I think I have made my decision about college....

Brett

Semi-Pro
I have been contemplating whether to go to the local community college here and stay with my folks or go to this university in Chattanooga, Tennessee based off my religion which costs 20,000 a year, and the community college costing 650 a semester. I have decided to probably go to the private university. I believe it's God's will and if he doesn't want me to go, then I believe he will change my plans.

This has been the hardest decision of my life, also because I play tennis (obviously) and not knowing what to do with it, and I am hoping this is the best idea. I have faith in God.

Also, can you apply for new scholarships each year?
 

TennisD

Professional
Andy Hewitt said:
Brett, man... I just dont get you. Dont u have friends to discuss this stuff with?
I agree, such a big decission shouldn't really be put up to the opinion of people who don't even know you, ie, us!
 

Brett

Semi-Pro
Lol, believe me, I have talked to everyone about this. And I mean everyone. I am very indecisive.
 

tennis-n-sc

Professional
If you are that indecisive, why make any decision. Maybe the answer God is giving you is "not now", "another school", etc. This is a decision not to take lightly since it will likely affect the rest of your life. Get some knowlegdable input. Take some apptitude tests, anything but making a decision you aren't sure about.
 

Kaptain Karl

Hall Of Fame
Brett - E-mail me. <Info@WeMeanBusiness.biz>

Have you taken any kind of assessments to determine what you should major in ... pursue a career in? Do you know the college offers courses in the fields where you have strengths? (Sometimes our "likes" and our "strengths" are in different areas.)

About 5% of my business comes from families like yours. (Full disclosure: I sell a college/career tool you may find helpful.) If you don't respond, I'll not mention it agan.

- KK
 

MegacedU

Professional
95 percent of all school counselors are so rediculously idiotic that it makes you feel smarter when you leave their office. I swear they're just there so they can say they have a job.
 

tykrum

Rookie
MegacedU said:
95 percent of all school counselors are so rediculously idiotic that it makes you feel smarter when you leave their office. I swear they're just there so they can say they have a job.

I haven't done any studies to get percentages, but this was definitely true at my high school. All she ever told me was how my GPA was borderline for staying in National Honor Society, and when I decided to retake my ACT junior year (I got a pretty good score the first time), she looked at me like I was crazy and asked me why I was spending the money. Of course I got 2 pts higher the second time.

What I would tell Brett is that a community college will not expand your horizons or help you meet new people etc, but it is a great way to get done with those annoying liberal education requirements, and usually with a pretty darn good GPA, since from what I hear its easier than high school. This is the route one of my best friends is doing by spending about the same that I do on a semesters tuition for his entire college for the past two years. Now he has a light schedule from here on out. Going to a private school somewhere that you will have to move to is really the college experience though. You will be able to make new friends, have new experiences, etc. If that is what you want, and the school provides the right type of atmosphere and has the program you want to study, its really worth it.

For the scholarship thing, its more difficult to get scholarships every year as there usually aren't as many for already admitted students, but once you are applying to be in upper division (usually jr. year) there are a few more. This is something you really need to check on for yourself.
 

donnyz89

Hall of Fame
MegacedU said:
95 percent of all school counselors are so rediculously idiotic that it makes you feel smarter when you leave their office. I swear they're just there so they can say they have a job.

i do agree, im 15 and I hear teachers telling kids "you can do anything you put your mind to" and junk like that and how anyone can get in the most prestigeous universities such as UofM when its not nearly as easy as they make seem to be. I have silly girls who is struggling with GPA thinking she has a shot at harvard because her counselor told her she have a chance if she "works hard"... lol, I like to think things in a realistic way, none of that cinderella stories or miracles. i sure as hell would like it to happen and I become a pro tennis player but, even i try not to let dreams effect me too much.
 

MegacedU

Professional
In my school, if you take honors classes your GPA gets weighted and you untimately get a hella high class ranks. But every time the Principals Honor Roll (Top 5%) comes out, it's filled with the biggest dumbass stoners the school has that have never taken an honors class in their life. (The list doesn't included weighted GPAs) They take like three classes: Basic Foods, Lunch, and gym and they think they're all smart when I just miss it everytime by like a tenth of a point. I went down to complain and the guidance people are all oh that program is to recognize kids who wouldn't normally be recognized. Everyone deserves a little motivation. I flipped out. All they're doing is instilling a false sense of achievement that will never amount to anything.

Rant over.
 

tykrum

Rookie
MegacedU said:
In my school, if you take honors classes your GPA gets weighted and you untimately get a hella high class ranks. But every time the Principals Honor Roll (Top 5%) comes out, it's filled with the biggest dumbass stoners the school has that have never taken an honors class in their life. (The list doesn't included weighted GPAs) They take like three classes: Basic Foods, Lunch, and gym and they think they're all smart when I just miss it everytime by like a tenth of a point. I went down to complain and the guidance people are all oh that program is to recognize kids who wouldn't normally be recognized. Everyone deserves a little motivation. I flipped out. All they're doing is instilling a false sense of achievement that will never amount to anything.

Rant over.

You really don't have anything to complain about here. Its just an honor roll that hardly anyone reads and no one remembers. At least your school weights the honors classes. My school did not, so students like me that took all the most difficult classes had nothing to show for it except worse GPAs and lower class ranks. This caused me to only be in the top 20% of my class with a 3.7 GPA, and my class rank was ultimately the deciding factor in my college's decision to not let me into honors or give me any scholarships (I asked and they said that was the reason). I definitely had a high enough ACT and enough extra-curriculars. There's my rant.
 

MegacedU

Professional
Yeah but it looks really good to be able to put top 5% of class on a college app. I will be anyway - but it'd be nice to say that I was all along.
 

Camilio Pascual

Hall of Fame
MegacedU said:
95 percent of all school counselors are so rediculously idiotic that it makes you feel smarter when you leave their office. I swear they're just there so they can say they have a job.

You bring up a good point.
Do we really want to take advice from somebody who ended being a high school counselor?
 

tennis-n-sc

Professional
Camilio Pascual said:
You bring up a good point.
Do we really want to take advice from somebody who ended being a high school counselor?

No, I think we should follow all the advice given on this board by all the other 15 - 18 year olds that have all the answers. The problem with most high school and college kids is that they have no idea what they want to do. I had the same problem. As a result, we all tend to depend on mother luck and daddy fate to land our jobs. It usually has decent results but would be better off, I think, if we could work at something we were really good at and enjoyed at the same time. It is a very complicated road we travel to get to where we want to be and it is seldom the road we would have picked at the beginning.

I hope this young man gets the very best professional guidance he can afford and goes on from there.
 

Kaptain Karl

Hall Of Fame
Camilio Pascual said:
Do we really want to take advice from somebody who ended being a high school counselor?
This is a very condescending -- and cheap -- shot. I have worked with several Counselors (HS, JC, University) and as a class of workers I don't know any other field where you'd find such dedicated and committed people.

Think about it. Teachers complain about Student:Teacher ratios getting over 20:1. How'd YOU like to be a Counselor, with a ratio of over 200:1 of the MOST confused, distressed, upset, directionless, angry, sensitive or disconnected students in the whole school? (Cuz that's who the Counselors get.) And -- not that "funds" are the answer to all counseling problems, but -- they get the most miniscule budget to work with.

Such restrictive work with so many brats. They deserve MEDALS, not scorn.

This is not to say ALL Counselors are Saints. Like in ANY position, from CEO on down, you'll encounter some people who failed their way into the job and spend all their time stumbling from one near success to another "Oops!".
_____________

Think about this, from one of my seminars: (Depending on the source) 75 - 82% of workers don't like their job. 50% of managers are "dead wood." And Managers say 70 - 75% of their employees are inadequate performers.

It is my contention that about half of the above mess is because starry-eyed college kids chase "dollars" over job-compatibility ... or they go into "x" field because they've "always known" they were destined to it ... or because someone they admire is an "x" (but they are a poor match to "x" when you examine their competencies). As Peter Drucker says, Most people think they know what they are good at. They are usually wrong. People know what they are not good at more often — and are still usually more wrong than right.

IMO, about half the Counselors have pretty good career choosing tools at their disposal ... and about half of *them* use them pretty well. If your Counselors don't, it's still YOUR responsibility to go find what you are good at, what "turns your crank" and what will give you career fulfillment. [End of speech.]

- KK
 

Camilio Pascual

Hall of Fame
Kaptain Karl said:
IMO, about half the Counselors have pretty good career choosing tools at their disposal ... and about half of *them* use them pretty well. If your Counselors don't, it's still YOUR responsibility to go find what you are good at, what "turns your crank" and what will give you career fulfillment. [End of speech.]
- KK

I was half joking. But, if you are right, and I have no reason to not believe you, I'm not joking at all any more. I didn't realize high school counselors were THAT bad.
Agree that it is still the individual's responsibility to find what they are good at.
 

MegacedU

Professional
KK - They spend so much time dealing with little brats that they have no good advice left for those of us who actually HAVE a good looking future.
 

Phil

Hall of Fame
Camilio Pascual said:
You bring up a good point.
Do we really want to take advice from somebody who ended being a high school counselor?

I can certainly agree with that! But it was just a suggestion-once in a while, a decent one comes along...maybe. Point being, there must be people out there that know this kid better than the anonymous posters on a TENNIS board.

Is an Internet chat board any better than a school counseler? I liken this approach at trying to determine one's FUTURE COURSE IN LIFE, to the people that post in Health & Fitness who ask silly questions to the Board about undiagnosed injuries. "Hey, my elbow has been hurting for WEEKS, but I still have to play my 4 hours of tennis a day. Now, I can just make out a bit of bone popping through the skin, and some ugly green fungus matter forming on the skin surface...what should I do? Should I keep playing?" To which, a sympathetic board member will reply: "I can suggest that you shut down your computer, now and run to the nearest f***ing emergency room, you DOLT!" Any other information, no matter how "helpful" the intention, is, in the end, not so helpful and may even be destructive.
 

montx

Professional
But just to mention one thing to Brett, I know what you mean, when I went to college, I didn't know what I was going to do. I am a dissatisfied stock broker today. Its not all money, its satisfaction, so it is a good thing you pray about it. Good luck, God Bless you.
 

Kevin T

Hall of Fame
Montx is correct. It's all about job satisfaction. I think we all know the type of job we want to do, ie.; serving people (medical, teaching, etc.), working alone, working outside, etc. But don't make a $20,000 "indecision". The biggest regret I have comes every month in the form of a nasty, sizeable student loan. I agree that community college will not expand your horizons but it will give you 2 years of education for cut-rate prices. As someone who now works as a college professor and advisor, I know that most state universities and many private schools have agreements with the community college system. In my home state of VA and here in SC, the community colleges/tech schools provide 2 years of general education that will transfer in full to any state U. Maybe those 2 years will help you discover your "calling" in life. Take it from me, a man that changed majors 3 times, then graduated with a double major in Anthropology/Social Sciences. I then proceeded to work as an archaeologist for 1 year, then join the military for the medical corp. Push forward to a MS in nutrition/exercise physiology and PhD in nutrition/biochem. How did I end up here? And I'm still not completely satisfied with my career. It's a crazy world. Just be comforted by the fact that if you thought high school was fun, college is 100x better.
 
donnyz89 said:
i I have silly girls who is struggling with GPA thinking she has a shot at harvard because her counselor told her she have a chance if she "works hard"... lol, I like to think things in a realistic way, none of that cinderella stories or miracles. i sure as hell would like it to happen and I become a pro tennis player but, even i try not to let dreams effect me too much.

Uh, donny, I understand what you're saying and in fact a pet peeve of mine is the current mindset here that EVERYONE should go to university and EVERYONE can be anything. I have personally witnessed no less than 8 young girls and 1 boy in the past 2 years (all of whom, were going to be MD's...uh right) completely bomb 1st year University, now I knew that was exactly what was going to happen 15min. into talking to them. (Though I have met a few promising potential future Dr's.) So, indeed, reality hit them in the head.

Having said all that, look at it from the counselor's perspective in your story. At least that girl is indeed struggling and working hard, that's a good thing. What if he had just laughed at her and said "what? No chance in hell!" First, she'd probably be hurt, 2nd she probably would have completely lost motivation and be tanking school and 3rd, the guy probably would get sued by the parents! lol. It sounds like he probably knew she hasn't got much of a shot and responded by saying "you have a chance if you work really hard" which is probably true, even if the chance is tiny. Meanwhile he should perhaps encourage her to think of other alternatives. But I can't blame him for not saying "give it up, you're dumber than a bag of hammers!"
 
MegacedU said:
KK - They spend so much time dealing with little brats that they have no good advice left for those of us who actually HAVE a good looking future.

Meg....dear....I think you're probably basically a good kid, but having read many of your rants and opinions...like:

"95 percent of all school counselors are so rediculously idiotic that it makes you feel smarter when you leave their office. I swear they're just there so they can say they have a job."

Has it occurred to you that in the eyes of the counselors and many others you might be one of those brats?

Yes, I know, I'm dumb, the counselors are dumb, the kids on the Honor Roll are dumb.....
 

MegacedU

Professional
On the principals honor roll. You can't fake it on the high honor roll, which is where I sit. I never said you were dumb. But, I do infact think I deserve to retaliate a little bit. You did, by the way, just call me a brat indirectly.
 

Phil

Hall of Fame
MegacedU said:
On the principals honor roll. You can't fake it on the high honor roll, which is where I sit. I never said you were dumb. But, I do infact think I deserve to retaliate a little bit. You did, by the way, just call me a brat indirectly.

If you were REALLY smart, I mean, like, you know...smart, then you wouldn't need to advertise it on a Web chat board. You're a tad insecure...you can "retaliate" all you like, but in the end...you'll still be a brat. Can't change that other than through maturity. Let's hope, for your sake, that that happens sooner rather than later. But it WILL happen, and you may look back and think of all the ridiculous things you wrote here, and, well, you'll cringe. You know what "cringe" means, don't you?
 
Brett said:
I believe it's God's will and if he doesn't want me to go, then I believe he will change my plans.

Covenant College, per chance? God won't mind if you go somewhere else that makes you happy. Nice little area on Lookout Mtn though. Are you getting a scholorship? If not, there are plenty of excellent schools within driving distance of Chattanooga with good tennis programs.
 

MegacedU

Professional
And Phil, if you really were smart, you know like, smart, you'd know to pick your arguments. Insulting my vocabulary and intelligence is not one you should pick.
 

Phil

Hall of Fame
MegacedU said:
And Phil, if you really were smart, you know like, smart, you'd know to pick your arguments. Insulting my vocabulary and intelligence is not one you should pick.

That`s not what my post was about-sad that you think it was. You don't get it. You'll learn...possibly.
 

MegacedU

Professional
I know what your post was about. You basically stated that I was immautre and maybe someday I'll grow up and all the retaliation in the world could happen but I'd still be a brat. Yeah I got that part, but you ended with a pathetic attempt at sarcastic humor. I've come to the conclusion that highschool was probably hell for you due to the other kids judging by the way you are now. So I wont take to heart the irrational things you say to me. It's not your fault you were harassed for so many years.
 

takeuchi

Rookie
lol some people are way too serious for the internet.

What would be the difference between a religious post-secondary school and a public one? Just wondering.
 

Coda

Semi-Pro
MegacedU said:
if you really were smart, you know like, smart

ahhh...excellent use of your vocabulary and your intelligence there! You really can communicate your thoughts well.
 

Exile

Professional
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

The sooner you learn this, the more successful you will be in the future.

I have learned to respect this, especially after my EX( i love her and hate her for some reason) was a complete and total bipolar bit..... mean lady.......

Respect what she has to say, she does have a point ya' know...
 

takeuchi

Rookie
Coda said:
ahhh...excellent use of your vocabulary and your intelligence there! You really can communicate your thoughts well.
if you read phil's post you can see she is responding in a similar way to his. Another internet misinterpretation at its finest.

Did everyone decide to jump on the "attack meg" bus?
 

Exile

Professional
We take our sarcasm like we take our coffee, thick and dark, no sugar.

But I didn't attack Meg, I'm siding w/ her.

I know what most of the counselors put up with, but 70% of the time, they are out to meetings and telling us to take certain tests and whatnot.

So when you need REAL help, their minds are ALWAYS elsewhere when talking to you.
Being able to function like this on a daily basis is commendable, but the quality of such work is mediocre at best.
 
MegacedU said:
On the principals honor roll. You can't fake it on the high honor roll, .

Meg, another thing you may realize one day is that you can indeed "fake it". It's not an easy thing to specifically define "dumb" or for that matter "smart/intelligent". Many definitions have been proposed from fields like philosophy and psychology. Certainly intelligence or high performance in an academic setting is not always reflective of the myriad situations one might encounter in life. However, even if we restrict ourselved to the academic domain. I have found that at the high school level (and in fact in many fields all the way through an undergraduate university level) one does not need to be particularly inherantly adept or gifted to be succesful in achieving outstanding evaluations.

To put it simply Meg, you can be quite dense and if you work very hard, you can still get straight A's in high school. Happens all the time. I commend those that do so though! To use a tennis analogy, even a very poor athlete without many gifts can, with hard work, contend for his 3.5-4.0 club championship. With enough work, he might even someday push the 4.5's.

Meg, academically, you're in the 3.5's. I'm glad you're doing well. I realize that as a very young person you may not have encountered many measures of intelligence that have meaning to you and as a result you'd like to put a lot of weight in this particular attribute(grades) in which you're doing very well but frankly, I'd say that there is a greater correlation between high grades and work ethic than high grades and raw intelligence at the high school level.

Out of curiosity Meg, what are you planning to study?
 

Kobble

Hall of Fame
Meg, some people don't have the cleanest view of people on the honor roll, and valedictorians. My high school valedictorian was a workaholic dunce at best. I knew all the people who helped her cheat. She had a team of geeks helping her out in a variety of subjects. And, surprisingly, no one ever heard of this girl ever again after graduation. I am not saying you are like that girl, but some people remember certain people like that vividly with disgust. It is just one of those things.
 

MegacedU

Professional
And I'm not really tainted by all this attacking. Contrary to, as it seems, popular belief, I'm the most secure and self assured person you'll ever meet.
 

matchpoints

Professional
Nothing like arguments between teens and adults. Anyhow, to the OP, If you're not decided yet, then goto the community college first so you're not spending 20k to find out where you really want to be. That's an expensive trial so to speak. I've been to Community C, State Univ, and Private Univ. If you're choosing a college based on religious reasons, then by all means goto private otherwise goto State. I would still start off with CC first just to get the boring classes out of the way.

By the way, the problems with some counselors is that they're NOT UP TO DATE on what the heck is going on in the real world.

Just my few cents....
 

matchpoints

Professional
Kevin T~
Can you please e-mail me. I'd like to ask you some questions regarding the field of sports physiology. My e-mail is in my profile. Thanks.
 

Phil

Hall of Fame
MegacedU said:
I know what your post was about. You basically stated that I was immautre and maybe someday I'll grow up and all the retaliation in the world could happen but I'd still be a brat. Yeah I got that part, but you ended with a pathetic attempt at sarcastic humor. I've come to the conclusion that highschool was probably hell for you due to the other kids judging by the way you are now. So I wont take to heart the irrational things you say to me. It's not your fault you were harassed for so many years.

I think you have a very long way to go in the personality-analysis-from-a-dsistance department. But, nice try, anyway. High school, to me, was easy, boring, and fairly fun at the same time, but it wasn't the defining period in my life, fortunately. From what I'm seeing, I think it just MAY be the defining period in yours. That, to me, is also sad. But I guess it could be worse-if you grew up in Afghanistan, your defining moment might be hiding in a cave dodging shrapnel or starving to death.
 

MegacedU

Professional
But thankfully, even for those kids over there, things might actually change since we have a good president. You can't really fiddle with what ifs. I'm defined by highschool right now because honestly, what else is there to be defined by? I don't work. I merely go to school, shop, drive around, hang out with friends, play lots of tennis, and travel all over. It's not like I'm thirty and still living in my highschool years. And what makes me the personality analyst and not you? You've been doing the same thing I have, so please don't knock me, when you're going to turn around and do the same thing in the same post.
 
MegacedU said:
And I'm not really tainted by all this attacking. Contrary to, as it seems, popular belief, I'm the most secure and self assured person you'll ever meet.

Oh sweet irony.

Meg, I have no doubt that indeed you are secure and self assured, that is very apparent in your posts. However, that in itself is a little troubling because quite frankly, I'd like to see a person of your age have some genuine, healthy questions about exactly what their potential is and whether they will be able to face adversity in all areas of life and conquer them in the manner they'd like.

It's easy to think and convince oneself that you are great....but really, you won't know until you are tested. You haven't really been tested at anything yet. You live an extremely sheltered, life of privilege. As a result, you haven't had to face any of life's serious trials yet. That's a lucky gift for you, I would never want to take that away, nor do I criticize you for that. A person your age in another time and/or another country might not be so fortunate. I'm sure even in your own city are kids who are facing difficulties that you couldn't possibly appreciate.

My point is simply, you shouldn't be surprised when a young girl who's life consists of "I don't work. I merely go to school, shop, drive around, hang out with friends, play lots of tennis, and travel all over" spouts off rather egocentric opinions, many are going to find it rather unpalatable. As an example, bear in mind that the high school counselors(and bear in mind, mine certainly didn't help me!) you brazenly lump into one group and insult, probably went to college, graduated, found a job in their profession, may or may not have started a family and undoubtedly have had numerous other experiences and trials. That's really a great deal more than you have accomplished.
 

Exile

Professional
Yeah, but look at the time it has happened.
Those people have had a life lead them already.
That's more of a coming of age thing.
Of course you have those people that live in single parent households who have to take care of 3 younger brothers, they are robbed of a childhood and have to live with it.
Then you have people who really don't need much to live, just simple things.

It reminds me of The Great Gatsby
on the first page, Nick quotes his father:

"Whenever you feel like criticizing someone, remember that they haven't had the same advantages as you've had."

But to alot of teens, that is their life, get pressured about their school and try to blow off some steam by having a little fun.
When something can't get done at school through someone elses fault, that just adds to the pressure of the next day's "I have to remember to go back and do this AGAIN"
along with the rest of that day's tasks.

It's alot on a teen these days in high school, so much competition, so little money.
So much to do, so little time.
 

Phil

Hall of Fame
MegacedU said:
But thankfully, even for those kids over there, things might actually change since we have a good president. You can't really fiddle with what ifs. I'm defined by highschool right now because honestly, what else is there to be defined by? I don't work. I merely go to school, shop, drive around, hang out with friends, play lots of tennis, and travel all over. It's not like I'm thirty and still living in my highschool years. And what makes me the personality analyst and not you? You've been doing the same thing I have, so please don't knock me, when you're going to turn around and do the same thing in the same post.

Well, that our president is "good" is highly arguable, and that things are changing in Afghanistan, if they are, is ONLY due to the fact that he failed to adequately protect our home borders, even with many, many indications that something was going to happen. Without 9/11, sorry to say, the US wouldn't have touched 'stan with a million mile pole. From what I've read and heard from my friends who've been to Afghanistan, life there for the locals is as bad as it ever was (only, without the Taliban)-but with the focus on Iraq and other issues, the press doesn't really cover the goings on in that godforsaken hellhole.

As for your typical "activities", gee, sounds real exciting. Like I said, hopefully this isn't the best part of your life. I said you ARE NOT much of an analyst-trying to construct someone's history from a few internet posts. Me? I'm much better at it than you are...but hey, there's always SOMEONE better than us at something. You'll find that out in college-you WILL be a small fish in a big pond. Start getting used to it now.
 
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