Not everyone makes it through school the first time through. Statistics show that 30% of college Freshmen will dropout after their first year. In fact, completing only “some college” is such a typical circumstance that most education surveys include it as a response option. College is expensive, classes are difficult, and life is hard—no matter why you quit, there’s no time like the present to think about finishing your degree.
If you don’t already have a particular career path in mind, or if you don’t want to continue with whatever your original major was, we’ve got three online degrees you should consider that might make it easier to ensure you get to keep all your transfer credits.
Liberal Arts/Liberal Studies
This is a great degree completion choice for students who were originally pursuing any sort of liberal arts degree. No matter what your previous class choices were, chances are most of them will transfer into this major in one form or another. It’s a great idea to review your transcripts from your previous school and talk to someone in admissions or the academic advisor’s office in any college or university you’re considering to see how well most of your credits will transfer.
With a general liberal arts major you’ll often have the opportunity to focus your ongoing coursework on a specific area of concentration while being able to integrate perspectives from many different disciplines like fine arts, humanities, social sciences, and business.
Communications
Communications is a constantly evolving area of social science that encompasses many different concentrations. If your previous school work focused on any liberal arts major, there’s a chance you could integrate what you previously studied into a communications degree. By returning to school with a focus on communications courses, you may be able to let your previous coursework guide you as a concentration. The great thing about communications degrees is that the focus can be narrow or broad depending on your preferences, so at the right school you may be able to really tailor your academic outcomes the way you’d like.
Always contact any prospective school to see which programs they offer and to ask how well your credits are likely to transfer. Be sure to offer a copy of your transcripts to be reviewed by admissions or advisors so you can make an informed choice about any program you’re considering.
Social Science
General and integrated social science programs are available at many online degree granting institutions. The nature of these degrees is inter-disciplinary so they’re a great way to make the most of any previous coursework you may have completed during your first foray into college education. This is another degree where you will likely have the opportunity to shape your coursework around your specific interests as well as your already completed work so that you can graduate with the knowledge concentrations that most interest you.
If your previous coursework was not in a social science related area of academic discipline, you may lose credits, so be sure to plan ahead and find out how well your previous work will transfer into a new program.
