Nontraditional Transfer Student... Overwhelmed and Discouraged

Chance Me / Match Me!
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<p>Hello everyone,</p>

<p>"Me"
Age: freshly 24
HS class of 2008
-honors student until sophomore year in HS</p>

<p>"The Good"
Teaching since 2007
-Tutored math-collective 3 years
-Taught art- 2 years
-Taught violin-2 years
Managed 2 Mathnasiums for one year
Currently privately tutoring 11 elementary students for the 2nd year.
-I don't work for a company
-Established by myself
-had several offers to tutor additional students but had to decline
-Maxed out (no more available hours)
Being offered a junior kindergarten solo teaching position at a private school
Being offered another position managing a Mathnasium (more responsibilities than before)</p>

<p>"The Bad"
Community college student 2007-2014 (Bridge student)</p>

<h1>of Withdrawals: 26</h1>

<h1>of F's: 7</h1>

<p>GPA 1.36</p>

<p>"Goals"
Academic renewal
-All A's ( I can do it)
Honors program
Transfer to Reed College
Major in neuroscience
College newspaper
College tutoring center
Research internship
Doctorates
Professor at research university so I can conduct research</p>

<p>"Explanation"
The last successfully completed scholastic course was in Fall 2009.
-Psyc 101 Grade: B
The last completed course was in spring 2012
-Pilates Grade:C
Reason for W's: I thought I could balance working with school, and I was depressed due to an undiscovered disease (Celiac).
Reason for F's: Carelessness and denial both led to those F's. I would go to class for about a month max, and, then, without much thought, I would stop going and add "withdraw from class" to my to-do-list while never actually doing so.
-Most recent F was spring 2014.</p>

<p>Why all of a sudden do I care? Well, after going through a great deal of maturity due to discovering Celiacs, having a miscarriage, and breaking up with boyfriend of 8 years, I decide to take a full semester in Fall 2014. Completing the semester with 3 W's & an A in Eng 100, my denial had subsided and I finally printed those dreadful transcripts and calculated my GPA. I was mortified and decided to reduce the amount of hours I will tutor for Spring 2015 so that I can go to school full time. </p>

<p>BUT THEN .........I was offered a teaching position this morning. I would be teaching a junior kindergarten class at a private school I formerly worked at. </p>

<p>The reason I am considering taking this job is because I hope it will negate my many withdrawals and failures, but I wont be able to go to school full time to transfer in 2 years; it would be more like 3-4 years.</p>

<p>I don't know if that is substantial reasoning to take that position and challenge. I would need to juggle school, working more than full time, and taking care of my dog. He is a handful and I am the only one to care for him.</p>

<p>Also, there is that managing position... very part time....</p>

<p>Just trying to figure out if I should continue to work full time........... up until last week when offered the managing position.........i had my mind set on going to school full time and working towards my many goals.</p>

<p>I am completely crushed. I have always dream of the "college experience" where i get to immerse myself in books and discussion....that is my dream... i want to fully stuff my brain with as much knowledge as possible. i feel like i need a more realistic goal.... although my choice of career has been a dream of mine since before high school.... </p>

<p>What are your thoughts? Would teaching without credentials & a degree or running a learning center be impactful enough to negate my transcript? If I reach all my listed goals would It make a difference? Is getting into Reed realistic?</p>

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<p>Thank you in advance :]</p>

3

<p>I think it is awesome that you want to go to college! That’s really inspiring and amazing. Honestly, I think you should skip on the teaching position and go to community college full-time. The more years you put it off, the more likely you will not return to school. You are still young now, but if you take the job, by the time you can transfer you would be almost 30 years old surrounded by others students 10 years your junior. I’m not sure how important full-time work experience matters-most people go to college right after high school with little to no work experience. My advice would be to start over. Reed is a highly selective school and work experience will not make up for a 1.36 GPA and whatever achievements you had in high school won’t matter much anymore because you are a completely different person today. Go to community college full-time for two years, get awesome grades (Mostly As and maybe a couple Bs), and then see about transferring to Reed. Furthermore, you will have to take the SATs and subject tests, and you would need to do super well on them (700+ at least on each section and tests). You also should consider the cost, as well as your future career goals. If you want to ultimately be a kindergarden teacher, then it wouldn’t make since to invest $200,000 to “expand your horizons”–you could freely achieve this through the use of a library. Even though learning for the sake of learning is laudable, you have to be realistic. </p>

<p>Hope this helps! </p>

4

<p>xoxo, the medium age in community college is 27-28 so being 30 wouldn’t be a problem.</p>

<p>Is the teaching position full time? Does it come with benefits, Would you get a better pay, enough to save money? Would that estbalish some connections for you? </p>

<p>In addition, you have a tradition of trying then withdrawing. How about you do things like this:

  • take the best position for you (best salary, best opportunities/benefits)
    AND
  • register for ONE class, at any college you can afford, in a subject you’re really passionate about. Make it your goal during that semester to get straight A’s and NOT withdraw nor quit.
    During Spring semester, research and find a community college that has many transfers to 4year universities.
    Enroll in the summer (when your workload may lessen) and try to take one class during each summer session -since full time in the summer is 2 classes, due to the intensity, going from 1 class/semester to 1 class in the summer would be like going from20% time to half time). See if you can maintain the A. </p>

<p>You’d have 3 classes and 3 A’s under your belt.
In the Fall, register full time and take whatever you can part-time. Build from there. :)</p>

<p>Kindergarten teachers at private schools rarely make a lot of money. Tutoring is very unstable but it sounds that as far as free lacing goes you’re doing alright. The very part time managing position =?</p>

<p>It sounds like you want to get into education, then research.
Is there a way for you to work with a professor at a local college to design a very, very, very limited protocol and see what happens when you implement it (for example, it could be as basic as “are children quieter 10-12 if they get a glass of milk at 10 am, than if they don’t?” you’d have to figure out a way to answer the question, get cooperation from the school, etc, etc.) You’d gain a lot of experience working on that project and it’d be a way to bridge work, college, and professional goals.</p>

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<p>@MYOS1634‌ not at Reed.</p>

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<p>@xoxo14 your response was by far the most helpful (in my situation and for my goals)… I am taking your advice! Thank you for your encouragement!!! </p>

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<p>@MYOS1634‌ Thank you for responding! I agree with what you say… if i had any desire to earn my credentials and up until recently what you advice in your post is what i was leaning towards BUT i need to prove to myself that i can commit to school full time…</p>