educate me

If you go for an MC cart you want low output, unless your phono stage has only MM input. A good MC cart costs a lot, costs more than a good MM, but it will have much better response in the high frequencies. IMHO there's little point putting an MC cart on an entry-level tone arm, or in sending its signal to average electronics. The upgrade sequence usually recommended is 1. turntable 2. tone arm 3. cartridge 4. phono stage. There are exceptions and YMMV but that's as much of a nutshell as I can put an answer in.

my dad just gave me his linn lp 12 so i am new to this stuff too i started out with the sumiko blue point special 3 and am very satisfied

If it were only that simple. There are plenty of MM carts that out perform MC at various price points and many overachieving MCs that perform closely to their more expensive counterparts. Dont get sucked in to the "you have to spend a lot of money " mentality. Do your research by reading as many reviews as you can find and visiting forums like this, Vinyl Asylum and Vinyl Engine are also good. You will need to learn to determine tone arm compatability with with various compliances among many other parameters to achieve the best performance for your money. Vinyl requires a lot of time and experimentation when your starting out but that is what makes it fun and you can reap great sonic rewards. Vinyl Engine is populated with a bunch of very knowlegable cheapskates and it (like this one ) is a treasure chest of good practical info.
good luck, Rick

Thanks for the help but if someone could tell me if a TT is dependent on one type of cartridge, or can I switch from MM to MC whenever I feel like it

In short no, the TT will be fine with any cartridge but the tonearm will only be optimum with a cartridge that has a compliance suited to its mass. There are charts for this calculation and some good info is available in the library at the engine. Also the dealer you buy your cart from should be able to advise.