[BigCityDreams007]

Im at a cross roads in my life...

After working hard throughout high school I got into my dream college far away in chicago ( I live in Missouri by the way.) I worked SOOOOOOOO hard for it. It meant everything to me. I recently discovered I have no way of paying for it. I tried every option. Fasfa, Parent loan, Student loan, scholarships... I just couldn't get the money I needed. After this devastating blow I came to the cold hard reality that I'm staying at home and going to the local community college. I have now realized that I don't know what I want to go into... I know that going into college many people don't know what they want to do, but I just wish I had a passion for something. Im not even sure if I want to go to college anymore. It's the worst thing in the world to know that hard work and determination were not enough. The whole thing just made me realize that I don't want to waste my life on unrealistic goals. I have a job but its only a summer job. I guess my question is. What do I do? I don't know where to turn or what the 1st step is. Ive tried talking to my parents but they could really care less. It's the whole "your 18 its time you make decisions and stop asking us what to do" when really all I wanted was there opinion and they still said the same thing. What to do?

[TheSavage]

So what trips your trigger/floats your boat? What interests YOU?
Yes you should still go to collage.
Most folks start down one career path and switch jobs later in life anyway, and the more education you have the more options that will be open for you. Savage

[shygrneyzs]

A community college offers the basics, which can apply to a four year program, should you decide to transfer credits. Also a community college offers two year technical programs in a variety of skills. Have you checked that out? Two year certifications can lead to good jobs, depending on what you are interested in and your skill aptitude.

Don't view the community college with disdain. Most of us who have gone to college have had to find ways to pay for it. Work plus school for most. My nephew just graduated from college - took him 6 1/2 years to get his degree, because he would work a semester and then go to school a semester. Worked construction for the summers and banked everything he could. He owes little to nothing to the college but he made huge sacrifices for it.

If you want something hard enough, you find ways to achieve it. Have you been through any job aptitude testing, to even help you decide on a career path?

Good luck to you. I know you have some tough decisions. You know it is no shame to work for a couple of years in the real world before making any decision about college.

[krittengirl]

Go to community college if it can lead to what you would want to do with your life -don't go if you are going just because it is "the thing to do after high school"
There are many happy fulfilled people who never went to college and many miserable ones (with big debt) that did. Take some time to think about what you would really like to be doing in 10 years and go from there.:D

[GeorgiePorgie]

Im at a cross roads in my life....

after working hard throughout highschool i got into my dream college far away in chicago ( I live in missouri by the way.) I worked SOOOOOOOO hard for it. it ment everything to me. I recently discovered i have no way of paying for it. I tried every option. Fasfa, Parent loan, Student loan, scholarships... i just couldnt get the money i needed. After this devastating blow i came to the cold hard reality that im staying at home and going to the local community college. I have now realized that i dont know what i want to go into... i know that going into college many people dont know what they want to do, but i just wish i had a passion for something. Im not even sure if i want to go to college anymore. its the worst thing in the world to know that hard work and determination were not enough. The whole thing just made me realize that i dont want to waste my life on unrealistic goals. I have a job but its only a summer job. I guess my question is. What do I do? I dont know where to turn or what the 1st step is. Ive tried talking to my parents but they could really care less. its the whole "your 18 its time you make decisions and stop asking us what to do" when really all i wanted was there opinion and they still said the same thing. What to do?

I had a situation where I couldn't pay for college, so I spent the summer and one semester working full time and saved up my money, and attended school the following semester. Also, it's often less expensive to live off campus and commute to school. Not only did the semester off help me save money, but getting full time experience helped me realize what I wanted to do, and made me much more passionate about my education. Also, since I paid for it on my own, I made sure to attend all classes and get the most out of my experience. I hope this helps!

[Fr_Chuck]

So what were you going to go to the "dream college" for, go to this college for the same thing, I always have to laugh, people from chicago will go to Missouri to go to college, and so on.

So you go for a couple of years, and then transfer, you move up to where you want to go and work and take a few classes as you work,

Going to a certain college is not a over all goal, it would be a way to meet a real goal, a certain degree and so on.

[Dabidosan]

Forgive me for saying this but,, you're an Idiot! Listen, I didn't have money to go to school either. I went to the local state university and still did all right. I cheated the system. I worked my off. I got 2 jobs with two companies- worked with the mininum requirement for tuition reimbursement for both companies- granted this was not easy to pull off, if you really want something in life you'll do it! So what happened? I raised funds for my first semester of school and every semester I got reimbursed a combined total of 180%! So then I had money for next semester and a little for myself. HOWEVER!! Here is my advice to you. Find your passion and go with it. You don't need some fancy pants school to make it.---For god sakes Bill Gates flunked out of Harvard- people think he went there for computers ***wrong***. He was studying law- but his PASSION was computer technology-----The mouse was already invented! Windows "styled" applications already invented! (but he was the only genius to buy everyone out and put the two together!) He didn't need to sell the whole computer- just the crappy $.10 cd/floppy disk needed to run every computer on the planet! (For which he charges $50-$110 per cd/disk)

If you still need money for school- try your uncle sam for some free grants @ Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance go the search engine and type words that apply to you- what state you live in, what you want to do, your race, anything! It's certainly worth the shot!