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whm1974
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I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Mon Jan 22, 2018 3:53 pm

This Thursday I will be talking to an enrollment officer at the local junior college to see about enrolling part-time coming summer or fall. My case manager did tell me I can't go full time due to my housing/Medicaid, but part-time is fine.
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Mon Jan 22, 2018 4:19 pm

Congrats! Depending on what constitutes part-time, you might still be able to complete an Associates degree in two years, if you take summer classes and keep at it. Going part-time might be for the best anyway, especially if you haven't done a ton of math in the last few years.
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Hawkwing74
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Mon Jan 22, 2018 4:24 pm

Good luck. Maybe you can get some IT classes in or work towards certificates.
 
whm1974
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Mon Jan 22, 2018 4:29 pm

derFunkenstein wrote:
Congrats! Depending on what constitutes part-time, you might still be able to complete an Associates degree in two years, if you take summer classes and keep at it. Going part-time might be for the best anyway, especially if you haven't done a ton of math in the last few years.
I sure haven't been doing a lot of math at during the last years. I'm thinking I'm going to have to take quite a few remedial courses to bring me back to speed on many subjects.
Hawkwing74 wrote:
Good luck. Maybe you can get some IT classes in or work towards certificates.

I'm hoping to get a few anyway.
 
whm1974
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Thu Feb 01, 2018 4:24 pm

This is just an update, but I did speak to an enrollment officer today over at SWIC and I'll speak to Financial Aid next Wednesday. She looked over my transcript from last time I went there(BAC then) my GPA was B average and gotten a good deal out of the way. The worse thing is that fact I have a lot of W's on my record, but she told me to talk to Financial Aid since I haven't been in school since 2000.

I'm looking though the catalog now.

P.S. Sorry I haven't been around lately, but been busy on other forums and was ill for a few days.
 
just brew it!
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Thu Feb 01, 2018 5:13 pm

Hey, great to hear things are progressing!
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whm1974
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Thu Feb 01, 2018 5:22 pm

just brew it! wrote:
Hey, great to hear things are progressing!

The number of W's on my transcript does have me concerned, but like I said I had some major issues to deal with back then.
 
Waco
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Thu Feb 01, 2018 5:25 pm

Withdrawals typically don't hurt you going into school any more, do they? They're far better than Fs...
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derFunkenstein
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Thu Feb 01, 2018 5:31 pm

Waco wrote:
Withdrawals typically don't hurt you going into school any more, do they? They're far better than Fs...

As I discovered in summer 2016, Ws adversely affect course completion percentage. You have to complete (receive credit for) 75% of courses attempted (including Ws) to qualify for student loans. Because I didn't do that at ICC during my first attempt, I was denied loans. So depending on how bad it is for whm1974, it could be a problem.

My story had a happy ending, and maybe his will, too: But since I hadn't attempted a course since 2001, I got a "fresh start" scholarship that covered around half my tuition as long as I maintain C or better in all classes.
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Waco
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Thu Feb 01, 2018 5:32 pm

Ouch. That's rough.
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Acidicheartburn
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Thu Feb 01, 2018 5:35 pm

whm1974 wrote:
just brew it! wrote:
Hey, great to hear things are progressing!

The number of W's on my transcript does have me concerned, but like I said I had some major issues to deal with back then.

I doubt those W's will affect your admittance at all. Junior/Community colleges aren't like 4 year colleges where they must absolutely hold a reputation for high grades. They are mainly businesses and want a lot of students. Coming out of high school I barely had over a 2.0 GPA and didn't even take the SAT. The first community college I applied to accepted me. They just made me take a placement exam for english and math. As long as you make the grades once you're attending, you'll be fine.
 
whm1974
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Thu Feb 01, 2018 5:38 pm

derFunkenstein wrote:
Waco wrote:
Withdrawals typically don't hurt you going into school any more, do they? They're far better than Fs...

As I discovered in summer 2016, Ws adversely affect course completion percentage. You have to complete (receive credit for) 75% of courses attempted (including Ws) to qualify for student loans. Because I didn't do that at ICC during my first attempt, I was denied loans. So depending on how bad it is for whm1974, it could be a problem.

My story had a happy ending, and maybe his will, too: But since I hadn't attempted a course since 2001, I got a "fresh start" scholarship that covered around half my tuition as long as I maintain C or better in all classes.

Well she did say that it was good that I my GPA was 2.9 out of 4.0, but I will still need to talk to Financial Aid.
 
whm1974
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Thu Feb 01, 2018 5:40 pm

Acidicheartburn wrote:
whm1974 wrote:
just brew it! wrote:
Hey, great to hear things are progressing!

The number of W's on my transcript does have me concerned, but like I said I had some major issues to deal with back then.

I doubt those W's will affect your admittance at all. Junior/Community colleges aren't like 4 year colleges where they must absolutely hold a reputation for high grades. They are mainly businesses and want a lot of students. Coming out of high school I barely had over a 2.0 GPA and didn't even take the SAT. The first community college I applied to accepted me. They just made me take a placement exam for english and math. As long as you make the grades once you're attending, you'll be fine.

That is good to know. Hopefully I will be taking a few classes this fall.
 
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Thu Feb 01, 2018 5:45 pm

Waco wrote:
Ouch. That's rough.

It is and it isn't. I mean, I'm the screw-up that didn't finish classes back in The Day so it's "you made your bed now lie in it" but it sucks that there's no reset timer on that. All the same, qualifying for that "fresh start" helped considerably.
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whm1974
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Thu Feb 01, 2018 8:55 pm

derFunkenstein wrote:
Waco wrote:
Ouch. That's rough.

It is and it isn't. I mean, I'm the screw-up that didn't finish classes back in The Day so it's "you made your bed now lie in it" but it sucks that there's no reset timer on that. All the same, qualifying for that "fresh start" helped considerably.

While I don't know what kind of fresh start I'll get if any, but I do feel now that I'm older and wiser(I hope)I'll be more focused then back when I was younger and had major issues to deal with.

One big advantage I do have is I won't be around folks who have no interest in improving their lives like I was when I was working really crappy jobs.
 
Acidicheartburn
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Thu Feb 01, 2018 10:06 pm

whm1974 wrote:
derFunkenstein wrote:
Waco wrote:
Ouch. That's rough.

It is and it isn't. I mean, I'm the screw-up that didn't finish classes back in The Day so it's "you made your bed now lie in it" but it sucks that there's no reset timer on that. All the same, qualifying for that "fresh start" helped considerably.

While I don't know what kind of fresh start I'll get if any, but I do feel now that I'm older and wiser(I hope)I'll be more focused then back when I was younger and had major issues to deal with.

One big advantage I do have is I won't be around folks who have no interest in improving their lives like I was when I was working really crappy jobs.

Many, if not most, colleges have a "fresh start" policy that will ignore any previous classes you've taken if it's been a long time. Since you've been out of college for over 15 years it would be insane for them to use anything from your previous academic record.
 
whm1974
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Thu Feb 01, 2018 11:44 pm

Acidicheartburn wrote:
whm1974 wrote:
derFunkenstein wrote:
It is and it isn't. I mean, I'm the screw-up that didn't finish classes back in The Day so it's "you made your bed now lie in it" but it sucks that there's no reset timer on that. All the same, qualifying for that "fresh start" helped considerably.

While I don't know what kind of fresh start I'll get if any, but I do feel now that I'm older and wiser(I hope)I'll be more focused then back when I was younger and had major issues to deal with.

One big advantage I do have is I won't be around folks who have no interest in improving their lives like I was when I was working really crappy jobs.

Many, if not most, colleges have a "fresh start" policy that will ignore any previous classes you've taken if it's been a long time. Since you've been out of college for over 15 years it would be insane for them to use anything from your previous academic record.

That is really nice to know. I'm not sure what degree I'll pursue but if I have to I'll take a class or two for my amusement just to get the ball rolling.
 
whm1974
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Wed Feb 07, 2018 2:04 pm

Just got back from SWIC, and applied for financial aid. It will be about a month . I start summer and fall. Due to my housing I can only go part-time. Oh well it will just take longer to get my degree...

I just wish I decided to go back to school sooner.
 
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Wed Feb 07, 2018 2:14 pm

Better late than never!
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
 
whm1974
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Wed Feb 07, 2018 8:57 pm

just brew it! wrote:
Better late than never!

Well yes, I plan on putting far more effort into this then I did almost 18 years ago.
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Wed Feb 07, 2018 9:13 pm

just brew it! wrote:
Better late than never!

seconded
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Wed Feb 07, 2018 10:34 pm

whm1974 wrote:
just brew it! wrote:
Better late than never!

Well yes, I plan on putting far more effort into this then I did almost 18 years ago.


Take mining or mechanical engineering, then you can go to cool places like the Gobi Desert and work 6 weeks in 3 weeks out 12-13 hours a day!!

sigh I miss the gobes, sky is almost always blue, a nice deep blue.
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Wed Feb 07, 2018 11:09 pm

whm1974 wrote:
Oh well it will just take longer to get my degree...

I just wish I decided to go back to school sooner.


I will echo JBI and say it's better late than never. I knew a guy when I was in college who worked full time and took a single course every semester until he finished his degree, so it's certainly doable even if you're only a part time student. Super nice guy too. Big guy, and since I'm 6' at 200lbs that should tell you something about him. The smile he had on his face after finishing his last final exam is still just about the biggest smile I've ever seen on anyone.
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whm1974
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Wed Feb 07, 2018 11:20 pm

Redocbew wrote:
whm1974 wrote:
Oh well it will just take longer to get my degree...

I just wish I decided to go back to school sooner.


I will echo JBI and say it's better late than never. I knew a guy when I was in college who worked full time and took a single course every semester until he finished his degree, so it's certainly doable even if you're only a part time student. Super nice guy too. Big guy, and since I'm 6' at 200lbs that should tell you something about him. The smile he had on his face after finishing his last final exam is still just about the biggest smile I've ever seen on anyone.

Well I need to take two classes at a time, starting with the summer semester.
 
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Thu Feb 08, 2018 10:06 am

whm1974 wrote:
Well I need to take two classes at a time, starting with the summer semester.


I'm not sure if this has been said already, but given that it's been such a long time since you were last in school, it probably works out that you are somewhat restricted to your course load. Getting back into the mindset can be a bit of an adjustment, and it'd be easier to handle 2 classes/~6 credits than a full time course load. In either case, good luck! Remember to wait and see if you actually need textbooks for the class (always good to email the professor) and if you do need them, to buy them online.
 
DrJ
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Fri Feb 09, 2018 6:41 pm

There is one additional thing you might consider: many states allow Junior (or Community) College students to transfer to the flagship state Universities as a junior if a certain course path is followed and you keep your grades up. If yours is one of those, then the courses that are necessary are listed, or can be obtained from an appropriate counselor. You can then find out which courses are the more rigorous and transferable ones, and which are more for learning as a trade. Even if you don't follow on for a four-year degree, at least you are getting the basics that you would at a four-year school.

And the transfers usually work out fine. I befriended one who transferred in when I was an undergrad, and he did just fine (he would up with a PhD from Wisconsin). I also had a few transfers work for me when I was a grad student, and they all did well. I have other examples, but that's enough for now.
 
DrJ
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Re: I might be going back to School this summer/fall.

Fri Feb 09, 2018 6:47 pm

You know, I posted this in reply to the wrong discussion. Shall I move it to the course selection one?

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