Confused about transfer programs at community college....?

Question

The liberal arts course that I am looking at taking says that it is a transfer program. I understand that this means it is to prepare you to transfer over to a four year program at a university, but what if I am just looking to get an associates in liberal arts and don't want to make the switch to an expensive university?

Answer 1

The transfer program only includes courses that can be transferred to a senior college. Community colleges also offer a lot of classes that are vocational/technical in nature that won't generally transfer up (such as basic carpentry or auto mechanics) and these aren't included in the AA curriculum.

Very often, you can enroll in an AAS liberal studies program that will let you take those types of classes in your associates degree program and is often more generous in degree requirements. It might be called Occupational Studies or something similar.

The requirements for an AA are more than just to qualify for transfer - the implied consideration is that an AA holder has taken a solid liberal arts core of courses at the same level as the first two years of a four-year program. An Associate of Arts is usually not a terminal degree like an AAS in HVAC might be.

If there are courses you want to take that aren't included in the AA curriculum, you can just take those as excess. If there are AA required courses that you don't want to take - not much can be done about that unless they offer alternatives.

Have fun! Go learn cool stuff.

Answer 2

Don't just stop at the associates, getting your bachelors is very important and will pay off much more than an associates ever will.