Help Me Plan My Life

Yeah, so I need assistance, and I was thinking somebody here may be able to help me out, especially after all the killer feedback Check got to her post. (I have high expectations as a result of that thread, so ya'll can't let me down now ).

Well, I'm 16, and entering my senior year in high school fairly soon, which consequently means that I'm going to have to start applying for colleges fairly soon, due to the fact that I'm pretty sure I'm going to go insane if I have to go to a community college and stay with my parents for another year.

I'm doing dual-enrollment during school this year; two computer courses at the community college, and so I'm going to have to wait and see if I like computer programming (which is what those classes are) before I go ahead and plan my life around it.

The way I see it, I don't really have any other choice than computers. Which isn't bad, because I like working with them, and I suppose it's a good field to go into. I'd like to do something with music, but I'm really not good enough right now to be able to throw all my future out on the line in hopes of pursuing a musical career. So I'm gonna just try and get something musical together in college, for recreation. But that's not important.

I'm not really sure where I'd like to go for college though. Money is going to be something I have to take into consideration. I don't have a problem working while in college, so my budget isn't really super-limited, I just can't really warrant going to some Ivy League school.

And I would really really prefer to attend someplace that is as liberal as possible. I was actually thinking somewhere in California would be nice, but I've heard stuff is pretty costly down there. It'd be nice to go somewhere warm, much like Cali, but like I said, after I figured in the costs of moving down there, getting somewhere to stay, paying for tuition, paying for food and everything, etc., I'd probably be in dept up to my eyeballs. Plus, I don't really know of any schools down there, outside of Berkeley, and I honestly know absolutely nothing about that school.

I've also thought about going to Australia or something, but that's probably far too expensive, and there's probably not a whole lot college-wise.

So what does everybody have for suggestions college-wise. Guidelines; hippie/liberal friendly, not too expensive, the more people the merrier. decent education, whatever else.

Thanks a ton! :cheers2:

 

Check is a girl

 

<lie> I knew that. I just typo-ed </lie>

(Sorry check!)

 

You want us to help plan your life?? Really?

 

my honest opinion? you don't have to go to college right after school if you don't want to.

 

YES. In case you haven't gathered, I'm completely incompetent at everything.

And besides, it's more, assist me in planning my college career. The plan-my-life part was more attention-grabbing than anything

Yeah, I know. But two things; one, I'll enjoy the freedom of not having to go to school FAR too much, and probably convince myself to not go to college. Two, I'll be stuck with my parents for another year. And THAT is NOT happening.

 

1) If you are smart enough to get accepted to an Ivy League school or an equivalent non Ivy with ridiculous academics they will do their part to get you there. Ivy league schools have MASSIVE endowments and give out the most in financial aid. Hell schools like Yale and Stanford don't make you pay any tuition if your family makes under 60k and if you make under 100k it is still bare minimum

2) You legitimately have 2 years to think up a possible major, and most people have jobs that have nothing to do with their majors anyway. The degree is just important to show that you can withstand the rigors of post high school academia

3) If you want to go to Cali, go there, only problem is if you don't figure out something you want to do then you will have wasted a large sum of money in the pursuit while living in Cali. If you are trying to do something with computers though and can get into Stanford I would recommend it as Silicon Valley is in the area and you could easily land yourself an internship with a Global technological giant. Also if you don't mind math so much I might advise looking into the engineering aspect of Computers as it is statistically easier to get into engineering school since there a far fewer applicants that you will be compared to.

4) Berkeley is a top of the line UC with a reputation for cut-throat academics. If you are looking for a UC that would probably better suit you I would say UC Santa Cruz or UC Santa Barbara. UC Santa Cruz has a huge celebration for 420 where so many people come from the surrounding areas to smoke on campus that they have started to barricade outsiders from going on campus. Santa Cruz also is consistently rated as one of the biggest stoner schools in America, and it is a perfect coastal getaway without being all too far from San Jose or San Fran.

UC Santa Barbara is right on the beach, the campus is up on the cliffs looking over the Pacific. Santa Barbara has the rep as the UC party school though because of the sheer number of house parties that go down in IV (Isle Vista) where most of the off campus apartments are in a sick mini town right next to campus. SB is a slightly higher rated college though because of the wider range of graduate studies offered as well as larger number of grad students (colleges are ranked primarily by graduate studies and % of students going on to receive higher degrees).

5) If you are in Michigan though you might want to think of some east coast schools though. The University of Vermont is actually considered a bigger stoner school than UCSC, not to mention the academics at UVM are fucking killer, the environment is the best hands down, and it is a lot cheaper to live there. The sweet thing about Burlington is that there really weren't any bums on the streets downtown or anything. Everybody was downtown at night going to bars or restaurants. Also Vermont is just littered with some amazing mountains so you could easily ski or snowboard.

 

you should check out warren wilson (NC)... its a private school but its very very hippie/liberal friendly! i think like 90% of the schools population is very liberal.

 

There's Reed college, which is up in Oregon or Washington. One of the two, though I think it's Oregon.

Sadly, tuition there is super-expensive.

I don't know how much luck I'd have getting into a private school. My grades are decent, (my SAT scores are rockin (well, the last test I took was in 8th grade, but I got a 1460 on that) , but that doesn't really count for a whole lot anymore).

 

i went to Metro College of Denver (however briefly, my brother takes classes there now. my parents made too much money when i turned in my FAFSA, then my mom got laid off before my brother turned in his. stupid financial aid bigotry.) and as a state college its cheaper, its a commuter college (no dorms on campus, you bus bike or drive from wherever you live.) denver has decriminalized to some degree, and medical mj laws make it a fairly forward state. the only thing we are really missing here i call "big water" i grew up on long island so i miss the beach. the weather is nice most of the time, always changing. sometimes we get lots of snow, other times its 70 degrees for christmas. its beautiful, and theres lots of outsidey things to do. you could find a studio apartment, and you certainly wouldnt be living with your parents.

as far as what classes to take, you have to find classes pertaining to something you could enjoy, and take the artsy stuff on the side. its good to be practical.

 

Go to HUMBOLDT STATE. super easy to get into and the cheapest state school in all of california. Im startin my first year there in about two weeks. another plus is its got some of the best buds in the world.

 

Columbia, Missouri is a great town, man. and there are two colleges (for guys, anyways) - Columbia University and Missouri University

 

Commit suicide and you wouldn't have to do any of this tiresome planning.

 

qft...

working your ass off with out the mental strain of college these days seems to get a person farther than people who go to college.. you know how many people i see on a daily basis that have gone to college and now work full time at gas stations.. supermarkets.. restaurants... its ridiculous... especially to spend somewhere around $30k for a decent 4yr education and get no where with it.. take your time.. get into the real world.. figure out what you want to do by applying and trying to get jobs in fields you can relate to.. then if you really like it.. and want to try and expand.. then go to schoo(or if you're lucky.. your place of employment may send you back to school for freel.. now you have built up some cash.. and some work experience.. and you can easily get into the work force.. far easier than some 22-24yo kid that has only worked part-time or no time at all.. but has a degree

 

if you want to go to college, i'd suggest doing so right after high school...it's a lot easier than going to college later in life for many reasons

 

yes.. listen to purp.. like your typical teenager.. he knows all and is all..

 

@OP... also... you may as well just stay home and let mommy take care of you... seeing as you are asking random people on a forum to tell you what to do with your life..

 

haha @ joker

there are better reasons to wait than to rush and go right out of high school.

 

NO! you're WRONG!

 

no! dude i know everythinG!