Evergreen State College

Date: Jun 21 2011
Major: Psychology (This Major's Salary over time)
The positives: The faculty are very intelegent not only in their disciplines but many others. You can choose your own path as far as what you want to learn and how you want to learn it.

The negatives: Good luck getting into the classes you want because there are too many students for the allotment of programs. You are liable to get stuck in programs or classes that you are not interested in at all as was in my case. After spending 2 years at Evergreen I have learned alot about myself which is great but have no job skills for the work force. I went into a great amount of debt along the way and am still unqualified for positions that require a Bachelors degree. I aslo am older, 47, and had a hard time with constantly having to be involved in groups. I hated having to deal with others that I didnt relate to. I felt more like their teacher. The whole thing about not recieving grades was hard to get used to but what really sucks is that if your professor doesnt think you are living up to their standards even after they have drowned you in work which you have spent 60 hours a week doing, they will take credits from you. Financial aid is a nightmare and I never had my money on time so didnt have the gas or books to get to the first class without borrowing money for others first. You also get charged for numerous extras that should not pertain to you at all. For instance, I had to drive an hour and a half to get to campus which cost me around 1200 dollars a quarter, once there I had to pay 40 dollars a quarter to use the parking which is a very long ways from classes and to top it off I had to pay manditory transit fees. I am down to my last 15 credits as we speak, my financial aid was supposed to be direct deposited today and its not, nobody will ever answer the phone at the office and I will probably not have gas or book money for my first class which means the professor will probably take a few credits from me. I would recomend Evergreen to kids fresh out of high school so that they can take different courses and experience some knowledgable staff but I would not pursue a BA TESC. You will be left feeling like I do. I just sacrifieced 4 years of my life during my mid forties and havent learned any skills required for the work force. I will be finished in August and will have no choice but to take a low paying job and am too tired of college to pursue a Masters. There is good and bad about Evergreen but for the most part if you are looking for a serious career, I wouldnt advise going there.