well i think one of my biggest mistakes was going to a school i couldn't afford in pursuance of a dream I thought would take me out of the state. I don't believe that my situation is anyone's fault but my own so i struggle with blaming myself and what not.
But i was attending a 4 year art college trying to get my BFA in illustration with a minor in game design. The school i was going to has gotten people employed at Pixar, EA games, Disney, and MANY video game/ Movie production companies. I wanted to work for Blizzard or Arena Net and possibly pursue a career in fashion editorials and freelance illustrations on the side. I had a HUGE scholarship, 24k for 4 years based on talent and portfolio evaluation, and then another 28k for 4 years added on top of that as a deans award. so in scholarships i had over 52k and that was before even filing for fafsa. i was getting a pretty large pell grant per year (4k) and was taking advantage of the federal loans as well.
Ultimately thought my schooling was 32k a year with 17k covered per year by scholarships and grants the other 15+ had to be covered by Federal and personal loans. I honestly didn't realize how heavy that kind of financial burden would be after everything was said and done...i thought i was investing in something that would take me places...but the only place it's taken me is financial hardship and self loathing.
I want to go back to school but idk if i could even afford community college at this point. I don't know how anyone goes to a High end private school. If I went back i would pursue psychology and possibly go into clinical psychology...i find the science of the mind fascinating and would love to help people who feel like myself.
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As far as college or school is concerned.....here is an option....
Pick a course and take it one class at a time. Save up for it, and pay cash.
Yeah, it will take longer. But the burden of debt wont be on you.
You can take a semester when you have the money or when you feel like it.
There is no rule that states you HAVE to take a course all at one time.
Check out the course to see if any of the classes are online classes. If so, those are usually a lot cheaper, and you can take them online at home. I have talked to some college kids who do things this way in order to avoid all those heavily taxed and interest rate driven loans. They pay for what they can afford. And taking one class at a time will help alleviate any extra problems or worries you might have. YOU will be in control......the program course will not control YOU.
And as far as a job is concerned..........I will let you in on some business "secrets"--
Once you have started college and have been in for at least half a semester, you can apply for that type of job you are working to get your degree in. They are usually called "interns". Interns are employees who are still going to school, and also have a job at the company they plan to work at fulltime once they have their degree.
The company ONLY is interested in people who are currently going to college. They will usually hire these people over others, as they want to "train" you during your learning process, to how the company does things. So, by the time you have graduated, you can go fulltime at the company and you are already set for a job you trained for, and the company has already trained you on how they work and do things. So, to the company its a "win/win" situation. (and NO...you DONT have to stay at the company if you dont want. A lot of college kids that do this, will work as an intern at one company, and then go on to another company after graduation. They get better pay because they have already interned and learned from "actual real world experience" and they have graduated college, so they can devote to a fulltime job).
You DONT need to tell them you are taking one class at a time. All they need to know is you are going to college. You may have to take a copy of your semester schedule to them for proof, but that should be all. If they do ask about why you are taking one class at a time, tell them you had to lower your course load for a bit to help out a family member. THATS ALL you need to say.
I have worked with a LOT of college people who were in school and got an internship at a company they wanted to work at, and ended up dropping school because their work performance at the company led them to management positions before their internship was over and before they ended their course at the college. So WHY waste all the extra time in school if you already have the job? They arent going to fire you if you quit school....you have already proven yourself to them.
If you want to go for a Bachelors or higher, then by all means, finish your courseload.
The more degrees you have, the higher pay you can get. I have spoken with a couple of professors who ended up with 10 degrees, and made over 100K a year. And this is the BIG secret........once you have YOUR degree that is making you money, you can get degrees in ANYTHING ELSE!!! And it STILL counts towards higher pay!!!
One professor had her computer Masters Degree, because that was her major and what she taught.
But she also had Bachelors and Certificates in Music, Culinary Arts, Business, and Psychology.
And you can major in one thing and minor in another, if you want to learn two different things.
There is NO rules that state you can only learn ONE thing at a time.
You are young and only 22, you have PLENTY of time to work on getting some degrees under your belt. Hell, some high paid CEO's and tenured professors keep taking a different course throughout their working lives, just so they can make higher pay.
Dont think of it as a chore, think of it as a way of life. The people who fail are the ones who stop learning.
As my granny told me when I was in my teens "Learn everything there is to learn, because nobody else is going to take care of you".
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and the award for most thought out answer goes to tinkles.
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