Not sure if I can take any classes next semester

Just when I got what I thought I had gotten all my loans out of default, a small one from the college I went to in Nebraska has popped up. Damn it. I thought they were all going to get out of default. If so, someone messed up. Otherwise, I have to figure out if they will accept a payment plan. Otherwise, I'm screwed and won't be able to get any financial aid.

Let it snow!

We got our first snow this past week, and a bit of accumulation, although not much. Luckily we missed the big winter storms that have been happening in a few states lately. I'm sure the kids would have loved to be off school though.

I have my last speech tomorrow. I got 100 on my 3rd speech yesterday! I was expecting maybe a B, as it was hastily put together because I had strep last week and bronchitis this week. My speech was on the history of Santa, from good old Saint Nicholas to the Santa of today. It was kind of short, I thought she'd take off points for that but she didn't. Now to put together one today for tomorrow. I don't have to worry about it too much, if we do all 4 speeches she throws out the lowest score of one of our speeches. Speeches are easier than doing papers in English Comp.

My ex called today. Of course he can't take the kids for the holidays, grrr. I really need a break! My older daughter was thinking about coming up to visit, but she needs to get her car fixed, so won't have money to come.

Won't have a lot of money for Christmas this year. My dad will send me a bit of money and something for Ibi. My older son worked this summer and bought himself all kinds of goodies. I'll try to get something for my daughter. Maybe a gift card to Barnes and Noble. She got my bookworm gene. I might be able to get myself a cool used cell phone, other than that, doubt I'll get anything. At least I was able to get myself a laptop with a bit of my school money. Guess that will have to suffice.

A.

School Daize

Classes are going well. My 6 yo son keeps getting sick when I have a history test! Luckily the teacher is good about letting me reschedule. I got a 95 on my speech this week on breastfeeding. No, I didn't demonstrate. The other speeches are really interesting. We have a total of 4 speeches, and I have to do a speaker evaluation (not on someone in my class). We have to go by an outline, as well as give a copy of the outline to the teacher. The outline gets graded too. We have to cite our sources too of course. My English teacher keeps switching between APA and MLA style. We did one paper in each, and now we can choose one. In my speech class we have to use APA Style, so I'll do that in English Comp. as well.

My son was sick about a month ago. He had a fever and his throat hurt. I took him into the doctor, and he had strep throat. About 3 or 4 weeks later, another fever. He said his ear(s) hurt, so I took him in again. They said it was probably a viral infection, and he felt better in a couple of days. My speech teacher is good about excusing absences with an excuse AND documentation. So he's missed quite a bit of school already. Hopefully he is done at least for this semester!

College Dayz

Second week of college finished this past week. I have two classes where I will be writing: English Comp, and Public Speaking. My English Comp teacher reminds me of Hagrid from Harry Potter:

He's a really nice guy. We're learning to read like a writer in his class. In public speaking, we're going to do our first speech in about two weeks. Just 5 minutes, to get us used to doing a speech outline and talking in front of the class. Anyone else wonder why speak has an a, but speech doesn't? I keep trying to type it as speach.

My online history teacher doesn't have his class up yet, until the time for late registration. I have to do some stuff for my online computer class.

So so far, so good. This week I've been feeling like crap. Have a bad cold, I think. Hopefully next week I will feel better.

I'm officially a college student!

I got my loans out of default, and am registered for the fall semester. My major is Computer Information Systems, emphasis in IT (Information Technology). I may also take some web design courses.

This late, a lot of the classes were full, but some were open that I needed. I'm taking English Comp, American History, Intro to Public Speaking, and Comp. Operations. Two of them are internet courses. That definitely saves gas going to the college. Just 12 credit hours to start. I didn't have $ to get my student ID today, I will come back later this week to get it and my books. The people at the college are great. It's going to feel weird to be a college student again, and I'll have to study, gulp! I'll have some days free at home with the kids in school, so I'll have plenty of time to study. I have to fill out the application for work-study, so maybe I can get a job on campus.

Anisah, college girl

College or Bust

I went to see someone in the Financial Aid Dept. yesterday. They said as soon as I made my 6th consecutive monthly payment and my student loans are in default, make sure they get a letter from the Education Dept, and I should be able to get Pell grant money for the fall. That will be next month. I was worried about it (the grant $) being all gone, but they said it shouldn't be a problem. I was going to see an adviser, but I had an appointment and didn't have time to wait. Friday I am going for an appointment in town, so I will go and wait for a walk-in appointment.

Anisah, future college student

What do I want to be when I grow up?

I took the assessment test last week. It's not an entrance exam, but a way to assess if you need to take basic english or math courses. I did well, and don't have to take any basic classes.

Last week in our class we took the Kuder Career Planning tests, at www.Kuder.com. It assesses your interest and skills in various areas of employment, and helps give you an idea of what kind of work may fit you. Anyone can take it online, but it does cost if you do it on your own. You may be able to take it through a local college for free. We did, so it was.

This week I have an appointment with a career counselor to go over my results, so I can figure out what I want to be when I grow up. You can find out information about different jobs on the Kuder web site to find out what skills you need to be successful in that job, what kind of pay you can find in the part of the country you are in, and what the job prospects are. You don't want to study something and find out when you finish that there are few or no jobs.

My lowest interest and skills were in Sales and Management. That didn't surprise me. It did surprise me that Outdoor/Mechanical were higher than that. I have no skills in that area and no interest either.

It showed my highest interests were Science and technical, and Business Operations. I'm not really interested in Science as a career, even though I love learning about Science. I am good with computers though.

My highest skill was in Social/Personal Services. I am good dealing with people. I enjoy talking with them and helping them.

I'll see what the career counselor says tomorrow about my results. They don't tell you what to do, they help guide you to what would be a good fit for you, depending on your goals, what education is available, etc.

A.

More Steps Towards College!

Well have done more steps toward college. I just sent off for my GED to be sent to the college. I also sent off for transcripts to be sent there from a college where I took 3 classes in NJ. They were graphic design courses, but I hope I can use at least one.

Biggest step is that I set up a payment plan toward my student loans (and made my first payment). I went to school for Court Reporting about 20 years ago. I didn't finish, and didn't make arrangements on my loans, so they defaulted. I am eligible for a Rehab program. After 9 months of timely payments, the loans go out of default. I can get government and state grants after 6 months of payments, which means I should be able to get some $ for the fall semester. At first they said I had to pay 10% down! I wasn't dealing with the government, they sent it to a collections agency. I told them that's more $ than I have coming in in a month! So we talked a bit and worked some things out. I got the down payment totally taken off. I have 6 monthly payments I have afford. 1 down, 5 to go!

I enjoyed my class last Monday. And I wasn't the oldest in there! It's nice to be in a class with people not only my own age, but some older than me! The class is to help us get registered in school. Going through the various processes to be able to get enrolled. And more than one person in the class already has a degree. So it's not just for people who haven't finished college. Some people want to go back and get a different degree or certificate.

My next step is to take the assessment test at the college. It's not for a grade or anything. They want to see where you are in English, Writing, and Math to see if you need to take any basic courses before you start the college credit courses. I think I'll be ok with those, but you can retake a section or all if you need to.

Hardest thing for me is to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Do I hafta grow up? Some days I wish I didn't! I want to take Paralegal, but they don't have it there. There's not really anything I want to take there that can get me a job after 2 years. I'll talk to an advisor at the college and see what we can come up with.

Peace.

A, college or bust!

One step at a time towards College

I am determined to start college, even if it's just taking one class this year. I have loans I have to get out of default, not sure if it will be in time to get a full load in the fall or not. I am planning on taking a course in the Spring and pay for it. I took about 1 1/2 years of a 2 1/2 course on Court Reporting about 20 years ago. I don't want to take that again though. I took 3 classes in Graphic Design 7 years ago, but then my SO got laid off, then left, which left me SOL. They were graphic design courses, not general courses that can transfer.

Tonight I went to a Financial Aid Workshop. I can't get any Federal or State Aid, even grants, until I make 6 months of continuous, on time payments on my loans. I am going to call them this week and try to set up payments this month. I applied for some scholarships, and am not sure if I can get any with my loans in default. I hope telling them I am getting them out of default helps my position, or else I will probably just be taking one class in the fall. That's all I can afford to pay for at one time. But I should be able to take more classes in January of 2010.

I'm still not exactly sure what I want to take in college. I like too many things. But I have some ideas, and will talk to a counselor at college about it. I am good with computers and people. I also am a big bookworm. So I'll see if I can figure out what I can be good at, and get a job at as well.

I have to take the placement test to see if I need to take any remedial courses. I shouldn't, unless it's Algebra. I was going to college 7 years ago, and passed the assessment test, even the Algebra section.

It's a community college, but those are a better way to start an education. They are cheaper than 4 year colleges, but still give you a good education. They will counsel you in what courses to take that will transfer. There are a couple of colleges that have local campuses you can transfer to for a Bachelors Degree.

I registered for a free class at college: College Essentials, a college guide for adult students. It's a 6 or 8 week, once a week, course. Once you finish it, you get a voucher for a credit hour at the college.

A, college-bound or bust!