Damned college decisions.

[protegechris]

So. I've been out of school for a while. (high school, that is).

Naturally, college is right around the corner.

Here's my pickle, which I come to my old home for advice on, as you know the smartest people in the world do frequent the winamp forums

I am currently employed on GeekSquad, shame on me right? It's actually quite a difficult job to obtain here. Better pay than I've had at any job thus far.

I have a scholarship to cover tuition and fees for an associate's degree at the community college. Catch: I must start this fall, I must remain full-time the entire time.

I am about to move into an apartment near my work (close enough to walk). When I do so, I will no longer have a vehicle due to some family issues. More specifically, I totaled my family's car, and now the one I bought.. I intend to sign over to my parent to make up for my little accident.

The college is on the other side of time. Also, full-time college would interfere with pretty much any shift at work.

To solve the car problem, I will have to find a second job. The apartments are right in the heart of town, which helps.

So.. what do I do here? Do I put off college (PAID) for another year or so until I can get my act together, and focus on A+, MCSE, etc. certifications in the mean time?

Another point I wanted to being up: University of Phoenix. I can get my bachelor's in IT there, however, I will have to take out student loans, and for my first year in college.. it seems retarded to start out in debt. Also, I don't believe that many employers would take a bachelor's in IT (learned online) very seriously.

I have a whopping sixteen hours I managed to get while in high school.. so I wouldn't be TOO behind by delaying.

Seeing as most in this forum have or are going through similar issues.. I thought it'd be a good place to ask.

Opinions?

[eheiney]

You sound just like I did two years ago.

A great friend who's been helping me through my whole college battle for the past two years once told me this: "Its important to plan your "life" around school and not school around your life. Keep in mind that making school the first priority in this relatively short amount of time (4 years roughly) will enable you to plan for more fun in your life when you get done."

He also told me that "You determine the size of the box in which you choose to operate. There are more schools out there than just the one in your area, so don't feel like you are stuck with only those options at hand.

There are millions of kids out there who go to schools away from home. Is it rough? It can be, but the experience is great. Its all about what you are willing to sacrifice to get to the goal. Set your mind on the goal, accept the fact that you will have to make sacrifices to get there, and excute!!

You gotta go through the shit to get to the gold my friend."

As for your debt concern, another friend also told me that, "The whole point of college is to develop the skills to pay off the debts you incur while in college."

With his help and advice, I'm going to be moving to California in less than two months to transfer to Sierra Community College to establish residency and pick up a few more credits that will allow me to transfer to Sacramento State in Fall 2009 as a junior to get my Bachelor's in Nursing. I'm scared as hell, and it's incredibly daunting, but at the same I am so fucking excited and I can't wait!

[protegechris]

Originally posted by denkensiefursich
You sound just like I did two years ago.

A great friend who's been helping me through my whole college battle for the past two years once told me this: "Its important to plan your "life" around school and not school around your life. Keep in mind that making school the first priority in this relatively short amount of time (4 years roughly) will enable you to plan for more fun in your life when you get done."

He also told me that "You determine the size of the box in which you choose to operate. There are more schools out there than just the one in your area, so don't feel like you are stuck with only those options at hand.

There are millions of kids out there who go to schools away from home. Is it rough? It can be, but the experience is great. Its all about what you are willing to sacrifice to get to the goal. Set your mind on the goal, accept the fact that you will have to make sacrifices to get there, and excute!!

You gotta go through the shit to get to the gold my friend."

As for your debt concern, another friend also told me that, "The whole point of college is to develop the skills to pay off the debts you incur while in college."

With his help and advice, I'm going to be moving to California in less than two months to transfer to Sierra Community College to establish residency and pick up a few more credits that will allow me to transfer to Sacramento State in Fall 2009 as a junior to get my Bachelor's in Nursing. I'm scared as hell, and it's incredibly daunting, but at the same I am so fucking excited and I can't wait!

Sounds awesome.. my main issue is I have no vehicle when I leave, and I have no saved money or family support. Everything I do will be covered by loans, grants, or scholarships. That's why it is so tempting to get my associate's locally and (hopefully) do well enough to receive a scholarship to a university.

[eheiney]

I have a car, but I won't be taking it with me. In fact I'll probably be selling it. I don't have any money either. Shit, I still work at the same gas station I've worked at ever since I graduated.

And my family isn't really helping me on either. They didn't have any college fund saved up for my brother and I and, though they've helped pay for a few classes at my current CC, most of it has been funded out of my own pocket. Probably not the best way to do it, but what the hell did I know? Anyway I asked my parents to cosign on a loan for me and they refused. If I wanna go away to school, I have to do it myself. Thankfully I've built up enough credit to get a loan on my own.

The best part is that it's so much more satisfying to do it all on your own and to prove everyone wrong. Even if it doesn't all work out and you end up going back home, it's worth a shot. You don't wanna be an old man having just sat around your whole life, telling your grandkids stories about how you really didn't try when you had the opportunity. Take the chance!

[swingdjted]

Free school? Take it.

It's like the neighbor inviting you for free barbecue when you were thinking about going out to a decent restaurant. Hell with the restaurant. Take the free food first and then go to the restaurant when you need more food later.

Really, you can't beat the price, and remember, if you can't seem to pay living expenses despite free school, you can take out student loans to pay for those expenses instead of for tuition.

"Its important to plan your "life" around school and not school around your life." Good quote dsfs. If you're going to college, keep college the priority and everything else secondary. Cut back on work if necessary, including for study time and not just class. Don't get me wrong, Geek Squad looks like a pretty fun gig, but if it's not what you want as a long-term career, you'll have to sacrifice some time there for schooling.

If you find that you don't like the free stuff, you can just finish the first semester with good grades and then pay for something more fitting. Good grades at a community college will look pretty damn good to admissions offices of more rigorous programs. There's even a chance of landing a decent job you might like with just the associate's degree without need for a bachelor's, but if not, a bachelor's is just the next step up.

It's your life and you should have the final say in what happens, but I must say if I were in your shoes, I'd go for the free schooling.

Good luck; I hope the decision you make is one you'll be proud of later in life when you look back.

[protegechris]

Ted: Your reply got me to poking around the community college's website.. and come to find out, they offer most of their classes online as well, the basics at least. Naturally, the programming and hardware courses are a physical thing.

I'm going to take advantage of the fact that it is free and proceed to go ahead and take (at least) my basic classes online through the community school. This should give me the freedom I need to work, and the freedom I need to not go into debt right now

It should buy me at least a semester or so of time to save up and make a game plan for next semester. Should put me at around 32 credit hours out of a 63 or so credit degree, too. <3 Concurrent high school credits.

Geek Squad has a bad reputation among a lot of people. I can certainly understand why, but it provides a useful service and pays my bills.. so I'll wear my geeky uniform proudly

Thanks everyone for the advice. Can't believe nobody had ever mentioned the local college's online courses to me..

[tuckerm]

Originally posted by denkensiefursich

With his help and advice, I'm going to be moving to California in less than two months to transfer to Sierra Community College to establish residency and pick up a few more credits that will allow me to transfer to Sacramento State in Fall 2009 as a junior to get my Bachelor's in Nursing.

You would be one bad ass nurse.

[swingdjted]

I have a bud who's a big-guy nurse. Because of his rather intimidating size and strength, they always have him in the ER where he more or less doubles as a hospital bouncer when shit hits the fan. I guess a lot of drama that caused injury in the first place resurfaces when people are waiting in the ER and he often has to deal with it.

@ PC - I'm glad you're giving it a go. Can't hurt to try, right?

[Vil]

Originally posted by protegechris
Ted: Your reply got me to poking around the community college's website.. and come to find out, they offer most of their classes online as well, the basics at least. Naturally, the programming and hardware courses are a physical thing.

I'm going to take advantage of the fact that it is free and proceed to go ahead and take (at least) my basic classes online through the community school. This should give me the freedom I need to work, and the freedom I need to not go into debt right now

It should buy me at least a semester or so of time to save up and make a game plan for next semester. Should put me at around 32 credit hours out of a 63 or so credit degree, too. <3 Concurrent high school credits.

Geek Squad has a bad reputation among a lot of people. I can certainly understand why, but it provides a useful service and pays my bills.. so I'll wear my geeky uniform proudly

Thanks everyone for the advice. Can't believe nobody had ever mentioned the local college's online courses to me..

One thing to keep in mind, if you plan on going to a four year university later on, they might not give credit for online courses at another college. It happened to me, but luckily it was only one class.