Good idea to move to Anchorage fresh out of high school???!

[Marty Van Diest]

I think it's fine to move up. Do it in the summer, take the first job that you can get and dig and scratch until you get that one.

Then save and scrimp until you have saved enough money to pay for your tuition up front. I went to UAF and paid my way as I went. It can be done. Real handy is to get a job on campus after you start going there. That way you don't have to worry about driving to work. Then you can stay in the dorm and work your tail off. I was 27 when I decided to go back to school. I'm not sure many 18 year olds are mature enough to pull that off.

I took 15-18 hours a semester and worked about 30-40 hours a week. I stayed in the dorm and ate in the cafeteria so it made things easy. I took a second job tutoring, they had a program where they would pay students to tutor others. I tutored a girl in macro-economics even though I had never taken the class. I just read ahead in the text book and helped her through. She passed the class and I took a clep test and got the same credit and got paid for studying. If you are willing to work and not play you will do fine.

[Jonotastic]

Originally Posted by montos266768

So I really wan't to know the con's ect. about moving to Anchorage,Alaska.Am fresh out of high school and looking into going to the College there.I love the snow and stuff but, I hear that there ant no job's during the winter.Am possible going to get a roommate so that should help.
Also, what is the cheapest way to get there? thx.

It's not a SMART idea. Why? You shouldn't attend a PUBLIC university if you are an out of state student UNLESS it has an outstanding reputation such as UCB, UF, UT etc. The universities in Alaska aren't bad, but they aren't great. If you are an Alaskan resident, it may be worth it, especially for the first two years of college, but coming from out of state, logically it doesn't make sense, especially if you are on a fairly tight budget.

[blueflames50]

have you considered a trade school??? People who work with their hands, welders, mechanics, construction or surveying, etc, make good money and you work your way into management positions. Lot less money for school! Too many college grad's are barely surviving to pay student loans and can't find jobs. People will always need thing repaired, fixed, etc.

[rppearso]

Originally Posted by bortstc37

no, not really.
and i'll bet that this guy could even get into college, so long as he can pay his tuition, buy his books, buy his meals, etc...
of course, graduating might be a different matter. but he'd obviously need to do an extra year or two to take remedial classes, and i'm sure any college would be happy to keep his money coming in. i personally know people with over 100k in student loan debts. the loans keep coming in, the students keep going to school. some drop out, the ones who finish spend years (sometimes 10 or more) in debt afterward. in fact, i'm the only person i know of that paid for college up front, with money i'd earned from working. that astounds and depresses me.

Unfortunatly this is a catch 22 these days, in order to make good money you have to have a skill and to get that still you have to have an education, education is expensive these days so there fore

cost of education >> wages from some job without skills

The only way to make up the difference is with loans, also you have to be careful of your time during the academic semester depending on the level of rigor of your major with work, you cant have a SIDE job sucking up all your homework time.

If you stay instate and go to school you will be able to finish with much less debt but no debt would probably be impossible, you will probably have at least 10K in debt no matter what unless you have some set of special circumstances.

[rppearso]

I agree with another poster about paying out of state tuition up here, if you are going to out of state you might as well go to MIT that way you will have a better justification for the expense.

If you do a trade school you can get into a union and that will help you quite a bit.

[gobrien]

Originally Posted by roadfamily6now

I came to alaska with 2 kids and a husband that had just been medically retired from the navy. We had everything we owned in the back of a u'haul pulled by our 1978 Jimmy. We landed in Delta Junction with $150 (1996) and made it to where we are today.

But for a college student, I think Fairbanks would be a better bet as far as making the money go farther........

I'd still love to hear more of your story, as a former Deltanite!