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Based on some posts I've made in other threads, I've been coming to the conclusion that it might be time to move yet again. I've been living in the same area for about six years now. And no real head-way in my social life or educational goals has been made.
For the past, seventeen years since graduating high school, my issues with math have been pretty much affecting me in moving forward with other subjects. Just over the past, couple of years, I took and passed some transferable English courses and a pre Algebra course at the local college. But apart from those, my work schedule and the scheduling of the classes I've wanted to take and complete seem to butt heads in the scheduling department.
As for moving, I don't want to commit to a set of classes and then move from the area at the drop of a hat. From what I've read through various sources, I'd probably have to start back at the bottom at whichever CC I end up taking classes from next. What few classes I have under my belt may or may not transfer.
So I'm just wondering if I should go ahead and take a few classes for the time being. Or should I just hold off on any education until I get my mind finally made up on where I want to end up next?
That is a complex situation, with answers that depend on your intentions.
Would you move within your state? If so, it is likely that your credits will transfer, if they are college level. If they are remedial college prep, they are less likely to transfer.
When do you plan on moving?
Do you have an educational plan mapped out? Are you looking for a 2 or 4 year degree?
How about online? Some schools have a wide variety of course offerings, and WGU or similar might work for you.
Location: In my cat's house, until she finds a better human servant
372 posts, read 387,357 times
Reputation: 812
Quote:
Originally Posted by bentstrider
Based on some posts I've made in other threads, I've been coming to the conclusion that it might be time to move yet again. I've been living in the same area for about six years now. And no real head-way in my social life or educational goals has been made.
For the past, seventeen years since graduating high school, my issues with math have been pretty much affecting me in moving forward with other subjects. Just over the past, couple of years, I took and passed some transferable English courses and a pre Algebra course at the local college. But apart from those, my work schedule and the scheduling of the classes I've wanted to take and complete seem to butt heads in the scheduling department.
As for moving, I don't want to commit to a set of classes and then move from the area at the drop of a hat. From what I've read through various sources, I'd probably have to start back at the bottom at whichever CC I end up taking classes from next. What few classes I have under my belt may or may not transfer.
So I'm just wondering if I should go ahead and take a few classes for the time being. Or should I just hold off on any education until I get my mind finally made up on where I want to end up next?
CNM has recently altered their math requirements, offering some new options for students who struggle with math. They offer pretty good free tutoring. You would probably find a better social life here in ABQ than out in Clovis. It’s not as big a leap as heading out of state (which you could still do when you decide where).
If you can’t/don’t want to move just yet, their distance learning classes are good, you could start this fall if you register soon (classes start August 27th, they don’t allow registration after classes start). The class sizes are small and the instructors are generally helpful and want to see students succeed.
CNM has recently altered their math requirements, offering some new options for students who struggle with math. They offer pretty good free tutoring. You would probably find a better social life here in ABQ than out in Clovis. It’s not as big a leap as heading out of state (which you could still do when you decide where).
If you can’t/don’t want to move just yet, their distance learning classes are good, you could start this fall if you register soon (classes start August 27th, they don’t allow registration after classes start). The class sizes are small and the instructors are generally helpful and want to see students succeed.
Best of luck.
I've kind of dropped the ball on some job offers in the ABQ area due to various reasons. It's still kind of on the table. But the activities I've been involved in within the past, few years in regards to my cycling hobby are all at least an eight hour drive out of state. Hence myself considering a move within a few hours of the Austin or Boulder areas.
ABQ has a pretty good bicycle infrastructure up there itself. But the cycling groups I seem to run across are more of your "serious, lycra-clad, paramilitary wannabes". As opposed to hop on cruisers with 300-800 other people and ride a 10-15 mile route taking 3 hours.
That disappointment aside, I'm just trying to find a job where I've either got the same days off as I do now, or a 4-night a week schedule. Allow me to still earn a decent income, while being able to focus more on school and life in general. I've just got to make a few calls back to some trucking companies I kind of left hanging in the area and pucker up.
That is a complex situation, with answers that depend on your intentions.
Would you move within your state? If so, it is likely that your credits will transfer, if they are college level. If they are remedial college prep, they are less likely to transfer.
When do you plan on moving?
Do you have an educational plan mapped out? Are you looking for a 2 or 4 year degree?
How about online? Some schools have a wide variety of course offerings, and WGU or similar might work for you.
I'm not sure on where I'd like to move to yet. Biggest factors for me are mild winters, cheap rent, and ground floor apartments. It's less of an employment thing and more of a mental thing.
As far as my educational plan, I've been rather poor at that. I'm a glutton for punishment and would rather go for a degree, like an engineering related one, as opposed to something I'm good at like English or History. I'd honestly rather be trying to "save the world" through techno fixes, as opposed to my only career options being lawyer or politician.
I fully intend to keep on with full time work and fund the education that way. I got financial aid in the past, but dropped the ball on that due to garbage academic performance in the past. I'm looking at an 8-10 year time table to allow for fail/repeats.
...
For the past, seventeen years since graduating high school, my issues with math have been pretty much affecting me in moving forward with other subjects. Just over the past, couple of years, I took and passed some transferable English courses and a pre Algebra course at the local college. But apart from those, my work schedule and the scheduling of the classes I've wanted to take and complete seem to butt heads in the scheduling department.
As for moving, I don't want to commit to a set of classes and then move from the area at the drop of a hat. From what I've read through various sources, I'd probably have to start back at the bottom at whichever CC I end up taking classes from next. What few classes I have under my belt may or may not transfer.
So I'm just wondering if I should go ahead and take a few classes for the time being. Or should I just hold off on any education until I get my mind finally made up on where I want to end up next?
You said you had taken some courses, but don't know what may or may not transfer, and in the last paragraph talk about taking a few classes. What's not clear is if you have been and want to continue to take random classes or if you are in a program of study. Being in a specific program with a specific class set is essential if you want to get a degree.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bentstrider
...
As far as my educational plan, I've been rather poor at that. I'm a glutton for punishment and would rather go for a degree, like an engineering related one, as opposed to something I'm good at like English or History. I'd honestly rather be trying to "save the world" through techno fixes, as opposed to my only career options being lawyer or politician.
I fully intend to keep on with full time work and fund the education that way. I got financial aid in the past, but dropped the ball on that due to garbage academic performance in the past. I'm looking at an 8-10 year time table to allow for fail/repeats.
So you are planning to fail? What I mean by that is how you plan your education effects how you will perform. If you've planned for failures, then in your mind failures are OK, and it becomes easier to let them happen rather than dig in. The same with long deadlines. 10 years is so far in the future you have no real incentive to get it done. Easier to drop the class, or not do the work. It's all about mindset and mental approach. You need something solid to hang on to when the going get rough and classes too hard. A firm program and deadline gives you a mental anchor to not give up.
You said you had taken some courses, but don't know what may or may not transfer, and in the last paragraph talk about taking a few classes. What's not clear is if you have been and want to continue to take random classes or if you are in a program of study. Being in a specific program with a specific class set is essential if you want to get a degree.
So you are planning to fail? What I mean by that is how you plan your education effects how you will perform. If you've planned for failures, then in your mind failures are OK, and it becomes easier to let them happen rather than dig in. The same with long deadlines. 10 years is so far in the future you have no real incentive to get it done. Easier to drop the class, or not do the work. It's all about mindset and mental approach. You need something solid to hang on to when the going get rough and classes too hard. A firm program and deadline gives you a mental anchor to not give up.
Only reason I don't have a set deadline is because I don't really see anything else coming along for me in the future. The trucking jobs seem stable enough. And if my posting history is any indicator, I don't see myself being socially adept enough to start a family, let alone get into a relationship that might require my full blown attention. This education endeavor has become the backseat goal that now needs front seat priority.
Getting the degree is pretty much all I care about at this age. Another source of income or a new career means nothing at this point. I already got that covered for the time being.
As for classes in the past, I just took them, studied for them as best as I could, and retook them until I finally just stopped going for awhile. Tried to figure out where I went wrong and why my head is too diseased to absorb the info. The college counselors seem quite uncaring about the subject and either told me to choose an easier major or quit altogether if the math was that hard.
As far as hard math goes, I don't see any other way to jam formulas into my head to prep me for a "non scantron" test. It seems like focusing solely on math and nothing else is the only way to pass the required math classes in a short amount of time. I mean, practicing formulas for 20 hours a day, 7 days a week until I'm about to turn blue seems to be the only way I'll get it done.
Or, just settle for the easier bachelor's degree in a subject I know I could master and embark on a garbage, law or politics career that will end quickly due to boredom.
Not trying to sound negative, but hard work and discipline to get this done in 3-5 years will probably just make me an angrier/more isolated person than I already am. Academics, especially maths, were never my strong suite for as long aa i could remember. I even consider myself a "slow" person. But, so goes the costs of reaching a goal in life. You've slayed the white whale, but the rest of the crew either abandoned ship or croaked.
You need a solid plan or this endeavor will end in failure.
By solid plan, I mean you need to pick a degree program, plan your series of classes, and get started. Taking classes here and there, now and again, with no plan is not going to end up in a degree for you.
If you aren't sure where you will live, you need to find an option that supports your indeterminate lifestyle. Maybe that is online classes, or maybe you need to commit to a geographical location.
If math is difficult for you, you may need to go into a path that is not math intensive. I don't mean devoid of math, but there is a middle ground between studio arts and nuclear physics.
If you are going to go part-time, whatever ed plan you develop should allow you to take a math course all by itself. Nothing else that quarter/semester. That will allow you to focus 20 hours a week on it if necessary.
There is a correlation between completing math early in ones college career and overall college success. I would recommend tacking math classes first, and getting that solid theoretical basis under your belt. Then, as your academic career progresses, you have the knowledge for when incidental math becomes necessary.
You need to do everything differently from the way you are doing it now.
You need a solid plan or this endeavor will end in failure.
By solid plan, I mean you need to pick a degree program, plan your series of classes, and get started. Taking classes here and there, now and again, with no plan is not going to end up in a degree for you.
If you aren't sure where you will live, you need to find an option that supports your indeterminate lifestyle. Maybe that is online classes, or maybe you need to commit to a geographical location.
If math is difficult for you, you may need to go into a path that is not math intensive. I don't mean devoid of math, but there is a middle ground between studio arts and nuclear physics.
If you are going to go part-time, whatever ed plan you develop should allow you to take a math course all by itself. Nothing else that quarter/semester. That will allow you to focus 20 hours a week on it if necessary.
There is a correlation between completing math early in ones college career and overall college success. I would recommend tacking math classes first, and getting that solid theoretical basis under your belt. Then, as your academic career progresses, you have the knowledge for when incidental math becomes necessary.
You need to do everything differently from the way you are doing it now.
Not trying to go off topic, but you sound like some former military type. Come up with a solid game plan for a mission. Then execute it without fail.
As far as commiting to a particular geographical location, I don't think that's ever going to work. Online classes? Tried those before and I don't have the type of discipline needed to not drift off into lala land while trying to get my work done. So physical classes it is.
And I was doing one class of math several years ago. Got past intermediate algebra in 2006. Then took college algebra in '08, '09, and 2010. Crashed and burned despite going over formulas repetitively and then my brain failing me and losing all info during a closed book, non multiple choice test. At least with multiple choice tests, I had some sort of advantage with eliminating answers via what I already knew in my head.
The way I'll have to do it now, it's going to be; elementary algebra 2, intermediate algebra(again, since the current college doesn't accept a class taken over ten years ago), another crack at college algebra, then perhaps calculus 1 or whatever. At this rate if I stay on top of it, we're looking towards 2-3 years before I could tack any other classes on. And the biggest thing I'm worried about is my imperfect brain forgetting it all further down the road.
I should also say the stresses of staying on top of this is already making me consider the reality that I might become emotionally unstable further down the line. In that case, perhaps a larger city might do. Never know when the stress will get so bad that I'll be committed to a rubber room.
It's happened before when I was in high school, and also caused me to freak out a few more times past that. Perhaps college really is for the mentally tough.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,938 posts, read 36,737,208 times
Reputation: 40634
Quote:
Originally Posted by bentstrider
Not trying to go off topic, but you sound like some former military type. Come up with a solid game plan for a mission. Then execute it without fail.
As far as commiting to a particular geographical location, I don't think that's ever going to work. Online classes? Tried those before and I don't have the type of discipline needed to not drift off into lala land while trying to get my work done. So physical classes it is.
And I was doing one class of math several years ago. Got past intermediate algebra in 2006. Then took college algebra in '08, '09, and 2010. Crashed and burned despite going over formulas repetitively and then my brain failing me and losing all info during a closed book, non multiple choice test. At least with multiple choice tests, I had some sort of advantage with eliminating answers via what I already knew in my head.
The way I'll have to do it now, it's going to be; elementary algebra 2, intermediate algebra(again, since the current college doesn't accept a class taken over ten years ago), another crack at college algebra, then perhaps calculus 1 or whatever. At this rate if I stay on top of it, we're looking towards 2-3 years before I could tack any other classes on. And the biggest thing I'm worried about is my imperfect brain forgetting it all further down the road.
I should also say the stresses of staying on top of this is already making me consider the reality that I might become emotionally unstable further down the line. In that case, perhaps a larger city might do. Never know when the stress will get so bad that I'll be committed to a rubber room.
It's happened before when I was in high school, and also caused me to freak out a few more times past that. Perhaps college really is for the mentally tough.
I'm about as far from military as one can get, and still, you need to have a plan. And if you aren't math focused (plenty of people aren't), then why are you pursuing something that requires more math? That doesn't make sense. It's like your only plan is setting yourself up for failure and then failing. Figure out what you want to do, then what it will take to get there, then do it. This is really a basic life thing.
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