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Okay, so I'm a junior in high at the moment, and at this point I am having to decide what fields I would be interested in and colleges,etc.
I've always though I wanted to be an engineer or someone who makes big money, I've always done good in math but now it is getting hard for me in Trigonometry. So I've decided I would rather not have a career focusing around math, except maybe for accounting or something like that.
I have always been interested in computers, and though about computer science or programming, but they still require tedious mathematical formulas and working with math all the time. I have always made decent grades, my GPA is at a 3.7 at the moment, and I am in Beta Club. I will probably be going to a 2 year college because I really do not want to borrow a lot of money to go to a 4 year university. I should be able to get some scholarships hopefully because my mom's income (single parent) is $0.00 a year, unemployed.
I've also always been interested in business and combining my interest with computers to one day open up a computer repair shop that also sells a wide variety of consumer electronics.
So, I am maybe thinking about getting an associates degree as a computer specialist at East Tennessee State University. Do you think this is a good choice? Any other options I should consider? I have been considering joining the marines to help pay for college as well, more as a last resort but still considering it. Any advice you guys can give me?
Okay, so I'm a junior in high at the moment, and at this point I am having to decide what fields I would be interested in and colleges,etc.
I've always though I wanted to be an engineer or someone who makes big money, I've always done good in math but now it is getting hard for me in Trigonometry. So I've decided I would rather not have a career focusing around math, except maybe for accounting or something like that.
I have always been interested in computers, and though about computer science or programming, but they still require tedious mathematical formulas and working with math all the time. I have always made decent grades, my GPA is at a 3.7 at the moment, and I am in Beta Club. I will probably be going to a 2 year college because I really do not want to borrow a lot of money to go to a 4 year university. I should be able to get some scholarships hopefully because my mom's income (single parent) is $0.00 a year, unemployed.
I've also always been interested in business and combining my interest with computers to one day open up a computer repair shop that also sells a wide variety of consumer electronics.
So, I am maybe thinking about getting an associates degree as a computer specialist at East Tennessee State University. Do you think this is a good choice? Any other options I should consider? I have been considering joining the marines to help pay for college as well, more as a last resort but still considering it. Any advice you guys can give me?
Thanks a lot, sorry for long wall of text.
Don't be scared to do something just because you have a little trouble in one subject or another. I wanted to become a meteorologist until I found out it was a lot of math and chemistry and I have regretted not going into that field ever since. Do what YOU want to do. There will be plenty of people along the way who can help you if you need it... as long as you are willing to ask for help.
Okay, so I'm a junior in high at the moment, and at this point I am having to decide what fields I would be interested in and colleges,etc.
I've always though I wanted to be an engineer or someone who makes big money, I've always done good in math but now it is getting hard for me in Trigonometry. So I've decided I would rather not have a career focusing around math, except maybe for accounting or something like that.
I have always been interested in computers, and though about computer science or programming, but they still require tedious mathematical formulas and working with math all the time. I have always made decent grades, my GPA is at a 3.7 at the moment, and I am in Beta Club. I will probably be going to a 2 year college because I really do not want to borrow a lot of money to go to a 4 year university. I should be able to get some scholarships hopefully because my mom's income (single parent) is $0.00 a year, unemployed.
I've also always been interested in business and combining my interest with computers to one day open up a computer repair shop that also sells a wide variety of consumer electronics.
So, I am maybe thinking about getting an associates degree as a computer specialist at East Tennessee State University. Do you think this is a good choice? Any other options I should consider? I have been considering joining the marines to help pay for college as well, more as a last resort but still considering it. Any advice you guys can give me?
Thanks a lot, sorry for long wall of text.
My overall advice: don't sell yourself short before you've even stepped onto the court. You sound like you have good intellectual abilities, which have the potential to take you farther than you may think - if you harness them in the right ways.
1. Don't give up on a subject matter just because it's hard. Trigonometry and other subjects are supposed to get hard for people; that's why they require a lot of effort. Sure, there are some prodigies out there who just get it all without trying, but lots of experts and professionals in various fields struggled and worked hard for years in their studies to get where they are. Just because it's difficult doesn't mean you can't gain significant proficiency in it. Put a different way, you don't get paid a lot of money for jobs that are based on the "easy" knowledge.
2. Don't give up on going to a 4-year school (or more) just because your family has limited financial means. There are many scholarship opportunities and work/loan situations to explore; some of them may work for you. Your odds will be increased by being an excellent student. And not all good schools have to cost $250K in tuition. That said, it's probably smart for you to start out in a community college and then look at transferring to a four-year college.
And most importantly of all...
3. Educate yourself as much as possible about your potential career opportunities. You can't develop a good game plan for what to study, where to study it, and how to financially manage it if you don't know where you're trying to go with it all. That means studying up on the internet, talking to career counselors, maybe even calling up companies for informational interviews. As a result, you'll get a better sense for what you want to try vs. what you would absolutely not be able to deal with, what qualifications you'll need to have to be competitive, and what you can realistically expect to earn down the road. Tons of people people get into college and fail because they didn't ever get this piece right.
Good luck.
P.S. Your first job will likely not be the job of your dreams, and you may not stick with the industry/occupation. But graduating with a good, practical degree and opening one door makes it much easier to have a choice of different doors to open down the road. Have some patience; it's about the long haul.
Don't shy away just because math is getting harder. You will find, as you get older, it gets easier. I never made higher than a D+ in math in high school but did well in engineering school. I had trouble with math when it's taught as memorization but did fine when I got to calculus where they expected me to understand. That said, don't go into engineering just for the money. Choose something you're going to enjoy. You'll be doing it for a long time.
Almost all high paying careers require a fair bit of college math. Knuckle down and be the math master. Math was my daughter's hardest subject too, but she wanted to be a pharmacist. That just meant that she had to study high school math a little harder. She ended up taking college calculus her senior year in high school and whizzed through her college math classes.
I missed two months of my high school freshman year due to illness and had a tough time catching up in algebra after returning. My instructor told me that if I wanted to advance in math that I should take it over. Instead of repeating the class I opted to avoid all higher math courses.
But then I decided I wanted to study architecture. So I took an uncredited algebra class at college, then freshman algebra, trig, calc.... But I aced them all. You can too if you put your mind to it. Don't just say, "this is difficult". Say, "this is difficult, but I'm going to do whatever is necessary to master it."
The marines can be a good way to get a good education and opportunity. I have several friends who went the service route and although there are parts of that life that are certainly difficult, most feel they made a good choice. It really depends if that sort of lifestyle is right for you. Is for some, not for everybody.
If you decide to go straight into college (another fine choice), I second the advice of going to a community college for your first two years (saves a lot of money getting your basic courses out of the way) and then transferring to a 4-year university for your last 2 years in your major. Right now I would set my sights on a 4 year degree because it will open more doors than just having an associate's degree. You can always change your mind if you get in and just can't handle it, but right now will be the easiest time in your life to make school work. It only gets harder as you get older and have more responsibilities. Try to push yourself now.
With the trig, this time in school is frustrating for a lot of people. In the lower grades, a lot of people can just skate by. The subjects aren't that hard and they can basically pick it up from the teacher explaining it once. Once you hit Trig and Pre-Cal, it starts getting hard. You may have never learned how to study the right way. You may have never really had to try before. Dig in now. You can learn this, you just have to learn to put your mind to it in a way you might never have had to before.
If you decide to go the military route, check thoroughly into all the branches of service. I did this before I joined the Navy in the 80s. The most important thing to do is to get a guarantee of a specialty.
I did very well on the ASVAB, and even so, the people at the processing center kept offering me stuff that they needed to fill quickly, like signalman. I was only interested in 2 jobs--linguist and ocean systems technician. They told me both of them were filled (and since I'm a woman, they don't have as many slots available as they do for men). I said fine, I wouldn't enlist today. Well, I had to go to another area to fill out some paperwork, and they brought me back an hour later, and wouldn't you know, an opening was available for a linguist. I then, signed the contract, ensuring that the linguist position was stated on the contract.
I know that when the Army personnel were in school with me for Russian for a year, their next duty stations were often at some base where they were going to be drivers or something else. The Navy will actually use you for what you learned in school.
If you decide to do the reserves, I think there are still different recruiters for the reserves. I didn't know this when I was looking, and there were many recruiters who lied to me, telling me there were no more reserves for women (I did decide to go active duty after all--but didn't enlist with the recruiter who lied to me).
If your mom is a single mom with no income you won't pay anything for college. It will actually be MORE expensive to go to a 2 year college because of that. At a 4 year college you will have your housing and food paid for along with your tuition. If your mom didn't go to college there are plenty of scholarships out there for first generation college students too.
If you want to open a business some day I would suggest you get a business degree with some kind of computer background to go along with that degree. Look for colleges that have some technical offerings too. I know there are a couple in MN so I am sure there are some other places as well.
Also, I would look into a Liberal Arts school that requires you to take some core classes in many areas. This exposes you to different fields and different opportunities. You may discover something you love during this process. Also, most schools don't have you declare a major until end of sophomore year or mostly into junior year so you still have plenty of time to figure that out.
Go talk to the counselors at your high school and ask to take a career assessment profile. It will ask you questions about you likes and dislikes and suggest possible careers for you.
I would also suggest taking the ACT/SAT this spring to see what your score is. You want to get that as high as possible but most state schools like to see at least a 25 or so (at least around here) on the ACT. That will also help you determine what type of school you are likely to gain acceptance.
Thanks for the many replies, very much appreciated.
@ Golfgal - Are you sure I wouldn't have to pay anything for further education, because so far I've been researching scholarships and I have come across the Pell Grant, which can offer up to $ 4,000...and then I will be getting lottery scholarships but I haven't saw anything about a full ride unless I make a 30 or so on my ACT.
Right now, I have a 20 on my ACT. It's pretty low but I am taking it again in April, and it might have been low because I did not study for it, and it had been a year since I had taken a math class so I was behind in that.
Thanks for the many replies, very much appreciated.
@ Golfgal - Are you sure I wouldn't have to pay anything for further education, because so far I've been researching scholarships and I have come across the Pell Grant, which can offer up to $ 4,000...and then I will be getting lottery scholarships but I haven't saw anything about a full ride unless I make a 30 or so on my ACT.
Right now, I have a 20 on my ACT. It's pretty low but I am taking it again in April, and it might have been low because I did not study for it, and it had been a year since I had taken a math class so I was behind in that.
I am positive. Go to this site: Home - FAFSA on the Web-Federal Student Aid and plug in your family numbers-use the "EFC-Expected Family Contribution" calculator. Some of your aid will be in the form of loans but the bulk will be in federal grants, state grants, school grants. Bascially if you make under $50K or so, you won't really pay anything for college (outside of loans). The trade off of getting a loan vs not getting a college education is really a no brainer. If you pick a reasonably priced school you won't come away with huge amounts of debt--basically equivalent to a car payment down the road.
You don't need to get a 30+ on the ACT to get financial aid. Getting a 30+ will get you some merit aid (based on your test scores and GPA). You DO need to get your ACT score up. It is going to be difficult to get accepted into most schools without at least a 23/24 on the ACT.
What types of classes are you taking in school? Are you taking any AP classes? If not, you should take a math and a Language Arts AP class this spring or next fall. The information learned in those classes will help you score better on your ACT. I would also suggest that you take and ACT prep class if you can find a reasonably priced on in your area. I know our high school offers one for $100. Ask in the counselor's office. If nothing else, the ACT official website has a subscription to a prep program that is $20 and good for one year. It is actually a pretty good site to use for prepping for the test.
Have you visited any schools yet? What state are you in? Maybe we can give some suggestions as to what schools you should be considering.
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Instead of repeating the class I opted to avoid all higher math courses. 
So I took an uncredited algebra class at college, then freshman algebra, trig, calc.... But I aced them all. You can too if you put your mind to it. Don't just say, "this is difficult". Say, "this is difficult, but I'm going to do whatever is necessary to master it."
