The Transition From High School to College.

[Leviathan]

I didn't know where else to put this. :<

One more year of high school. Hooray and all that fun stuff. Only it feels bittersweet to say the least. I think I'm in a crossroad in life where one is done with their formal teaching and must now make the choice of what to do.

One more year of school is left.

I had the yearly talk with the counselor today. Everything went smooth and usual; the secretary yelling at me for coming in early, the brainwashing video they show us [complete with "THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR NOT GOING TO COLLEGE!"] and then the questions of what to do during the last year of high school. [Double major ftw with intiernship and AP classes, pre-cal will kill me most definately, yuh!] The counselor gave me a nice list of some nearby colleges which helped a lot. But here's the big problem...

I don't know what I want to do.

Well maybe it's not I don't know what to do, it's more of a "Yeah I have about 3 careers I want to do, but I don't know which one."

And in order to go to the college I wantto I will endure huge hurdles which include my dad letting me do the major I want to do. [If he doesn't like it then I don't get money for college.]

Major-Political Science
Minor- Broadcasting Journalism.

or

Major- Political Science
Minor- Pre-Law.

or

Going to a communtiy college and taking culinary art classes.

:-?

[CelestialBlade]

What most parents/people in academia don't realize is that most of your first year of college is general education requirement courses anyway, unless you end up in a specialty school. So you will have plenty of time to sort out your major. What's also true is that college plans usually don't go to....plan. Not in a way in that you don't reach your end goal, you just may reach your end goal on a path you didn't realize beforehand. So don't worry about it too much, you do have time to think about it.

As for having pay for college, that's definitely a heavy pursuasion. What I would do is start looking for scholarships, which may result in the payment for college being lifted off your parents' shoulders and thus putting you in more control of your college career, as you should be in an ideal world. Start out with the FAFSA, Google it for more information if you need to. There's plenty of options out there.

I'll have my Bachelor's at the end of this semester, but I still remember the initial transition well. You know how to reach me if you need to talk about anything personal.

[beatrixkiddo]

Just don't go too crazy your first semester ;)

It's pretty easy if you're not used to being out from under your parents' watchful eyes.

[Nitro Vordex]

Join the Army.

I'm not joking, after you serve, I think they give you some type of scholarship.

But otherwise, you still have time.

[Shadowpawn]

Join the Army.

I'm not joking, after you serve, I think they give you some type of scholarship.

But otherwise, you still have time.

I agree as I wish I had done that from the start (but don't join the Army, join the Air Force. They don't do jack shit! :D )

Also, you can transfer out of a community college to a university if you plan on taking Pol Sci. It'll save you money, you should look into any agreement your local community college has with state universities in your area.

[CelestialBlade]

Join the Army.

I'm not joking, after you serve, I think they give you some type of scholarship.

But otherwise, you still have time.
Somehow I think spending 30 minutes on FAFSA paperwork would be a tad bit easier ;P

[Nitro Vordex]

It ain't about what's easy, it's about what's cheap.

[amtalx]

You also have to mortgage several years of your life to the military. I'd rather write a check, thanks.

[Shadowpawn]

You also have to mortgage several years of your life to the military. I'd rather write a check, thanks.

Either way you're going to be owned by the military or your student loan lenders. I'd rather take the route that gives me the least debt.

Or you could just not go at all.

[astuarlen]

I've never understood the problem some folks have with letting their children choose a college major, with all that handing down of ridiculous ultimatums and such. Maybe because I'm not a parent; maybe because I (try to) be a little more rational than that; maybe a little bit of both. Lucky for me, my darling mum had no problem giving me the green light to pursue my glamorous/hobemian/starving artist destiny. A HS friend, on the other hand, who was accepted to MIT no less, got plenty of shit from her mom for wanting to study physics rather than pre-med. Just wanted to save her from a life of utter uselessness and underachievement, maybe.
I don't think we need expect HS students will know for sure what they want to pursue in college and beyond, but it seems an important step in self-determination. Be happy your kids want to go to university and be intellectually engaged and do interesting things! Y/N?

Everyone's mileage will vary (especially if driving a Volt) but I have a few thoughts:

-Don't settle for less now if you have the means to go for what you really want to do. ("If you have the means"... that's the hard part, I guess).

-Having said that, don't fall for a particular school until you've done plenty of research.

--For political science, what does that school's program look like compared to others'?

--Is it structured such that you can attend a year or two or comm college first and then transfer? Even taking a few courses during the summer, for example, at a comm college to complete general ed requirements can be worth it financially.

--If you need to go beyond undergrad for your particular goals, your choice of grad school is very likely more important than undergrad. Could you save big Euros by attending a (probably) less expensive state school for your first four years? I strongly suspect that the difference between average 4-year universities and the Big Names is mainly a matter of hype/branding. The old "you get out of it what you put in" is applicable here. I'm in my last semester at a not-so-glamorous (and, yay, not-so-expensive) state university (Northern Illinois University), and my experience has been that the professors/faculty in my area are awesome, knowledgeable, helpful, etc even though this isn't supersnootyartschool with superhaughtybigwigs.

-Do your FAFSA. Look for scholarships. This is majorly annoying but worth it.

-Be wary of advice from 13-year-olds (especially if they tell you to join the millitary). Be wary of advice from me? Maybe.

-Your major will not necessarily dictate the course of your life for the next sixty years. Be serious and thoughtful about what you want to do, but education will still probably exist in some form or another, even after 2012, should you desire it.

-Buy my book.

-I gotta work on my portfolio now, yikes.

[Shadowpawn]

Know what, take a year off. Seriously, just work for a year and THEN go to college. You'll have some money saved up AND you'll have plenty of time to think.

[amtalx]

Either way you're going to be owned by the military or your student loan lenders. I'd rather take the route that gives me the least debt.

Or you could just not go at all.

Debt's lame, but I won't get PTSD or shot paying a student loan. :p Seriously though, ROTC is no joke. One of my friends went the ROTC route and he's got a bit of PTSD. We were at a New Year's party this year and people started popping the balloons that dropped from the ceiling...he didn't deal with that very well. I don't mean to discourage people that really want to go into the military. Some people really enjoy it. Just be aware that they aren't just handing you a blank check and expecting nothing in return.

[Shadowpawn]

Well I didn't tell her to join the Army but the Air Force. Most of the Air Force never see combat and work as mechanics or do clerical duties.

[CelestialBlade]

Even so, I don't see how the military is a better idea than filling out a little paperwork, that doesn't necessarily mean student loans. There are a ton of options out there, they're just not all listed in one place. If you're going to go the military route then you might as well work for a year first.

Bickering about this isn't really helping the situation here though. Astuarlen made a ton of good points, so take those to heart in your decision too. As for what you can do right now, start finding and filling out scholarships. In my senior year of HS I just started randomly filling out a few, not even hitting the ones that required essays, and I randomly got my first year free. And since I take classes full-time year-round, I saved $9000 from filling out a form that took 5 minutes. It's easy, just tedious. Fill out everything you can, and your advisors can often lead you on the right path with scholarship opportunities.

Oh, and when you do your FAFSA, keep one on file all the time. I'm going into grad school and I'm still hoping that my FAFSA can find me something.

[Gunslinger-08]

I didn't even know what I wanted to do until the last half of my senior year, and even then, it was shaky.

I basically had to sit down and look at a very long list of majors and the careers associated with each. I searched around and asked myself "What job would I love doing for the rest of my life? What do I NOT want to do?" If you still can't figure out what you're going to do, look at universities with a variety of programs. Go ahead and start applying to lots of colleges, within reason. That way you keep your foot in the door while you take more time to figure things out.

I can't really offer advice on the financial aspects, since I was lucky with parents who agreed to help me get through undergrad debt-free (my mother has innumerable horror stories about student loans), with the condition that I never move back in, lol. Scholarships are a lifesaver if you're lucky enough to get them, so apply for all of those you can, and NEVER leave out any community service you've done.

But most of all, relax. Do what you can, and don't stress over what you can't. Remember, your major isn't locked in once you choose it, so keep that in mind.

The program you choose is only half of what college is about. The other half is learning how to stand on your two feet, and to think for yourself.

[Zarode]

You wasted 12 years of your life just to waste another 8 getting some where, as desperate as it needs to be. :)


Isn't life grand?

[Syl]

It ain't about what's easy, it's about what's cheap.

Depending where/how she lives she doesn't even have to worry much about it.

I qualified for the Board of Governor's Fee Waiver, which means all my units/classes were free. I also used to get like... $1100+ per semester from the FAFSA as long as I had 12 units per semester which is standard full time anyways. Going to community college first and then transferring is cheaper and easier for you. Think of it as a way to prep for the real deal in University. Not to mention you can pretty much explore the 1st year of college trying to see if that is what you want your major to be and just take it nice and easy with general ed classes.

You could essentially save the extra cash for when you go to University too, making the blow that much softer in your savings. And financially speaking my family is middle class, so don't even fret about not qualifying for stuff because of that.

When all you have to pay is for food, transportation, school supplies, and books, it's waaaaay better to do this than having to sign a contract into the US Forces. Really, don't be scared into it. Just take your time and research scholarships and financial aid available to you and you'll be ok.

[Tessu]

Know what, take a year off. Seriously, just work for a year and THEN go to college. You'll have some money saved up AND you'll have plenty of time to think.

Upon relaying this idea to my own mother several times when talking about what to do for college, she said, "No, that's not a good idea. That way, you technically have income, and you get less money from the college and have to pay more."

Now, I'm not entirely sure how this works and if this applies to all cases, so don't quote me on that -- that was just what I was always told.

[Shadowpawn]

Upon relaying this idea to my own mother several times when talking about what to do for college, she said, "No, that's not a good idea. That way, you technically have income, and you get less money from the college and have to pay more."

Now, I'm not entirely sure how this works and if this applies to all cases, so don't quote me on that -- that was just what I was always told.

It's true that it could work against you, but they really go by your parents income anyway if you're under 24. The best thing to do if you want to maximize your aid is to claim a relative who is older and/or disabled as your guardian. Granted you have to have their 1040s so make sure you okay it with them first.

[Kylie]

You think "Senioritis" is bad in high school? It's far, far worse in college. I mean, it's easy to go into college and not know what you want to do, but it's a horrible feeling to be almost at the end of your education and not know what the hell you're going to do. This is why so many seniors in college end up with depression. It usually turns out fine though, but mine is not a good case to judge because I finished college with regrets. That's why I'm still taking classes... at a very lazy pace. :disapprove:

But I don't let it bother me, and you shouldn't either because success shouldn't be measured by one's career. You definitely don't want to end up doing something you don't enjoy, but it's not a big deal if you take some time to decide what that is. After all, it's not easy by any means.

[astuarlen]

It's true that it could work against you, but they really go by your parents income anyway if you're under 24. The best thing to do if you want to maximize your aid is to claim a relative who is older and/or disabled as your guardian. Granted you have to have their 1040s so make sure you okay it with them first.

I am not your (Tess, Levi, etc) financial aid advisor but (you should ask someone at your prospective college(s)!)...

If you are claimed as a dependent by your parent(s), the assumption is that your parent(s) will be helping you pay, hence the close attention to parental finances. Of course this is not always true (wasn't in my case) for a variety of reasons, but it's a damn big system so "best fit models" apply.

Financial aid is there to help people who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford a college education. Yes, it can be a hardship even for middle class families. But misrepresenting your situation by claiming to live with someone else whose income is limited? Please. It's not about maxing your stats.

[Shadowpawn]

Speak for yourself, to me it's all about maxing your stats and gaining as much aid as you can. You said it yourself that your parents didn't help you pay for college, mine's didn't either. So why would you hinder yourself by listing people with higher earning brackets on your FAFSA?

[CelestialBlade]

I can see both sides of that. I can't argue against doing everything you can for yourself to get by, but at the same time, it does irk me how the people with more money tend to get more scholarships somehow, and the people in the middle usually get royally screwed. It's like, the side of me interested in overall fairness and justice would be against dishonesty there, but I'm not sure I could really fully resist my practical side saying "hey, it's an opportunity and it's yours, take it." It's a difficult situation.

[amtalx]

Ethics?

[Outrider]

Ethics?

Shush!

You'll scare the children.

[EphekZ]

Like someone said earlier, the first 2 years of college is your general ED requirements, which is basically just 2 more years of High school, and yes even in Private colleges you have to take your G.Es(that's why no one pays attention to undergrads) If money is an issue I suggest going to a Community College for the two years. I dont know what state you live in, but in California you can do your G.E. in Community College and transfer to finish off your degree rather easily.

My plan is to do 2 years of CC then transfer into a U.C. College and pursue my major which, btw, I also have no idea what it is. 2 Years is a long time, you'll know what you want to do by then, don't trip.

I suggest doing the Fafsa ASAP. I dont know the deadline for where you live, but here it's March 2nd. You should probably check that out.

But really, why pay all the extra money for an Associates Degree, which in today's business world doesn't really mean anything anymore. Take the Cost effective road =]

edit: By the way, unless you're superhumanly motivated, don't take a year off of schooling. Hell, it takes long enough after a summer to get back into the groove of school. Imagine a year of no school. Your school work ethic will be shit.

[Tetsaru]

Making the transition from high school to college is a big change, but I can tell you right now that college is a lot more fun. You have SO much more freedom... but at the same time, a lot more responsibility.

From my own personal experience, I can tell you right now - make sure you know what you want to do with your life before you decide on a major to go into. Choose something that would best reflect your main interests and hobbies. If you're not totally into what you want to do, I can promise you that you won't enjoy your classes later on, and then you'll end up wanting to switch majors or something. This happened to me twice actually, and I ended up losing a lot of scholarship money and got into a big depression rut because I felt frustrated and unsure of myself. Trust me, you don't want that to happen. @_@

If I were you, I'd start thinking about what type of activities you love doing most, and try to apply that to an environment where you can earn money doing that sort of thing and be able to sustain yourself and/or your family later on. Most importantly though, MAKE SURE THAT YOU'LL BE HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU DO. If you need to, take a while off after you graduate from high school to give yourself some time to think. Talk it over with your relatives and your friends - usually they're the ones that can tell you what you're good at. Also, try finding a local job to work at in the meantime so you can set aside some money for your college fees, and do as much research as you can to see if you'd be eligible for any scholarships, grants, or financial aid. Or, if you want to, you can even join the military and let them pay for it, but I'm not too keen on that idea.

Just be sure that you're happy with what you're going to be doing with your life, because no one can decide except you.

[Leviathan]

I do like the idea of getting scholarships, even though they are hard to come by.
Joining the Air Force might actually be a good idea, they have been sending me copious amounts of mail. >,>

I think for now I'll just go the community college route, until I find what I should do.
I am taking some classes out of my regular [Media Technology] classes. [Advertising Design] which was something I had been thinking about in the back of my mind for awhile.

But this thread really helped me a lot. :wacko:

[Rasputin]

It's true that it could work against you, but they really go by your parents income anyway if you're under 24. The best thing to do if you want to maximize your aid is to claim a relative who is older and/or disabled as your guardian. Granted you have to have their 1040s so make sure you okay it with them first.

If you get married you're counted as an independent. You could also marry another college-bound student so that you both be independents and get nice financial aid.

[SStrikerR]

I'd go with your first choice. Your 3rd choice sounds interesting, but do you think you'd go far enough to make good money from a job that would come from that? If you do, go for it. If not, Political Science and Journalism. *brainwashes*



But honestly, don't even listen to what I say. I don't know shit when it comes to this >_>;

[CelestialBlade]

If you get married you're counted as an independent. You could also marry another college-bound student so that you both be independents and get nice financial aid.
Rushing into a marriage for financial benefit.....great idea XD;

The community college route isn't a bad idea, Levi. If you decide to go to a larger university that's fairly close to said community college, it may make it easier to transfer credits in the event you decide you want to switch colleges. And staying close to home is usually a good idea; you'll find that most people that think they want to get out of the house and think they're sooooo independent at 18 are usually out of money and begging their parents to let them come back after a single year.

And the Air Force sends every 18-year-old copious amounts of mail. Don't fall for it ;P I really think you're much better off going straight into college. Military stuff isn't for everyone, most people go into it for the financial aid alone and they end up hating themselves for doing so.

[astuarlen]

Joining the Air Force might actually be a good idea, they have been sending me copious amounts of mail. >,>

I think for now I'll just go the community college route, until I find what I should do.
I am taking some classes out of my regular [Media Technology] classes. [Advertising Design] which was something I had been thinking about in the back of my mind for awhile.

But this thread really helped me a lot. :wacko:

Given the strongly pacifistic stance I've gathered you have based on previous posts, I can't imagine you'd be happy in the armed services. Up to you.

Community college route? Sounds good. Everyone's different, but for many I think maintaining the momentum that comes with taking at least a few classes is really helpful. I've seen plenty of people just kind of let their education... slip away with loss of focus and energy.

Make sure you look into the CC's accreditation and the transfer possibilities of classes you're considering. For instance (going off personal experience as an advisor at my uni), in this state we have the Illinois Articulation Initiative, which maps community college courses to 4-year institution courses, letting you know what credit you'd get transfered/how it all fits within a 4-year curriculum. For the most part, you can get credit at the university for lower level classes/general education requirements, but upper level/things in your major you need to take at the university.

Good luck, dudette. I'm sure you'll figure it out.

[CelestialBlade]

Given the strongly pacifistic stance I've gathered you have based on previous posts, I can't imagine you'd be happy in the armed services. Up to you.

Community college route? Sounds good. Everyone's different, but for many I think maintaining the momentum that comes with taking at least a few classes is really helpful. I've seen plenty of people just kind of let their education... slip away with loss of focus and energy.

Make sure you look into the CC's accreditation and the transfer possibilities of classes you're considering. For instance (going off personal experience as an advisor at my uni), in this state we have the Illinois Articulation Initiative, which maps community college courses to 4-year institution courses, letting you know what credit you'd get transfered/how it all fits within a 4-year curriculum. For the most part, you can get credit at the university for lower level classes/general education requirements, but upper level/things in your major you need to take at the university.

Good luck, dudette. I'm sure you'll figure it out.
Worded a lot better than I did :P Do whatever you can to make sure you don't have to spend an extended amount of time away from class entirely.