To what extent do I need college for the career of my choosing ?
School name: Schenectady High School
Teacher name: Mr. Schneider
Date: December 13, 2018
Course: Connections
Word count: 1133
Student name: Chaz Ramlal
Law enforcement has always been a main part in my life, most members of my family have jobs in this field, and that’s what ultimately makes me want to become a police officer. This project has helped me find out what was necessary in what I need to do to inevitably become a police officer. The main colleges that seemed to fit the requirements of majoring in criminal justice to become a police officer were, Suny Plattsburgh, Suny Adirondack, Hartwick College, Suny Cortland, and Bryant & Stratton College. All of these colleges offer criminal justice programs and their programs give needed experience in becoming a police officer.
Going into college I want to pursue a major in Criminal Justice, I feel as though majoring in this would benefit me in becoming a police officer. After college I want to become a police officer. It’s always been a dream of mine to enter the force and serve the people. I want to work my way up the ranks in the force, starting as a regular patrol officer, and then working to ultimately become the Chief of police in the department I work at. Most police officers have a minimum of a high school diploma and a associates degree (Police and Detectives), and have 30 college credits and up. The salary a police officer makes is around $49,754 for the first year and gradually goes up as the more time you spend in the force. For the work, patrol officers work five continuous days around 8 hours and 20 minutes, and get two days off every week. The benefits working as police officer are great. Along with the pensions after retiring from the force, when you do work you get two to five weeks of paid vacation based on the location you are at (Police and Detectives). The qualifications to enroll to the force are not very challenging. You have to be 19 years of older, with a driver's license, and can’t be a felon. Based on my personal preference and the background of police officers, I think this career suits me and is the right choice for me.
Suny Plattsburgh was a very direct option for my field of choice, the college is a 4 year liberal arts college and is not too far from home. This college seemed to meet all of the requirements in my field of study. The SAT ranked was very competitive to other colleges at 1050 - 1190 and that goes along with having a GPA in the range of 2.5 to 3.5. The location of the college is in a large, urban area on the shores of Lake Champlain. Plattsburgh is a very residential college meaning many those who go their stay on campus to get their degree. The enrollment process for the college based on (Big Future - College Search) is not very challenging, and many that apply with the requirements usually get into the college. You have to write an application essay, along with recommendations, and good college entry test scores and a academic GPA. The average tuition that you pay when going here is about $8,475 both on campus and off campus.The average financial aid package for Plattsburgh is around $14,668 based on evidence from (Big Future - College Search). This college along with many others in the New York area qualify for the Excelsior Scholarship, which is the grant to give free tuition to those whose family income is low. In my opinion the Excelsior Scholarship was a must in finding a college, just so that later in life I wouldn’t be flooded in debt. This college seemed to be a great fit in my career choice and is at the top of my list.
The next college I researched was Suny Adirondack, this college was a perfect fit in majoring for criminal justice. The college is a 2 year public college that is located in the upper New York area. Based on (Big Future - College Search) the GPA for getting into the college is not very high and is from around a 2.00 and up. And the SAT scores shows that many with a score from 1000 - 1160 usually get into the college. The location of Adirondack is in Queensbury, NY and is about 50 miles from home. The cost of going to school their off - campus was about $5,375 . The enrollment for the college is simply just a application form. And the average financial aid based on (Big Future - College Search) was around $10,875 for students that qualified. This college also qualified for the Excelsior Scholarship which was a major factor in putting this college in my list.
The next college that was researched was Hartwick College, even though this college is a private 4 year school, the benefits are all their for becoming a police officer. Hartwick was the only private school that I research, and the enrollment for this school was substantially more than most of the other colleges. To get into Hartwick, you need to have a 3.5 and up GPA in ordered to even be considered. The location of Hartwick is in Oneonta, NY. And the tuition for the college is about $45,510 on and off campus. This was a bit much but with the average financial aid package at around $34,968 the price isn’t that much for the education. This college doesn’t have the excelsior scholarship, and has low acceptance rates but the big picture shows that it’s worth the money for a good education and a good future career.
One of the next collages that I researched was Suny Cortland college, this is a 4 year, medium sized, public liberal arts college. To get into Cortland is more complex than most of the other colleges. You need to have 3.00 GPA or higher, with SAT scores ranging from 1056 - 1200. Suny Cortland is located in Cortland, NY in a large suburban area. The tuition for Cortland is $8,558 for both off campus and for staying in campus. Room and board plus tuition for on campus is around $12,468. To enroll into Cortland you need to write an application essay, with good test scores, and have recommendations. The average first year financial aid package for Cortland is around $14,939. Like most other Suny colleges, Cortland offers the excelsior scholarship, and has great sports programs for soccer & lacrosse. Cortland is in Division 3 for all sports and that was really a plus in extra-curricular activities.
In conclusion, this project helped me decided what my future is going to look like. It helped me plan out my life more thoroughly and gave me an idea of what the rest of my education is going to look like.
Works Cited
Police and Detectives. www.bls.gov/ooh/protective-service/police-and-detectives.htm.
"Schenectady Police Department." Hiring Home, spdhiring.github.io/hiring.html.
"State University of New York Plattsburgh." State University of New York Plattsburgh, www.plattsburgh.edu/programs/criminal-justice-major.html.
