Can I go to college for free?

[Promontorium]

I've been listening to all this talk about government paying for college for years. I've been going to college for 2 years now, and I haven't received a dime for school that I didn't work for.

So can I literally get some money, or is all this talk talk?I know California will give me $2,000 if I sign up for Cal grant, but that's chump change. Is there anything federal yet?

I'm thinking of taking a Ragnar Danneskjöld approach. However, as of yet, no one has given me any money, my family stopped giving me money, or paying for my food or clothes when I was 13. I started working when I was 12.

I just want to finish college, but I might have to take another year off to work full-time just to make enough money to take another year of college. Well anyway. Anyone know what's up? I'd like to point out the military is full of shit and won't be covering my 4 year education.

[Kludge]

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

My former state of residence also gave away $4k to everyone who scored mediocre on their test results (... and actually received all their test results back. I had to appeal to the state gov't to have one set of my MME test results revealed, but it was denied and I had to take the whole damned thing over with underclassmen.)

[WaltM]

might be harder than it was 5 years ago, but yes, try it. worst case is you wasted time trying.

[Promontorium]

Oh that's right. I tried filling that out and they ask you what your previous year's wage was. I had been in the Navy the year before, they told me to go fuxk myself because I made way too much. They don't care if you currently have no job and zero in your bank account. They don't care if your mother died, or that the housing market crashed, and people named me lost $25,000 and had their savings wiped. They just bailed out the banks and fuxk anyone who were actually hurt.

Anyway. I'll try the FAFSA again. I only made like $2,000 last year. I'm poorer than poor people in poor countries with poor parents.

[WaltM]

Oh that's right. I tried filling that out and they ask you what your previous year's wage was. I had been in the Navy the year before, they told me to go fuxk myself because I made way too much. They don't care if you currently have no job and zero in your bank account. They don't care if your mother died, or that the housing market crashed, and people named me lost $25,000 and had their savings wiped. They just bailed out the banks and fuxk anyone who were actually hurt.

Anyway. I'll try the FAFSA again. I only made like $2,000 last year. I'm poorer than poor people in poor countries with poor parents.

like i said, its a lot harder now.

and no, you most likely WON'T get a free full ride, but you might get some.

as for $2000, that's not small, I never got anything and if I ever had $2000, that'd be my rent for one semester (or tuition, both of these were under $2K when I was in school, just 3 years ago).

[pacelli]

It takes a lot of time, effort, and energy, but there are a number of small, $1000-$5000 "grants" from various organizations that can really start to add up. You can be of german, italian, polish, romanian, etc. ancestry to apply for them. Many of these grants are named after people that left the money in a trust after they died. It is basically free money, but the source is not public funds but rather private funds. The money is just sitting there waiting for people to apply for it.

Generally on these private "grants", you have to write a nice paragraph or two. You can apply to a number of these grants every semester if you want. When I was in college, I applied for a $1000 grant for being a first generation italian-polish american (I was born here, my mother was not). So I went to the Italian American Foundation and applied. $1000 is a lot of money when you get out of college and get into the working world, and then realize you have to pay it back to the federal government, with interest! Go the private grant route. It is more hassle but worth it in the end. Incidentally I could only partially fund my education through private grants. I still owe a private loan company $187,000 for my doctoral degree.

[WaltM]

It takes a lot of time, effort, and energy, but there are a number of small, $1000-$5000 "grants" from various organizations that can really start to add up. You can be of german, italian, polish, romanian, etc. ancestry to apply for them. Many of these grants are named after people that left the money in a trust after they died. It is basically free money, but the source is not public funds but rather private funds. The money is just sitting there waiting for people to apply for it.

Generally on these private "grants", you have to write a nice paragraph or two. You can apply to a number of these grants every semester if you want. When I was in college, I applied for a $1000 grant for being a first generation italian-polish american (I was born here, my mother was not). So I went to the Italian American Foundation and applied. $1000 is a lot of money when you get out of college and get into the working world, and then realize you have to pay it back to the federal government, with interest! Go the private grant route. It is more hassle but worth it in the end. Incidentally I could only partially fund my education through private grants. I still owe a private loan company $187,000 for my doctoral degree.

what is your doctoral degree in?

[Promontorium]

I don't know what state you went to college in, but on campus housing is about $2,000 a month at SF State. I was planning to transfer there and pay about $700/month to have 3 or 4 roommates in a house. But now I'm thinking a cheaper city would help me.

Conservatively it'll be about $50,000 to do 2 years at a UC. I looked up the FAFSA, seems I can get max $5500/year from the Feds, and maybe $6,000/year from state (when I transfer, apparantly it's $2000 at state, 6k at UC).


Looks like Obama is full of shit. My broke ass state will pay more than the Feds will. Thank you California tax payers.

That still leaves me about $27,000 short. I'll definitely start whoring aroud for more grants.

[James Madison]

What? You thought you could get a schollarship for being intelligent? Seems to be the only people who regularly get full ride schollies are athletes. Go figure?

[James Madison]

//

[eOs]

all free college in sweden brought to you by their taxpayers, most of their classes are in english, not sure if they're all accredited, but youd definitely save

[WaltM]

I don't know what state you went to college in, but on campus housing is about $2,000 a month at SF State.


Same state.

I shared an apartment within walking distance.

Granted, I wasn't in LA, SD or SF.



I was planning to transfer there and pay about $700/month to have 3 or 4 roommates in a house. But now I'm thinking a cheaper city would help me.


Yeah, it would.



Conservatively it'll be about $50,000 to do 2 years at a UC.


Tuition alone?



I looked up the FAFSA, seems I can get max $5500/year from the Feds, and maybe $6,000/year from state (when I transfer, apparantly it's $2000 at state, 6k at UC).


You mean, by the time you transfer, the handouts will change?



Looks like Obama is full of shit. My broke ass state will pay more than the Feds will. Thank you California tax payers.


Yes, that's been the tradition in California, tuition incredibly low in comparison to costs of living.



That still leaves me about $27,000 short. I'll definitely start whoring aroud for more grants.

can't hurt to try.

If you don't mind me asking, what do you study?

[Baptist]

Are you white?
Are you male?

If you answered yes to both of those questions, good luck going to school for free.

Do you work?

If you answered yes to all three then it is impossible to go for free.

[Kludge]

Are you white?
Are you male?

If you answered yes to both of those questions, good luck going to school for free.

Do you work?

If you answered yes to all three then it is impossible to go for free.

Some people may think this sounds whiny, but it's very true, at least from my experience (though I don't think being female has as much influence in winning grants as it used to).

The vast majority of grants out there when I looked a couple years ago require you either be of a certain ethnic group (and be able to prove it -- though, there are many European groups, too, but it's not "broad" like black/hispanic grants), have a bizarre disability (blindness, being left-handed, being mute), or are ridiculously time-consuming & difficult to achieve (generally the ones based on academic performance which require very long asinine essays to be written just to be considered, very possibly among tens of thousands of applicants). Other than that, a lot of them are lottery-type grants, where you have something like a 1-in-250,000 chance of winning.

Having a mediocre job, or parents who are wealthy but unsupportive particularly sucks because it disqualifies you from a lot of gov't money. My mom owns a company with employees and was forced to report 100% of her revenues, which caused an absurd inflated number to be reported. If you do work one year before college, or during college, it's very wise to get paid under the table.


It was really irritating how our school counselors had us spend hours of school time looking up and applying for these private grants and insisting many of them aren't being applied for (I've come to assume there weren't enough blind left-handed folks trying to become accountants).

[Kludge]

OTOH - if you plan on going to college, look to take AP classes for college credit. My high school offered to let students take AP classes online in just about any subject you can imagine - for free, and if you take an AP test at the end & do well, many schools (check first with the school you intend to go to) will accept it for college credit, likely saving you a fair amount of time and money.

[Baptist]

Community Colleges are nice too. I paid my way through two years of community college. Even if you only go part time, it adds up.

[Kludge]

Community Colleges are nice too. I paid my way through two years of community college. Even if you only go part time, it adds up.

Yeah - take Gen Ed. @ community college, then apply to the university you want to get your specialized education in. Saves a LOT of money & generally gives a better chance of being accepted into the particular university (shows you're committed).

Just takes some coordination to make sure the college you want to go to will accept your comm. college credits. Some are snobby about stuff like that because they want you to take their overpriced gen. ed. courses.

[WaltM]

Yeah - take Gen Ed. @ community college, then apply to the university you want to get your specialized education in. Saves a LOT of money & generally gives a better chance of being accepted into the particular university (shows you're committed).

Just takes some coordination to make sure the college you want to go to will accept your comm. college credits. Some are snobby about stuff like that because they want you to take their overpriced gen. ed. courses.

"Cons" for going to community college (junior college)

a) students are less motivated, quality and culture of studying is less
(You'll need self motivation, and know how to stay out of partying)

b) like the first point, the people you learn with are of the lowest common denominator, the least serious, the least financially viable for education

c) resources and staff are generally smaller (you get what you pay for).

Community college is great if you are
a) self motivated, know your goals
b) don't care about friends and environment,
c) know how to take advantage of teachers, school staff
d) know how to make use of the money saved
e) are still deciding what to do next in education
f) like to party and dont mind wasting time

You will soon realize being in CC, that "dropping out" of classes and retaking is not frowned upon, but almost encouraged. Most things you didn't like about high school, community college is an extension of it (plus you'll get non-traditional students).

[Kludge]

"Cons" for going to community college (junior college)

a) students are less motivated, quality and culture of studying is less
(You'll need self motivation, and know how to stay out of partying)

b) like the first point, the people you learn with are of the lowest common denominator, the least serious, the least financially viable for education

c) resources and staff are generally smaller (you get what you pay for).

Community college is great if you are
a) self motivated, know your goals
b) don't care about friends and environment,
c) know how to take advantage of teachers, school staff
d) know how to make use of the money saved
e) are still deciding what to do next in education
f) like to party and dont mind wasting time

You will soon realize being in CC, that "dropping out" of classes and retaking is not frowned upon, but almost encouraged. Most things you didn't like about high school, community college is an extension of it (plus you'll get non-traditional students).

I guess my view is skewed from being raised (in my teenage years, anyway) in an upper-class Christian White suburb where the community college was quite possibly the best in the state and where many of my friends (who I definitely wouldn't call stupid) went.

I had planned on going, pre-registered, but then realized after days and days of thinking, I couldn't figure out what I wanted to specialize in (doubted I would), and had social phobias about going back to a crowded school. If I ever had a need to go back to school, it'd be to pick up a useful "self-contained" (doesn't require others' labor to produce) skill at a vocational school. I did a lot of preparation for college, but never went - so don't put too much weight in what I say.

[heavenlyboy34]

What? You thought you could get a schollarship for being intelligent? Seems to be the only people who regularly get full ride schollies are athletes. Go figure?

You can get a full ride scholarship for good grades (one of my cousins did), but good grades don't always correlate with "smart". ;) If you're really smart, you'll skip college and start an uber-successful business and get a degree in your spare time-thus avoiding student debt. :cool:

[WaltM]

I guess my view is skewed from being raised (in my teenage years, anyway) in an upper-class Christian White suburb where the community college was quite possibly the best in the state and where many of my friends (who I definitely wouldn't call stupid) went.

I had planned on going, pre-registered, but then realized after days and days of thinking, I couldn't figure out what I wanted to specialize in (doubted I would), and had social phobias about going back to a crowded school. If I ever had a need to go back to school, it'd be to pick up a useful "self-contained" (doesn't require others' labor to produce) skill at a vocational school. I did a lot of preparation for college, but never went - so don't put too much weight in what I say.

Fair enough, the area I lived was much more diverse, so it wasn't the best of Americans.

[heavenlyboy34]

"Cons" for going to community college (junior college)

a) students are less motivated, quality and culture of studying is less
(You'll need self motivation, and know how to stay out of partying)

b) like the first point, the people you learn with are of the lowest common denominator, the least serious, the least financially viable for education

c) resources and staff are generally smaller (you get what you pay for).

Community college is great if you are
a) self motivated, know your goals
b) don't care about friends and environment,
c) know how to take advantage of teachers, school staff
d) know how to make use of the money saved
e) are still deciding what to do next in education
f) like to party and dont mind wasting time

You will soon realize being in CC, that "dropping out" of classes and retaking is not frowned upon, but almost encouraged. Most things you didn't like about high school, community college is an extension of it (plus you'll get non-traditional students).

What do you mean by "wasting time"? CC credits are fully transferable to a 4 year uni. Taking the CC route gives you the same education for less money.:cool:

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

How did they refuse you the post 9/11 GI Bill? I don't understand...did you have 3 years in after 9/11?

http://www.gibill.va.gov/

[James Madison]

You can get a full ride scholarship for good grades (one of my cousins did), but good grades don't always correlate with "smart". ;) If you're really smart, you'll skip college and start an uber-successful business and get a degree in your spare time-thus avoiding student debt. :cool:

You're right, but sadly for a lot of colleges you need to be scoring a minimum 2200 on the SAT I would guess--at least that's what I would guess for where I go to school.
And yes, I've considered ways I could get out of college by starting a successful business. Sadly, I haven't found anything that lucrative.:(

[MelissaWV]

You're right, but sadly for a lot of colleges you need to be scoring a minimum 2200 on the SAT I would guess--at least that's what I would guess for where I go to school.
And yes, I've considered ways I could get out of college by starting a successful business. Sadly, I haven't found anything that lucrative.:(

That is so strange to see, and what's hilarious is that when I told someone I got a 1330 and that was good enough for the schools I wanted to get into... they looked at me like I had fallen off the turnip truck. I often forget they revamped the SAT.

[WaltM]

What do you mean by "wasting time"? CC credits are fully transferable to a 4 year uni. Taking the CC route gives you the same education for less money.:cool:

I meant wasting time, if you're not a self motivated person and are easily dragged down by slackers around you.

In a community college, that is tolerated, in most universities, it's grounds for probation to ensure you're serious.

It is ultimately your decision and habits.

As for the quality of education you get, I have to disagree from my personal experience.

Yes, on paper, your credits are the same. I would not however, say that the teachers and quality of education are the same.

Teachers usually are PhD in a 4 year university, and take things more seriously.
(this is based on many years being both a student and teacher assistant in a university, in comparison to being a tutor at a community college)

Students who started out in a 4 year environment, those who stay and commit (not the drop outs and quitters) learn faster and have no habitual or learning adjustments to the 3rd, 4th years of school. Yes, they pay more, yes, they spend more time and are more stressed during the first 2 years.

Does it pay off? As far as work and academic acheivement? I say so.
Money wise? No, not if you're about saving money and just looking OK on paper.
Community college gets you a better chance of earning good grades for less work.

Keep in mind, I generally do NOT recommend college for most people, but if you're going to do it, do it right, and be dedicated.
I may advise some people to stay out of school, but what I oppose even more is people going in half way, one foot out the door.
That's different than changing your mind later after things change and you know why.
(this generally happens when people are told to go to school not knowing what for)

[pacelli]

what is your doctoral degree in?

Clinical psychology.

[Ireland4Liberty]

My cousins escaped America to come home to Ireland to avail of the heavily subsidies University courses here. It seems to be working out very well indeed. I'm in 4th year and no loan. Ever.

[Promontorium]

I'm finishing my second year at a Junior College. It definitely saved me a lot of money.

My GPA isn't very good (at about 3.05 right now). I dropped out of college after 9/11 to join the Navy. And then after 6 years of service I tried to go back, but the douchebags fucked up my paperwork and I couldn't get on the GI Bill. I became broke, hadn't even enough money to pay for paper, so I had to drop yet another semester and work security at concerts in the bay area for minimum wage.

At this point I had two semesters full of Fs (6 Fs) and withdrawals. Eventually I was able to reapply for the GI Bill and afford school. I've been getting nearly straight As since just to barely get up to the 3.05.

I am a white male born in America. So officially everything in life has been handed to me and I have been oppressing minorities and women for too long. I must be punished.

My GI Bill will run out. They say they go by money, but they actually go by months. And I've run my months up.

Something that also sucks is no one accepts my military college credits. I had 57 credits from over two years of schooling in electronics, maintenance, etc. I have over 4 years of education credits at this point and I don't have any degree. Ha ha!

I have a friend I went to school with who already has a doctorate and is a practicing dentist (but he'll be paying off loans for the rest of his career). I swear I am tired of school.

[WaltM]

I'm finishing my second year at a Junior College. It definitely saved me a lot of money.

My GPA isn't very good (at about 3.05 right now). I dropped out of college after 9/11 to join the Navy. And then after 6 years of service I tried to go back, but the douchebags fucked up my paperwork and I couldn't get on the GI Bill. I became broke, hadn't even enough money to pay for paper, so I had to drop yet another semester and work security at concerts in the bay area for minimum wage.

At this point I had two semesters full of Fs (6 Fs) and withdrawals. Eventually I was able to reapply for the GI Bill and afford school. I've been getting nearly straight As since just to barely get up to the 3.05.

I am a white male born in America. So officially everything in life has been handed to me and I have been oppressing minorities and women for too long. I must be punished.

My GI Bill will run out. They say they go by money, but they actually go by months. And I've run my months up.

Something that also sucks is no one accepts my military college credits. I had 57 credits from over two years of schooling in electronics, maintenance, etc. I have over 4 years of education credits at this point and I don't have any degree. Ha ha!

I have a friend I went to school with who already has a doctorate and is a practicing dentist (but he'll be paying off loans for the rest of his career). I swear I am tired of school.

3.05 isn't bad for transferring to a 4 year college, if that's all you're aiming for.

doctorate AND a DDS? Yeah, I wonder what he owes.

[Promontorium]

3.05 isn't bad for transferring to a 4 year college, if that's all you're aiming for.


We have the "transfer admission guarantee" which I'm hoping they accept from me. Not sure how it's a "guarantee" when you can still be denied, but the requirements are less 'GPA' (min. 3.0) and more 'courses taken' based when they consider accepting juniors.

What do you mean by "all you're aiming for"! This will be surmounting the walls of Jericho if I can finally get a damn degree. I know some people jerk off onto a piece of paper and they're handed a degree, but to me this has been a white whale. And to be sure, hopefully after I'm done being the government's bitch I can get a masters and become a teacher. That's all I initially wanted, but I also don't want to be poor the rest of my life, so things get complicated.

[Bruno]

"Cons" for going to community college (junior college)

a) students are less motivated, quality and culture of studying is less
(You'll need self motivation, and know how to stay out of partying)

b) like the first point, the people you learn with are of the lowest common denominator, the least serious, the least financially viable for education

c) resources and staff are generally smaller (you get what you pay for).

Community college is great if you are
a) self motivated, know your goals
b) don't care about friends and environment,
c) know how to take advantage of teachers, school staff
d) know how to make use of the money saved
e) are still deciding what to do next in education
f) like to party and dont mind wasting time

You will soon realize being in CC, that "dropping out" of classes and retaking is not frowned upon, but almost encouraged. Most things you didn't like about high school, community college is an extension of it (plus you'll get non-traditional students).

Wow. Is this the same person who said this below to me? Look in the mirror. lol.


that's what i said.

its pretty sad (childish is probably the appropriate word) that people take anecdotal, nearly isolated incidents and series of facts (unconnected to each other, and probably mutually exclusive) to fuel their anti-establishement agenda (as if they have a perfect alternative)

[Bruno]

btw - sorry to hear about that, Promotorium.




I find that my interest in politics is inversely proportional to how well my love-life is doing. I am now majoring in Political Science... .

[Jordan]

http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/10/college-tax-credit-stimulus-personal-finance-retirement-new-credit.html

Thanks to the stimulus package I'll get back $2500 out of roughly $4300 in college expenditures this year.

Not too bad...$1800 for 30 credit hours...and $1000 of that was scholarship. So $800 for 30 credit hours.

<--Community College student

Note: There are some very intelligent students at community college, maybe 10%. The other 90% is made up of people who can hardly function, can't put a sentence together, and take 100 words to say what could be said in 10. Also, plan on a huge number of 20 year old moms with 5 year old children studying for some health care related field.

[WaltM]

Wow. Is this the same person who said this below to me? Look in the mirror. lol.

yes same person.

I don't believe the college system is completely broken, they're far from perfect and ideal, but not bad enoguh to throw the bathwater out with the baby.

when I was listing the "cons" of a community college, it was in comparison to 4 year university, not compared to not going to school altogether.

[WaltM]

http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/10/college-tax-credit-stimulus-personal-finance-retirement-new-credit.html

Thanks to the stimulus package I'll get back $2500 out of roughly $4300 in college expenditures this year.

Not too bad...$1800 for 30 credit hours...and $1000 of that was scholarship. So $800 for 30 credit hours.

<--Community College student


take this as a compliment, but I thought you were too smart, too rich, too good for school.




Note: There are some very intelligent students at community college, maybe 10%. The other 90% is made up of people who can hardly function, can't put a sentence together, and take 100 words to say what could be said in 10. Also, plan on a huge number of 20 year old moms with 5 year old children studying for some health care related field.

yep. that's my experience.

[Son of Detroit]

Some ivy league schools have a policy where if you (or your family with whom you are living with) have a gross income of >$60,000 a year, you don't pay anything for your education.

I qualify for that, but I have a total long shot into getting into Brown/Harvard/Princeton/Columbia/etc. I might still just give it a shot though. See what happens. That would be amazing to get a free ivy league education. Graduate debt free.

[Bruno]

yes same person.

I don't believe the college system is completely broken, they're far from perfect and ideal, but not bad enoguh to throw the bathwater out with the baby.

when I was listing the "cons" of a community college, it was in comparison to 4 year university, not compared to not going to school altogether.

There were still quite a few overreaching generalizations in there, that was my point. How many community colleges have you attended that you base this comparison on? You chided me for saying "college is a racket" based on my one experience, which I concede, and then you do the same with your experiences lumping all community colleges and students together.


"like to party and don't mind wasting time" lol. Many students at community colleges work full/part time jobs, and that is why the go to a community college. And we all know people don't party at major universities. :rolleyes:

"don't care about friends and environment" I don't even know what that is supposed to mean. I went to CC and made some great friends there. The learning environment was better than at ISU, in my opinion. The classrooms were also smaller and there was a better student/teacher ratio than you often find as a freshman or sophomore at a university.

[Jordan]

take this as a compliment, but I thought you were too smart, too rich, too good for school.

I don't think anyone is too smart, too rich or too good for school. A few hours a week for four years = great job security and a backup plan. Unless you're living on interest from treasuries, its a very easy way to make sure you aren't as boned during down times as people without degrees or tons of experience within a trade.

If I had $5 million liquid, I would most definitely pass up school. As it stands, I don't and the tiny cash/time investment is worth the very big difference it makes in job security, both in retaining a job and in getting a job should individual ventures/investments/plans/trades/industries fall through.

I'm looking at a total of 4 years of a few hours per week plus less than $10,000 in total for a BS and BA at a local state school. Benefits far outweigh the cost, IMO.


yep. that's my experience.

The community college "demographic" is probably one of the few things that is the same from place to place. :cool:

[WaltM]

There were still quite a few overreaching generalizations in there, that was my point.


never denied it, but I think it's still more honest than whoever says "because this, racket, books, and repeating classes, they're doing it for money".




How many community colleges have you attended that you base this comparison on?


3, all in the same area though.



You chided me for saying "college is a racket" based on my one experience, which I concede, and then you do the same with your experiences lumping all community colleges and students together.


I didn't claim it was much more than my experience and what I know from hearing 2nd hand stories.



"like to party and don't mind wasting time" lol. Many students at community colleges work full/part time jobs, and that is why the go to a community college. And we all know people don't party at major universities. :rolleyes:


and many don't.

do you deny that community colleges tolerate failing and repeating much more?



"don't care about friends and environment" I don't even know what that is supposed to mean. I went to CC and made some great friends there.


yeah, so did I.

My point was, you'll have many who work, many who party, and it's overall an environment which tolerates failing more than universities do, so you ought to be self motivated and not wait for others to push you.

Same for universities though, they remind you by failing you.




The learning environment was better than at ISU, in my opinion. The classrooms were also smaller and there was a better student/teacher ratio than you often find as a freshman or sophomore at a university.

I can only say we're from a different area, junior colleges may have a higher teacher to student ratio, but the teachers generally have lower degrees and teaching experience, and less office hours available.

Sometimes the illusion is created by making multiple classes and each smaller (but total students, if it were to divided into less classes, as universities, wouldn't make a better ratio).

Lastly, your first 2 years of college won't be the most important of what you learn in your major, so you can choose what works for you.

[WaltM]

I don't think anyone is too smart, too rich or too good for school. A few hours a week for four years = great job security and a backup plan. Unless you're living on interest from treasuries, its a very easy way to make sure you aren't as boned during down times as people without degrees or tons of experience within a trade.

If I had $5 million liquid, I would most definitely pass up school.


are you serious?

I'm either very weird or very naive.

I can't imagine having $500K liquid, that I'd need anything else.




As it stands, I don't and the tiny cash/time investment is worth the very big difference it makes in job security, both in retaining a job and in getting a job should individual ventures/investments/plans/trades/industries fall through.


fair enough.



I'm looking at a total of 4 years of a few hours per week plus less than $10,000 in total for a BS and BA at a local state school. Benefits far outweigh the cost, IMO.

The community college "demographic" is probably one of the few things that is the same from place to place. :cool:

probably.

[oyarde]

I don't know what state you went to college in, but on campus housing is about $2,000 a month at SF State. I was planning to transfer there and pay about $700/month to have 3 or 4 roommates in a house. But now I'm thinking a cheaper city would help me.

Conservatively it'll be about $50,000 to do 2 years at a UC. I looked up the FAFSA, seems I can get max $5500/year from the Feds, and maybe $6,000/year from state (when I transfer, apparantly it's $2000 at state, 6k at UC).
.

Looks like Obama is full of shit. My broke ass state will pay more than the Feds will. Thank you California tax payers.

That still leaves me about $27,000 short. I'll definitely start whoring aroud for more grants.

Go with something out of state and save yourself some money .

[Acala]

they looked at me like I had fallen off the turnip truck. .


I would be willing to pay someone to let me fall off their turnip truck just so, you know, I could say I did. Maybe get a video of it. Put it on my video resume.

[Jordan]

That is so strange to see, and what's hilarious is that when I told someone I got a 1330 and that was good enough for the schools I wanted to get into... they looked at me like I had fallen off the turnip truck. I often forget they revamped the SAT.

Even today it's still the first two parts of the SAT that actually matter. The writing section is just there for a buffer, I imagine, to keep up scores for people who can write but can't think critically as well as they can write.

I would imagine that if you were to take today's SAT you'd have a 2130. At the very worst a 2030.

[MelissaWV]

Even today it's still the first two parts of the SAT that actually matter. The writing section is just there for a buffer, I imagine, to keep up scores for people who can write but can't think critically as well as they can write.

I would imagine that if you were to take today's SAT you'd have a 2130. At the very worst a 2030.

Yeah, it wasn't an AWESOME score, but on today's scale it would make me about on par with a particularly uppity Collie.

Adding writing to it would have boosted my score, I'd imagine, but that's water far under the bridge. I wasn't very interested in bettering my score, or else I would have taken it again :p

[syed2011]

I think Govt gives scholarship to Minority students, why don't you try it.

[MelissaWV]

I think Govt gives scholarship to Minority students, why don't you try it.

It's not usually the Government giving scholarships to minority students, but "private" organizations (fat with tax money, of course). I didn't see any indication that the OP was a "minority student," but perhaps they are. There are scholarships out there for all manner of thing, and it never hurts to apply to all of them.

[Jordan]

It's not usually the Government giving scholarships to minority students, but "private" organizations (fat with tax money, of course). I didn't see any indication that the OP was a "minority student," but perhaps they are. There are scholarships out there for all manner of thing, and it never hurts to apply to all of them.

To add to that, I think the qualifications for minority are 1/8th.

So if one your great grandparents were something other than white, you'd qualify.