Learning Carpentry

Alternatives to a BA?

A BA is great and everything, but I don't see the purpose of taking so many of the "required" (and expensive) courses if you don't need to for your profession. I am looking for a residential campus with state college-like fees, and a decent reputation. I don't want to waste time and money on a four year liberal arts degree if I don't need it. What are other options? I don't see any, especially since I'm not studying a trade like carpentry or culinary arts.

Public Comments

1. Two Associate's do not add up to one Bachelor's, neither does work experience unless you have many, many years. There is nothing that replaces or makes up for the piece of paper that says you went to college.
2. It sure would help to know what profession you want to go into. If you want to be a cop, you just go to a police academy, and believe me, they don't waste time on poetry there. If you want to be a nurse, a two-year program will do it. Basically, if you want a 4-year college experience (you mentioned residential, so it sounds like you do), you're going to have general course requirements. You can go into a non-liberal arts program, such as engineering or fine arts, but I don't think you escape from required stuff. One way is to take AP courses during high school and get credits from taking the tests. Another way is to ignore the required courses and take what you like, then stop. You won't have a degree at that point, but an employer may hire you, if you're awesome. If you're aiming for a graduate degree, you can apply without taking the basic courses, but make sure you've done some kind of notable work in your field. I had a friend who did this, got into a PhD program in chemistry (at Harvard, no less) without finishing his bachelor's degree.