It has been awhile since I posted here.
Everything has not turned out like I wanted it to but I am still in College and here are some more recommendations I have for everyone starting out.
Always make sure you have an adviser when starting out your new college life. I started and they never assigned me an adviser. I was not aware that you even needed to be advised and I ended up taking two courses which I cannot even apply towards my degree.
I went by the college catalog which I obtained in the Students Service building but I was informed this second semester that the catalog was not correct. So do not believe everything you read I guess. The real thing is they just messed up!
I am getting back on track and have passed all my subjects I have taken so far. As far as the two subject I took that were not necessary, I guess I just learned more than I needed to.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
It has been a little while since my last post but I will try and continue where I left off.
The first day of college is long and draining and boring. You are going to have to register for all your classes you will be taking, which probably means standing in long lines waiting your turn.
This is not really that fun but necessary I guess. I wish they would come up with an alternative plan for this. With the technology we have today looks like there would be a better way of doing this. I stood in line for about 2 hours until it was my turn and after I signed up for my classes and got everything sorted out, I realized I probably could have waited and registered later than everyone else since all my classes were online but I didn't want to take the chance of the classes filling up. This is also something to keep in mind when registering. If you think a class is going to fill up and there may be no room in that class for you, you may want to register as soon as possible. Although, I am sure you will probably be able to get into a class, it might just not be at your choice of day and time.
I am taking all my classes online so I didn't attend the Orientation of the college students, but they did have an orientation for adult students, since so many adults my age are going back to college and looking into furthering their education. At the orientation I got my identification badge made with my picture on it and sat through the meeting held by one of the staff members in charge to see if there was anything more I needed to know. This is a must! If you don't know what you are doing you need to attend the orientation and even so attend just to get the feel of college. You will also be able to ask any questions you may have.
Ok now you have all that squared away it is time to see about getting the books you need for your classes. I went to the bookstore on the first day it was open to financial aid students and again I had to stand in line and wait to get my books. Books are going to be high! I had to buy the new books because all the books I use are not returnable, so there were no used books I could buy. I later realized that you can buy books online at Half.com and save a lot of money by doing so. The trouble is though many of the books I needed came in bundled deals that required two books plus a cd. You will have to decide for yourself which option is best for you but make sure you get the right books. Getting used books is a great idea to save money you could use for something else plus used books are usually marked and high-lighted, which saves you some time since someone else has done all the work.
Well I got to get to studying now. I am coming up on the last month of this semester and looking toward finals. Wish me luck!
The first day of college is long and draining and boring. You are going to have to register for all your classes you will be taking, which probably means standing in long lines waiting your turn.
This is not really that fun but necessary I guess. I wish they would come up with an alternative plan for this. With the technology we have today looks like there would be a better way of doing this. I stood in line for about 2 hours until it was my turn and after I signed up for my classes and got everything sorted out, I realized I probably could have waited and registered later than everyone else since all my classes were online but I didn't want to take the chance of the classes filling up. This is also something to keep in mind when registering. If you think a class is going to fill up and there may be no room in that class for you, you may want to register as soon as possible. Although, I am sure you will probably be able to get into a class, it might just not be at your choice of day and time.
I am taking all my classes online so I didn't attend the Orientation of the college students, but they did have an orientation for adult students, since so many adults my age are going back to college and looking into furthering their education. At the orientation I got my identification badge made with my picture on it and sat through the meeting held by one of the staff members in charge to see if there was anything more I needed to know. This is a must! If you don't know what you are doing you need to attend the orientation and even so attend just to get the feel of college. You will also be able to ask any questions you may have.
Ok now you have all that squared away it is time to see about getting the books you need for your classes. I went to the bookstore on the first day it was open to financial aid students and again I had to stand in line and wait to get my books. Books are going to be high! I had to buy the new books because all the books I use are not returnable, so there were no used books I could buy. I later realized that you can buy books online at Half.com and save a lot of money by doing so. The trouble is though many of the books I needed came in bundled deals that required two books plus a cd. You will have to decide for yourself which option is best for you but make sure you get the right books. Getting used books is a great idea to save money you could use for something else plus used books are usually marked and high-lighted, which saves you some time since someone else has done all the work.
Well I got to get to studying now. I am coming up on the last month of this semester and looking toward finals. Wish me luck!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Starting the First Steps
Well, I finally got back to the blog. Life, work , and homework had me occupied. Ok back to the subject at hand. The first thing you need to do in order to start attending college is to register? No! The first thing you need to do is go see what grants you qualify for. You will need to do this in plenty of time before you start attending since it will affect your tuition and out-of-pocket expense. There are usually two or three grant programs which can be utilized. The Federal government has a Pell Grant and your state usually has some grant programs also. You can apply for both I believe, but each has it own stipulations and qualifications so you will have to read and search and find out which grant would be best for you to apply for.
If you are not in a lower income bracket and plan to attend college you might want to consider a student loan. This information can be obtained at the college of your choice. And can usually be found online at their website also. If you are taking out a student loan please remember after you finish school it will be time to start paying all this back so I hope you choice a loan which has a low fixed rate. I am not too educated on the loans since I opted for the Pell Grant and fall into the low income bracket but the Student Counciling service at the college should be able to help you more in this matter. Don't forget there is nothing like doing a defined web search and finding out more information on this also. Don't settle for just one opinion.
What I did first was go online and sign up for the Pell Grant and see how much I qualified to receive. After you get approval for this you will then need to go and sign up for admission to the college of your choice. I did all this online as most likely everyone can do these days at every college.
Now that you have completed all this it will be time to contact the highschool you graduated from and get a copy of your transcripts sent to your selected college. They usually will require that you either visit their Highschool adminstration office or do like I did: I went to the highschool website and found the link to request transcripts and downloaded their form and filled it out and sent it to them. You may have to end up calling them like I did to make sure they got it. I think they had tossed my mail to the side thinking it was junk mail. You can also download the form and fax it but I didn't have a fax machine and setting up microsoft fax after disabling so many services on Windows Xp turned out to be too much trouble at the time for me.
Everything is falling into place now and what else is there to do? Ok , so you took the ACT test 20 years ago or even so you didn't. It probably will not matter. They probably will want you to take it again since it has been so long since the last time you had taken it. The college of your choice will usually have the ACT test available at least once each month and it will cost you a little depending on the college. It will usually cost around 30 to 60 dollars but just depends on the college. Ah , but there is another option. You can take an accuplacer test, which is administered for free and on the day of registration. I have opted as of now to take neither one.
I know you are probably wondering how can you attend college without taking the ACT test or the Accuplacer test? Well as long as you don't have any academic subjects to take you may be able to weasel your way around this but eventually I will have to take the ACT just like everyone else, as it is hard to avoid the academic parts forever.
Just remember if you are planning on attending college it will not be just like you can do it next week. It will take a little planning and time to get ready for that first semester. You should start like 6 months or more in advance, but you might be able to manage to get by with 3 months if you are lucky.
All the above I posted should be started in this time frame to insure you do not have to rush and try to get everything done at once. Also apply for Financial aid as early as possible since there is a possibility that funding may run out and you would not get funded.
Ok now that you have finished all the above sit back and figure out what you want to major in if you haven't done so already. And if you have already decided, second think it, and think about it some more. Selecting your major is an important part of planning for the next steps you will take to further your education and future career.
Next time I will discuss registering for college and getting ready for the first day of college, and everything that should be done and the bookstore and so on. Until next time.
If you are not in a lower income bracket and plan to attend college you might want to consider a student loan. This information can be obtained at the college of your choice. And can usually be found online at their website also. If you are taking out a student loan please remember after you finish school it will be time to start paying all this back so I hope you choice a loan which has a low fixed rate. I am not too educated on the loans since I opted for the Pell Grant and fall into the low income bracket but the Student Counciling service at the college should be able to help you more in this matter. Don't forget there is nothing like doing a defined web search and finding out more information on this also. Don't settle for just one opinion.
What I did first was go online and sign up for the Pell Grant and see how much I qualified to receive. After you get approval for this you will then need to go and sign up for admission to the college of your choice. I did all this online as most likely everyone can do these days at every college.
Now that you have completed all this it will be time to contact the highschool you graduated from and get a copy of your transcripts sent to your selected college. They usually will require that you either visit their Highschool adminstration office or do like I did: I went to the highschool website and found the link to request transcripts and downloaded their form and filled it out and sent it to them. You may have to end up calling them like I did to make sure they got it. I think they had tossed my mail to the side thinking it was junk mail. You can also download the form and fax it but I didn't have a fax machine and setting up microsoft fax after disabling so many services on Windows Xp turned out to be too much trouble at the time for me.
Everything is falling into place now and what else is there to do? Ok , so you took the ACT test 20 years ago or even so you didn't. It probably will not matter. They probably will want you to take it again since it has been so long since the last time you had taken it. The college of your choice will usually have the ACT test available at least once each month and it will cost you a little depending on the college. It will usually cost around 30 to 60 dollars but just depends on the college. Ah , but there is another option. You can take an accuplacer test, which is administered for free and on the day of registration. I have opted as of now to take neither one.
I know you are probably wondering how can you attend college without taking the ACT test or the Accuplacer test? Well as long as you don't have any academic subjects to take you may be able to weasel your way around this but eventually I will have to take the ACT just like everyone else, as it is hard to avoid the academic parts forever.
Just remember if you are planning on attending college it will not be just like you can do it next week. It will take a little planning and time to get ready for that first semester. You should start like 6 months or more in advance, but you might be able to manage to get by with 3 months if you are lucky.
All the above I posted should be started in this time frame to insure you do not have to rush and try to get everything done at once. Also apply for Financial aid as early as possible since there is a possibility that funding may run out and you would not get funded.
Ok now that you have finished all the above sit back and figure out what you want to major in if you haven't done so already. And if you have already decided, second think it, and think about it some more. Selecting your major is an important part of planning for the next steps you will take to further your education and future career.
Next time I will discuss registering for college and getting ready for the first day of college, and everything that should be done and the bookstore and so on. Until next time.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Taking the First Step
I know I said I was going to talk about the Do's and Don't next, but I will get to that in a minute.
Ok the first thing you need to do is decide on a college that would be in your best interest to attend. If you are like me and in your 40's and working a full time job a local community college would probably be your best choice. Simply because the tuition is cheaper and the academic requirements to attend are at a minimum. Basically all the requirements are that you finished High School or have a GED.
Of course if you did make good grades in high school and live close to a university you might just want to check them out and completely skip the community college, but rest assure the tuition is going to be higher.
Ok, notice I have been emphasizing attending a college within your own state. The reason being is that out-of-state tuition is going to be higher and even if you take classes online you will probably have to drive to the other state just to take a proctored test at least 2 or 3 times a semester.
Another mistake I almost made was doing a search of online colleges and seeing what they offered. The colleges you find online through search engines are mostly money-making machines or as they call them degree mills, or at least most of them are. The ones that are not, are probably good colleges but you are going to pay an over-inflated cost to attend these Universities simply because they have recruiters that earn a commission for every person that they get to sign up. If you call them or email them don't be surprised to hear from them the same day. They are looking for the money. My recommendation would be to steer clear of these online colleges. Going to one of these colleges would be a huge mistake unless you have plenty of money and money is no object to you. Otherwise forget about these places. I almost signed up to attend one of these colleges and after doing more research believe me I know what I am talking about.
Ok I have told you what to do. Check out the local colleges and Universites in your own state, but don't mess with these online colleges. You will be just wasting good money you could use for something else if you attend one of these online colleges. Now the Universities and local community colleges in your own state probably have online classes and you will probably be able to take many, if not all of your classes online if you desire to. So stick to your own state and support your local community since it will benefit you the most and if you have a problem you can always drive right down there to the college to discuss the matter.
Now go online and check out that local college you want to attend and see what they have to offer in way of classes and degrees. Decide where you want to go and commit to going to that college. Like I said before, a local community college will be the best bet if you have not attended school in many years and will be the cheapest option to boot. Next I will be discussing what you need to do to start attendance of the college of your choice.
Ok the first thing you need to do is decide on a college that would be in your best interest to attend. If you are like me and in your 40's and working a full time job a local community college would probably be your best choice. Simply because the tuition is cheaper and the academic requirements to attend are at a minimum. Basically all the requirements are that you finished High School or have a GED.
Of course if you did make good grades in high school and live close to a university you might just want to check them out and completely skip the community college, but rest assure the tuition is going to be higher.
Ok, notice I have been emphasizing attending a college within your own state. The reason being is that out-of-state tuition is going to be higher and even if you take classes online you will probably have to drive to the other state just to take a proctored test at least 2 or 3 times a semester.
Another mistake I almost made was doing a search of online colleges and seeing what they offered. The colleges you find online through search engines are mostly money-making machines or as they call them degree mills, or at least most of them are. The ones that are not, are probably good colleges but you are going to pay an over-inflated cost to attend these Universities simply because they have recruiters that earn a commission for every person that they get to sign up. If you call them or email them don't be surprised to hear from them the same day. They are looking for the money. My recommendation would be to steer clear of these online colleges. Going to one of these colleges would be a huge mistake unless you have plenty of money and money is no object to you. Otherwise forget about these places. I almost signed up to attend one of these colleges and after doing more research believe me I know what I am talking about.
Ok I have told you what to do. Check out the local colleges and Universites in your own state, but don't mess with these online colleges. You will be just wasting good money you could use for something else if you attend one of these online colleges. Now the Universities and local community colleges in your own state probably have online classes and you will probably be able to take many, if not all of your classes online if you desire to. So stick to your own state and support your local community since it will benefit you the most and if you have a problem you can always drive right down there to the college to discuss the matter.
Now go online and check out that local college you want to attend and see what they have to offer in way of classes and degrees. Decide where you want to go and commit to going to that college. Like I said before, a local community college will be the best bet if you have not attended school in many years and will be the cheapest option to boot. Next I will be discussing what you need to do to start attendance of the college of your choice.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Finally Starting College
I am 44 years of age and attending college for the first time ever in my life.
Now to give a brief history of my life. I never liked school when I was growing up and was glad when high school was over. I started working in a factory soon after I got out of high school and ended up meeting my future wife there. I have two sons and I have worked at just two different jobs in my lifetime to support my family. My wife had health problems years later and now sits at home which has left me being the only support for my family to rely on. Both my sons are pretty much grown now and one is planning on attending college this coming semester.
Throughout all these years it was not easy supporting a family on a meager income but we made it alright.
Last year ,with the economy taking a plunge, brought a change to just about every American's life in some form or another and made me think of going to college for the first time ever. All these years I had been content in working a factory job and just getting by but it hit me last year like a ton of bricks. It's like a light went off in my head saying " Hey what are you doing with your life?" I know you could say I might be going through a mid-life crisis but it's more than that. I realized for the first time I was working a dead end job and not getting anywhere.
I know what you are thinking, "what took you so long to realize this?" I really can't answer that truthfully but I do know that I need a change of scenery and more of a feeling of accomplishment in life.
I know starting college is not going to change anything over-night but it is a commitment to a willingness to be open to change in my life and that is what I need.
Next post I will be discussing my undertaking of deciding what college to attend, and what field to enter, and a mistake I almost made that no one should do.
Now to give a brief history of my life. I never liked school when I was growing up and was glad when high school was over. I started working in a factory soon after I got out of high school and ended up meeting my future wife there. I have two sons and I have worked at just two different jobs in my lifetime to support my family. My wife had health problems years later and now sits at home which has left me being the only support for my family to rely on. Both my sons are pretty much grown now and one is planning on attending college this coming semester.
Throughout all these years it was not easy supporting a family on a meager income but we made it alright.
Last year ,with the economy taking a plunge, brought a change to just about every American's life in some form or another and made me think of going to college for the first time ever. All these years I had been content in working a factory job and just getting by but it hit me last year like a ton of bricks. It's like a light went off in my head saying " Hey what are you doing with your life?" I know you could say I might be going through a mid-life crisis but it's more than that. I realized for the first time I was working a dead end job and not getting anywhere.
I know what you are thinking, "what took you so long to realize this?" I really can't answer that truthfully but I do know that I need a change of scenery and more of a feeling of accomplishment in life.
I know starting college is not going to change anything over-night but it is a commitment to a willingness to be open to change in my life and that is what I need.
Next post I will be discussing my undertaking of deciding what college to attend, and what field to enter, and a mistake I almost made that no one should do.
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