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I'm 18 and be kicked out soon, but I need to become independent and mature anyway and in order to do so I'll needed to live on my own. I probably have to go to community college first,I graduated high school this spring but my GPA is 1.8. I want to go to University of North Texas. But I've never had a job before and theres no way its easy to get your FIRST job in another city before even moving there. I don't know where to go to community college at. If I go in my trashy town, I'll still need housing and probably an on campus job because that'll probably be easy to get a job on campus if I go there. I don't want roommates because I know it'll most likely lead to trouble, a lot of people here are trouble makers. There are apartments on campus, stuck cheaper than apartments off of campus. You also have to get a meal plan. Even if I could stay at home its way too far to walk so I'd have to be fortunate enough to get a ride to there and back home everyday. Or walk for over 2 and a half hours in the usually 100+ degrees Fahrenheit temperature. I don't like where I live anyway, even in town would be better because I could walk anywhere or ride a bike. There's no public transportation. I wouldn't choose to live somewhere without public transportation because then I might have to get a drivers license AND buy a car AND car insurance AND drive it EVERY SINGLE DAY! I need to pay for a place to live soon and that's a higher priority. I don't want to go to a homeless shelter! So what should I do? Go to the community college in town in the spring and get a job on campus and live on campus? And then try to transfer to a university after 1 year instead of waiting 2. I only have about $2,000 in my savings account and don't have a job yet or solid living plans. My parents recently divorced and I'm not going to live with my alcoholic dad. He drives drunk and if I needed a ride chances are he'd be drinking. And he is very mean most of the time and we don't have a very good past.
Last edited by Chris Griffin; 09-03-2014 at 02:09 PM..
OP, you've got some significant challenges, including a 1.8 GPA.
In times past, people in your situation went into the military.
I can't recommend it now because we're fighting resource wars and your chances for becoming cannon fodder are quite high.
I have two recommendations:
1) Team up with another guy in town who isn't a loser and has a car and wants to go to school elsewhere where there is public transportation, entry-level jobs you can get, and a solid community college nearby. With a 1.8, you'll need to do some remediation and learn study skills before attempting a transfer to a 4-year and with that low of a GPA, a four year college may not be in your best interests for another 5 - 6 years.
Go there with him, get a cheap apartment together and take any legal job, whether that's shift work at Target or whatever you can get. Try to save at least half of your income. Live cheaply. Eat cheaply.
2) Start researching a realistic 2-year career for you. Let's say you want to go into HVAC. Make sure the community college has that program. Pick something that is viable and makes sense for you. Try to pay for as much as possible on your own. Avoid loans at this point. Graduate. Work as a whatever and put away money. Then later, you can go to a 4-year school and get a degree in something when you know better what you have the skills for and what the market will support. Again, try to save up money and pay for as much as you can.
What you really need is to sit down with a trusted adult who knows you and can give you good career advice. I'm sorry your father is an alcoholic. Perhaps you have an uncle or other relative or an older friend. You would benefit from such council. We can try to help, but we're just strangers on the internet.
Here's a link to the Bureau of Labor Stat Occupational Outlook Handbook for starters: These are types of jobs, what's needed for them, and how fast the field is growing.
I'm 18 and be kicked out soon, but I need to become independent and mature anyway and in order to do so I'll needed to live on my own. I probably have to go to community college first,I graduated high school this spring but my GPA is 1.8. I want to go to University of North Texas. But I've never had a job before and theres no way its easy to get your FIRST job in another city before even moving there. I don't know where to go to community college at. If I go in my trashy town, I'll still need housing and probably an on campus job because that'll probably be easy to get a job on campus if I go there. I don't want roommates because I know it'll most likely lead to trouble, a lot of people here are trouble makers. There are apartments on campus, stuck cheaper than apartments off of campus. You also have to get a meal plan. Even if I could stay at home its way too far to walk so I'd have to be fortunate enough to get a ride to there and back home everyday. Or walk for over 2 and a half hours in the usually 100+ degrees Fahrenheit temperature. I don't like where I live anyway, even in town would be better because I could walk anywhere or ride a bike. There's no public transportation. I wouldn't choose to live somewhere without public transportation because then I might have to get a drivers license AND buy a car AND car insurance AND drive it EVERY SINGKE DAY! I need to pay for a place to live soon and that's a higher priority. I don't want to go to a homeless shelter! So what should I do? Go to the community college in town in the spring and get a job on campus and live on campus? And then try to transfer to a university after 1 year instead of waiting 2. I only have about $2,000 in my savings account and don't have a job yet or solid living plans. My parents recently divorced and I'm not going to live with my alcoholic dad. He drives drunk and if I needed a ride chances are he'd be drinking. And he is very mean most of the time and we don't have a very good past.
I was going to say something very similar to what Meemur said about the military.
It sounds like you should move to Midland, get a job on a rig, spend no more than $30,000 per year, bank the other $40,000-$60,000 and do that for about three years. Then you can move to Denton or San Angelo and go to college. You'll be more mature and you'll appreciate that college is actually pretty easy compared to what you'll be doing for the remainder of your life and you should graduate with something a lot better than a 1.8 GPA.
Is it possible college isn't even for me? I can't go into the military for medical reasons and college is really the only other option. Have I already ruined my life? Can community college still save me?
Another possibility: Do you have any relatives you could live with ANYWHERE, aside from your folks? If so maybe you could live with them while you figure out your next moves. In my extended family this happens all the time, and as long as the youngster isn't a total pain-in-the-ass and is making a solid attempt to go to school, get a job, help out around the house, pay a little rent, he or she is welcome for a year or so. It's what extended families can do. Can yours?
I don't see the point in going to college if you don't have any direction. Your biggest concern is getting a job and getting a roof over your head (efficiency apartment or renting a room).
I don't see the point in going to college if you don't have any direction. Your biggest concern is getting a job and getting a roof over your head (efficiency apartment or renting a room).
I meant I don't have any direction on what location to go to to start at a community college. I want to major in either software development or web design. I really would like to do something else but I would rather live a normal life, even if it means financial struggling. I could really only have half of my dream with my dream career, I couldn't have my dream life with it. I'll take the dream life because if I achieve that first it'd still be possible to get my dream career later. But if I chose my dream career first then I may not get my dream life (just a normal life, find a woman who loves me for me, not be bothered by crowds of people in public, feel assured I have real friends who like me for me. Having a lot of money may get rid of financial problems, but it can bring a lot more problems.) The thought of suicide creeps in my head but I doubt I'll ever actually kill myself. I hate this situation though. I can't decide what to do and I pretty much get completely stuck. Now I'm depressed.
I don't see the point in going to college if you don't have any direction. Your biggest concern is getting a job and getting a roof over your head (efficiency apartment or renting a room).
It would be highly unlikely to ever make a living without a college degree according to most people.
Another possibility: Do you have any relatives you could live with ANYWHERE, aside from your folks? If so maybe you could live with them while you figure out your next moves. In my extended family this happens all the time, and as long as the youngster isn't a total pain-in-the-ass and is making a solid attempt to go to school, get a job, help out around the house, pay a little rent, he or she is welcome for a year or so. It's what extended families can do. Can yours?
They live even farther from town. I don't know why my whole family lives in rural areas. I don't know why anybody would like to live far out in the middle of no where. It's lonely, you can't go anywhere without a car, Internet options can be limited. It's hell to me. I don't want to feel like I can't go anywhere using my own two feet, or a bike. Public transportation would be good too.
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