Going back to college after not taking it seriously the first time.

FrigginChris · #1 06-15-2011, 08:22 PM

I've recently decided to go back to school, starting this fall I'm working towards getting a degree in accounting. I'm gonna get my associates at the local community college then hopefully transfer to a 4 year school to get my bachelors. The first time I went it I wasn't sure what i wanted to do and i just kind of blew it off and just took classes so i could stay on my parents health insurance while preforming poorly in the process. After working full time for the last three years and really thinking it over i think this is a great choice. However, I am a little concerned about affording things once I am ready to transfer, neither of my parents went to college and were never really excited about me going so i've always been on my own for it, although my girlfriend has offered to help me out in any way she can (i pretty much supported us while she got her degree). Is my past disregard for my education going to bite me when it comes to getting financial aid? And if any of you put yourselves through school while trying to support yourself how did you manage? I'm definitely really excited to start back up but i guess i'm a little scared by some of the logistics of it all

waleross · #2 06-15-2011, 09:15 PM

After many starts at college, I finally finished and got my music degree (it took 9 years) . When I did finish I wasn't even playing music (had no instruments either) ,just working full-time. Finishing something is worth more than I can tell you here. I got the degree and am still proud that I finished. If you finish, it will add closure to your life and help you in many ways.................Now, many years later I now have my instruments back (more than I need ) and I hope to get into some band or situation to even make some money....Unheard of ........Don't give up finish what you started......Good luck

lo_freq_geek · #3 06-15-2011, 09:17 PM

I did just enough work in high school to pass and waited till I was 27 to go to U. Some student loans but paid for 100% by me. Qualified for loans as a mature student. I worked, lived VERY frugally, and got a B Ed. Can't imagine how things would have went for me had I not gotten a degree.

TheSuzie · #4 06-15-2011, 10:14 PM

I got the two year degree and then found an employer willing to pay the cost of night school.

A *big* thing to check out before you go too far is the situation regarding transfer credits. Check with your four year school in advance about what credits they will or will not accept from the two year school. You may find that they will not accept as many credits as you would have thought. I ran into that problem and also a problem transferring full blown state university credits from a night program to a day program.

Good Luck,
S

IconBasser · #5 06-16-2011, 12:51 AM

just a year left for me. Can't wait.

tastybasslines · #6 06-16-2011, 01:15 AM

IMO, a college degree is like how a high school diploma used to be. Hiring is more based on personality than school. If you are going back, you have to go all the way, and get a Masters or it will all be wasted. You are competing with TONS of people and Masters are the only things taken seriously. And do it in a field that is demanding and consistent. I you can do this with what you love, you'll be set. It's the only way to make real money from college.

hrodbert696 · #7 06-16-2011, 04:17 AM

Kudos to you for making the decision to go back. Financial aid will depend on a lot of factors; there are merit-based scholarships, which are great when you can win them, but a lot of financial aid is simply need-based and won't pay any attention to your past academic performance.

They'll probably want you to take out some student loans but be very careful about how much you borrow. It's one thing to be paying $100 or 200 a month after you graduate and another to be paying $400 or 500. You've supported yourself on your own so I'm sure you get that.

+100 to checking on transfer credits AHEAD of time if you're going the 2-year-to-4-year route. A lot of times a 2-year college will have a standing relationship with a 4-year college so that all the credits will transfer, but you want to make sure ahead of time. For example, when I was in Indiana Notre Dame would take students from Holy Cross, its "sister" 2-year school. I don't think ND would do that with other schools, or at least not in an established arrangement. It sucks to take 16 or 20 classes over two years and then find that only three or four of them will be accepted toward your bachelor's. Still, if your previous academic performance was soft, an associate's degree is a good way to build a more positive track record.

A lot of returning students feel nervous about how they'll do, being older and not having been in school for a while. In general, however, they are normally the best students to have in your class. They are much more motivated, organized, and disciplined than the 19-year-olds who are only in school because they don't know what else to do.

Absentia · #8 06-16-2011, 06:53 AM

hmmm 100k in debt for student loans I left (they added another 40 credit requirement for my degree and I couldn't afford it)

I need to go back.
You're on the right path, don't do what I did, stay away from private rape you college.

SO working on certs and getting all my credits in one place.
Good luck to you.

Hoover · #9 06-16-2011, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrigginChris

Is my past disregard for my education going to bite me when it comes to getting financial aid?

I went to grad school 12 years after I'd gotten my Bachelor's Degree. I basically squeaked through undergrad with a straight B average: the classes in my major that I had a great interest in I got all A's, and every other class (i.e., the requirements) I barely passed at all. Even had to go an extra semester because after 4 years I still didn't have enough credits to graduate.

Financial Aid at grad school apparently didn't give a hoot about any of that.

I mean, yeah, they asked for my undergrad transcript. But they were way more interested in my credit report and financial statements! Face it, colleges are first interested in verifying that you can pay for tuition; only then do they worry about whether or not you'll be able to make that tuition a worthy investment for yourself.

(fwiw I got my Masters Degree with a straight A average!)

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrigginChris

And if any of you put yourselves through school while trying to support yourself how did you manage?

I learned to survive on 4 hours sleep a night, and got a freelance job with flexible hours. Plus I took out a lot of loans which I spent the next 20 years paying off.

Popbumper · #10 06-16-2011, 08:12 AM

A wise decision, and I wish you the best in your success. I speak from experience.

At 18, I had all intentions of being a doctor. Science and math was my forte. College came and went, wasn't coming close to pulling good grades (2.8 GPA), but I still landed a Medical Technology degree, which launched me into field service on medical equipment. I realized this path was going nowhere by 29....

At 30, I went back to school and got my degree in Electronics Engineering, worked as a tutor and teacher's aide, ended up with a 3.98 GPA, even gave the graduation speech for my class! This propelled my life elsewhere, one of the best decisions I ever made.

I really believe that a lot of young folks are not well prepared for college. It is their first opportunity at independence, and for better or worse, they don't always embrace school "properly".

Give it all you have this time, forget the past, move on with your life, and DO WELL!

Chris

masturbasser · #11 06-16-2011, 11:08 AM

I'm in much the same situation. I went to college several times but always flunked out. I eventually clamped down and got a two year degree in electronics from a technical school. But you know what, I hate working on electronics and the degree turned out to be nigh worthless. The problems were twofold. First I was still immature wanting to party all the time and second I had no idea what I wanted to be. So I floundered around for years working crappy jobs. Then by chance I got a job picking up deceased for funeral homes and the coroner. It was the first job I ever took pride in. I got to wear a suit, see interesting things, and the atmosphere of a funeral home is so solemn and peaceful. I need that peace in my life. Now I'm getting married, my first child is on the way, and I'm moving to New Orleans in september to attend mortuary school. Finally at 31 my life is on track.

FrigginChris · #12 06-16-2011, 07:45 PM

thanks for the support guys, after feeling like i've been left behind for so long. it's good to hear some other people have been through the same thing or are going through it as well. I just wasn't ready when i made my first attempt and now i'm ready to give it my all. i can't wait to go back.

Balog · #13 06-16-2011, 11:14 PM

Don't get loans! Federally insured student loans are one of the few types of debt bankruptcy does not absolve, and are almost impossible to get rid of aside from paying them off.

And if life happens and you don't finish school (and there are ten thousand reasons it might that are not really in your control) you have this horrid millstone of debt around your neck.

Live frugally, apply for every scholarship and grant you can find, get a job you can study at (I suggest security guard), get another job that has a flexible schedule, get 5 more jobs in the summer or intern and network in your field, and do as much freelance work in the field you love (play in a band, make effects pedals, do crafts, do wedding photography etc etc).

There is zero reason to get student loans aside from "It's easier, for right now."

hrodbert696 · #14 06-17-2011, 04:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Balog

Don't get loans! Federally insured student loans are one of the few types of debt bankruptcy does not absolve, and are almost impossible to get rid of aside from paying them off.

Is there some other way you prefer to get rid of loans other than paying them off?

warnergt · #15 06-17-2011, 06:47 AM

FrigginChris:
Excellent plan.
Good luck!

Balog · #16 06-17-2011, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hrodbert696

Is there some other way you prefer to get rid of loans other than paying them off?

Of course not, I firmly believe one should honor their obligations. Which is why it's good to not take on tens of thousands of dollars in debt for a piece of paper that may or may not enable you to make more money, several years from now. And while I am opposed to bankruptcy as a means of clearing debt, should one every be forced to that extreme they are obviously in a very bad place financially. But bankruptcy will not clear student loan (or SBA loans for that matter) debt.

No one ever anticipates being forced into bankruptcy. No one ever anticipates being derailed and not getting that degree they've ransomed their future to. But talk to a financial counselor: that sort of thing happens every day, and not jkust to the lazy or foolish.

Hoover · #17 06-17-2011, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Balog

it's good to not take on tens of thousands of dollars in debt for a piece of paper that may or may not enable you to make more money, several years from now.

If the only reason for pursuing a higher education was to "enable you to make more money, several years from now" the Don't Take Out A Student Loan thing might be some prudent advice.

However...

Balog · #18 06-17-2011, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoover

If the only reason for pursuing a higher education was to "enable you to make more money, several years from now" the Don't Take Out A Student Loan thing might be some prudent advice.

However...

Going tens of thousands of dollars in debt with no expectation of a commensurate financial return is a good thing, in your eyes? And yes, I'd say that aside from trust fund babies and early entry gold diggers who have a reasonable expectation of never needing to support themselves an increase in financial viability is an entirely reasonable thing to expect from college.

ADbassman · #19 06-17-2011, 07:44 PM

I graduated with a BA last year and got a job that didn't require it. Biggest waste of money in my life.

Bongolation · #20 06-18-2011, 12:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waleross

Finishing something is worth more than I can tell you here. I got the degree and am still proud that I finished. If you finish, it will add closure to your life and help you in many ways.

College was an almost perfect waste of time to me. I went to a crappy, nowhere school with crappy, nowhere "professors" who were just clueless posers, and graduating would never be anything more than a ticket punch ("Four-year degree? Yes/No [circle one]"). I knew all that fairly early on. I undertook to educate myself because there was obviously nobody else qualified or motivated to do so in this inferior state U.

Still, I got the degree, with "honors," whatever that meant in the context of this joke of a school. I did so out of pure spite. I shouldn't have gone to college, but having done so, I wasn't going to let it win by disgusting me into quitting.

Only a couple of percent of those who take college courses ever achieve a four-year degree and it just grated on me to think I was going to be among those quitters and losers. I played it smart and finished in the manner that caused me the least inconvenience and interruption of my independent studies, but I did finish.

Although my degree never, ever did earn me an extra penny or do anything that I ever noticed for me, at least I could say I finished college.

That was worth something to me, though I would be hard-pressed to explain it.

But I never, ever "took it seriously."