Don't know much biology

[cyrano]

So initially I was going to ask "UCSJ or U Santa Clara" but since I am the stupid, I searched for UC Santa Cruz and wow that looks attractive too. So, compare and contrast, students, considering that I'm probably looking at continuing either my History studies or my Political Science studies, or both. I'm leery of Santa Clara because it's not in the UC system and thus probably more expensive.

EDIT: Except of course that there is no such thing as UCSJ and it's SJSU which is still a public school just not necessarily in the UC system and thus possibly an intermediate class of expensive.

Comments

[diony.livejournal.com]

The state university system (SJSU, CSU Hayward, SFSU, etc etc) is much MUCH cheaper than the UC system, so far as I can tell. I am at SFSU (as you know), and it costs a little less than $1500/semester; it would be less if I was going part time.

My impression is that the UCs run more to the $15,000 sort of price range (UCSC looks more like $20k), although my information is limited.

I would suggest you check out all three of the local state universities I listed above; SJSU is probably closer to you than the other two, but I am finding it very easy to go to SFSU two days a week, and it's a nice pleasant drive up the 280.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

You're so cool. (:

[aelfsciene.livejournal.com]

What she said, costwise. There's also weirdness with credits, as in if you have too many you're blocked from the UC system entirely (like me), but I dunno how much you have in your back pocket, there.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

I've got a handful--I was probably a year or two shy of my BA when I left OSU--but I'm thinking of going to FootHill to pick up some of the core stuff first, which may push me even further into the red.

[diony.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, and Santa Clara University -- the private Catholic one -- is also pretty pricy, due to the private. $10k tuition per term, plus fees.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

eeeee.
It'd be nice and all, if money were no object. But it's pretty much totally objectified right now. Hrmmm. Maybe I can major in moneyist studies and talk about the objectification of money in a patriarchal society.

[spenceraloysius.livejournal.com]

Go into science. Then you can get paid to go to school. :)

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Will you be looking for lackeys at your new UIC position? (:

[spenceraloysius.livejournal.com]

Of course!

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Even lackeys who have very little training in science? (They suspect it might be a sort of fruit, perhaps like a banana.)

[spenceraloysius.livejournal.com]

If the lackey is trainable. The best lackeys, of course, are those who do exactly what they are told. :)

[katie-in-london.livejournal.com]

Reguarless of the fact that I am attending a state school, I am a biased snob and given the choice (and more money) would almost certianly attend SCU or another private university... they are harder to get into, thus you wind up with a higher caliber of student and they cost more but that's why you get smaller classes, better trained profs and, thus, more attention.

I disdane SJSU ever since the brief moment in undergrad where I considered transfering and was told I could not due to the fact that I did not have a 'speech class' (I already speak very well, thank you.) but I then watched them proceed to allow to person next to me in, who had not passed the TOEFL!!!!
yep.

:) Thank you for the opportunity to rant, 'preciate it. Good luck and pick the one YOU feel most comfortable at! (Checking out a class in your subject area is always a good idea.)

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Yeah, given the choice, I would too. But I don't think I have the choice--even if I were willing to shoulder the extra debt, I'm an 'older than average student' and I don't know how willing they'd be to pony up for loans that I could afford to repay.
I should probably look into SFSU too.
PS: Hope things are going well for you. Miss seeing you.

[lynthia.livejournal.com]

I went to SJSU, and it was about $1,000 per semester, plus books.

It's a commuter school, which is both good and bad. Lots of choices, night classes, morning classes, it's not hard to find a way to fit in what you need to. Parking, however, is another story... everyone drives, so if you have a class at a popular time, you'd better show up at least an hour early to get a parking spot.

I'm also very Angry about what they did to their library (it's now combined with a public library, which is very nice for the public, but very bad for the college students who are paying for an education), but that's a different rant.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

I've seen the library, and it kicked my ass. Is it just bad because you have to share it with so many other people, or did the move degrade the quality of the library as well?

[lynthia.livejournal.com]

In terms of a library that is good for study, it has lost some things. One of those is that teachers can no longer reserve texts for their students, as I understand it. The books are part of a public collection and cannot be set aside for student use.

There also used to be more than one library on campus, and they were capable of holding several special collections that I've heard there is not space for anymore. The Steinbeck Center may have found a new home (I hope!), but the Bach Collection is probably gone.

And I thought it was kind of dumb to put the quiet study rooms next to the Children's Section, but that's an issue with the layout, not policy.

Mind you, I've never set foot in the place. When I was a student there, the library was in construction, so maybe some things got fixed after I left.

[miss-friday.livejournal.com]

Feel free to ask me questions about this on Sunday, but here's a quick primer.

Private Schools = $20,000+ for tuition

UC = $15,000(?) for "fees" Because you know they just can't bear to call it tuition.

CSU = $10,000 for tuition (if I remember correctly).

Milage will vary by campus. And don't forget to add the significant costs of books and PARKING PERMIT!

I would NOT recommend UCSC if you plan to remain in the Valley. I reverse commute Hwy 17 twice a week and it scares the shit out of me (a cautious, confident driver).

Go you!

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Keep in mind that I still plan to spend (maybe) a year at someplace like Foothill to plug some holes. (How the hell did I get 'incomplete' grades on Western Civ??) But yeah, I'll probably want to ask you stuff on Sunday. (:
And perhaps make a 'scholarly' icon, if this trend keeps up.

[silkiemom.livejournal.com]

For people considering college and costs, I recommend looking into tax information like the Lifetime Learning Credits.

http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96273,00.html#QA9

Up to 20% of qualified educational expenses may qualify for a tax credit, up to $2000. I believe you need to have income to benefit from the tax credit, so this might be good for part time students, or at least for a year in which you have a job before going to school full time.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

I will keep this in mind, although I don't think I've had a year where I've collected enough deduction to make itemizing worth while.

[silkiemom.livejournal.com]

This is a tax credit, not a deduction. This reduces the amount of Federal Income tax you owe.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Ooo! Even better! (: Now I just have to check into what 'qualifies'.

[spenceraloysius.livejournal.com]

I've claimed the Lifetime Learning Credit before. You have to spend at least $10,000 to get the $2000 credit. Everything below $10,000 is 20%. Driving to school is not going to be a qualified expense. :( Qualified expenses are books, tuition, school fees and health insurance (if you carry the school's policy for students rather than one from work or have independent coverage). Parking permit costs won't count unless the credit has changed. If you want to know anything about it, just ask.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Excellent. Thanks for the information.

history

[eeyoresrays.livejournal.com]

Well, there are things you can get out of all of the schools. It shocks me that the UC system seems to be competing with tuition (in state) of a school like Santa Clara. I'd apply to Santa Clara and apply for financial aid.

Santa Cruz might be worth the move.

As a person who went to both systems(UCSB and CSUN)and majored in history in three schools for three successive degrees (but I stopped short of finishing the dissertation in history) I would strongly caution you against pursuing a degree in history unless you are only doing it for the ducation.

It is as limited to one field (education) as any other degree. And unless you get your final degree from a kick ass school (read Berkeley or Stanford from your area)you are very unlikely to be getting a tenure track job AND gettting a PhD is a longer and more difficult process in history.

Science or computer science is probably a much bettet option.

I now teach at a private high school (history) and I coach. It is a lifestyle that has its rewards, but I am having difficulties making ends meet and I am having to seriously consider throwing away my ten plus years of college for this profession and jumping out into a sales force somewhere with 23 year olds and high school graduates who make more money than I do right now. I've got retirement and college for three kids to think about and while I thought until recently it would all work out (even after I have moved to a much cheaper part of the country)but increasingly I am thinking, no, it won't.

Just a few pennies. Hope it wasn't an intrusion.

Re: history

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Not at all. I'm happy to hear advice, especially from those with experience. And Political Science (the other half of my double major) seems to be a little less limited in that I could go into Law or Teaching. I'm just... not certain that, even if I were scientifically inclined, any degree would serve me that much better in the work force. I'd be forty by the time I graduated, whatever the degree program, and I can't imagine any employer interested in starting a middle aged man on a career path. But my view of the future is strongly colored by reading Gibson and watching the world over the past twenty years.

Re: history

[eeyoresrays.livejournal.com]

Even if teaching is your primary goal science is easier to get hired at secondary or post-secondary levels.

In high school coach so and so often gets the class without a command of the material.

Re: history

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Oh trust me, I know. I *had* Coach So And So for many many years. It's one of the reasons that I had no interest in history (outside of going to SCA events and scoping the hot chicks) until I got into college--because of inept, uninterested teachers.