Posts: 1,273
Threads: 0
Joined: Oct 2009
For you young ones...Hacking college
07-25-2011, 02:27 AM
Just throwing out some ideas. Suggestions and improvements and disagreements are welcome:
You are considered an independent at 25. So that means you can receive full benefits and financial aid (grants and loans). So when you hit 25, you can get tuition and living costs covered by grants, which you dont have to pay back.
18-20. Do two years of community college and get your associates degree to cover all the general education requirements (but check with you state school to see if they will transfer over first). If you're parents will pay for it, great. If not, community college is relatively inexpensive. Study hard and come out of there with a 4.0 (easy shit if its community college gen ed courses) and an associates degree.
With the associates, try to find a job within the field you want to get your major in. My buddy has a job at a mutual fund in NYC with only his associates so it can be done. He only makes 30-40 a year gross and commutes from his parents' house, so it's not the best life.
Work for 4 years. Save up money. Spend half of it on non-traceable, physical assets such as gold or silver. Or if you are willing to, put cash into a safety deposit box in the bank. Use the other half (depending on how much it is) and travel for a year. Buy books in advance in what you think you will major in during college. Brush up on your math (linear algebra and calculus) courses, because most majors worth doing will require lots of math. Study those books from cover to cover while traveling (on the bus, plane, or downtime). Easy Peasy.
By the time it comes around to applying to a STATE university with in-state tuition and financial aid, you should have 0 in traceable assets, 0 income for the previous year, 0 in bank accounts, etc. You can get the maximum amount for college in grant and loan money. It's not much (around 25 grand a year in grants+subsidized loans depending on your state). But it's enough to live, eat, and study without working.
Major in finance, econ, computer science, engineering. Avoid liberal arts and humanities. For 2-3 years, you'll be studying, fucking college girls, and living the easy life compared to your corporate drone friends. You will have way more game, experience, and interesting stories from travel than 99.9% of the other guys on your campus. Hot, low-hanging fruit. But work hard in school and graduate with honors. There is a huge difference between a 3.5 graduate and a 3.9 graduate with honors.
When you're graduated, you should leave school with a better understanding and appreciation of your degree than most 22 year olds. If you did it right, you should also be debt-free or have relatively little debt.
I haven't done it this way, but was thinking if I could turn back time, it wouldn't be so bad.
Posts: 3,022
Threads: 0
Joined: Apr 2011
Reputation:
47
For you young ones...Hacking college
07-25-2011, 04:34 AM
What a great advice, i have followed a similar route to what you have described here.
I only disagree with the working for 4 years point, i think working for 4 years is too long before choosing to go to university. I would say, soon as you finish community college, try get a job in the field that you want to graduate for a year or you may not even need to get a job, just graduate and then go find a job, if your degree is good and technical, you shouldnt have much problems in finding a job.
I also advise "you" to get a job in a field that gives you lots of free time, an offshore job, like the oil industry should be a perfect example for this (engineering mechanic, electrotecnics, etc) you could also get a medicine degree and that will give you access to many jobs where you could only work for 6 months per year, plus imagine being a doctor and get visited by hot girls all the time, you could easily change countries and move to other countries with your US degree/experience and get to fuck lots of female patients (learn other languages for the countries you may plan to move)
Do you guys in the states get 25k per year? Fuck, in England we get 8 thousand pounds per year, damn, i need to get US citizenship or residence and go claim some of that money. Fuck if we were getting 25k per year to go to uni in the UK, i dont even think i would need to work again.
I also strongly advise people to avoid choosing easy courses, graduate in something that most people find it hard, there are many good tutors out there that could teach you subjects that you dont understand and they would make anything hard really simple. Check out craigslist for tutors and lessons, they are worth it.
Your advice is golden.
Posts: 1,273
Threads: 0
Joined: Oct 2009
For you young ones...Hacking college
07-25-2011, 07:25 AM
Quote: (07-25-2011 04:34 AM)pitt Wrote:
Do you guys in the states get 25k per year?
I was mistaken. 25k-26k is how much you can receive if you also add in the unsubsidized, interest gaining loan.
Without it, you can get 19.6K in my state per year.
5K is a no-interest loan(While you are in school. Interest starts 6 months after graduation), about 8000 to 9000 is the maximum grant one can get from my state government and the rest is a federal grant.
Posts: 22
Threads: 0
Joined: Jul 2011
For you young ones...Hacking college
07-25-2011, 09:17 AM
Great post UgSlayer.
Posts: 502
Threads: 0
Joined: May 2011
Reputation:
16
For you young ones...Hacking college
07-25-2011, 10:38 PM
A couple of more things:
1) Learn how to write. Not just write, but write well. English composition is widely mandatory as a first-year freshman class. Use thte opportunity to learn to write effectively, passionately, evocatively, and entertainingly. Writing is a valuable skill to have which leads to the next point...
2) Start a blog. It's relatively inexpensive and can become a source of income. Smart people are knowledgable, funny, and interesting. Couple this with excellent writing skills, and you can have a source of good income.
3) Get a job while at CC. Since the classes might not be as hard, you won't have to put in as much study time to make good grades. Use the free time to get whatever job you can get and save money!
The reason I emphasis in saving money is because, money, once spent, can never be regained. Let that sink in for a moment.
It can be hard work to get money.
It is easy to spend money.
If traveling is what a young man wants, he's going to need at least some money to do it.
Hello.
Posts: 8,774
Threads: 0
Joined: Feb 2011
For you young ones...Hacking college
07-26-2011, 05:55 PM
I'm still stuck on what to major in
Posts: 1,273
Threads: 0
Joined: Oct 2009
For you young ones...Hacking college
07-26-2011, 09:41 PM
Quote: (07-26-2011 05:55 PM)houston Wrote:
I'm still stuck on what to major in
Anything math/comp sci heavy. Or something high in demand such as nursing. Engineering is great and highly mobile. Brazil has so many job opportunities now that they are outsourcing jobs to American contractors, welders, and....engineers.
All those humanities and liberal arts majors are just glorified book clubs. Even econ should be supplemented with at least a minor in math/stat and some comp sci courses (intro to comp sci and intro to data structures). Beware, though if you don't have java knowledge, learn some beforehand or you'll be spending 6 hours a week doing homework and studying for those just those courses.
It would be fine to major in humanities if we were in an economic boom, but we are in a global recession. More difficult, quant-based majors are definitely always in demand and infinitely more mobile.
Also, take foreign language, just because it's easier and more efficient to learn in a class where you are quizzed and talk for an hour and a half 4 times a week in that language than to learn it by yourself.
Posts: 3,017
Threads: 0
Joined: Jul 2010
For you young ones...Hacking college
07-30-2011, 09:40 AM
This is good advise.
only thing id change is def do a study abroad program.
also making over a 3.5 in advanced math and science majors is alill un realistic for most people. anything over a 3.2 is good in tough majors.
Posts: 1,273
Threads: 0
Joined: Oct 2009
For you young ones...Hacking college
07-30-2011, 11:06 AM
Quote: (07-30-2011 09:40 AM)Dash Global Wrote:
This is good advise.
only thing id change is def do a study abroad program.
also making over a 3.5 in advanced math and science majors is alill un realistic for most people. anything over a 3.2 is good in tough majors.
Good idea. Can't believe I forgot that part.
About science and math gpa, it's definitely difficult, but doable. There are easier courses to offset the ridiculously difficult ones and nowadays professors curve ridiculously.
Posts: 5,420
Threads: 0
Joined: Sep 2010
Reputation:
102
For you young ones...Hacking college
07-30-2011, 01:08 PM
Great strategy, only disagreement is the work 4 years, there'll be a diminishing curve after 1-2 years in most disciplines.
Also to add: If you are a minority (Black/Latin/Native American/Aboriginal(Hawaiian) ; go for fancy Ivy League colleges with your 4.0 CC degree.
They will pay EVERYTHING because they have like zero people from those groups. Asians don't count because they are packed with Asians seeking status
If you look at Indian dating ads ( from parents of Indian girls) they often specify "doctor or engineer only" as husband material ( not that you'd want to hassle with them) THis is because in the 3rd world, those degrees are considered the most foolproof ways to financial security.
Posts: 1,273
Threads: 0
Joined: Oct 2009
For you young ones...Hacking college
07-30-2011, 03:04 PM
Quote: (07-30-2011 01:08 PM)iknowexactly Wrote:
Great strategy, only disagreement is the work 4 years, there'll be a diminishing curve after 1-2 years in most disciplines.
Also to add: If you are a minority (Black/Latin/Native American/Aboriginal(Hawaiian) ; go for fancy Ivy League colleges with your 4.0 CC degree.
They will pay EVERYTHING because they have like zero people from those groups. Asians don't count because they are packed with Asians seeking status
If you look at Indian dating ads ( from parents of Indian girls) they often specify "doctor or engineer only" as husband material ( not that you'd want to hassle with them) THis is because in the 3rd world, those degrees are considered the most foolproof ways to financial security.
Asians and Indians are excluded from any benefits derived from affirmative action/quotas because we are a so called "overrepresented minority". It's even harder for us to get into good schools than whites because of this. I never support any kind of racial bias.
All rewards should be based on merit with some consideration of financial situation/income level. Preference for low-income applicants would be acceptable to me, but you have upper middle class blacks, hispanics and people who pass for white but are 1/16 minority with lower credentials getting into Ivy Leagues and upper-tier schools before poor asians and whites. That is an injustice.
But it is what it is, and if you play the system right, you can win even if it is stacked against you.
Posts: 465
Threads: 0
Joined: Apr 2011
Reputation:
1
For you young ones...Hacking college
07-30-2011, 04:02 PM
Whoever wrote that you can work for 6 months as a doctor and then take the rest off for the year and bang hot patients must just have passed his 13th. birthday.
Posts: 8,774
Threads: 0
Joined: Feb 2011
For you young ones...Hacking college
08-02-2011, 12:10 AM
Quote: (07-26-2011 09:41 PM)UgSlayer Wrote:
Quote: (07-26-2011 05:55 PM)houston Wrote:
I'm still stuck on what to major in
Anything math/comp sci heavy. Or something high in demand such as nursing. Engineering is great and highly mobile. Brazil has so many job opportunities now that they are outsourcing jobs to American contractors, welders, and....engineers.
All those humanities and liberal arts majors are just glorified book clubs. Even econ should be supplemented with at least a minor in math/stat and some comp sci courses (intro to comp sci and intro to data structures). Beware, though if you don't have java knowledge, learn some beforehand or you'll be spending 6 hours a week doing homework and studying for those just those courses.
It would be fine to major in humanities if we were in an economic boom, but we are in a global recession. More difficult, quant-based majors are definitely always in demand and infinitely more mobile.
Also, take foreign language, just because it's easier and more efficient to learn in a class where you are quizzed and talk for an hour and a half 4 times a week in that language than to learn it by yourself.
Thanks for the advice. I missed this before