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You are old enough to have been able to save money to pursue your dreams. You also could have delayed marriage and a family to do so, and your spouse could be assisting with your college costs. You also could have chosen or could choose to pursue higher education via what the military offers.
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<p>You know, I really can't be bothered to answer this because by your SN I assumed that you'd not be hung up on should've and could've</p>
<p>I could've had straight As. I could have aborted my kids who I love more than life itself. I could have chosen not to marry my current wife. I could have done so much. But I chose otherwise, and to have you say this crap in hindsight is just insulting.</p>
<p>I did not abort my oldest son, and I am so damn happy I didn't. Honestly, that kind of comment is not necessary and I'd appreciate it if you do not post in this thread anymore.</p>
<p>I spent the past 10 years working my tail off to support my family. I lived in NoVA which is about as expensive as the better parts of LA. No, I couldn't just move or pick and choose my career. </p>
<p>My priorities at the time were paying the bills and putting food on the table. There was no money to spare, let alone for my own personal ventures.</p>
<p>ugh..I'm just going to stop now because what I quoted is literally just to ignorant of a comment.</p>
<p>EDIT: I want to throw in.. not everyone has a great life growing up. Not everyone has 2 perfect parents with the nice house, homecooked meals, or a good social situation. I grew up around drug addicts and a school where nobody cared if you weren't from the rich part of the area. my Junior year I attended 1/3 of it and still passed. No counseler at school gave me any hope, any options. I went from a 3.8 Freshman to a 0.6 Junior and nobody gave a ****. not one person- not my parents or my school. The only person who did is my wife... the one you said, "what if you didn't marry her" or asked "what has she done."</p>
<p>She brought me from a 0.6 to a 1.8 in one year. She was the one who showed me I wasn't a worthless alcoholic destined to move from one low level job to another. </p>
<p>I had to find things out for myself. I found out what rock bottom was. I found out what it's like to be homeless. I found out how to push for things. I found out how low you can go, or how high you can go.</p>
<p>SHE has worked while I'm at a CC and do the home wife thing. SHE has pulled double duty while I went through surgery. SHE still got her GED while doing that. SHE has helped me in this stressful time and has supported me every step of the way.</p>
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As for your dreams of being a meteorologist: My understanding is that it's a science and math-intensive field. I wonder whether you have the skills to be able to make it in that field if your high school grades weren't that good. I also know that if one hasn't taken math courses in a long time, it can take quite a while to be able to catch up.</p>
<p>What's your evidence that you can achieve in that difficult field?
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<p>My grades in highschool had nothing to do with my abilities. It had to do with being involved in gangs, drugs, and alcohol. Things I gave up when I met my current wife. I haven't touched drugs or alcohol since 1996.</p>
<p>Right now I'm on the dean's list. in votec I took credit courses in Cisco Internetworking which is very math intensive as well. I was involved in SkillsUSA in which students compete on all levels. I won state, and placed 16th in the nation. Halfway through the year my teacher died, and I taught the class while learning the material the day before by myself. I had all 16 credits applied with a 4.0 average. I was student of the year at my school last year, and also am part of the national technical honor society.</p>
<p>My tested IQ is about 126. I think I have the ability to learn if the opportunity presents itself.</p>
<p>Oh, and an update on the math.. I'm going to accuplace and skip up to a higher level math course that the CC offers for the spring. If interested I'll post if I succeed around the 3rd of Jan.</p>
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What are you doing to make your dreams come true? What have you already done to make your dreams come true?
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<p>I assume you haven't read the thread if you're asking this. This thread is several months long and details what I have done.</p>
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If you want in-state tuition, why not move to the state of your choice and establish residency? You've waited this long to go to college, what's wrong with waiting another year or 2?
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<p>Because I am going into a 6 year program. We moved here and finally am at a place where I can go to school full time, one of the universities is only 4 hours away (Millersville).</p>
<p>We are settled here, and moving to another state just to establish residency might put us back in a spot to where I cannot afford to go to school.</p>
<p>EDIT #2: I do not feel it would be wise to wait 2 years from a JC to a 4-year, especially since I would not be taking any more classes to help in my field.</p>
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Throughout your posts are implications that you feel somehow that the world owes you the education of your choice, which I don't think is true.
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<p>where have I ever implied anything is owed to me?</p>
<p>I've worked for everything I have.</p>
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<p>As a general update, I am waiting for my transcripts to eb sent and a reply from several schools. I've also applied to WVU which is in state as my backup safety. It won't be in the field I want, but will allow me to enhance my education into a viable career.</p>
<p>I have also applied for several scholarships and PTK, which in addition to the transfer scholarships and need-based aid will cover almost all of my tuition.</p>
<p>The rest I can pay for in work study or with part time employment.</p>
<p>The things I have learned is to use google, use the searches on the school sites, find and use everything that can possibly be useful. Be persistent... do not let people tell you no. Push yourself and push others into going that extra mile, the small steps begin to pay off.</p>
<p>When I started this thread, it seemed completely impossible to afford OOS tuition. After spending countless hours doing research, numerous phone calls, handwritten letters, personal meetings, I have found that it's very possible, you just have to work for it.</p>