Promotion -- TEXTBOOKS! And Tuition And Such

I should see if I can get websites to pay me for the advertising I do, because I feel like I'd do a pretty darn good job about it. On one of my other blogs (A Struggling, Starving Author), I have written two posts about how amazing the website Critique Circle is -- and it is fantastic for someone wanting to write stories and get the opinions of others on their work! I use it on a VERY regular basis, though I feel like I should do more critiques to help others out...

ANYWAY. This promotional blog post is for the college side of things (which, obviously, is why it is making an appearance in my To College and Beyond blog). At this point, I don't honestly remember what I've written about textbooks and whatnot, but I'm going to do a little breakdown here of what my own personal tuition has looked like in the past compared to how it is now, along with what it could be (you'll see what I mean as we continue through the post).

2014-2015 Academic School Year Tuition at South Dakota State University:

If you would like to, for more clarification, refer to one of my previous posts, you will notice that I did not take the normal Freshman's workload my first year (2014-2015). I brought with me about 25 credits (including all english (6 credits), speech (3), math (3), a LOT of Spanish (12)) in with me to school. All except for math and speech were earned through some means during high school, whereas math and speech I took over the summer before college began at a community college in my hometown. Because the community college was in my county, I paid about $75 per credit hour, so that saved me quite a bit of money beforehand. Overall, I probably paid about $550 for the 24 hours I already had going into my Freshman year. That being said, here's what I paid August 2014 - May 2015.

Semester 1:

2014FA	08/25/14		SGAF5	S-General Activity Fee FY15	420.00
2014FA	08/25/14		SLGEO	S-Lab Fee Geography	56.40
2014FA	08/25/14		TUNRS	Tuition UG NonRes SDSU	3,123.00
2014FA	08/25/14		USF5R	Uni Support Fee FY15 MSU	1,699.50
Subtotal Current Registration Charges					5,298.90
Current Other Charges
2014FA	08/25/14		SFSRD	S-Food Plan Silver Flex Def	1,511.80
2014FA	08/25/14		SHBRW	S-Residence Hall Brown	1,607.20
Subtotal Current Other Charges					3,119.00
TOTAL CURRENT CHARGES					8,417.90

So, this is to say I paid $420 in activity fees (which includes access to all home sporting and most on-campus events like talks, concerts, and fine arts performances, in addition to access to the on-campus workout facility and wellness center with free doctor visits when sick, free pregnancy and STD testing, etc (blood tests, other similar tests, and prescription are discounted, but not free). No. Not all (not even close) services were used.

I paid $56.40 for my required science lab.

I paid $3,123 for out-of-state tuition (meaning what I paid for 15 credits worth of classes)

I paid $1,699.50 for, honestly, I have no idea what. More tuition? I don't know. But I had to pay it, so I did.

In addition to all of that (subtotal $5,298.90), I had to pay for at least $1,511.80 (the lowest amount I could purchase at the time) for meal plan that I could use at any food location on campus (the union, the cafeteria, the dairy bar, etc.).

I then also had to pay $1,607.20 for my dorm room in the absolute CHEAPEST hall on campus.

Subtotal for room-and-board and meal plan: $3,119.

Pre-total for Semester 1: $8,417.90. Now throw in a $500-per-semester scholarship:

SR261	Yellow & Blue Schl	2014FA	A	500.00
	Total			500.00

Official total for semester 1: $7,917.90

THIS IS WITHOUT TEXTBOOKS. I can't honestly tell you how much I did end up paying for textbooks. But I CAN tell you that it was roughly $450 because I bought most, if not all, of them my first semester through the university bookstore.

Semester 2:

CURRENT CHARGES (01/12/15 through 05/08/15)
Current Registration Charges
2015SP	01/12/15		SGAF5	S-General Activity Fee FY15	392.00
2015SP	01/12/15		SSUIN	Tuition UG SS Internet	938.70
2015SP	01/12/15		TUNRS	Tuition UG NonRes SDSU	2,914.80
2015SP	01/12/15		USF5R	Uni Support Fee FY15 MSU	1,586.20
Subtotal Current Registration Charges					5,831.70
Current Other Charges
2015SP	1/12/15		SFBFX	S-Food Plan Bronze Flex	1,325.80
2015SP	01/12/15		SHBRW	S-Residence Hall Brown	1,607.20
Subtotal Current Other Charges					3,119.00
TOTAL CURRENT CHARGES					8,764.70

Here we go. I paid:

$392 for general activity fees

$938.70 for Internet? They nickel and dime ya.

$2,914.80 for out-of-state tuition.

$1,586.20 for another something that I have no idea what exactly it went toward.

Subtotal: $5,831.70

In addition to that, I paid:

$1,325.80 for meal plan -- I was able to downgrade my meal plan, but I still found myself with WAY more money than I needed and had to buy random junk from the C-store (on-campus convenience store). Let's just say I won't need to buy new razors/razor heads for another year.

$1,607.20 for my dorm room.

Pre-totale for semester 2: $8,764.70

After $500 scholarship: $8,264.70

Against, THIS IS BEFORE TEXTBOOKS! We're going to assume I paid $400 for textbooks second semester. This is using Amazon in addition to the bookstore.

EVERYTHING CONSIDERED -- I paid a whopping total of $17,032.60 for my first year of college, not including what I paid the summer before OR the summer after. With the summer before and all the credits I brought in, it would calculate out to be about $17,582.60.

Now, this summer I took two online classes through SDSU. I didn't pay for anything except for the tuition itself. 

Current Registration Charges
2015SU	05/11/15		SSUIN	Tuition UG SS Internet	1,951.50
Subtotal Current Registration Charges					1,951.50
Current Other Charges					0.00

Pretty straightforward, I had to pay $1,951.50 for TWO summer classes (about 6 credits). Adding THAT to my first year's tuition, I've already paid $19,534.10. Add in the amount of money I had to pay for textbooks (I actually didn't have traditional textbooks this summer luckily, I just had to spend about $20 on two short novels for my Spanish class), that brings it up to $19,554.10.

I HAVE SPENT JUST UNDER $20,000 ON MY FIRST YEAR ALONE AT A UNIVERSITY THAT IS ONLY A MIDDLE OF THE ROAD INSTITUTION. THIS ISN'T EVEN A TOP NAME SCHOOL.

Now, for the good stuff:

I'm living off campus this year, so that takes out room-and-board AND a meal plan (although I'm still paying probably more than I should for that, it's not coming out of my college fund. I will make a separate post about what my personal expenses for off-campus living and share it back here in a little while).

Semester 3:

2015FA	08/24/15		SGAF6	S-General Activity Fee FY16	508.50
2015FA	08/24/15		SLINS	S-Liability Insur	5.00
2015FA	08/24/15		SPFMU	S-Music Course Fee	15.00
2015FA	08/24/15		SPFPY	S-PHYSICS Course Fee	240.00
2015FA	08/24/15		TUNRS	Tuition UG NonRes SDSU	3,255.75
2015FA	08/24/15		USF6R	Uni Support Fee FY16 MSU	1,761.75
Subtotal Current Registration Charges					5,786.00

Okay. So, I will pay:

$508.50 for general activity fees (oh, how we all love inflation)

$5.00 for liability. LIABILITY.

$15.00 for the music I'm taking -- that's a new fee that wasn't there last year. Still, $15.00 isn't too much of a hardship.

$240 for the Astronomy (physics) class I'll be taking, most likely for lab expenses. Note that all science labs cost extra even though they're required. What fun.

$3,255.75 of out-of-state tuition.

$1764.75 of something-or-another.

Somewhere in these numbers DOES include a ~$165 parking permit that allows me to park in certain lots on campus.

Pre-total before scholarship for Semester 3: $5,786.

After $500 scholarship: $5,286. DO CHECK TO SEE, IF YOU WILL RECEIVE A SCHOLARSHIP, IF YOU NEED TO RENEW IT EVERY YEAR!!! I ALMOST DIDN'T RECEIVE MINE BECAUSE I WASN'T AWARE IT NEEDED TO BE RENEWED YEARLY.

NOW -- here's where my little promotion kicks in:

If I had bought my textbooks from either the university bookstore or Amazon alone, I would've spent roughly $400, as I did last year. DO. NOT. DO. THIS. Do yourself a favor and check every possible alternative, or better yet:

GO TO SLUGBOOKS.COM

I used slugbooks.com tonight to order my textbooks and, thanks to this wonderful website and especially thanks to Abebooks.com, I was able to cut that down to $233! So, instead of my grand total of tuition being all the way up to $25,220.10, it's only $25,053.10. Now, I know in the big scheme of things it doesn't look like much, but if you total it out over four years, if you save about $200 per semester, so up to about $400 a year (depending on if you take summer classes or not, this case assuming not), that's up to $1,600 you save yourself. For the people who'll be paying $50,000 a year, $1,600 is nothing. But for someone like me who is absolutely beside themselves for having spent just over $25,000 in a year and a half of college, most likely to double that in another year and a half, though still little, $1,600 means I'll be that much less in debt when I graduate. Luckily, my parents were wise enough and I fortunate enough to save about "3-years of in-state tuition" for me. However, I'm attending a university that is about equal to or even slightly cheaper than in-state tuition, so... I might be able to graduate with less that $10,000 in debt! Which would be fantastic. I don't like the thought of not having money. Or owe-ing people. Especially when "people" means the government.

Anyway. That's that. So.

Enjoy.

Second Half of Summer

I've officially done it! I have finished my second summer class! And believe me, it was no walk in the park! Here's my review:

SPAN 330: Spanish Reading/Writing Communication --
This was a 5-week course taught online. I think it goes without saying that this class was difficult! First of all, the class was FIVE WEEKS! That's all the information and work you would normally do in at least SIXTEEN WEEKS in less that HALF the time! WHEW! On top of that, it was entirely in Spanish! ¡Que fabulosa! But really. We had to read two books (Cajas de Cartón by Francisco Jimenez, and La Muerte y La Doncella by Ariel Dorfman). They were both very good books of about a middle school-equivalent reading level. But, for where I'm at with learning Spanish, they were about at or just above my reading/comprehension level. We also had to write a 4-page research paper in addition to discussion posts weekly, a weekly "diario" which was about a full length, single-spaced page about a predetermined topic, and about 2-4 weekly quizzes. Although this class was required for my major, I would definitely suggest to anyone else who's learning Spanish to take this class if and when they can because I found it to be extremely helpful in making me speak and use the language, despite it being online.

Suggestions

I have two somewhat contradictory suggestions that I've learned from experience:

1. Take classes during the summer. This will help make both the semesters lighter (you won't have to take as many hours) and it'll help you get ahead in your degree (even if just by a little bit).
2. Make time for yourself. I always tell myself that if I sit around and do nothing all summer, I'll get bored and start slipping into a depression. This is true, if I don't do anything for a number of days in a row (as in, lounging around at home; this doesn't apply for vacationing), I do get depressed. However, I think I would have been perfectly fine had I not taken the two summer classes I'm taking right now (on a personal stand-point, of course. Not on an educational one. I needed to take those two classes this summer from the educational side of things).

If you're like me, you're always planning and thinking about what you need to get done next. If you could, you'd plan out exactly what classes you're taking and when for the rest of your time spent in school/college. However, college doesn't work that way. Most colleges only let you plan your schedule one semester in advance. I'm lucky because at SDSU, we get to plan our whole year out during the Spring semester.

This also means that you're pretty close to figuring out what you DO need to take, at least generally, before it comes up. So, if you have the chance (and the endurance) to figure all that stuff out, I suggest looking into summer classes, especially if they'll help you get done early. For some reason, people have this idea that college is the best years of their lives. I say that's a bunch of pathetic crap. If this is as good as it gets, please, God, let this life be done! I don't know about you, but spending at least 15K a year to sit around and half-ass classes that more often than not have nothing to do with my major isn't my idea of "the best of times." So that's my rationale for my 1.

Rationale for 2: If you spend all your time with your nose in your books, you miss out on a lot of great experiences and a bunch of great people. Sometimes the bad times and the bad people are even good for you. Even they help you grow into a better, more developed you. So make sure you take time to breathe. Also, being too focused on school may get you graduated, but it's the time away from the books that help you get a job. Being involved and knowing people and living life is what employers like to hear about. They don't want to know about how well you got to know Jan from the library every Friday night.

Anyway. That's my thoughts for the evening.

First Half of Summer

Like I said in my last post, I'll try to keep you all updated on how each class I've taken has gone. This summer I'm taking both ARTH 100 - Art Appreciation and SPAN 330 - Reading/Writing Skills. Art lasted from around May 29th until June 26th. My Spanish class just started yesterday. So, I'll write a review of art, then when I finish my Spanish class, I'll review that, as well.

ARTH 100 - Art Appreciation ONLINE
This class, for a six-week condensed class, was phenomenal. I have never taken an online class and enjoyed it so much (I've taken 4 online classes, two in high school, two in college. Spanish will be the third online I'll have taken in college). The professor, Dr. Larry Taylor, though a little dry at times, did an amazing job with providing actual lectures to listen to online, not just a PowerPoint to flip through. He also had quizzes weekly with some very entertaining questions and answer options ;) Surprisingly enough, I would totally take this class again!

Spanish to come in the beginning of August.

End Of The Year Into Summer

Hello one and all for whoever, for whatever reason, read my blog! I just finished my first year of college at South Dakota State University one week ago yesterday, and I feel pretty good! Honestly, though, it wasn't my best semester. All my other freshmen friends are talking about "finishing the semester strong" -- and let's never forget to mention the high school best friend keeps bragging about finishing with a 3.97 (but we're not gonna mention that literally the only classes she's taken A.L.L. Y.E.A.R. were music classes. That's totally not relevant at all). I, on the other hand, did not finish the year with a 3.97; my semester GPA was a miserable 3.1 and, for me, that is an absolute disgrace! But, then again all things considered, it could've been a lot worse! Plus, I technically didn't fail any classes (meaning no retaking anything, meaning I'm still on the same track for finishing at the end of my third year!!!).

Here are my year opinions (since I didn't do this last semester, I'll be having to do this for both semesters, but in the future, I will divvy them up by semester):

Semester 1:

Freshman Seminar (UC 109)--
This class was required. So, I'm really glad I got it done and over with. Not that I had a choice, but still. Would I ever take it again? That's a fat no. It was quite honestly the biggest waste of time and money. However, it's an easy GPA booster, so am I glad I took it regardless? I'd have to say yeah.

Spanish Speaking Skills (SPAN 310):
This class, based on the class itself, was decent. The material was good review and it was good getting to get over the material before moving on to harder classes. However, the best part of the whole class was the professor. Luiza Adamyan was quite possibly the best professor I had the whole semester. She makes the class very friendly and inviting and non-intimidating. I would 100% recommend signing up for her classes and, because I loved her teaching so much, I made sure to take from her again each semester this coming year! WOO!

Physical Landscapes (GEOG 132-132L):
Okay, let's get one thing straight: I don't handle "required" classes well whatsoever. They give you pretty good freedom everywhere else in your life in college, except with like, three classes they don't have high enough enrollment in. This, my friends, was one of those classes. Though honestly, if you got yourself beyond the bitterness to study a little (which was an honest struggle for me), it really wasn't that bad. Well... If you know how to study and/or had a similar class in high school. Apparently, I was one of the kids with the highest grade (I had a B- and the prof was trying to convince me to minor/major in the stupid field! Not my cup of tea). So, that being said, glad it's over, wouldn't recommend, wouldn't take again (but please note that I'm in no way, shape, or form a geography person or geology [which was really more what the course was about] or any kind of earth, rock, history, science person, so this class was all kinds of wrong for me. I would've done better in Chemistry than this class. Just sayin'.)

Music Literature and History I (MUS 130):
This class was nothing like I imagined. It really did bore the crap out of me (again, history... not my thing.), but that being said, I secretly enjoyed the weirdo music she had us listen to. So, not really much more to say about this one. Would I take it again? Meh. I wouldn't hate it.

Human Development - Adolescence (HDFS 337):
This class, for having little to do with my major (and having close to zero potential for jobs), was quite possibly one of my favorite classes I've ever taken! I am trying as hard as I can to squeeze in a few more classes like this because I had so much interest in it (just the right amount of psychology info mixed with straight-up facts and videos). 100% would take again, especially from the professor, Amber Letcher.

Women's Choir (MUEN 103/303):
So, okay. I was in three choirs in high school and was a choir N E R D, and I'm pretty proud of that! I also had three different choir directors in four years of high school. So coming to SDSU and changing directors wasn't so much of a big deal. The problem was I went from having these wonderful, flamboyant teachers that were serious about tone and expression and all the other important details of singing to having a very professional, very great, but also very polite choir director (if you know what I mean). I took it again in the Spring and am going to again this Fall (I would the following Spring as well if I could, but my schedule conflicts, so I'll most likely return the following Fall). So, yes, it is a great experience and release from the day, but if you're looking to continue what you had in high school choir, if it was different from a very down-to-business attitude, this may not be the best class for you.
http://www.sdstate.edu/resources/directory/directory-detail.cfm?view=detail&ci=4329

Semester 2:

Latin American Language and Culture (SPAN 432):
The professor, Jose "Pepe" Alvarez, was absolutely amazing. He is very approachable and more than happy to help if you need it. He gives great feedback and makes every effort to help you understand if you come to him with the need (he looks intimidating, but believe me -- he's a lovable guy [not to mention he's really really short!]). The class itself was very interesting to me personally -- until the late middle/end of the semester when we started talking politics. Again. Not my thing (yes, I have a lot of subjects that "aren't my thing" -- I get it).

Spanish for Health Professions (SPAN 308):
What I thought this class was going to be was essentially a how-to-be-a-medical-interpreter. This is not the case; however, it is a great start! I learned so much about the medical field (I was absolutely clueless) and also a bunch of new Spanish vocab that I totally should've learned in middle school (like body parts and whatnot), but also about hereditary diseases, mental illnesses, other diseases/disorders/ailments, medications (classifications, etc) and it was just very eye-opening. Also, we had a small class of about 12 girls plus the female prof, Macarena "Maca" Escondrillas. Great prof! I'm already taking another class with her this summer, Spanish 330 (Reading/Writing Skills), so yes I would definitely recommend taking classes from her!

Dance Fundamentals (DANC 130):
This class was the best decision I've ever made. Really made me happy and I ended up making quite a few friends (which was a big change from last semester)! So, really I have nothing more to add. Melissa Hauschild-Mork (aka Mel) was amazing and was like a mom to all of us! So glad I got the opportunity to take this class!

Native American History (HIST/AIS 368):
This class was surprisingly worse than Geography. How, I don't know. All I have to say about it is that I passed and it was required for education.

Courtship and Marriage (SOC 250):
This class gave me a little trouble because, well, I really didn't care enough to read the textbook. The quizzes were all un-timed and open-note, but some questions were confusing and poorly worded. The final was more application questions of the previously asked quiz questions, but those ones ended up being trickier than I expected. The prof was really good though. He also teaches criminology and, if I had more time in my schedule, I would totally try to take that class.

Intro to Psychology (PSYC 101):
This class I took online and it was a horrid experience. I got a B in the class, so not a horrible grade, but it was definitely a struggle and I wasn't sure I was going to pull it off. We had a lot of consistency problems from the online textbook to the homework questions to the quizzes. I would say if you have to take this class, definitely take it in-class because there's much less work and it's much easier!

Choir: see above.

All in all, the year I would say was a pretty good one! I'm very excited to get to going with my next year; all I need now is a ski mask and some more long johns, and I'll be ready to go!

UPDATE

This is an update to my last blog post about getting done in two and a half years -- yeah, that's not happening. BUT!! I will be graduating at the end of my third year. What I realized this semester is that 17 hours is WAY too many for me to handle. 15 is just right for me! But, anyone who follows my blog might be able to tell, I love planning. And how does my school accommodate for my addiction to future planning? They give me the ability to plan my next TWO semesters when I get to register instead of just for the fall. (Okay, they're giving everyone this ability at my school, but it still makes me incredibly happy!)

So, what am I going to be taking next year, compared to what I previously said?

Last time (exactly two months ago, ironically enough) I said:

Fall:

Educational Psychology (EPSY 302, Teacher Education, [3 credits]Foundations of American Education (EDFN 338, Teacher Education, [2 credits])
Computer-Based Teaching and Learning (EDFN 365, Teacher Education, [2])
Human Relations (EDFN 475, Teacher Education, [3])
Spanish Culture and Civilization (SPAN 433, Major Course/Literature Elective, [3])
Introduction to Latin American Literature (SPAN 355, Literature Elective, [3])
Women's Choir (MUEN 103, Humanities, [1])

Spring:

Phonetics (SPAN 340, Linguistics, [3])
Introduction to Spanish Literature (SPAN 353, Literature Elective, [3])
Middle School Philosophy and Application (EDFN 427, Teacher Education, [2])
Supervised Clinical/Field Experience (SEED 314, Teacher Education, [1])
5-12 Teaching Methods and Lab (SEED 420-420L, Teacher Education, [2]
Reading and Content Literacy (SEED 450, Teacher Education, [2])
Special Methods (MFL 420, Teacher Education, [3])
Study Abroad Prep (MFL 399, Study Abroad, [1])

How it has changed:

Summer:

Reading/Writing Communication (SPAN 330, Major Requirement, [3])
Art Appreciation (ARTH 100, Humanities, [3])
Biology Survey (BIOL101-101L, Natural Sciences, [3])

Fall:

(Key: Changed Semesters, Class Isn't Being Offered, Class Removed From Plan, Class Added)

Educational Psychology (EPSY 302, Teacher Education, Professional Semester 1, [3 credits]
Foundations of American Education (EDFN 338, Teacher Education, Professional Semester 1, [2 credits])
Spanish Culture and Civilization (SPAN 433, Major Course/Literature Elective, [3])
Introduction to Latin American Literature (SPAN 355, Literature Elective, [3])
Special Methods (MFL 420, Teacher Education, [3])
Women's Choir (MUEN 103, Humanities, [1])
Intro to Astronomy and Lab (PHYS 185-185L, Natural Sciences, [3])

Total: 15 hours

Spring:

Human Relations (EDFN 475, Teacher Education, [3])
Computer-Based Teaching and Learning (EDFN 365, Teacher Education, [2])
Phonetics (SPAN 340, Linguistics, [3])
Introduction to Spanish Literature (SPAN 353, Literature Elective, [3])
Middle School Philosophy and Application (EDFN 427, Teacher Education, [2])
Supervised Clinical/Field Experience (SEED 314, Teacher Education, Professional Semester 2, [1])
5-12 Teaching Methods and Lab (SEED 420-420L, Teacher Education, [2]
Reading and Content Literacy (SEED 450, Teacher Education, Professional Semester 2, [2])
Study Abroad Prep (MFL 399, Study Abroad, [1]) (I may be about to remove this - I don't know if I'll need this or not. If I do need it, it will stay on here. If not, then it'll be taken off.)
Topics (SPAN 492, Spanish Culture/Literature Requirement, [3])
Family Relations (HDFS 241, Elective, [3])


Total: 16 (or 17, depending on that Study Abroad credit)

The following year has yet to be decided officially, but it should look something like this:

Summer:

Study Abroad (with 6 credits of course study)

Fall:

Reading and Content Literacy (SEED 450, Teacher Education, Professional Semester 2, [2])
Supervised Clinical/Field Experience (SEED 314, Teacher Education, PS2, [1])
5-12 Teaching Methods and Lab (SEED 420-420L, Teacher Education, PS2, [2])
Spanish Civilization and Culture (SPAN 433, Literature Elective, [3])
Human Development: Childhood (HDFS 227, Elective, [3])
Family Studies (HDFS 241, Elective, [3])
Women's Choir (MUEN 103, Humanities, [1])

Total: 15

Spring:

Educating Secondary Students with Disabilities (SPED 405, Teacher Education, Professional Semester 3, [2])
Social Foundations, Management, and Law (SEED 410, Teacher Ed, PS3, [2])
Educational Assessment (EDER 415, Teacher Ed, PS3, [2])
K-8 Student Teaching (ELED 488, Teacher Ed, PS3, [8]) AND 7-12 Student Teaching (SEED 488, Teacher Ed, PS3, [8]) -- Foreign Language, PE and Recreation, Health, Art, and Music education majors have to spend half of their time teaching for "Elementary Ed" (K-8) and "Secondary Ed" (7-12). Starting for next Fall's Freshmen that are education majors at SDSU will have to student teach for a whole year instead of just a semester, so for them, one semester will be with K-8 while the next semester would be with 7-12.

Total: 14

Which will bring me to a grand total of about 127 credits (out of the required 120) done by the end of my third year of college. WOO!

How I Plan To Graduate College In 2 1/2 Years!

WHAT THE HECK IS THIS CRAZY LADY TALKING ABOUT?! YOU CAN'T GRADUATE COLLEGE IN TWO AND A HALF YEARS!! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!

Actually, like Dr. Seuss said, anything's possible! Even graduating college so early. See, I'm an optimist (my boyfriend is the pessimist and insists that something will go wrong and I'll end up taking five years). Even though I still have to meet with my advisors and talk everything over logistically, according to my program evaluation sheet, program guide sheet, and other Major Information list, I should be done within 2 1/2 years, three full years tops.

Here's how:

In my freshman year of high school, I didn't want to challenge myself or overwhelm myself by taking any honors classes -- I was never the brightest bulb and had never been in any advanced learning classes. I was essentially taught that I was overtly average. But as my first semester progressed, both my English and Biology teachers insisted that I switched over to honors. Even though I didn't, I did make the switch to honors English during my sophomore year.

Still confused on how this relates? Keep reading!

Because I switched into honors English, I ended up taking AP English Language during my junior year -- meaning that I took the AP Exam for the class. I ended up getting a 3 on the exam (to which I received many "Aw, I'm so sorry!" comments because I went to a school where everyone else's top school of choice required a 4. My top school, however, only required a 3 in order to receive credit, so I was perfectly content with my 3!) This got me out of having to take Comp 1 (or ENGL 101 at SDSU). Also during my junior year (which wasn't exactly necessary), I received College Now credit (dual credit) for my Honors Spanish 4 class, which gave me credit for Intermediate Spanish (SPAN 201).

During my senior year of high school, over winter break, I took the online placement test for my university and placed into SPAN 310 Practical Speaking Skills. My school does this thing where if you place into a higher level in foreign language class, once you pass that class with a 'C' or higher, you can buy back the classes below it (101, 102, 201, 202, 211, and 212 for me) for $7.50 per credit!! And, lucky me, I passed -- with an A! But back to high school!

Also during my senior year, during my final semester of high school, I got College Now credit (dual credit) for my AP English Literature class, or Comp 2 (ENGL 201). Two weeks after graduation, I started my first two college courses at the community college down the street from my house. I took Speech (SPD 120 which transferred to SDSU as SPCM 101) and College Algebra (MATH 172 which transferred to SDSU as MATH 102).

All together, I transferred into SDSU with a total of about 27 credits. My first semester last fall, I took 15 credit hours. I took Geography Physical Landscapes and Lab (GEOG 132-132L, Science, [4 credits]), Spanish Practical Speaking Skills (SPAN 310, Major Course, [3 credits]), Music Literature and History (MUS 130, Humanities, [2 credits]), First Year Seminar (UC 109, Seminar Credit, [2 credits]), Human Development: Adolescence (HDFS 337, Upper Division, [3 credits]), and Women's Choir (MUEN 103, Humanities, [1 credit]).

This semester, I'm taking 17 credit hours. I am taking History of the American Indian (AIS/HIST 368, Humanities/Teacher Education Course, [3 credits]), Courtship and Marriage (SOC 250, Social Sciences, [3 credits]), Latin American Culture and Civilization (SPAN 435, Advanced Writing/Major Course/Upper Division, [3 credits]), Women's Choir (MUEN 103, Humanities, [1 credit]), Dance Fundamentals (DANC 130, Humanities, [1 credit]), General Psychology (PSYC 101, Social Sciences, [3 credits]), and Spanish for Health Professions (SPAN 308, Major Course/Advanced Electives).

This summer, I plan to take two classes, Biology Survey and Lab (BIOL 101-101L, Science, [3 credits]) and Spanish Reading/Writing Communication (SPAN 330, Major Course, [3 credits]).

By this point, if all the math adds up, I'll have about 65 credits. That means I'll be about at Junior level by my first semester of my Sophomore year of college.

I've done the research for the following classes, for which classes fall during which semesters and which classes need to be taken before which other classes.


The classes I plan to take for the Fall of 2015 are:

Educational Psychology (EPSY 302, Teacher Education, [3 credits]
Foundations of American Education (EDFN 338, Teacher Education, [2 credits])
Computer-Based Teaching and Learning (EDFN 365, Teacher Education, [2])
Human Relations (EDFN 475, Teacher Education, [3])
Spanish Culture and Civilization (SPAN 433, Major Course/Literature Elective, [3])
Introduction to Latin American Literature (SPAN 355, Literature Elective, [3])
Women's Choir (MUEN 103, Humanities, [1])

For a total of: 17 credits

The following Spring should include:

Phonetics (SPAN 340, Linguistics, [3])
Introduction to Spanish Literature (SPAN 353, Literature Elective, [3])
Middle School Philosophy and Application (EDFN 427, Teacher Education, [2])
Supervised Clinical/Field Experience (SEED 314, Teacher Education, [1])
5-12 Teaching Methods and Lab (SEED 420-420L, Teacher Education, [2]
Reading and Content Literacy (SEED 450, Teacher Education, [2])
Special Methods (MFL 420, Teacher Education, [3])
Study Abroad Prep (MFL 399, Study Abroad, [1])

For a total of: 17 credits

Over the summer then before my last semester, I plan to be studying abroad in either Spain or another Spanish-Speaking country. While there, I will be taking 6 credits to fulfill my last bit of Advanced Spanish Requirement/Field Experience.

And finally, during my last semester during the Fall of 2016, I plan to take:

Educating Secondary Students with Disabilities (SPED 405, Teacher Education, [2])
Social Foundations, Management, and Law (SEED 410, Teacher Education, [2])
Educational Assessment (EDER 415, Teacher Education, [2])
K-8 Student Teaching/7-12 Student Teaching (ELED 488/SEED 488, Teacher Education, [8])

For a total of: 14 credits

The reason the last class is split is because I'm a Modern Language major, so we have to be able to teach all ages. So I will be spending half of my time in elementary school and the other half in middle/high school.



Originally, I planned to take the first three classes of my last semester at one time and do my student teaching by itself, but as it turns out, I'm supposed to take all three of those classes while I'm student teaching.

Now, I think it's pretty obvious that I could take more time with my classes, that I could probably try to stretch them out and not rush college, but the thing is, I'm a very boring person. I don't party at all -- I hate partying, I don't drink, and stupid/drunk people bother me. And, quite honestly, I want to have the spring after I'd graduate to get ready for my wedding (my boyfriend and I plan to get  engaged next summer (of 2016) and married during the summer after I graduate). I have a lot of planning that I won't have done yet because I want to be able to focus on my school work. So, if I can get done in 2.5 years, I'm going to do it!

I know being an optimist isn't always the best idea, but I think that hope is a great thing to have. I am open to having to take longer than 2.5 years, and I'm definitely even willing to take the full 4 years if I absolutely have to. But come one -- who doesn't want to say they were smart enough and motivated enough to finish college in 2.5 years??