Clueless To College, need help

Let It Fall · #1 10-30-2009, 02:50 PM

I recently decided as of yesterday Im going to college. Im currently making 24$ an hour doing industrial electrical. However knowing I will be getting laid off soon I decided to go get another job. Yes I could find another job paying this much but Id have to travel. So good there looking to hire, take the test [swear I knew most of it, but I think the guy was mad at me parking in the employee only parking space.] I was offered 16$ an hour.

I passed on that. I am not going to risk my life and work my ass off in the heat and cold 10 hours a day for 16$ an hour. As I said yes I can get 24$ an hour at another company, but I want to go to school and I guess its now rather than never.

I just have no clue what I want to do. Or go for.. Or what courses to take or how much college costs. How am I going to afford college and how big of a lifestyle change I will have to make going from 1300 a week to... Whatever I can manage to make part time..

I need help as I have no clue about college.

How does part time college work?

Anyway to complete college quicker?

Should I go to 4 year/2year vocational?

How do I figure out tuition? I see hourly rates but have no idea what to do with them.

Grants, what kind of grants are available to me? Im 20 years old and live on my own.

Is there anyway to go to a cheaper college for a few years and then finish at a better college? Does that make sense?

Are maths required? If so do I have a choice as far as type? I was always horrible at anything with algebra, I just don't care for it.

Please help me out any of you who know anything!!

Plantbrain · #2 10-30-2009, 03:29 PM

Do community college then transfer to a 4 year school.
Save you about 20,000-40,000$.
Get all your GE done etc at the community college, by then, you will have some idea what interest you.

Then transfer to the 1-2 years to the 4 year, get the BA/BS and then decide if you want to get a MBA, law degree, go to graduate school etc.

Getting into community college is fast, easy, cheap. It will seem a bit like high school, but do not think that way, it's like getting free 2 years worth of a pricey 4 year school. So work hard there, you'll easily make it through the last 1-2 years of the 4 years when you transfer over.

It's much less about going to school and then they hand you a well paying job(rarely works that way), vs creating the reality of doing something you love that does not seem like work at all.

Anyway, going to college will make you feel better, improve yourself, good looking guys/gals etc.

I worked as a union meat cutter to work through CC, then transferred to UC, got the BS, then got a scholarship for grad school to UF, got the MS, then got another grant to go to UC for the PhD.

I went back to school when I was 30, you are still pretty young.
I met and dated some really nice gals, went to parties, good social life , oh yea, how many people talk like how terrible college life was and how they'd never suggest anyone else do it?

My son finished up and now makes 90k$ a year. He's glad he did.
23 years old.

You need to start and take that first step, pass a class or two.
Then later, start taking more. Little by little the requirements will get done. Then you find yourself going for the BA/BS. Then you see you can do most anything you want to do from there.

Don't go and then drop out, keep trying till you make it.
It's more an endurance test than brains.

Been there, done it.

Tom

warnergt · #3 10-30-2009, 05:45 PM

I don't think I could have said it better than Plantbrain.

Absolutely get the 4-year degree (BS or BA).
Community college can definitely save you money.
Don't screw up and drop out no matter what. Make getting that degree
your very highest priority.
Best free site I've seen for scholarship/grant info is http://www.fastweb.com/

I went to college late. It can be done. Millions get that degree every year.

Let It Fall · #4 10-30-2009, 05:50 PM

Thanks guys, however alot of the bf hg uh li kp I don't know what your talking about.

McHaven · #5 10-30-2009, 06:27 PM

Here's my perspective as a college student:

Start a community college. You can take the general/state required courses necessary for a degree there. Such as introductory history, maths, sciences and stuff. General introduction courses. You can take the courses at a Community College much cheaper!

Courses are measured in credit hours. Typically, a course is worth 3 hours, because you are in class 3 hours a week for that course. Most students take 12-15 credit hours a semester (4-5 classes). So the per hour rate you see, thats tuition rate.

At a 4 year university, I pay about 7000 dollars a semester. That's for a "Meh" public school. That includes housing, meal plans, and tuition. Since you already live on your own, you don't need the meal plan/housing. (Although most community colleges don't offer that anyway)

A community college for 12 hours a semester can be under 2000 I believe. (I've never done a full semester, only summer courses)

Anyway, if you do go back to school and interested in the degree in order to make more, go into the hard sciences or math. Liberal arts degrees won't catch as much money after school.

Let It Fall · #6 10-30-2009, 06:41 PM

Thanks! Is there some kinds of advisor I can tak to about schools or tuition and such?

Brad Barker · #7 10-30-2009, 06:48 PM

check to see if you qualify for a pell grant.

Let It Fall · #8 10-30-2009, 07:01 PM

Alright how can I go about that? Remember I'm clueless

McHaven · #9 10-30-2009, 07:22 PM

I'm sure you could schedule an appointment at a school. Most colleges have advisers to help students plan their school career.

bui · #10 10-30-2009, 09:02 PM

I'm taking some courses at a CC, and 16 hours came out to only $600 in tuition...ridiculously low compared to my undergrad and grad tuition rates. Fill out a FAFSA, and you should be able to get some form of financial aid.

Also, make sure that the class credits will transfer to your target college before taking them...one of my cousins took some classes at CC, and a few did not count for anything at the university she transferred to.

Let It Fall · #11 10-30-2009, 09:08 PM

This may be the most helpful thread I ever started.

Ericman197 · #12 10-30-2009, 10:10 PM

Not to be a pessimist, but if you're already able to make $24/hour, college isn't necessarily going to put you ahead of that unless you have a solid game plan. Most of my friends who went to college would be lucky to be making nearly $50k/year, let alone the debt issue. I went to college and did well enough for myself, but I knew what I wanted to do from day 1, so I wasn't worried about wasting time/money.

In this day and age a college degree does not necessarily put you ahead unless you gain a skillset (ie: nursing degree), or use it to get a higher degree. Even many of the people out there with masters and doctorates are struggling. A lot of the fields where you could reasonably expect a high paying job out of college aren't hiring much right now, or for the foreseeable future. Law schools, for example, will have you believe that when you graduate you'll be a superstar mega-earner, whereas in reality, the job outlook for the average law grad is pretty bad.

If you want to do the community college thing for a while, go for it, but I wouldn't make any huge time/money commitment to this until you have some direction. You might even want to just read some text books and online things that are free to get a general idea of what you like: journalism, physics, Chinese history, whatever.

pingone · #13 10-30-2009, 10:25 PM

wow, we're in the exact same situation. i spent the last 5 years as an electrician. i wasn't making as much as you were, but decided that the reward wasn't worth the risk, so i quit. problem is, i quit before i found another job(i know dumb move). i was in the military a few years back and i've got a little time lift on my gi bill, so i decided now was as good a time as any to go to school and hopefully be able to get a good job.

i just went and applied today. went to the admissions office a few weeks ago, and they gave me all the info i needed to get started. they have info on financial aid, tuition costs majors, etc. everything you need to know, they have it, and are more than happy to sit down and spend as much time as it takes to get you started.

what school do you have in mind? maybe someone here has some info for you. i'd also start checking websites. i learned a lot from my schools website before i went. also start making a list of questions to ask when you go so you won't forget anything.

Let It Fall · #14 10-30-2009, 10:31 PM

I don't know what I want to do.

I like drafting, architecture, acoustics, aviation, and there's probably a bunch of things I'd love that I wouldn't know there was a market for.

Let It Fall · #15 10-30-2009, 10:35 PM

I'm not sure, I might depend on what I want to
do, but I most likely will be baton rouge community college, southeastern Louisiana or a tech school

pingone · #16 10-30-2009, 10:37 PM

if you get started at a community college, you can just start getting your "core" classes out of the way. that will give you time to figure out what you want to do. talk to an advisor though, they will be able to answer any questions that you have, and get you going in the right direction. if you want to get started soon, then you might need to apply right away to get in for the spring semester. the deadline for the school i chose is Nov. 1, and like i said before, i just got my application in today.

Let It Fall · #17 10-30-2009, 10:41 PM

Can I apply without a act score? I'm taking my act in December

Cantstandsya · #18 10-31-2009, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Let It Fall

Can I apply without a act score? I'm taking my act in December

You shouldn't need an ACT score to get into community college. Most of them have online applications and where i'm from they only cost about $18 a unit. I would also try to find a college that's on a quarter system. The quarter system can get you through a little faster than the semester system. I received my A.A. from a community college and then transfered to a University so I agree with everyone that suggested going that route.I'm now in my senior year and i've worked full-time, been a husband/father and played in bands the whole time.My advice would be to start slow with one or two classes while continuing to work. IME working will give you the motivation to keep on going. The ideal situation would be able to find a job at a company where you could use your degree to move up and that also provides tuition reimbursement.

Plantbrain · #19 11-11-2009, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Let It Fall

This may be the most helpful thread I ever started.

More than you might ever know/realize today, but later....

It's less about the $ honestly, more about doing something that is not work to you, it's just what you are and do.....something you love/something you might do regardless.........and that happens to pay the bills

That's not a job any more.

If it's more about the $, then a BA in business can help you if you are a blue collar person move into management/upper management, contractor/owner.

Then you can make a lot more.

I own my own business and teach college, so I have the best of both worlds. I make lot more than the 500$ a month loan payment cost per month in relative pay from the old job. About 6X as much.

But I like my work and even loo forward to it.
Imagine looking forward to going to work?
Strange indeed.

Sounds like you got a good local community college there, credit hours should be cheap, sign up and get going this winter/spring semester.

I can even tell you how to study

Been there done this, I was a bad student when I started, took a long time but I learned how. If I can do it, an older student hillbilly from KY, I know you can.

Also, I went back to college 4 times before I actually started doing decent and getting through courses with decent grades.

4 times.............but the 4th time was a charm.
So I know where folks who struggle are coming from.

Study, play bass, work, eat, hang with friends, work out, sleep. Not too bad.
Keeps you out of trouble

Tom

**jmattbassplaya** · #20 11-11-2009, 05:41 PM

Just saying guys...

Not all your credits will like transfer from a community college to a normal university. It`s important to check out what schools you`d be planning on going to and seeing if your hours will transfer, otherwise you are simply wasting money.

There`s a reason a lot of people don`t transfer from community college to your typical 4-year school and this is it.