Give'em Hell Billy!
Old dude... me... going to college!?!?!
by Billy the Ex-Bethelite 95 Replies latest members private
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dssynergy
Hey B the X,
After a 12 year break, I just re-started college myself this week too!! Yeah for US... One of my classes, that I am keeping very much on the down low is about Mary Magdelene. I'm looking forward to it. I am doing a course that gives you credit for experience, could earn up to 45 credits that way. If there are colleges in your area that let you do something similar, it might be work looking into. I know some people have used the "I'm an ordained minister" routine to get credits for things like service learning, counseling families, public speaking,etc.
I don't know what your job was at bethel, but your experience there too could count I would think.
Good Luck to us all.
DS
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
Hey bsmart, thanks for resurrecting this.
The first year has gone really, really well. I've managed to add 37 credit hours to my transcript this year and maintained 4.0 GPA through spring, summer, and fall terms. Currently I have a whopper of a semester planned for spring to finish my Associates and get ahead in math and science for a Bachelors. I've got transer applications going out to 3 different universities for next fall.
If there is a God, he/she has blessed my decision to return to school. Of course, the support and encouragement that I've gotten here has kept my "eyes on the prize".
It will be interesting when the local elders attend the KM School. I wonder how hardline they'll go with the anti-college argument.
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Band on the Run
Congratulations. I did well in school. My father tried to pull me out of high school to bag groceries so he could watch me. I was too worldly. Yet I have trouble dancing to this day. I was so terrified of men for a long time. A court battle was being prepared. While I know he could not pull me out of school, I would have had to leave home to live with a foster family. He died during the process. My extended family were JW, too. When others were pampered for being college students, I was on my own. College was derided. B/c of this situation, education is almost sacred to me.
I was able to attend the Ivy League for college and law school. The exposure to different ideas was priceless.Sometimes my eyes would well up with tears that I was sitting in a nice classroom and learning. College is the antidote to the Witnesses. The highest value was to ask hard questions. Questions were glorious. Going to school with life experience should be even better. Unlike your classmates, you will probably appreciate the knowledge and the culture. My assimilation problems coming from a Witness home were two-fold: There were no middle class people in our congregation. None. I felt I was not good enough to do the work. My high school was chaotic with much violence and race riots. I wanted to be mainstream, not an outcast. The faculty was so smart and nice. It was a new experience. Rather than seek help, I retreated into myself. Time passed and I adapted. I am quite worldly now. One of my favorite activities is mentoring law students.
College was excruciating socially and I made it that way. I was fully acceptable. My problem was not believing it. All the good things in my life derive from my education.
The adventure you are starting is exciting. I agree that being candid about your experience will help. Colleges worship diversity. Bethel is very diverse. There are so many strengths you will bring to the other students. I imagine it will be a piece of cake after Bethel.
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Found Sheep
Good for you school was part of what opened my eyes. no wonder they don't like it! You will do great, being older is a good thing. It was odd having a "teacher" that was younger then me
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Palimpsest
Actually, I already met an "admissions advisor" ... he had one degree that he wanted me to fit, regardless of what I wanted. When I finally got the info I wanted about the school, he was talking to a dial tone. They just didn't have what I needed. However, if that was what I wanted to pursue, I'm sure he would have been a super helpful guy.
Are you working with for-profit or adult-oriented colleges? They can unfortunately be like that at times. At some for-profits, in fact, admissions staff are actually paid on commission, which is obviously not a good thing for students. But that's very, very rare overall, and most admissions counselors are great people with your concerns at heart. Bear in mind that reputable colleges don't want you if you're not a good fit because you'll just leave once you get there, so they definitely see you as more than a number. When I worked in admissions, we used to spend a huge amount of time getting to really know applicants because the last thing we wanted was to waste a spot on someone who would eventually regret having it.
The first year has gone really, really well. I've managed to add 37 credit hours to my transcript this year and maintained 4.0 GPA through spring, summer, and fall terms. Currently I have a whopper of a semester planned for spring to finish my Associates and get ahead in math and science for a Bachelors. I've got transer applications going out to 3 different universities for next fall.
Be sure not to burn yourself out, though.
That's an incredible pace and not really sustainable or desirable in the long run. Going at a slower pace allows you to take more courses that might not be offered every semester, explore some growing interests in-depth, get to know your professors better in order to receive stronger recommendation letters, etc.In any case, do send me a PM if you want to chat about admissions. I still work part-time in transfer admissions, in addition to my regular job in higher ed, and I have a lot of scholarship experience I could share with you. (That offer is good for anyone here.) Good luck with your applications.