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It all depends on when you’re ready. I went to a University and lived in the dorms and had my first taste of freedom and long story short when I went to class I would get A's but living on campus and also with all the distractions of women, parting etc...(I went to school in Miami, FL so the clubs, south beach etc...) caused me to miss class and instead I would sleep in hung-over or try to impress women with my time instead of attending class. Many times I would find myself lying on South Beach with girls and a beer cooler enjoying the day as I missed a class or a test..
Another key to success is many college students their first year are use to their old high school schedule and once they get into college they schedule morning classes. I probably would have done much better with late classes my first year.
Anyway after several incompletes and a waste of my Florida Prepaid (Program in Florida in which you Prepay college at a Set price and then you are given a credit voucher that you use during your 4years, it also paid for room and board) I was dismissed from the University. I had to wait a year before I could be readmitted and during that time I worked in the "Real World" and realized menial jobs weren’t something I would be able to do for the rest of my life. This awakening motivated me and when I went back to finish my undergrad I was a year older than most of the students but I was much more focused and having to pay out of pocket with my own money also kept my grades up..lol.
With it all said and done I am now a small business owner and make a nice living and also starting an MBA in the fall.
I have many friends that went straight through college in 4 years and the graduate school and some can’t find jobs and also have no work experience, which is a problem in today’s economy..so everyone’s path is different and it doesn’t lead to the same outcome.[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]
You guys have provided me with a wealth of information that I could never get off statistics or some old article. Thank you for taking your time to talk about what happens when you drop out or take a break for college. This really cleared up things for me!
Also, my SO's mom dropped out as a junior, because she was getting married and having him. She did go back, finishing her BA and getting her masters after my SO and his two younger brothers were born. She's been a university-level academic librarian ever since.
^^Your "true education" should have started long before college.
The idea that "book learnin'"isn't "real" learning, and that "School of Hard Knocks" is preferable is such bull, really...people learn wherever and whenever they are most open to learning. There's no reason to disparage formal education, anymore than there is reason to deny that much is learned through practical application of skills.
I don't know how widespread this is, but I dropped out with failing grades when I was 19,and when I went back about 6 years later, I had more maturity, and got As and Bs. Not everybody is ready for college when they are 18, but might be a few years later.
For any course work that you did complete and pass, your transcripts remain valid forever and those credits can be applied to your record if you re-enroll. With a few exceptions, like course work in your major might be so outdated that your old course records will no longer be recognized as equivalent to the modern content and acceptable prerequisites for further study.
^^Your "true education" should have started long before college.
The idea that "book learnin'"isn't "real" learning, and that "School of Hard Knocks" is preferable is such bull, really...people learn wherever and whenever they are most open to learning. There's no reason to disparage formal education, anymore than there is reason to deny that much is learned through practical application of skills.
What works in a classroom doesn't always work on the job. There are a great many things not taught in school that must be learned outside of the classroom.
^^Your "true education" should have started long before college.
The idea that "book learnin'"isn't "real" learning, and that "School of Hard Knocks" is preferable is such bull, really...people learn wherever and whenever they are most open to learning. There's no reason to disparage formal education, anymore than there is reason to deny that much is learned through practical application of skills.
I agree TR! If these people have such disparaging feelings about formal education, I need to wonder why they are posting on an education forum.
I'm sick of the "School of Hard Knocks" school of thought. Really.
A JOB is not everything. If it's why you are going to college, rethink this.
College is not a trade school. One may be trained for a job at a trade school and then lose that job, you have nothing.
An education, and the knowledge gleaned from it, is yours for life. It will change the way you perceive the world and indeed, the experiences you have in this world. It will change the way you interact with others, and the way others perceive you.
You can lose a job but you can't lose the treasure of knowledge.
I agree TR! If these people have such disparaging feelings about formal education, I need to wonder why they are posting on an education forum.
I'm sick of the "School of Hard Knocks" school of thought. Really.
Formal education gives you a starting point. Once you're out of school and in the job world, you learn many things not taught in school. It's not a knock on formal education, it's a fact of life. If you feel all you need to know is what you learned within a classroom then you're limiting you personal growth. To deny you learned many things outside the classroom is to lie to us and yourself.
I worked in restaurant kitchens while I was going to college. I came to like cooking more than I liked any of my classes. Eventually I realized I wanted to be a chef and that college was of no use to me in persuing that path. I dropped out right before my senior year. That may have been a stupid thing to do, but 20 years later I am the head chef of a fine dining restaurant and have had my food in publications like Gourmet and Bon Appetit so I have no regrets.
Generally people with college degrees do better in life than those who don't but I think part of that is because most smart people also finish college. If you have good innate intelligence and an idea of what you want to do in life a degree may not be strictly necessary unless you are going into a field where it is absolutely required. College is a must for science and engineering. Beyond that I think it is most useful for people of intermediate intelligence and no burning desire to be great at anything - it allows them to schlep their way into the middle class.
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