crazy, i am: might be commuting dc to pittsburgh!

[Flamingo13]

Originally Posted by sealie

this isn't going to be another self-congratulatory "you're a screwup" c-d circle jerk, is it? I imagine he heard enough of that from mom and dad already. I know a lot of college dropouts and a lot of clinical depressives, and they're pretty good at self sabotage without being coached. What happened happened but he can dig himself out with an honest assessment of what he needs to do to take care of himself and what the university is going to expect.

That's all well and good - but is it happening? I agree that there is probably a depressive issue but instead of dealing w/that he's talking about going back into it!

[zip95]

Originally Posted by sealie

this isn't going to be another self-congratulatory "you're a screwup" c-d circle jerk, is it?

I'm unbuttoning now

But seriously, this is crazy. What a terrible decision to commute back and forth from DC to Pittsburgh. Just move back. It doesn't matter if you like it or not... suck it up. Life is hard, it's brutish, difficult and unforgiving. This is true for everyone... OP isn't special. To be successful you fight through the low points and the adversity. You don't give up and you stay focused on your goals.

If you're unwilling to do this I have no pity for you.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by gg

I think it is best for you in every way to work and live in the DC area. You were here and complained nonstop. Why be involved in Pittsburgh?

While I don't appreciate the condemnation and condescending tone some of my haute/bourgeoisie peers have posted on here, let me insert my own opinion as well.

I'm the complete opposite of you. I lived in NoVA and hated it. I hoofed it to Pittsburgh, and while I may tell myself I've "never looked back..." that's not entirely accurate. I look at the successful careers my contemporaries back in NoVA are enjoying now via LinkedIn while I'm underemployed (by choice) in Pittsburgh and wonder if I made an egregious error. I wonder what they think of me. I then ask myself "Am I happy?" The answer? Yes. Isn't that all that truly matters in life, BarqCider? I'm making less money up here (not considerably less when adjusted for the cost-of-living disparity), but I'm enduring less stress and actually feel like I fit in better socially. I like looking out my window at decaying rowhouses selling for $50,000 instead of ostentatious McMansions selling for $500,000+. We're all different.

If you felt like a fish out of water in Pittsburgh and feel at home in NoVA, then stay there. I would never move back to NoVA just to have a good job and make lots of money while absolutely detesting everything and everyone around me the way I did when I lived there. I can't imagine you'd thrive at Pitt if you hated the experience of living in Pittsburgh. You're much better off trying to finish school in NoVA (or Maryland...or The District). You'll perform better academically if you're closer to your support network of friends/family and if you can commute back-and-forth to school in an area you enjoy being in.

My best friend, an attorney, transferred from the University of New Hampshire to Pitt to finish her law degree because she truly couldn't stand Concord, NH. She found the people to be aloof, standoffish, and cliquey. She hated the climate. She felt very "off" living there. She moved to Pittsburgh, liked it much better, and did better in school, too. I think a lot of people on City-Data truly underestimate the effect one's surroundings can truly have upon one's psyche.

[RogersParkTransplant]

OP, a lot of people have commented on why this is a bad idea, and they're mostly right, but I just wanted to add that limiting yourself to being on campus one day a week is another way you'd be shooting yourself in the foot. It will severely limit your course options, to the point where you won't actually get to pick classes that you want to take, or need to take for whatever program you're trying to complete. It just won't work.

Online classes are a very good idea, and I would also recommend George Mason as a great place to do just about anything. The people who mentioned that you can just take individual classes to fix up your transcript are also right -- you don't need to be admitted to a degree program to take advantage of the many adult education courses offered in the DC area. Go to a community college if your grades are too low for GMU -- there's lots of good ones in Northern VA. Talk to a counselor in your local area; I can not believe that Pitt is your best bet when DC has such an amazing array of options.

I also agree that blaming Pitt for whatever happened to you there is silly, but if that's how you feel then it's all the more reason to avoid digging yourself in deeper at the same university. SCR is right that we have to put ourselves in the places where we feel happy in order to be successful; a miserable commute to a place that where you feel miserable is just not going to work.

[sealie]

I don't think online classes are the answer for someone with a focus problem. Online and especially self-paced classes are harder for people who need structure, whether due to self-discipline or something else.

[Hopes]

However he decides to do it, I give him credit for not giving up on his education.

[RogersParkTransplant]

Originally Posted by sealie

I don't think online classes are the answer for someone with a focus problem. Online and especially self-paced classes are harder for people who need structure, whether due to self-discipline or something else.

Yes, that's true - I didn't know that was a problem, but if so it's all the more reason to avoid a difficult commute, too. A good community college closer to home is really the best path, as far as I can tell.

Also agree with the last comment from Hopes.