THIS is why I hate college

[D-B-J]

To each his own. Some go to trade school. Some go to college. Some go to neither. Some drop out of high school. And yet, members from each group can do amazing things. Or they can do nothing. Let's not attack each other for our own decisions, eh?

Jake


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[rexbobcat]

To each his own. Some go to trade school. Some go to college. Some go to neither. Some drop out of high school. And yet, members from each group can do amazing things. Or they can do nothing. Let's not attack each other for our own decisions, eh?

Jake


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So there is some liberalism is this thread! (I can't think of a better word.)

 

[minicoop1985]

Some of the most miserable people I know are some of the most educated. Some of the happiest people I know are some of the least educated. My grandfather never graduated high school, but he died a pretty wealthy, happy guy. That being said, my father has a JD and is one of the happier people I know too... It's all about what you do with your education and selecting the right fit for you.

College can be stressful. Nothing ever goes as planned. I've got an associate's in Criminal Justice-Law Enforcement, I'm on blood thinners, and I have bipolar disorder. So.... yeah. That's 2 1/2 years wasted for the most part.

 

[limr30 3]

Holy crap, lay off the guy! He's not whining or begging for advice or trying to figure an easy way out. He's just frustrated and needs to get it off his chest.

Rexbob, I know where you're coming from. When I started college, I already had 12 full credits from AP classes in high school. That was a big deal at the time (AP credits were a relatively new thing.) I had been saving for college since I was 14 years old, squirreling away babysitting money, and then in high school, saving much of my mall job paycheck. I had some scholarships but had to apply for grants and loans. And mind you, I went to a school with cheap tuition.

I worked all through college, sometimes working two jobs. I took classes and worked during the summers. Part of the reason I was busting my ass so hard was because I wanted to graduate early so I could avoid more loans. My parents were helping me with rent (Well, except for the 6 months or so that my mother tried to force me to choose a major I didn't want. "You do it or we'll stop paying rent!" "Okay, stop paying rent." They did, expecting me to come crawling back a week later. Instead, I got a second job and paid my own damn rent until they said they'd start paying again and stop telling me what to do.) I wanted them to not have to do that anymore, so that was another reason I tried to finish early.

My last semester, I took 17 credits (on top of once again having 2 jobs.) Oh, the crap I had to go through to get permission to go over the 15 credit cap! And then when I was applying for graduation, the school tried to tell me I hadn't fulfilled my science requirements. I had to have 6 science credits - 3 for general ed, and 3 for liberal arts. I took 9 credits. They tried to tell me the class I took while I was still considered 'general ed' only fulfilled the liberal arts requirement, and vice versa. The classes were sufficient, but the order was wrong! She said I would have to stay one more semester to take one more class, even though I had my 120 credits and all my requirements done.

I'll never forget how infuriating that experience was. I had been working so effing hard that I used to get sick at the end of almost every semester, all to accomplish something and all after having done everything that was required of me and more. Then I was being told that a technicality would set me back another semester of tuition and rent and utilities - money that didn't come easily.

The good news is that I'm a stubborn person and though I'm laid-back most of the time, when I'm pushed hard enough, I push back. I stood in that woman's office and argued until it was clear to her that I was not leaving without her signing my papers for graduation. She finally did and I graduated when I'd planned to.

Hang in there. Go punch something a couple of times (not a person, and don't break your hand ), then go find the best solution for your situation.

 

[TheFantasticG]

Ah, so you went to a TRADE school and not a UNIVERSITY, so you basically have no credibility concerning the problem that I put forward. But anyways; I never said I would just agree that you have an opinion and that's that. If you put your counter-opinion out there, don't be surprised when someone responds against it. I wish I was a Texas tough guy like you with your motorcycle and your backwards baseball cap. Please understand that people have different motives for what they do. You obviously care about money. Some people go to to universities because they were given scholarships and can't not go to college on the grounds that somebody else needs this money more than they do, so they shouldn't squander it. Some go because they have to for their chosen career. It's great that you don't need a college degree to make lots of money, but don't throw the same condescending blanket over every other college-educated person.

School is school. Trade school wasn't free. I had to pay for it by working multiple jobs. No scholarships. I have tons of credibility whether you like it or not. University or trade school doesn't matter. Both cost money. Just one is WAY more expensive than the other. People like me go to school to pay for families. That's why money is important to me. I use it to provide for the ones who depend on me.

Can't help you weren't born in the awesome South like I was. Can't help you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth and I wasn't. Don't worry, I don't hold it against you. Maybe, one day, you can have a backwards hat, ride a motorcycle, and live in the great State of Texas

 

[leeroix]

I dropped out of art school to go live in San Diego and surf and party.... My big regret that I will always carry with me is that I never went to a real college and experienced that lifestyle...

 

[PhotoWrangler]

Wow. Just... wow.

 

[NancyMoranG]

I can imagine you are mad. I really had to learn to bite my tongue when dealing with someone who is SUPPOSED to know their job but doesn't! (Ie: a boss) Especially when it costs me more time and or $$ !
at least you are almost done.
Nancy

 

[molested_cow]

It's Saturday and I've had a long day having to deal with some school related work ( I teach). I'm tired and not going to read this entire thread, but this is what I did in college.

I had 4 summer internships before I graduated and I graduated in 4 years. That means, I literally did not have a single summer. However every summer was a blast. I learned a ton, came back with a ton and made money while doing it. What kind of summer do you want? One to waste your time and money on or one where you can make really good use of? Being in school doesn't mean your time is locked up. You can still get a lot of things accomplished, things that has nothing to do with school, but can be done with more convenience because you are a student.

Plus, you've got a scholarship while many others are surviving on ramen 3 meals a day.

 

[Braineack]

something very similar happened to me when filling out paperwork to walk for graduation. I ended up having to do an extra semester because i was missing 6 hours for some prerequisites that no one told me about.

 

[Stevepwns]

I got to school full time AND work a full time job. There is NO free time........ I know youare frustrated but that is life. Better you figure this out now and learn to adjust than later. You are already better off than most people. Not trying to sound like an a$$ but suck it up and deal with it.

 

[rexbobcat]

It's Saturday and I've had a long day having to deal with some school related work ( I teach). I'm tired and not going to read this entire thread, but this is what I did in college.

I had 4 summer internships before I graduated and I graduated in 4 years. That means, I literally did not have a single summer. However every summer was a blast. I learned a ton, came back with a ton and made money while doing it. What kind of summer do you want? One to waste your time and money on or one where you can make really good use of? Being in school doesn't mean your time is locked up. You can still get a lot of things accomplished, things that has nothing to do with school, but can be done with more convenience because you are a student.

Plus, you've got a scholarship while many others are surviving on ramen 3 meals a day.

Well I wouldn't mind having internships during the summer. I think that would be great experience both career-wise and just in general. What I do not like doing is spending four hours a day every day in a lecture hall and then another 6 hours at home doing schoolwork on top of the 30 hours a week I work to try and keep a roof over my head.

It was fine for the past two summers when I thought that I could see the finish line, but then they tell me that I'm not graduating on time, not because I was lazy or waited until the very last minute to take some basic class, but because they changed the curriculum and my adviser was too incompetent to tell me that. And the cherry on top was how peachy she was about it. "We're going I make you pay for an extra class and for the summer. Hope that's alright, *oblivious grin*."

IMPORTANT NOTE: Once again, I know I'm going to have to suck it up regardless of my feelings, so y'all can really stop giving me that sage-advice. Life is tough blah blah. I never said it wasn't. I'm frustrated, not stupid. I'm just venting, and apparently that's frowned upon because it is beneath the maturity of a real adult. My bad, I didn't get the memo.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: Scholarships pay for a fraction of my tuition. The rest comes out of pocket and from loans. I have a job, otherwise I wouldn't be able to pay for my housing, food, books, Internet and phone. I don't know where some of y'all grew up or what your educational backgrounds are, but the misconception that Scholarships are a cure-all is...just...wrong. They're more like band-aids that keep the college from bleeding me completely dry. And on that note, it's not like the scholarships were just handed to me like free money. I had to do some work (shocker!) to be considered for them, but I guess since I didn't have to wash dishes and eat beans every day, it doesn't count.

I'm sorry if my impetuous first post struck some nerve with the "YOU THINK THAT'S BAD?" crowd.

This thread is a mess. Lol

 

[kathyt]

I feel your frustration rex. I hated going to see my advisor. My nursing program was pretty cut and dry for the most part. We had to get all of the non-nursing courses out of the way before applying for the program. It was based on a points system. Getting in to the program was the hard part. It was really cut throat, and competitive. Thank god it is over. I hated nursing school. Just thinking about it makes me want to vomit, but just think about the end rex. There is an end. Once you have your degree they can't take it away. Good luck buddy.
p.s. What is your degree in? I didn't see it in this thread.

 

[Patrice]

Rex, hang in there and get'er done. An education is never wasted.

We all have a story, here is mine.

After high school I was not motivated enough to pursue further education so I did what countless young folk have been doing; I worked at low level jobs, going from place to place and concentrated on having a good time. By my mid twenties I was married with babies on the way. Then the economic reality of trying to provide for a family with minimum wage jobs set in. Something had to be done if I was to provide a reasonable comfortable and secure life style for my family. University was the choice I made, but what to study? The requirement was a degree that came with reasonable probability of acquiring well paid employment in a reasonable amount of time. Medicine takes too long, social sciences need to be pursued to the doctorate level and I din't have enough empathy to embark on the human sciences and pure science also need to be pursued to the end. That was my line of thinking anyway. That left engineering. Some say engineering is a calling, it was not, it was a choice born of necessity.

I scoped out the best engineering school in my part of the country and enrolled in a program leading to a degree in geodetic engineering. Financing the studies as well as providing for the needs of a small family was a bit of a challenge. Doing it without student loans or parental help while maintaing a good enough grade point average for graduate studies was the goal. I drove taxi 60 hours a week and took maximum credit hours at the same time. I took on summer jobs in very challenging parts of the whorld because they paid the most. Sleep and family time was certainly rare for a while but I stuck to it and graduated one full semester faster than the norm.

I had a nice career and did well, traveled the world while getting paid. Was able to retire early at 53 with enough to support my family - still had a 6 year old at home then. Early retirement is nice and all but can be boring. To fill the time I went back to school and enrolled at the community college. I simultaneously completed a certificate program in cabinet making and a diploma program in production management. I was awarded the governor general academic award for the highest marks in the college organization and started contract teaching there the following term. What a hoot that was.

I now own and operate a custom furniture fabrication shop and also presently embarking on a path to become a trainer for a large and respected security firm.

Education of any sort, is always a good thing. You can never fully predict what life will bring you but education certainly helps with the choices you'll be able to make.

Good luck and hang in there, the end game is near. You won't regret it.

 

[The_Traveler]

I don't know if this is a bad story because it's all over and all worked out.

I came from a really poor family and started working after school and weekends at age 14.
I went to college on an academic scholarship at a small university in the NE (Brandeis) but there was no other family money to supplement so I took a full load as a biology major and worked about 24 hours a week for 4 years, summers I did roofing, etc. Finished in 4 years
I went to dental school, and had married my college sweetheart, so I had to work to pay for room and board (my folks and loans paid for tuition, etc).
School was 8-5, 5 days a week. I worked an 8 hour shift Thursday, Friday eves and double shifts on Sat, Sun for four years.
Summers I cut back to 48 hours/week with with one or two weeks off in the summer.
I hated it but lived through it.

All 5 of my children went to college (mostly paid on their own), 4 went to grad school with an MD, MBA, JD, MA sprinkled around.
I did it
They did it.
You'll do it.