evan9381 Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 I didn't get the chance to go to college coming out of HS, got thrown into the working world, and have made excuses to myself for ~10 years why I haven't continued my education. I've gotten to the point where I'm sick of making these excuses, and I need to something to get some education under my belt and open up some better career opportunities. my question is, where the hell do i start? i've checked out some program descriptions on the columbus state website. the course descriptions they list, is this what someone coming straight out of HS would do, or are there other base classes i need to take to get to that point...or classes that would be smart to take being that i've not been in any sort of classroom learning environment for 10 years? i see these course descriptions listed as X credit hours. how long do i need to plan on to complete these? what are my best options figuring i still need to continue my full time job to be able to pay my bills (mortgage, living expenses, etc etc). what about student loans? i think i've heard you generally dont pay these back right away? i feel like an idiot that i have no clue about this stuff, but its not something i even looked into back in HS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Nice Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Call admissions. The end. Or better yet, forego college and get certifications in your field that will build your resume and be much more economical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evan9381 Posted December 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Call admissions. The end. Or better yet, forego college and get certifications in your field that will build your resume and be much more economical. my "field" for the majority of the time out of school has been collections...theres no certifications for that field...for the longest time, it was quite a fairly lucrative job for me (pushing close to 60k/yr, which for just a HS education, and my modest life, was MORE than plenty)...what i found though is that it was much more stressful than i realized. at this point im doing receiveables and making enough to cover my cost of living and just a little more, but i realize theres not much room to advance anywhere with just a HS education, and if i can, its not going to be for much money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littleguy Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Like he said, make an appointment with a counselor. A community college is always a great place to start due to it's low cost. I would avoid any for profit "university". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furloaf Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Generally you start by applying to the college by filling out the application and submitting other documents, like a highschool transcript. Then it takes some waiting while the school processes it and decides to accept the application. When accepted, and I think Columbus State is open enrollment so you can't really not get accepted, anyway when accepted they'll have you take an assessment/placement test that will help determine where you stand. A person that just graduated highschool likely will start with "college level" classes, however schools offer classes that are below that level for people that need review or brushing up, etc., if they have forgotten highschool lessons which is common if their job didn't require that knowledge or skills. Credit hours are roughly equivalent to the amount of time spent in the classroom. A 3 credit hour class might consist of 3, 1-hour long class sessions each week. A general rule of thumb is that the time spent outside of class for reading, studying, and doing homework is equal to about 2 hours for each credit hour. So a 3 credit hour class might take 9 hours each week (3 in class + 6 (3x2) hours outside). 12 credit hours is considered full time enrollment (12 + 24 = 36) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tindall2006 Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 As said before, you are going to call admissions, or go online and fill out an application. I would personally look for a small community college, that has a good reputation. I would not hesitate to call larger colleges in the area and see if there are any colleges that they have transfer agreements with. I am sure people in Columbus can tell you which community colleges are good places to go. After you submit your application, with any fees they require you wait, and wait, and finally get accepted. While you are waiting it is advice to take any placement testing the college offers. I managed to test out of first year Spanish taking these. It will also tell you what remedial classes you need to take. Depending how long you have been out of school, you may want to take remedial classes. After you are accepted, and take your placement testing you will want to figure out what the hell you are going to college for (if you don't know already) What degree you want to go for. You will want to acquire a degree plan for your major. If you later plan on advancing to a larger school also get a degree plan for your major at that school. If you plan on starting at the community college level and going to a larger institution set up an appointment with an academic adviser, and tell them. I starting at this community college, I plan to transfer here. What classes will you accept from them. This will help you from taking the same class twice, at different schools and save money! Here is a poor example of a degree plan for Pre Nursing http://conhs.tamucc.edu/generic_BSN.html It basically list what classes you need to complete to receive your qualification. After you do all of this, it is time to actually register for classes. I will normally stay up till midnight the day before registration so I can get in the classes I want. Your degree plan will help you with this. Most of this an academic adviser will walk you though. Though this is a broad example of what you need to do. Knowing this will help you get what you want faster, and help prevent a shitty adviser from fucking you over. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. Hope this helped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Cranium Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 My girlfriend is in the process of going back to college. She started back in the 90s, but kids and life got in the way and she never finished. Her situation is not that different than yours. Apply online to Columbus State. That will be your most economical option. It's also a flexible option because their credits will transfer. If you start off at ITT or Devry those credits will not transfer anywhere typically. Once you have applied you will be accepted conditionally. As stated before you will need to have transcripts sent from you high school. Do not bother hand carrying the transcripts, they will not be accepted if you have come into contact with them. You will most likely have to take the COMPASS test, which is the placement test used at many community colleges in this area. You might do yourself a favor and see if you can get a sample test. When you go to your old highschool for the transcripts, if you ask nicely they counselors might have an extra lying around. If you want to get in for Spring semester you may still have time, but you need to get things moving as quickly as possible. I recommend hitting this hard and getting things started now. You have gotten yourself in the mind set to do this, if you put it off till summer or even next fall you may not follow through with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Quik7 Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Usually applying is the easy part, I've always had issues and run-arounds with financial aid. Might wanna check out fafsa.ed.gov and read up on loans, etc. And yes, you get a deferment while in school, although I think you need to be full-time status(12+ credit hours), and even after you finish I think there is a 6mo. dead period. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Brian Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 I called admissions and everything was good to go.. I started classes two days later. It's fairly painless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Like others have said just call down and talk to admissions. My wife was in the same boat you are last year. These places want students so they make it fairly easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmrmnhrm Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 Evan, what's your end goal? A two-year associate's, or a four-year bachelor's? If the latter, check around for 2+2 or 3+1 programs, where a "traditional" school partners up with a community school. Friend's son is going to be doing this up near Cleveland, where Lorain County Community has partnered with Ohio... three years up there, paying LCCC rates, then one year in Athens, paying OU rates. When all is said and done, he'll have an OU degree with an OU grade point and OU transcripts, for what they expect will be about a quarter of the cost of having gone there full time. Another option is the "Ohio Transfer Module," where you get all the stupid freshman and general ed type requirements out of the way at a CC, then transfer the entire package into a traditional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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