Do you feel like you're sacrificing something?

[margotsara]

Some background-- I'm nineteen years old, currently finished 85 / 120 credits for my BA in English. I've been writing and performing comedy professionally for about two years now, and want to make a career in that line.

My question is ... Whenever I talk to friends who are going through the "traditional college experience" (living in dorms/shareds, physically going to class, etc.) they ask if I feel left out.

I don't, but I'm wondering if anyone else has thoughts on this?

I did go to a B&M school for a time, but became extremely frustrated with the slow pace of classes. It also interrupted some career goals. My parents did not save a dime for my education, and if I'm going to pursue a degree at all, it needs to be in the most economical (time- and money-wise) way possible, while also giving me the opportunity to pursue my dreams full-force while I still have the energy.

Right now, I'm using PLA's to get credit for my writing, performance work, etc. I feel great that I get to do exactly what I want, without sticking to the outlines of a certain "course."

Any thoughts?

I'm especially interested in hearing from people going the "testing out" or "Big 3" route in order to accomodate what I like to call my "dream schedule."

Thank you also for all the help I've received on here so far. I hope I'm able to re-give it.

[rmroberts]

I don't wish I was doing college the regular way at all. I mean sit in class for four years or do cleps/dssts/eces for less than one year and graduate at 16. For me it no competition whatsoever. I will get my masters degree by actually going to college and I think one year of going to college will be more than enough for me. It's really a shame more people don't understand what this is all about. I've tried to convince some friends that are about to go to college the "traditional way" to consider testing out of alot of college, but they won't even look into it. They don't even know what they're missing. Anyway, as I always say, I'm different and I consider that a good thing.

[Ruddigore]

Some background-- I'm nineteen years old, currently finished 85 / 120 credits for my BA in English. I've been writing and performing comedy professionally for about two years now, and want to make a career in that line.

Okay, I have to reply. I'm 19 years old and 84 / 120 credits into my BA in Literature in English. I haven't gone professional, but there's always tomorrow.

My question is ... Whenever I talk to friends who are going through the "traditional college experience" (living in dorms/shareds, physically going to class, etc.) they ask if I feel left out.

I don't, but I'm wondering if anyone else has thoughts on this?

I did go to a B&M school for a time, but became extremely frustrated with the slow pace of classes. It also interrupted some career goals. My parents did not save a dime for my education, and if I'm going to pursue a degree at all, it needs to be in the most economical (time- and money-wise) way possible, while also giving me the opportunity to pursue my dreams full-force while I still have the energy.

Right now, I'm using PLA's to get credit for my writing, performance work, etc. I feel great that I get to do exactly what I want, without sticking to the outlines of a certain "course."

Any thoughts?

I'm especially interested in hearing from people going the "testing out" or "Big 3" route in order to accomodate what I like to call my "dream schedule."

Many of my friends are a) picking out a college, b) going to college, or c) saving up money so they may return to college. I, on the other hand, will be completing college before some of my friends who graduated from highschool four years ago. Not boasting; non-traditional college is just cool like that.

There is no need to feel left out just because you aren't cut out like everyone else. Everyone learns a bit differently. Some people struggle through college classes, working their brains out to squeak by with C's and B's. Some people are bored and get A's without doing their best. I know people in both groups.

Now, just because person A is smarter than person B doesn't mean one is better than the other. They just need to handle education differently. Judging from the CLEP scores you posted recently, margotsara, you are a bright person. How can you push yourself to your limit - your full potential? Probably not through slowly-paced B&M classes, as you've seen.

Congratulations on your PLAs! Doing those would probably scare a lot of people. Where are you getting these PLAs? Maybe I should try for one...

I am going the Big Three Route -- the Excelsior College Route to be precise. Once you figure out what you'll need to satisfy the degree requirements, it really isn't that difficult to plug in your credits. How many credits do you have in your Major? Those credits are the most difficult to obtain through testing. For my BA in Literature in English, I have to have 60 arts and science credits and a generous spattering of Upper Level (UL) credits in arts and science. It would have taken me quite a while to obtain these credits, except for the Lit in English GRE, which Excelsior accepts as undergrad credit.

Take a glance at alissaroot's template for EC BAs and see how your credits fit in: http://www.degreeforum.net/excelsior-tho...#post62468

I'm sure I'm missing something. Just ask if you have a question and I'll try to answer - unless someone else beats me to it...which is entirely possible.

(Oh, another fine thing about this approach to education is it gives more time and money for grad school, a great way to expand one's brain.)

[TMW2010]

I'm 38 years old with OCD & ADHD (diagnosed, and currently being treated.)

I went to four different schools when I was younger (basically my 'college' years, prior to diagnosis and treatment.) and only one of those four actually kept my interest long enough for me to get through the classes. That was because of the way the classes were offered, basically 5 days a week for a couple weeks for each class, and the subject matter, which I was in the zone on.

And we're not talking little podunk schools, either. I spent a very unfulfilling semester at the University of Alabama in the engineering department.

Honestly, if you have a decent enough social life/social experience - one where you're actually involving yourself with people on a face to face level, and getting out meeting new people and sharing your interests, you're not missing much at all. What you may be missing is:

• The possibility of living outside of the family home, having to shack up with 1-3 other strangers in a dorm, who you may or may not have personality conflicts with. (My roommates at 'Bama were HUGE HUGE HUGE college basketball fans... Having to live through March Madness there made me want to slit my wrists repetitively.)
  
• The boring lecture/class issue at school, but I've found that can occur even through the Big Three, or at least through Excelsior. I loathe when people take something that sounds cool and interesting and make the actual experience of it dry, boring, and overall, tedious.
  
• The expense of housing & meal plans and racking up student loans on a large scale.
  

[cookderosa]

Some background-- I'm nineteen years old, currently finished 85 / 120 credits for my BA in English. I've been writing and performing comedy professionally for about two years now, and want to make a career in that line.

My question is ... Whenever I talk to friends who are going through the "traditional college experience" (living in dorms/shareds, physically going to class, etc.) they ask if I feel left out.

I don't, but I'm wondering if anyone else has thoughts on this?

I did go to a B&M school for a time, but became extremely frustrated with the slow pace of classes. It also interrupted some career goals. My parents did not save a dime for my education, and if I'm going to pursue a degree at all, it needs to be in the most economical (time- and money-wise) way possible, while also giving me the opportunity to pursue my dreams full-force while I still have the energy.

Right now, I'm using PLA's to get credit for my writing, performance work, etc. I feel great that I get to do exactly what I want, without sticking to the outlines of a certain "course."

Any thoughts?

I'm especially interested in hearing from people going the "testing out" or "Big 3" route in order to accomodate what I like to call my "dream schedule."

Thank you also for all the help I've received on here so far. I hope I'm able to re-give it.

I'm going to be the odd man out here and say that I don't believe it's the parent's role to save money for their children's education. I think there are many things that are more effective when self-funded, HOWEVER, that's not to say they shouldn't help/advise their children pay for their own education. That's for another day.

What I'm about to say won't hit home because I'm 40 and you're 19. The 40 year olds have all been 19, lol, and we wouldn't have listened to someone who was 40 either. Anyway....
I know that there is a romantic notion of "College" (with a capital) and for some reason, we continue to buy it. I don't know where it comes from- maybe I'm just grumpy after teaching for 17 years at a community college. However, college *for some people* is all of those things. Dorms, parties, etc. You should know that roughly 85% of people NEVER finish the college degree they start. Correlation & causation? You decide. But that group is married to Sallie Mae, with or without their degree.

See. here's the thing. The grass is always greener on the other side. If you choose to sit and wonder- then you're going to drive yourself to doubt. If you were in class, you might wonder what it'd be like to CLEP or take online classes. You might wonder what it'd be like to have gone pre-med instead of English. You might wonder what it'd be like if you decided to marry and skip college....we all choose. What I tell my children like a broken record "whenever you turn left, you give up all that could have been had you turned right- you could have found a million dollars or been killed in a collision" That's just the way it is. So, my advice to you, is to find the path that you feel most settled with and forge ahead. Stopping to constantly reconsider will likely derail your plans. As to what other people think- that's THEIR walk. Don't try and sell it, just get it done.

[PonyGirl93]

Ummmm why is everyone trying to convince the OP that she isn't missing anything when she already said she isn't??

Honestly, I do kind of feel like I'm missing something. I'm an extremely social person, & I would love to have the "dorm experience," but like you, my parents didn't save for my education at all (funny, they had a fund for my oldest sister & not the rest of us... lol), & I didn't want to borrow the money I would need for even the cheapest of residential B&M schools. Buuuut I'm happy with my choice, & I'll just get the dorm experience crashing on my friends' floors

[margotsara]

Thanks for the responses.

I like my plan and how it's going, but certain family members keep telling me "You're missing so many life experiences" by not having the traditional college experience.

Keep in mind, though, these are people who graduated college 20-30 years ago. Not people who graduated today, when the average senior has racked up in the neighborhood of $20k in student loans.

rmroberts - That's incredible! I actually told my little sister about you--she's 14 and a freakin' genius so I'm trying to get her to CLEP undergrad and start med school when she's 20.

I love the path I'm on, I was honestly just wondering if people have had similar thoughts / negative beanheaded family members and how they're dealing with them.

[Scholar Interrupted]

Well... You're younger than my son, so take my POV with a grain of salt. Here's what I think.

For a typical, bright 19-year-old, I would recommend testing out of at least your first year and then doing the rest the B&M way. This is because, as Excelsior president John Ebersole said recently, "18 to 24-year-olds need to get out of their bedrooms."

However, you don't sound typical. You've been working in a demanding field since age 17, so you're obviously out of your bedroom already and functioning in the real world. You sound like someone who just needs to get that degree and get on with life. You also expressed impatience with conventional classes. So what you're doing is probably ideal for you. If you do decide you want the B&M experience, you can always do grad school that way. And you have plenty of years to make that decision. (Ah, youth!)

As for me personally, no, I don't feel I'm missing anything by shunning the B&M scene. I found lectures extremely tedious when I was your age, even though I loved learning. I only wish the options I'm using now had been as well developed 20 years ago as they are now. I would have finished long since.

So I wouldn't worry too much about what friends say if I were you. You seem to have a remarkably solid idea of where you're headed and how to get there. Your friends probably just aren't quite as far ahead as as you, and maybe they need the experience and security of B&M school, as most people your age do. It's all good!

[Ruddigore]

I like my plan and how it's going, but certain family members keep telling me "You're missing so many life experiences" by not having the traditional college experience. [...]

I love the path I'm on, I was honestly just wondering if people have had similar thoughts / negative beanheaded family members and how they're dealing with them.

All this reminds me of a thread I started back when I was a Minor Noble:
http://www.degreeforum.net/general-educa...flack.html

I've gotten some positive reactions from some people -- particularly homeschool moms -- but I think that most of the negative persons have written my methods off, determined to be silent, or decided to believe "that's just what works for him." The whole saving three years (and who knows how much money) tends to have some effect, however, even on the most "college is what makes you who you are"-people. (They also get more comfortable when I start talking about Grad School.)

You just have to pass by the comments about testing versus what one of my friends called "real college." Refute them when appropriate, yes, but in the end you have to make up your mind that you've made the best decision and let people think what they think.

[doghouse42]

I went to a decent private liberal arts school for one year. I was appalled at the behavior of the students and the classes weren't so impressive. I dropped out, and it was the best decision I ever made. I only learned later how many loans my parents took out to send me there. I'm hoping to finish at Tesc by October or so.