I plan to major in Chemistry and am currently working on an AS-T1 degree at my local community college. In Fall 2024, I will be transferring to a 4-year university to complete my Bachelor’s degree. Since my focus at the moment is to complete the set course requirements to earn my transfer degree, I haven’t had much opportunity to explore and decide what specific branch of Chemistry I want to major in.

Because of this, one of the most important things I look at is the variety of science classes being offered at the university. I will need to take electives of some sort to meet the 180-credit minimum that most colleges require to earn a Bachelor’s degree, and I intend to put those electives to good use by attending different branches of science and chemistry classes and learning what topics interest me the most. This step is especially crucial for me to also determine my career path down the line, as I don’t have any specific “dream job” that I’m currently aiming for. I’m learning about myself and my interests to decide what I want to do in the future, and as I continue to grow and experience different areas of study, I want to feel confident in my choices and prepare myself accordingly.

After the list of options has been narrowed down based on class availability, the next thing to look at is the professors. I struggle with a learning disability and other mental disorders, and I want to be sure that the majority of professors that I have to choose from will be ones that are actually invested in their students’ success, have a proper and organized curriculum that they teach, availability outside of class for office hours, and their willingness to provide or abide by accommodations that a disabled student needs. There will always be a few bad apples wherever you go, and I’ve experienced first-hand what some of those classes can be like – it’s a frustrating experience for everyone involved, and an unnecessary obstacle that students shouldn’t have to face when they’re investing so much time and money towards their own education. For this reason, in each required class that I will be expected to take to complete my Bachelor’s degree, I look at the college’s past class schedules to see what professors have taught those classes previously as they are all potential choices when I begin attending there, then look at their teaching history and reviews they’ve received over the years. I’ll know which professors to avoid, and which ones are the best to go with, no matter what choices are offered each quarter. I’m working full-time and fighting tooth and nail to earn my degree, and I refuse to let a checked-out professor that doesn’t care about what they’re teaching and bitter towards the world get in the way of that.

The two above are the main criteria necessary when I select a college, because they’re both extremely important to me and for me to succeed when I’m already fighting against daily adversities. Aside from that, having the college be in my home state is necessary since I’m working on a transfer degree, so I need to attend somewhere that has a Direct Transfer Agreement with my community college to ensure none of the classes I have taken thus far go to waste. I want to do everything in my power to succeed and plan to keep working hard to make sure that happens.