Choices Choices Choices

One of the things I'm thankful for by taking this class is the opportunity to blog. It's one of the biggest things to hit the Internet in the technology age. Plus, as a journalism major, it's helped me gain valuable writing skills. I should say that it's helped me become a better writer than previously.

As I have mentioned many times before, I do some of my best thinking while I'm riding the bus. One of the biggest things I've been thinking about is the pressure of trying to figure out what I want to do after I'm done with Inver Hills. I graduate at the end of fall semester 2009. Don't worry, I'm going to complete a 4 year degree.

One of the biggest things I've been pressured on is choosing the right school. I have it pinned down to the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (this will be my second time around with that school) and Metropolitan State University. There are several factors I've been thinking about. Location, tuition/fee costs, how big the school is (what I mean by this is how it compares to other schools). Campus size isn't a big deal to me (well it is but it doesn't affect me as much now that I have the "college experience").

Costs

One of the biggest factors in this is cost. The University of Minnesota is way much more expensive than Metro State. And I won't even live on campus. With the economy that way it is, who knows how much it will cost me by the time I'm finished with IHCC, whether I decied to go to Metro or the U.

Location

I live relatively close to Metro State's Downtown location. Less than 5 minutes from where I live in St. Paul's Battle Creek area. The only problem: I would have to travel to all three campuses for classes. The other two is located in Energy Park (on Energy Park Drive in St. Paul) and Downtown Minneapolis (connected with Minneapolis Community & Technical College). Even though bus service is good for the three sites, the thought of having to travel an hour and half for a 2 hour class isn't appealing to me.

The University has much better bus service (running every 1-15 minutes), and classes only will be on the U's East Bank Campus, if not in one building. Which is very good since I'm a bus commuter.

I work in St. Paul's Macalester Groveland Area. Both schools have good bus service. If I went to Metro, it would only be one bus, no transfers. The U would require 1 or 2 transfers, depending on the time of day.

Comparing Schools

As we all know, the University of Minnesota is one of the biggest schools in the nation. It is part of the Big 10 network (at least when it comes to sports). Metropolitan State is not a real big school, but it's known for its programs, mainly for adults who already have a full time job and looking to advance, whether it's withen the company or at another place of employment. Personally for me, schedules don't really matter. I try to avoid night classes (I function better in the morning, afternoon or online) but at Metro, I might have a difficult time doing that.

Result

Who knows? At this point I may and wait to see what the economy does, whether it gets better or worse. Then hopefully, I'll be able to make my decision. Plus I have until the end of fall semester to make a final decision.