Voicelessness and Emotional Survival > Voicelessness and Emotional Survival Message Board
Meandering
Meh:
Two,
Even I am behind on my thread. I don't really expect anybody to read all of it. It's painful for me to re-read it. I appreciate the sentiment though. Yah, I've been wondering to myself if I were to do an on-line class it would save me time but would I miss out on the social aspect. There is real value in community. Some schools have a community vibe and some don't. Sometimes it even depends on the class itself.
sKePTiKal:
Well, I've been reading it all. Even when I don't have anything to contribute.
This is pretty NORMAL, G. What you're going through at this stage of the process. PITA, I know, but I think everyone goes through this to some degree. You are spot-on that some of what you're feeling is excitement, I think. Your imagination is taking that energy and running with it through a lot of scenarios. That's something I normally do; but I ain't claiming to be normal in the clinical sense.
So, let's lighten this up a bit. Have a few laughs over it. The thing about education is that it isn't a life/death situation. My experience of being in school, as an adult, taught me that. It was absolutely one of the most magic and valuable things about it for me. Even if I failed a class (and I'd have to work really hard to do that; even in chemistry I ended up with a B) - NO BIG DEAL. I wouldn't be kicked out, or disgraced, or shamed or anything like that. It was like being in a total no-fail world where real risks didn't exist. For me, I need those 4 years of that environment. The cocoon. I even missed a few tests and had to make them up -- cocoon.
There is a TON of support in that environment and it makes it easy, for those who have already made it over real-life hurdles, to make the most of the opportunity. You know how to do that; you just don't know you do yet. It's an excellent way to drop out of real life for a bit, to a degree, and regroup your self, while furthering your occupational options. All you need to do, to access help there - is ask for it. Even if you skip over something on a form or put down info that isn't what they were looking for - you'll get a chance to fix it. The school isn't trying to keep you OUT, they're trying to make you salivate about wanting in, to set the hook so to speak. Yeah, they have their bean counters... and it's just flat out stupid some of the information they ask for. But ask it they do. The answers don't matter so much (you aren't being graded) and I think they realize that how you'd answer their silly questions can and does frequently change. I remember one student who legally changed their name, and it caused holy hell in the data system because the admin person he requested the change from, didn't update it in the right place in the database... so it turned into my job to backtrack through all the various tables and different web applications make the corrections.
Remember - just because you don't KNOW that environment right now - doesn't mean it's going to be impossible to deal with. So you can BE excited; start picking out book bags... LOL. Keep jumping through the paperwork hoops and deadlines and such. And pretty soon, you'll have the first day of school to look forward to. Save worrying about the OUTCOME of the process, when you're close to graduating. (And just tell the bean counters, what you HOPE will happen. Chances are it will. But you don't have a crystal ball to be able predict the future and it's counterproductive to tell them that. Ask how I know.)
Twoapenny:
--- Quote from: Garbanzo on August 02, 2019, 02:25:34 AM ---Two,
Even I am behind on my thread. I don't really expect anybody to read all of it. It's painful for me to re-read it. I appreciate the sentiment though. Yah, I've been wondering to myself if I were to do an on-line class it would save me time but would I miss out on the social aspect. There is real value in community. Some schools have a community vibe and some don't. Sometimes it even depends on the class itself.
--- End quote ---
Yes, the community aspect for me was the really important bit; I think I'd have gone a bit mad sitting home alone studying online. I loved the whole atmosphere and for me it was a chance to move away and that was exciting - new places, city, people and so on - made easy because there was support for students to find cheap accommodation (I don't know if that would factor in to your choices at some point). I think also the contacts you make can be really helpful with finding work afterwards - a lot of things are based on networks of people and personal recommendations go a long way. Personally I get more out of something face to face than I do online, not least because you can chew over things you don't understand with fellow students and get other perspectives, which can be helpful. xx
Hopalong:
(((((G)))))
In my own super-opinionated way, I totally strongly believe you should not do college online, alone in your apartment.
I think you will find there will be adjustments and some moments of discomfort in relating to others in a new environment. And I think going through that, breathing all the while, will benefit you more than you can imagine.
The other thing you'll discover is other adult students who've been through equally deep trials and survived, and there they are too, choosing hope.
You are YOU, not an outcast, a hermit, or a reject.
Hugs
Hops
Meh:
Skep with this program if I were to fail any class then my funding would be taken away. BUT I'm not going to think about that too much right now. It just makes the point of being realistic about my abilities or lack of.
Yes HOPS I know what you mean, doing classes online in Apt alone. I do get that I really do.
It might be harder to get into the local Uni than I thought, the online program might be much easier to get into for me.
IF I do on-line classes I can physically relocate if I want to, the rent here really is high and with a fixed income and no health insurance it's very possible I could find a more budget friendly option. If I can't stand myself anymore I can volunteer or something. It really is SO much to think about. I HATE commuting. I take the bus and it stinks literally, it involves waiting outside and during the Fall and Winter sometimes that means being soaking wet. I might be commuting 3 hours a day for 3 hours of class a day. Some of this is not predictable. If I did end up relocating maybe it would be somewhere out of the city and more conducive to community, maybe I would go to church. I don't know I can't really decide based solely on these details. It's City commuting I think we've been rated as one of the worst cities to commute in for traffic.
LOTS and LOTS to consider. But for today I think I need to buy a zip drive to go scan and save all my docs to. I don't even have that.
ALSO! If I start an online program and I I can't stand it online after a while I can move closer to that school and take the same classes on campus. If I start out taking a campus only course i wouldn't be able to transition to online.
Plus if there was something else I wanted to do in my personal life an on-line class would allow me to manage my own time.
Lectures are engaging sometimes. There is an element of distraction in classes also depending on how mature or not mature the students are. It's hard to think about but even at college level some adults are very disruptive. Some online courses have like cap-stone projects that are virtual group projects but maybe some don't have this requirement I'm not sure.
But yeah there is a human element I just have to weigh and balance the pros and cons. In the end it might NOT be my decision. I have to present multiple schools with the same program for comparison.
Around midnight I remembered I took a couple night classes after work at a different school. SO I just got a freaking form to download fill out, save, send back so that I could get that student ID so that I can log in and download a transcript.
It's amazing how little organization REAL LIFE requires. LOL
There is already an avalanche of papers on my sofa. I'm gonna clean up for a few mins.
sounds silly maybe but it dawns on me that at different stages or time in life there are these identity things I really believe I am, when I was younger it was "student" "artist".... now it's like "old" "tired" "worker".... It's a mindferk to go back to "student". It's interesting to think about identity and how important it seems to be it's kind of an emotional cord.
* Got one of my transcripts downloaded this AM.
* Signed up for a career workshop, why not. Maybe I can get more than one thing done on campus.
* Emailed request for follow up appt with Adviser about my transfer credit plan same day as career workshop
* Emailed the case managers asked them to clarify deadlines. Luckily or unluckily they don't seem to act too fast.
-- I've got questions I need to email to someone else about the math requirements
reconnected with a coworker I haven't talked to in months who is also trying to scramble for school
The novelty of the idea is wearing off already and I have a major headache. I've asked if there's any way my first quarter could be funded separately so that I don't have to declare the training plan immediately well I'm just trying to finish up my last classes of the Associates. I don't think they're going to go for it but someone told me that the actual federal funds takes months to kick in. So it's a different pot of money that funds the start-up of this anyways. Regardless I'm going to have to do the exact same class is initially but I won't know if I'm accepted into a more competitive program until I finish those classes and apply for admission to ba. Sounds very reasonable to me, could be out of the realm of realistic. Not sure I have the energy for this.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version