05-20-2019, 08:03 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-20-2019, 08:05 AM by cookderosa.)
"I really want to pursue Environmental Science or Biology, but it looks like this is hard to do. "
Yes- but it can be done.
"Also, I realize that graduate schools may not accept you if you didn't take labs in person. (Is it possible to take just the labs at a local CC and be alright?)"
This is a myth. I'm sure there are *some graduate schools that will stipulate distance labs not being accepted, but so what? There are thousands of graduate programs, including medical school, that doesn't have that requirement. That's placing a lot of pressure on a degree that will otherwise check all your boxes.
"TESU has BALS with concentration in Natural Sciences/Mathematics but I am not sure this degree will hold weight with employers in the field..."
Which field will you be working in?
"I may be able to take a couple classes through the school's online courses, but obviously trying to save as much money that I don't have as possible."
I believe you'll find many people here who place cost at the top of their priority list too, and while lab sciences do cost more, the way you balance that out is by saving as much money on every non-lab-science course you take. My lab science sequence cost $10,000 and I did it after my TESU degree. Both my AA and BA from TESU combined didn't cost $10k, so money isn't the only thing you have to consider- if you need the classes you need the classes. It would have been more efficient and more cost effective to take them inside my degree, but woulda coulda shoulda....
The best plan is the one you can finish. Hoping to impress every potential future naysayer isn't going to happen. Mark your path and go full speed. Worrying about every potential contingency is a sure fire way to undermine your motivation.
Science sequences take a long time, no question, so why not get started with something you know you need and move from there. General Bio 1 w/Lab through your community college is as good a place as any to start. Summer session is probably starting now.
Yes- but it can be done.
"Also, I realize that graduate schools may not accept you if you didn't take labs in person. (Is it possible to take just the labs at a local CC and be alright?)"
This is a myth. I'm sure there are *some graduate schools that will stipulate distance labs not being accepted, but so what? There are thousands of graduate programs, including medical school, that doesn't have that requirement. That's placing a lot of pressure on a degree that will otherwise check all your boxes.
"TESU has BALS with concentration in Natural Sciences/Mathematics but I am not sure this degree will hold weight with employers in the field..."
Which field will you be working in?
"I may be able to take a couple classes through the school's online courses, but obviously trying to save as much money that I don't have as possible."
I believe you'll find many people here who place cost at the top of their priority list too, and while lab sciences do cost more, the way you balance that out is by saving as much money on every non-lab-science course you take. My lab science sequence cost $10,000 and I did it after my TESU degree. Both my AA and BA from TESU combined didn't cost $10k, so money isn't the only thing you have to consider- if you need the classes you need the classes. It would have been more efficient and more cost effective to take them inside my degree, but woulda coulda shoulda....
The best plan is the one you can finish. Hoping to impress every potential future naysayer isn't going to happen. Mark your path and go full speed. Worrying about every potential contingency is a sure fire way to undermine your motivation.
Science sequences take a long time, no question, so why not get started with something you know you need and move from there. General Bio 1 w/Lab through your community college is as good a place as any to start. Summer session is probably starting now.
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