Help....the Stress Is Killing Me

[clayton86]

My parents will not allow me to go to community college or do ROTC. I do not understand there reasoning in saying ROTC is the easy way out but it is what they think. I can afford school is what my parents say but it is more me thinking we can not. I just do not want them having to pay for another 4 years of school. I do not want to be a burdon on them.

I'm sure there paying for your school now u said it's a prep school. If there gonna pay for it who cares or even half that's a huge chunk and be thankful I put myself threw college at 18 no help from mom or dad what so ever im still paying it of 6 years later I went to a 1 year tech school cost me 32k for 12mo. But don't think your a burden on them your there son.

[J Francho]

You're getting a free ride from your parents? Yeah, sorry, lost my sympathy for you. Suck it up and do right by them, and you won't feel guilty.

[Bass XL]

Yep, student loans are no fun...trust me

[nick76]

If your parents are willing to help then take the help. It is only taking advantage of them if you screw off or fail out of school. You can pay them back when you are older and they need someone to take care of them. If you earn the right degree then you will have plenty of cash flow to help make that a reality.

Trust me $250,000.00 in education and student loans of $140,000.00. I would trade you any day.

[fish-fighting-illini]

As others said go to a community college to get the generic courses out of the way. A lot easier doing your english and other required courses in classes of 25 instead of several hundred. This will save a lot of money, gives you a chance to get the GPA set, and when you graduate from a 4 year school later there is no asterisk because of your community college years. You get the same degree as everyone who went there 4 years.

Yep what he said.

Also..... If you got a 30 on your ACT you are smart enough to not to worry about what other people think.

Go to JC and save your money. If you go the JC route make sure that you have a pretty good idea of what college you want to finish at.

Not all classes will transfer from one place to another etc. Not all colleges ( of any type ) do a 100% job on how all of this works. Don't just rely on what the JC says, do you own homework ( pardon the pun ) and talk to the 4yr college yourslf to double check the JC.

Good Luck,

FFI

[NorcalBassin]

Your parents are offering to pay and you're worried about being a burden? Your parents want to see you succeed and will do whatever they can to make your life "better" than theirs... that's the way it's supposed to be but increasingly is not for many kids. Be thankful that you've been blessed with that opportunity and do the same for your kids someday.

Nick... comforting to see someone with more school loan debt than me. I walked away with a "bargain" debt of $120,000 to be paid over 25 years. Joking aside, it was worth every penny.

[nick76]

Norcal,

I will concur that my debt was worth every penny. I have an extra "mortgage" to pay because of it, but worth having my future in my hands. I also watched as a lot of kids spent good money on bad degrees to only be broke and expecting to live like kings. Bad choice.

[GrundleLove]

This must be the reason to get into the scrap metal business

My link

[J Francho]

LMAO, maybe the construction on the Irondequoit Bay Bridge here isn't construction at all!

[Redlinerobert]

Agreed on the community college front. I have plenty of friends that did that and they did better than most of my pals that went straight to a 4 year school.

The one thing I can tell you about college is that it really doesnt matter where you go. Will going to an Ivy league school get you a better job? Perhaps. But, it won't guarantee anything.

This is one of those places in life that based on where ever you decided to go, doors will open for you. I can guarantee you that. What YOU decide to do with that open door will prove to have an impact on what/where your destiny will be. Trust me on this.

I've spent many a night wondering what would have been different with my life had I decided to go to a school back east, or go to Cal Poly for architecture, rather than move forward with UCLA. Where would I be today?

Make a decision and stick with it. That's the best advice I can give you. It's what I did, and things didn't turn out so bad for me.

Enjoy the ride.

[J Francho]

d**n good advice, Robert.

[SirSnookalot]

This must be the reason to get into the scrap metal business

My link

I have seen my share of stolen items sold for scrap but the bridge is a first. Only thing that what puzzle me is the time factor and not being detected, or local authorities noticing the dismantling before completion. Could have be done by hand loading pick up trucks, but that would take a long time and a lot of hard work and countless number of trips to a scrap yard for unloading. I could venture another guess which makes more sense to me but I'll refrain from telling you how it was most likely done. I will say this, someone may have given information that generally is known to a " professional".

[deaknh03]

This must be the reason to get into the scrap metal business

My link

And if you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you. (piece by piece).

[SirSnookalot]

And if you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you. (piece by piece).

Are you saying you don't believe the bridge was dismantled or there is no real value involved in doing it. Or are you saying there is no money being in the scrap metal business?

A few good torchmen make mincemeat out of that bridge in fairly short order, surprised they didn't take the tracks too. The steel itself is worth around $400 gt, ballpark number less the price of materials probably about $35 a ton. Moving it is a piece of cake, roll off boxes and bobcat, hi lo or front end loader. It would be inappropriate to say how much money was made in that business, but I will say there are not many that are not in the top 1% of wage earners. There are no student loans, but loans for other things like equipment are expensive.

[J Francho]

The bridge pictured is a stock photo, and not the bridge that was stolen in the article.

[lynyrdsky1]

Just did do a little more research and saw if I get in at LSU I can qualify for 10K a year scholarship but that's if I get in.

[NorcalBassin]

Just did do a little more research and saw if I get in at LSU I can qualify for 10K a year scholarship but that's if I get in.

That would be one heck of a place to go to college(in a good way). Better start lining up for your student football tickets ASAP!

[slonezp]

My 2 cents. From a guy who dropped out of high school, went back and got a diploma, could have had a free ride to college from my folks but instead, decided to have a kid at 20, who is now 21 and hasn't a clue what he wants to do with the rest of his life, drove a truck for years to pay the bills woke up one day and realized I WANT MORE. I now have more and still want even more and am working on that now.

Get an education whether it be a community college or university, trade school or armed forces. Don't do nothing!

Set a goal(what I keep telling my son) and figure out a plan to get from "now" to your set goal.

If you're thinking about the metal business, while you're getting your education, get a job at a foundry or scrap yard and see if it's really what you want to do. It will be easier to change industries now than when you're 30 or 40.

Develop a skill and strive to be better than everyone else in your field.

You're not going to get rich quick.

Enjoy what you do.

Continue your education indefinatly

Be able to sleep at night.

[SirSnookalot]

If you're thinking about the metal business, while you're getting your education, get a job at a foundry or scrap yard and see if it's really what you want to do.

The majority of jobs at a foundry,scrap or metal recycling company are laborers, but it may give a little insight as to the nuts and bolts of the biz, lynyrdsky's dad is in the business. This is an example of what a degree can do : about 25 years ago a degreed man had a job as comptroller for the largest ferrous yard in the Detroit area. Eventually he bought the company as the owners were retiring, he then built the company to the largest operation in the midwest, everything state of the arts. Some years later he sold to a man that built it to one of the largest in the country, there is no limit in this biz. I do not like to throw numbers around, but we are talking numbers that would be heard on CNBC.

[VolFan]

What it sounds like to me right now is that you don't want to do the essay... Write it, and ask either your english teacher at school or one of the good writers in your class to proof it, then fix it, and repeat. There's no reason you wouldn't get into any of the schools you stated with a 30 ACT and a 2.8 GPA. If your parents are willing to throw down, take it; you'll have your chance to repay them later in life. Sack up and put some effort in now and you'll be much happier out the other end. And you won't have to watch JSU play Delta State, you can watch the Tigers play the Vols.

All that said, there is NOTHING wrong with going to a community college to get your base course work out of the way. My first two years at UTK were fun, but I could've gotten that coursework most anywhere. And college Calc is no joke; I had to take Engineering Calc for my BCMB degree; it took me a few weeks before I realized how much work I had.

[Grey Wolf]

You might be making mountains out of mole hills. Confidance in yourself will sometimes get you a long way in this world.

[Captain Obvious]

1.First pick a major university you would like to attend

2. Go to a community college, make sure that all the classes you take there will meet the requirements of the major university you would like to attend

3. Get a high GPA at a community college. I was Deans List at my community college and that opened up a lot of scholarship for me when I transferred.

4. Make sure college is for you. Don't waste time and money at college just trying to find out what you want to do with your life.

[Root beer]

That bridge thing had me laughing hard. Funny stuff.

[OHIO]

4. Make sure college is for you. Don't waste time and money at college just trying to find out what you want to do with your life.

This x100.

[Ratherbfishing]

Don't let the big name schools fool you. A lot of universities and most research institutions will have TA's teaching your classes rather than folks already holding (usually) Masters degree's-which is usually the case with community colleges. Plus, community colleges are a lot cheaper.