Thursday, September 27, 2012

Fourth Time’s the Charm



There’s a fourth option, you know. I could not transfer, stick to the original plan and maybe take a few less units (ones that would not have transferred since I had too many in my student education plan).

I have been really learning and making progress in volleyball practice lately. We had the tournament in San Diego last weekend and I played so much, learned so much, really felt like I was improving. I feel like with some more playing time on the court, I could really become a player worth taking a look at. Then, I talked with Bonnie, and she asked me about my reasons for choosing one transfer school over the other. I mentioned I liked Cal Poly Pomona as an option to be able to play volleyball (I assume that, since they’re not a UC or a state school like OSU, they won’t be D1 but I could be very, very wrong. I need to look into that). She asked me, why are you going to school? To play volleyball, or to be a vet? Obviously it’s to become a vet, and right now volleyball is kind of hindering that as far as time and focus go. But if I were to get picked up, and get a scholarship for playing volleyball, wouldn’t that make it worth it? Plus I seriously just love the game.

I know I’m not going to get picked up to play by any of my choice schools, but there are options in the Midwest and back east that could come through. I know there’s a girl on our team who is already starting negotiations with a coach from a school in Florida. There were girls from our school, last year and the year before, who were picked up and got full scholarships, some even with housing and extras! For me, money is a big deal. If possible, I want to avoid loans all together. The only reason I even consented to getting loans (eventually) at all was when I learned about joining the Army. I feel more comfortable getting some loans at the undergrad level knowing that they will be paid off very quickly, and not compounded with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt.

I chose my top three choice schools for the main reason that I consider them “feeder schools” to veterinary schools I would like to go to. Both Cal Poly and OSU have pre veterinary programs that might give me a leg up. Then again, Davis doesn’t have a pre vet program at all, just an animal science program that, according to their website, can prepare one for many different fields (in other words, not specifically for a vet wanna be). While I was there over the summer, talking to a counselor, she told me that she had a girl who was an art history major, a biology minor, get accepted at the UC Davis vet school. Really? If that’s true, than a degree in just regular biology should do the trick. I don’t even need a degree, technically, just the minimum credits (although a degree is highly recommended).


This is Emma, the counselor I spoke with at UC Davis. 

So at this point, I’m really torn. I could go next fall (2013) to the school that accepts me (if any do). Or, I could wait until fall of 2014 like originally planned, get more units, get more court time, and hopefully get a scholarship.
This does bring up one more complication. I have visited Davis and Cal Poly, I know what they want and I know I’m not going to have all the classes they want before transferring. OSU, on the other hand, I have not been to so I went ahead and emailed their counselors. Most were encouraging, but one worried me by saying if I didn’t have a certain level of science classes under my belt, they would accept me, but as a sophomore. That is NOT what I’m looking to get into. I need to save money, which is the whole point of community college in the first place. I don’t think Davis or Cal Poly will accept a transfer as a sophomore, I believe they only accept juniors.

Waiting could have its own traps, though. There’s no guarantee that even if I get the perfect number of credits, and become an amazing volleyball player, that I will get picked up and play somewhere else under scholarship. Or, maybe it would only be a partial scholarship. Is it worth it?

Ultimately, though, I don’t need to worry about it. God knows exactly what He’s doing, so all we have to do is stay in His word, remain in prayer, and walk through the doors He opens for us. J



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