Hi guys, I've been lurking here recently to see what the community is like and you guys all seem pretty cool and welcoming, and experienced. I'm in my senior year, about to graduate and head off to college, wanting to pursue photography/journalism as a career in the future. My family is getting me a graduation/going away gift and I thought it'd be a good choice to ask for a higher end camera so I can further my experience and grow

Right now I have a Sony A3000 with a kit 18-55mm lens that I got myself about a half a year ago at the start of my photography class. Half a year is also the amount of experience I have in photography, so I know all the basic things but not the more advanced stuff. The camera itself is decent, the viewfinder is the worst thing about it. Second is how expensive the Sony E mount lenses are, and I've really been wanting to get new ones, but they are definitely out of my range, especially being unemployed right now. I'll have a job in the summer, so that's when I hope to get lenses and equipment for whatever camera I get. The quality of the images are fantastic, really a good camera for the price I got it for, just not a good camera to grow with.

I feel like I'm putting unnecessary info on here, so if I am I apologize. On to the cameras I have my sights on! I've been doing a lot of research online, and at stores trying out different cameras and I've narrowed it down to 4. Two are kinda still entry level I think, the other two are more advanced-amateur. I'm looking at two Nikons, the D5500 and the D7100, and two Pentax, the KS2 and the K3/K3II. I'm really torn on them, they all have their pros and cons.

One reason I'm leaning towards both Pentax is, the KS2 has built in wifi and is a good price, I could get that plus a few lenses which would be great. With the K3, I would love the 8fps shooting speed. I'd like to get into sports photography, so I feel like that could be a good start. And with the K3II, there's that plus the Astro trace feature. I really want to do some astrophotography, without all the expensive external trackers.

On the Nikons, the D5500 I've tried out a few times and it feels nice, takes good pics. I do like the touch screen, very convenient and feels very smooth. The D7100 I still need to try out more. Coming from a Sony with very limited options, and no bells and whistles, I really can't figure it out yet, so maybe I should stray from that one a bit, haha. But it does feel nice too, definitely heavier than what I'm used to right now. One major plus side for Nikons, the lenses. Cheap for the most part, and a really good selection to choose from. Pentax lenses can be a little pricey and there's not as much choices as Nikon, but I've read you can use all old Pentax lenses too, at the cost of losing autofocus and sometime controlling aperture manually, which i'd be fine with. As you can see, I don't have an immense amount of knowledge on them, which is why I'm asking you guys for help, id really appreciate it. I want really know what the best is for me, it'll be my camera for the next few years. Please by all means if you have other cameras to recommend, do it. I just want the best option, but I also need to keep it under $900. Thanks guys!

tl;dr, Nikon D5500 or D7100, or Pentax KS2 or K3II. Amateur, not much knowledge, no money soon to be college kid. I shoot mostly people, animals and nature.