Back-to-school advice?

He roots for the White Sox and listens to Pantera.

He IS the biggest, meanest, ugliest kid in class!!!

 

It all depends on the school you're going to. I worked at a small state school's admissions department and we helped nontraditional students such as yourself (ala coming back after being going for a while). Typically, you'd sit down with an admissions officer and see which of the credits you have will count. At the school I worked at, the cutoff was 10 years.

But, of course, if you can prove the work hasn't changed much (let's say the course is English, for instance), they're more apt to allow you to not have to repeat it.

If it's anything computer related, just take the fucker over again. The landscape has changed way too much for anything relevant 10 year ago to still count.

 

What if you're going back to school at a different institution? Are all bets off then?

I plan to call the school I attended and talk with admissions to see where I stand. It would certainly be easier to go back to school there, but living in the area might not be so easy.

 

It depends on the relationship the two schools have.

If you went to The Community College of New York, for example, you might have had a hard time transfering that course work to Columbia University, but might fare better at a smaller place in the state.

Just talk to the admissions office. They're liable to have a guide that spells out exactly what the transfer rate is. They'll have a policy of "X years means you have to retake this" or "Classes X,Y,Z transfer over and A,B,C don't".

Just remember to fight hard for as many credits as you can get. I imagine you don't want to retake the same crap if you don't have to and many schools will do their part to help you avoid it, but don't just accept "Oh, well, sorry, that's not going to transfer" without finding out why otherwise you'll be in Intro Psych learning the same crap you did when MC Hammer was still cool.

 

Good luck with the career switch, Pallister. I'm going through the same situation right now and it is indeed frustrating. You're first step would have to be to fill out the FAFSA as everyone has mentioned. The FAFSA will review the income of both you and your spouse and will award you an appropriate amount based upon the questions asked for your level of need you're in. I'd preferably try to keep away from private student loans as they'll kill you on interest rates, and while others will hit you with an APR up to 10 percent. See if you can apply for a scholarship, too. There are hundreds of scholarships out there and some are easy to obtain.

Most colleges/universities review their FAFSAs on a weekly basis, and you could likely find out how much you will be awarded relatively soon.

 

Well, that's good advice, schiez, except MC Hammer was never cool.

 

To clarify, I'm not married.

 

That's better in your favor to obtain a sizeable loan.

 

Finally, my divorce pays off!

 

And don't major in journalism.

 

Firstly, MC Hammer was cool in the early 90's. I didn't like him, but you can't deny he was the "hip" thing.

Secondly, prepare to get screwed on the FASFA. Unless you have next-to-no income, you're not likely to get crap in terms of aid. I like the idea of scholarships as someone mentioned above and if you go to fastweb.com they can do a decent search for you. A lot involve writing essays and such, but I doubt that will be a problem since you're already a writer. (I assume being that your in journalism).

Also, for those of you thinking of going back to school that happen to be under 24 years old and without a kid, prepare to get information on your parents income before your FASFA is even considered. Whether you live with them or not. It's a stupid rule, but apparently they don't care.

Any other questions, feel free to ask. (I too am considering going back but for a Master's in Criminal Justice and/or Psych. I already have a bachelors in both. Yeah, I don't use them much. )

 

So how do so many people afford to go back to school?