and hope for the best or go to a technical school but risk not being able to get a job in the future?

I did poorly in a traditional school environment for a couple a reasons: the class sizes were too large, I wasn't interested in my general ed classes, school schedules weren't as flexible, plus its hard for me to go to a class twice a week and remember the material for the next week.

I'm planning to be a crime scene technician with my criminal justice degree.

Answer 1

You might find that, now that you are a little older and more experienced with school from your associates degree, that a 4-year institution or community college environment might work well for you. Instead of dismissing it, why not take one course that you know you could transfer at a traditional school and see how it goes? Schools like ITT are okay, but the field of criminal justice can be competitive, depending on what you want to do. You need to get a good degree, and experience to develop a good resume.

If the one class doesn't work out, then explore other options. Also, large classes aren't always the case at all traditional institutions, so do more research and see what the avg. class size is at some other schools.

Good luck!

Answer 2

What was it about a traditional school that made you do so poorly? Traditional schools sometimes have small classes. Seeing the Westwood, I assume you're in SoCal. Chapman can have small classes. Same with Pomona College.

Subject matter and your interest in it can affect your grades a lot. Same thing with individual teachers.

What do you plan on doing with the Criminal Justice major? See if those jobs even care if the degree comes from a school like ITT Tech or not. They might not.

Answer 3

There's nothing wrong with a technical school. If that's where you do better, you will probably get better grades, and then you will have a better chance at getting a job.