COLLEGE CONNECTION: Prepare for a top career with less time in college

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College bound students who know what they want to do with their life can often cut years of education, a great deal of stress, and a substantial amount of money from their higher education experience.
Many colleges offer dual degree programs whereby students move right into a Masters or Doctorate degree program upon completing their undergraduate education. They do not have to take entrance exams, eliminating the need to repeat the stressful process of preparing for, and taking, standardized tests. Basically, as long as they meet certain requirements during their undergraduate years, they move right into the advanced degree program in their chosen field.
These programs are particularly popular in the medical field with combined programs offered for those seeking to become doctors, physician assistants, and physical therapists. While some combined programs, particularly those preparing students to become doctors, take the traditional eight years, others combine the undergraduate and medical school experience into seven years. Several local colleges have combined programs with Drexel University’s College of Medicine. Students can start out at Lehigh University, Temple University, or Muhlenberg College for an eight-year experience. Or, they can start out at Drexel University or Villanova University for a seven-year experience.
There are also combined seven and eight year programs between New Jersey Medical School and several New Jersey schools: Caldwell University, Drew University, Montclair State University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, The College of New Jersey, Rutgers University, and Stevens Institute of Technology. This program does require students to take the MCAT and meet other stringent qualifications.
Students seeking to become physicians assistants or physical therapists often seek combined six-year programs. Popular colleges/universities in New Jersey and neighboring states offering this opportunity for one or both of these fields include: Seton Hall University, Drexel University, University of Scranton, Quinnipiac University and Ithaca College.
Students with a passion for business might consider a 4 + 1 program, combining their undergraduate degree with a Masters in Business Administration. This eliminates the need to deal with the GMAT exam and cuts one year off the typically two-year M.B.A. experience. Popular schools offering this option include: Fordham University, Penn State University, Fairfield University, Seton Hall University, University of Scranton, Drexel University and Quinnipiac University.
Basically, students with a clearly defined career goal, a high GPA and impressive SAT scores, can head off to college knowing they will graduate with the highest degree needed for success in their chosen field.
Susan Alaimo is the founder and director of SAT Smart in Hillsborough that has
been offering PSAT, SAT, and ACT preparation courses, as well as private
tutoring by Ivy League educated instructors, for more than 20 years. Visit
www.SATsmart.com