So I just have to tell someone about what happened to me today so I'm going to spill my guts. But first I have to tell a little bit of a back story. I have taken college courses over a long period of time with my last courses in 2005. Well I have had some occurrences during my years of course work that have interrupted things. When I was at Ohio State my third quarter I didn't do so well because I was worrying about my grandmother who was now living alone after the death of my grandfather. I pretty much tanked all my classes that quarter and even missed a final which made my grade drop to a D. Then later on in life I started taking courses at a local community college while I was working at the prison. But then one quarter my grandmother had a stroke and that became my priority and so once again I tanked some classes. Then years later I decided to join the Marines reserve and go back to college at Miami of Ohio University. Well I went to boot camp at Parris Island. During my time there I developed pneumonia and it took the doctors three weeks to catch it. They ended up giving me a medical discharge. So I wasn't going to get a GI Bill for college but fortunately I applied with FAFSA which is the governments financial aid program. It covered all my bills to go to school there. My second semester there in a two week period my father died and I was in a car wreck that messed up my back. So at that point I had to withdraw from that semester. Well you would think that I could just go back to school in the fall and everything would be ok? No. The school send ms a letter saying they gave me too much financial aid and I have to pay that back in order to enroll for classes or for me to get a copy of my transcripts. Well here I am with a bad back and have missed worked for over a month, then going back to work making just enough to get by and there is no way I can come up with the $600 they say I owe. Forward ten years now. I'm living in Kentucky and I pretty much am looking at no future but possibly getting disability which would only be $850 a month. That is nothing these days. Well I had to do something so I called a couple colleges nearby and asked if my credits that were 10 years old or older would still be good. They said yes so I had to do something to get back in school and finish the degree I am so close to. It was a tough decision but I sold my car to my landlord and paid the $600 to get my transcripts. I then applied for financial aid and got plenty enough to cover my school, bills, and even enough to maybe buy back my car or buy another one to get back in forth to school. I'm doing the first semester online until I can get the car. Everything sounds like it is going to work out! Yesterday I decided to look at my financial aid status online and my heart dropped. It said denied because of "PACE." I called the financial aid office today and they said that there was a bad ratio in number of classes I took verses number of credits I've earned. So because of the instances in the past were I bombed a semester/quarter for personal reasons I wasn't going to get my financial aid and get to go to school. My heart hit the floor. I had gone through all this trouble and had my hopes up that I was going to finish my degree, and here I'm losing everything. That's when he put me on hold. The whole time my mind was just a mess thinking about all the hard work I'v done going down the drain and that with this problem I would never be able to go back to school. Well after maybe five minutes he came back on the phone again. Then he says that NOW (somehow) I am ELIGIBLE and that I get my financial aid that it will show up as processed in a couple of days. Good Lordy I was so happy to hear that. So now the mission begins. I have to put my nose in the books and try to get my neurons firing and do well with my school. I need to get my GPA up enough to maybe go to grad school or law school. Any support would be welcomed!
You could have just said this wasn't about some gorgeous 18 year old you met your first day of classes... (Seriously, congratulations, buddy!!!)
Good luck, Lewdog! If you put half as much effort into studying as you did for getting the chance for education in the first place, you're going to do great.
That is great! Congrats! Think of the time off as an advantage. You're almost a decade wiser than you were when you last attended college. While there is always a learning curve when jumping back into something, you understand what's at stake way better than the average college student. That's an advantage. Work hard, think hard and I'm sure you'll do great.
Thanks. At the school I'm going to, they have an Academic Bankruptcy. So I can take the classes that I didn't do well during hectic times in my life, and have those bad grades wiped from my transcript. That will raise my GPA significantly. There are just times when things happen and things like health and family comes first.
Congratulations! I wouldn't worry about your age in study groups. Some of my best friends in college were twice my age. Plus, non-traditional college students like you are also sometimes eligible for scholarships. But since it seems you've gotten the money taken care of, I guess it doesn't matter. Great job, man. It's clear you've been through a lot to get to this point, so hopefully this experience is everything you want it to be.
I know I have to pay back the money but if I can get the degrees I want I'll hopefully be able to get a good desk job somewhere as some type of counselor. Don't worry I won't try to spread my opinions it will just be the facts.
Congrats, that's just awesome! The hoops you've been jumping through sound all too familiar, unfortunately. Glad you persevered and got it all sorted out! Good luck with your studies.
Sadly I'm frustrated because I keep searching used cars for a good deal, but I realize that they will certainly be sold by the time I get the money to buy it! I found a nice newer style Impala: http://eastky.craigslist.org/cto/5148122265.html This would be PERFECT for me as I don't drive far distances but maybe 30 miles and back.
