College: Choosing what you want to do...

[90GT50]

Welcome to the club. I just need to keep working on my basics and go from there.

[mustangguy289]

If you decide to do community college first... plan ahead and check out the degree plan. Most people screw themselves over in the long run by going to community college and then getting a rude awakening when the hard classes hit them after being babied. Don't forge the chance of the credits you worked for not counting towards your degree plan.

[Thehead]

I'm in the same boat as Brien and have been considering going back to school. I haven't been in school since 2000.

[Bad Religion]

If you decide to do community college first... plan ahead and check out the degree plan. Most people screw themselves over in the long run by going to community college and then getting a rude awakening when the hard classes hit them after being babied. Don't forge the chance of the credits you worked for not counting towards your degree plan.

Ha! First semester of UTA after 2 years of community college. Dropped one class and still managed a 1.6 GPA. Almost got kicked out of the school, and was on probation for a long time. Got my ass in gear and had to completely change my view on school. Sold my mustang and no more project cars.

[Leah]

If you go to TCC for your basics, you can graduate with an AA and the whole degree transfers along with the GPA. That's what I did before starting my BA at UNT.

Also-just to throw this in there, but my brother didn't finish high school until this year (he's 30) due to extenuating circumstances at the time and has never stepped foot in a college, yet he just got transferred to N.C. with his company making almost $300k/year. He's in IT, also but instead of getting a college degree, he went for certifications in his field. As of a couple of years ago, he was one of four hundred or so people in the world with the level of certifications he has.

I was much like you, right after high school, I had absolutely NO desire to be in college. It took me 6 years to get out of TCC and get motivated. I finally got my AA there (with a measley 2.0) and took a year off. Then I finally became motivated to do something so I started UNT and finished my BA in a year and a half AND stayed on the Dean's list. Now I'm back working on my MA. It's all about going at the right time.

Good luck!

[Slowhand]

Start taking prereq's and actually put some effort into them; you might find something you like.

The only thing I would knock on going the CC route is that a community college is going to leave you in the same spot in 1-2 years if you don't know what it is you want to pursue. The people I know who already had a goal in mind and just needed to knock out the classes to make their way into a bachelor's program have done great in that environment; the people I know that just went to a CC to take classes and figure out what they want to do generally aren't in school anymore.

The advantage of being in a 4 year environment is the opportunity to take some worthwhile electives or required non-major classes that might open your eyes to a new career field. I certainly found a few in my first few years that I was prepared to fall back on if I decided I didn't want to pursue an accounting degree, and they were all classes that weren't core classes or business degree specific. That's my take on it, at least.

[yellowstang]

Doesn't really matter what your major is set too, nobody ever graduates and works in the same field they chose!

[mustangguy289]

Doesn't really matter what your major is set too, nobody ever graduates and works in the same field they chose!

Not always true. I graduated with an ME and umm my title is ME. That does hold true for bullshit degrees though.

[BERNIE MOSFET]

Yes I am. Are there any benefits of taking basics at UTA vs TCC. I figured a county college would be fine for basics as long as they transferred.

I have seen where petroleum engineers make some serious cash. Electrical would be another option that interests me.

If you are going to go into engineering, make sure that what you take applies directly to the 4-year-school degree plan, such as engineering physics versus regular physics. Engineering is calculus based and the other isn't.

Keep your GPA as high as possible because you can get scholarship money for transferring. My first 2 years at UTA were more than paid for with my time at TCC.

But, like Tengram pointed out, the transferred credits don't help your GPA, so all the easier courses won't weigh against the harder ones later on. If you have a really bad semester for some reason, it will hit your undergraduate gpa much harder.

[BERNIE MOSFET]

Doesn't really matter what your major is set too, nobody ever graduates and works in the same field they chose!

I disagree with this also. Lots of people work within the field they studied in.

[davbrucas]

If I would have gone to college right out of HS I probably would have failed out...even though I graduated HS with a 4.2gpa. I had just gotten into booze and girls and my home life wasnt the best. 6yrs in the Army sure matured me a lot and I finished my undergrad in 3yrs only making 2 B's (not in science courses). Maturity level sure makes a difference in academic performance...but I had to do well as I had no other options at the time.
If I were you, I would downsize my life and enroll at a 4yr university and live like a college kid and enjoy the experience. You can work fulltime and go to school fulltime. I did it carrying 20+ credits per semester. You just have to get your priorities straight. If funding is an issue, anybody can go to school and credit isnt an issue. Student loans to pay rent and tuition, job for everything else.

[FATHERFORD]

Screw a 4 year college...

Go to a 2 year technical college. Get in, get out, make lots of money...

With that said, make sure the field you choose has potential of making lots of money.

[Sean88gt]

Screw a 4 year college...

Go to a 2 year technical college. Get in, get out, make lots of money...

With that said, make sure the field you choose has potential of making lots of money.

Wyotech grad? Maybe people want to go to school to use their mind instead of their hands? Until you get paid for the way you think you will always be an employee or a shop monkey. But maybe people's individual concept of making a lot of money is individually unique?

I'll be done with my bachelor's in June or so and if everything works out like I hope, I'll be entering my first year of law in the fall.

[talisman]

Wyotech grad? Maybe people want to go to school to use their mind instead of their hands? Until you get paid for the way you think you will always be an employee or a shop monkey. But maybe people's individual concept of making a lot of money is individually unique?
.

Dead on balls accurate.


Brien, just take as many basics as possible, and one course you're interested in each semester. You'll be deep in before you know it. I've been back a year, and still have a long way to go... But I have MUCH less to go than I did a year ago. Do it. Quit fucking around.

Those of you that say getting a 4 year degree is dumb because people don't use it are mostly wrong. While you might not use THE degree that you've got, it opens the door, and many people wouldn't have been interviewed for the position they are in if they didn't have A degree.

[davbrucas]

The people that have a degree but dont use it are the ones that did not plan for their futures appropriately. There are many useless degrees out there and the ones that arent are difficult to acquire. You get out of it what you put into it.