Stop college or keep plugging on?...opinions please.

by FreedomFrog 40 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  TrailBlazer04

  Keep going! You can do it! I went back to school in 1999 at age 35. I finished a 2 year degree, AAS in 2001. I'm now completing a 4 year BBA degree online. Life will only get more hectic as time goes on. I'm doing online too. I'm finishing my first quarter and so far so good, I have an A average. Next quarter, I'll be taking 2 classes. Financially, it's not much of a strain for me as I do have tuition reimbursement from my employer, but books cost anyway. Is there any way you can find what text they're using by the ISBN number and order from Barnes & Noble or Amazon?

  I have 3 kids at home, ages 2.5, 4 and 16, take care of my mom, and work about 50 hours a week. YOU CAN DO IT!!! Just think of the opportunities when you're done! Find out about the FASFA, student loans, grants, etc. There's also a website for scholarships, I don't have the URL on me, but google scholarships.

  If you want to talk, feel free to pm me.

  TB
• 

  VM44

  I encourage you to continue with your courses. The benefits in completing them will be well worth the hard work you put into them.

  As for running out of "virtual memory", that could be a problem with the application you are running. You can try adjusting Windows virtual memory settings, but I would recommend buying additional physical memory for you computer. Additional memory is not as expensive as it used to be (In fact it has become cheap compared to the memory prices of years ago).

  I think you will find if you add additional memory it will make a world of difference in how fast your computer operates, not to mention that it will probably solve the "virtual memory" problem".

  --VM44
• 

  Forscher

  Well FF,

  It may be time to clean your hard drive out a bit. If you've spent a bunch of time on the net your temporary folders may be so filled with files that there is not enough room on your hard drive to expand your memory. You can usually find those folders in the Windows folder and in your program folder for your browser. If you can find the right folders and clear the deadwood out, or rid yourself of programs you no longer use, it might be enough to be able to expand your virtual memory.

  The rule of thumb for how much space on your hard drive to use is about 50%. Use up much more space than that and you risk setting up a situation where your computer slows down and you don't have enough space for your virtual memory. That is why I have, and always advise others to get additional hard drives to go with their computers. It is not all that expensive to add an external hard drive and can save you lots of grief down the road. If you add one and only use your internal drive for those programs necessary to run your computer itself, you can usually avoid problems such as the one you mentioned.

  As for your education, you've been given lots of good advise, including the one about making your own decision whether to continue or not. I will tell you that I regret not having gone to college back in the 1970s when I had the chance. But only you can decide what is best for you.

  Forscher
• 

  bikerchic

  Get a new computer they're really cheap and finish school. By the time you've finished your kiddo will be in school full time and you can get a decent job.

  Good luck and hang in there!
• 

  FreedomFrog

  Oh wow, last time I looked at this thread there was only about 14 posts...now I come back to 34!!! Thanks everyone, I really do appreciate all of your encouragement and advice.

  Is there any way you can find what text they're using by the ISBN number and order from Barnes & Noble or Amazon?

  Yes I can but that's not the problem with the books...I can go get the hard copies but I still am required to pay for the online version because "that's the policy". I've talked with the school counselors about this and they have told me this will probably not change because they get a discount and it's easier to make sure everyone has a copy no matter what. I can go get the freakin' discount downtown at the used book store for students.

  It would probably be even cheaper if I could have the OPTION of opting out of the online versions. The thing is about the colleges online versions is, they skip around on chapters relating to the topic. For example, we may be in week 1 and we would only get chapters 1 and chapters 4 to read...what happened to 2 and 3? We never get them but we still have to pay $210 each course for the "books". I think it's a rip off. I'm not the only one that is frustrated by this. My class started a thread on this subject and it just doesn't seem fair to not at least give the option of having the entire book printable. We're basically paying for the rights to have it in the first place. So why not say in the assignments (Read chapter 1 and 4) but allow the students to have 1,2,3 and 4??? It just doesn't seem right.

  My student loans is with FASFA and the way it's set up is 6 months after graduation that's when they start wanting payments back on the loan. So as long as I continue school, the loans don't have to be paid back. The amount of college I want is a BA in the healthcare industry and maybe an Assoc. in business.

  Here's another thing that ticks me off. When I did my loan through the school, they used Dave's income. I told them that we weren't married anymore so that would mean that I don't get that kind of money as if we were married. They told me that it's set up to "go back a year"...sheeeesh! So my loan is built around a larger "income" that I don't really "make".

  Anyway, what I'm going to do is go talk with Columbus State Monday and see how I can transfer my credits to them. I know they have babysitting arrangements and I think it's based on what your income is. One thing I did right was made sure ALL of my credits were transferable if and when I did choose to go to a different college before I signed up with this college.

  Thanks again for all of the advice.

  Froggy
• 

  FreedomFrog

  Oh and the $210 is for only 2 online book versions... so that makes the books about $105 for each book each course. Of course some books are cheaper (like only $65. I've checked) while others are close to $200 and this is at Barnes and Noble. I know that some of the books you can't get at a discount store but I think if we had the option to get our own books and not forced into their online versions, it would be much cheaper in the long run.
• 

  Mary

  My student loans is with FASFA and the way it's set up is 6 months after graduation that's when they start wanting payments back on the loan. So as long as I continue school, the loans don't have to be paid back. The amount of college I want is a BA in the healthcare industry and maybe an Assoc. in business.

  Here's something you may want to ponder: If you want to get your Bachelor's degree in the healthcare industry, I believe you need 30 half credit courses (or at least that's what it is here in Ontario----might be different where you are). Depending on how many courses you've already taken, you might be eligible for a Diploma or Certificate in a healthcare environment which is 10 half credit courses (up here). It won't pay as much as the BA, but it could get your foot in the door to working in a hospital or clinic or wherever you want to work. Many times, employers will pay for the employees' schooling. If you continue to take the courses on a part time basis and you pass, your employer will reimburse you the cost of your tuition. Find out through the department that you're majoring in, how many courses you need for the Diploma or Certificate and see if you have the required course. Usually it's 5 core courses from an approved list and 5 optional.

  Here's another thing that ticks me off. When I did my loan through the school, they used Dave's income. I told them that we weren't married anymore so that would mean that I don't get that kind of money as if we were married. They told me that it's set up to "go back a year"...sheeeesh! So my loan is built around a larger "income" that I don't really "make".

  That's bullshit. I'd contact someone else there, either in the Deans Office, someone else in Financing, or whatever your equivalent for the governmental office of Ministry of Education----that's absolutely ridiculous that they'd include an income that doesn't exist.

  Basically, it does not sound like a really good college-----and alot of questionable practices. I've never heard of charging a student for portions of an on-line book---especially at the astronomical prices they're charging. So yep, if you don't have enough for a diploma or certificate right now, I'd transfer out of there asap.
• 

  UnConfused

  FF - what advice would you give someone else in your exact situation? That's what you should do. But either way I want you to know that you are doing well I think, on the right track, and sometimes it's one step forward and two back....on your way forward and maybe this is one of those situations.
• 

  FreedomFrog

  I believe you need 30 half credit courses (or at least that's what it is here in Ontario----might be different where you are).

  Hi Mary, it looks like I have 32 full credits. I talk to quite a few people that are in the healthcare industry and they said it only took them 9 months to get their LPN licence (which I've already past 12 months already). Of course I want to go one step up to RN but it seems like I'm going about this the wrong way. Athough the courses I'm taking are helping me to get my prerecs out of the way it just seems to be taking so long.

  I will check to see if I have enough credits to get in. All I need is a job that pays $15. an hour or more to get my foot in the door and to make ends meet. Then I can progress with college courses from there.

  Here's another thing that ticks me off. When I did my loan through the school, they used Dave's income. I told them that we weren't married anymore so that would mean that I don't get that kind of money as if we were married. They told me that it's set up to "go back a year"...sheeeesh! So my loan is built around a larger "income" that I don't really "make".

  That's bullshit. I'd contact someone else there, either in the Deans Office, someone else in Financing, or whatever your equivalent for the governmental office of Ministry of Education----that's absolutely ridiculous that they'd include an income that doesn't exist.

  See, that's what I thought...I hated paying for the price for partial books. It just didn't make any sense. If I'm paying for the books whether it's online or hard copy...I want the whole damn book for references later in life.

  I do know that I love college....the challenge...the research and all. I love to know that I'm continually learning new things. I love to see that (even though for years I thought I was this dumb JW wife) I'm actually very intelligent. I love to see my mind being pushed in ways it's never been push but I don't like finding out that I'm taking the wrong way to get to the "right" way in life. This was the first attempt at working on "myself" and my esteem and I showed "me" that I can do it. Here I am with an A average doing college work with 2 kids being a single mom plus working!!! I've accomplished so much already. This doesn't mean that I want to "quit" college; far from it....I still have a very strong desire to get my BA in healthcare and Assoc. in business so that I can have several doors open up to me.

  Here's one problem I've encountered with my degree. I can go to work at a healthcare place right now but most places require 2-5 year plus experience...I have NO experiences unless you count my kids. So how do I start into my profession? I have no clue. Even if I get my BA in healthcare, most places I'm finding is needing at least 2-5 years of "experiences".

  what advice would you give someone else in your exact situation? That's what you should do.

  Unconfused, I thought about your question.

  If a friend of mine was in the same exact position and I knew the details I know with what I'm going through...I'd tell them NOT to give up but to change colleges. I'd tell them that they got this far and they can do a little bit more and I was so proud of them for what they have already accomplished.

  It's funny that you would bring this up because I do have a "friend" (more of a "beer" buddy...lmao) that was needing to get a better job. She seen what I was doing with 2 kids and was encouraged. She ended up going back to college and got her license 9 months later with a dental office. She's even thinking about going back to school to be an assistant oral surgeon Her and I celebrated 2 weeks ago because she passed her state exam with an A- !!!... I told her..."see, I knew you could do it". So now I need to keep pushing myself forward telling myself each step saying..."see, I knew you could do it". I've gotten this far. I did it on my own. It wasn't easy but here I am a Sophomore in college!!!
• 

  zagor

  Virtual memory has nothing to do with real memory on the computer. Virtual Memory is a part of your hard drive and is space dedicated that gives seemingly "virtually" more space than you've got on your memory card. When you're running out of Virtual memory there's a fair bet you've got too much stuff on your hard drive. Have you checked how much space you've actually got left? You can't use every bit of your hard drive capacity, some of that must be reserved for VM. So try deleting programs and files you don't need or get yourself additional hard drive and use that for storage of your files. Increasing the number in setting won't do a thing if you don't really have much space left on your Hard Drive, 'you can only stretch your legs to the length of your blanket', with virtual memory that would be equivalent to 'having room to spare'.