Don't know anyone with any experience at NOVA and was wondering if it was worth spending two years at, or if I should go right away to a 4-year University.

The problem with the NOVA route is the following:

1. You need to carefully pick the campus you go to.
2. You will not likely meet anyone that will become close friends.
3. You have to deal with traffic getting to and from campus.
4. Might not have a fun/interesting place or group to hang with between classes.
5. Not much school spirit, no major events to bring students together.
6. When you go to finish the last 2 year at a different school, you do not know anyone and finding friends and networking can be difficult.
7. If you go to a College/University that not a commute from home, you will be living off campus and again this makes it difficult to get to know other students.

If you are a self starter and do no mind being "alone" in during the 4-5 years it may work out. You clearly will save a lot of money over going in debt, but there is also more about going to college then just going to class. Anyone that can do this, my hat is off to them.

Wolfie Wrote:
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> Don't know anyone with any experience at NOVA and
> was wondering if it was worth spending two years
> at, or if I should go right away to a 4-year
> University.


Just go to JMU or MWU or GMU for 4 years. In state tuition, housing, books and meals are roughly $22,500 a year assuming you are a Virginia resident. Do you realize how incredibly cheap that is? It is the bargain of a lifetime! Going to Community college is only going to save about 30 thousand.
Just go the 4 years and apply yourself then get a job doing something you like doing.

Only save about 30K while other option is 90k total - that's 33%.
30k is a paid-for car or down-payment on a home.

I would say this-

If you are young, no kids do the full 4 years at a state school, for the social reasons everyone else listed above "not what you know, who you know".

If you are going back later in life (say late 20's and on) and/or you have a kid already- try ONLINE classes @ NOVA (if you can learn that way some people need an instructor in front of them to stay motivated some are self-starters and can whip through an 8 week online course in 6 if they do it right) then transfer credits to GMU, JMU, ODU, etc. All do have online programs of some sort, or just google colleges that offer all-online degrees, but make sure it is a REAL COLLEGE not some devry or ITT or strayer type SHIT.

Honestly once you get your first job, past that they don't care if you have a degree if you can do the work, but there are those anal HR's who won't even let you have an interview if you don't have a degree, so I say get it as cheaply as possible. Don't forget to check some jobs have tuition assistance.

I will say I made it into working for a Fortune 500 company with only a high school diploma and a few specific Microsoft and SAP certifications (spent about $800 for each, WAY cheaper than college and no need to sit thru history 101 when it has nothing to do with my job!) in an accounting departmeny.

I could not get past Accountant II without a degree so am back on it now online- but am now making $65k a year. All because my neighbor hooked me up with an entry level data entry job with said company and I was able to prove how well I knew Excel and SAP (accounting software). I was quickly moved up.

Once again- yes college is important (since HR deems it important) but it's more WHO YOU KNOW.

I would do the transfer to UVA option and take your chances with finding friends. I went to GMU and didn't really make many friends anyways. A lot of people were just living at home and didn't really socialize outside of class. I guess JMU or Tech would be good too.

It depends where you can land out of high school. If you can get into JMU, UVA, Tech, or even Mason, it makes more sense to to straight to a four year school than to start at NOVA. In my experience with NOVA, there's only 2 decent campuses (Loudoun & Annandale), the rest are infested with drunks, illegals and people who don't take school seriously. Many of the professors are awful as well, and you run the risk of getting a couple bad ones, and a fucked gpa as a result. This can hurt your chances of where you can transfer later on.

If you can't get into any school better than say Mary Washington, or ODU, then its best to stick it out at NOVA, get good grades and transfer to a top tier school after you've gotten your credits. You don't want to socialize to much at NOVA. Most of the people there are there for a reason. They spent too much time fucking around and not focused enough on their studies, and they can drag you down. Get in, and get out.

mdl,s Wrote:
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>\You don't want to socialize to much at NOVA. Most of
> the people there are there for a reason. They
> spent too much time fucking around and not focused
> enough on their studies, and they can drag you
> down. Get in, and get out.

True, plus there is a WIDE variety of characters that you may not fit in with anyway. Not being discriminatory, but the Asian and Indian mafia will not be too welcoming to the NOVA white guys and gals.

MANY, MANY years ago the Bailey's campus was not too bad, but I expect the demographics have changed a LOT over the years. I would expect that Loudoun to be a bit more vanilla than some of the other campus locations.

With ANY school you will need to find a smaller group of people you can get involved with and meet people. Kind of hard at NOVA, but at a 4 year school a intramural sports program might be a good place to start.

I started out at the Alexandria campus. Campus itself is a complete dump, and about 65-70% of the people that attend classes their are low-lifes. Many came in to class drunk,high or a combo of both. I had classes with some that were only there to pass the time. I remember I took a bio lab in the evenings, and most times, after about 45 minutes to an hour in to it, many just left and went to TGI Fridays.

Went to the Annandale campus, and the atmosphere was a little more scholarly, professors were a bit better and the overall student population actually cared about their grades. Lots of study groups too. Book store even had a starbucks. Transferred five years later to a four year school.

Father of 3 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wolfie Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Don't know anyone with any experience at NOVA
> and
> > was wondering if it was worth spending two
> years
> > at, or if I should go right away to a 4-year
> > University.
>
>
> Just go to JMU or MWU or GMU for 4 years. In state
> tuition, housing, books and meals are roughly
> $22,500 a year assuming you are a Virginia
> resident. Do you realize how incredibly cheap that
> is? It is the bargain of a lifetime! Going to
> Community college is only going to save about 30
> thousand.
> Just go the 4 years and apply yourself then get a
> job doing something you like doing.


Damn, in '87 JMU was $5600/yr for tuition and room/board

It was 30 yrs ago, but still has gone up way more than inflation.

Which campus is the best one to pick?

The Manassas campus has a nice new building that feels like any new building at GMU. They teach biology, math, computer science, IT and more classes there. They also have a nice computer lab.

phelpsmarc Wrote:
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> Damn, in '87 JMU was $5600/yr for tuition and
> room/board
>
> It was 30 yrs ago, but still has gone up way more
> than inflation.

Tech is like $22k for tuition, room and board, not including book and other fees.

I have 2 students out of state, one @ $56k, and the other @ $45k.

Mason students take NOVA classes if it's a hard class and they hear a NVCC professor is giving easy grades.

TALK TO YOUR COUNCELOR.

basically to earn a degree from Mason they will insist so many credits are taken at Mason

$$ both will try to rip you off. take only "transferrable courses". however both have so many micro specialties it will be like chess knowing whether which non-core credits can transfer to which program

don't borrow money unless your parents are corrupt gov workers who will certainly illegally get you a gov job to "repay the loan" or unless your talent is un-deniable and you bend over for fellow doctors

basically they are charging huge fees just to check you off on a sheet that you read FREE MATERIAL (everything in those books is old news and some of it too old to use). they force you to sit and watch a professor outline a chapter you already read - which was free material.

the "economic rent" of it is enormous. that means most of the tuition is cost above the minimal (actual) cost of providing

don't take classes from illegal professors: it fuels communism

* before Clinton, certificate courses were done at Elementary schools (evening) and sometimes paid for by the company of the employee taking the course. only people who were employed doing the thing (already apprenticed) would be taking such a course, and they were much cheaper but still considered "a cost" in the day. usually the teachers were injured or old field workers.

* before Clinton presidency (spread of communism via school system, by enabling gov workers to "create their own jobs under the flag of helping society"): College was different. one learned arts and sciences in a way to prepare them (and test them) to be capable of INDEPENDENT LEARNING when the 4-8 yrs was over: that means a "business major" did not get a certificate for every niche of business, rather the degree signified that they could overcome and independent learning chore necessary to meet current business needs without help from anyone. (excepting for doctors - which was and is taught as specific minimum feduciary knowledge and practice). today courses are taught assuming no one could every independently learn and that all things must be "certified", which of course, like this explanation, is a continual process (especially because rules of gov business continually change right?)

* your basically screwed because most jobs that make money require a degree - by law - laws written by the same bastards who are profiteering off the "economic rent"

* there are fields to make money in that don't require schooling

* your parents are handing down the family business (or gov job) to you right? if not guess your screwed if you don't have friends in important places

* %100 if you think a degree will get you a job your wrong. there are countless engineers, even doctors, in DMV area who are un-employed and cannot even get jobs way under their skill level

Hillary for Prison 2016

If you are unable to get into UVA via Freshman admission this is a great back door to get a degree from one of the best universities in the country! If you go to nova get B average for 2 years you are automatically accepted at UVA. On top of that you save money.

Down side is you will miss 2 years of binge drinking in C'ville and possibly crippling Alcoholism. You can always drink yourself to death Jr and Sr years if need be but you will likely be more mature by then.

Beware the feral blacks in Charlottesville, who too often wander from their ghetto to rape or kill UVa students.