I’m fortunate that I have a really good Community College just minutes from my house. We have a beautiful campus, the highlight of which is the lake with the fountain. But, I’m sure I’m just like every other college student this time of year, cramming for finals, scrambling to finish projects and meeting instructors last minute demands. I’ve been taking college classes on and off for the last 25 years. I joke that I’m on the 25 year plan for an Associates Degree and now, finally, after 25 years, that trek is coming to an end. At the end of this semester, I will receive my Associates in Applied Science from St. Charles Community College. Since I retired a year and a half ago, I’ve been pretty diligent about taking classes, and this semester I’m carrying a full load; 15 credit hours. This has been a wonderful experience. I’ve had some good teachers and some really bad teachers; some really good classes, and several classes that the only reason you would take them is because they are required for a degree. But I’m ready for this journey to come to an end. From what I understand, an Applied Science degree is not a transferable degree; it’s only intended for a two year degree. So if at some time I decide I want to continue on and start working on a Bachelor’s degree, I’ll need to take those math courses I so studiously avoided.