<p>OP, it’s probably easier for your mom to vent at you that at your brother. Sorry you are getting the brunt of her stress, and if you are out of the house, she may appreciate you more. You may do better academically getting out of the house, too.</p>
<p>I’d definitely look at the CC option and living with your aunt. Articulation agreements are a good thing; just make sure you know what the minimum GPA is for the guaranteed transfer to the main campus. (We had an intern who got burned by that with our flagship.)</p>
<p>You are being mature and level-headed about this, and those qualities will serve you well in the future.</p>
<p>@CountingDown: thank you and yes, I’m trying to view my situation from a realistic and positive approach. Do you have any tips on how I can approach my aunt to ask her that I’d like to like to live w/ her for college…I mean I’m not troublesome and I’ll keep the house clean and everything…should i even offer to pay? I don’t think i’d have to.</p>
<p>In addition, my HS ECs are okay (if it matters for transfer admissions)…i was VP of the diversity club last year. But it’s a burden for my mom to pick me up from ECs/practices and I don’t have any rides to school. It really sucks. Sometimes I wished colleges considered that :/</p>
<p>I would call up your aunt and invite her to coffee, if you life nearby. Or, barring that, I would call her up and talk to her about it on the phone.</p>
<p>Talk about what you want and why, and talk about what you are willing to offer in return.</p>
<p>When I was putting myself through college back when this wasn’t nearly the economic strain it is now, I spent a year living with my aunt and uncle and cousin. I did some stuff for them, ran a few errands, and I paid a symbolic type of rent, more out of form than anything else. (When I left, they actually gave me back the money, but it was the gesture, I suppose).</p>
<p>Are you on talking to your aunt status, or would it be odd for you to call her out of the blue? </p>
<p>Here’s how to look at it: You ask in the best way. She says yes. Great. She says No. You’ve lost nothing at all. You’re just in the same place you are now, which, with your attitude, you will figure out.</p>
<p>Again, good luck. I’m a big fan of community colleges, and I think Minneapolis, along with Denver, are the two best cities in the US right now.</p>
<p>I just got off of the phone with my aunt! She agreed to let me stay as long as my mom is fine with it!!! She is also very familiar w/ the CC system and is very understanding of my situation and she believes that I have an excellent plan and I will succeed. She also doesn’t want me to pay any money b/c her house should be just just like “my home”. She only wants me to study hard–that’s pretty much the agreement . Her location is pretty awesome as well… which makes life easier. Only thing left is telling/asking my mom…I’m waiting for the right time to tell her. I hope he doesn’t talk my aunt of of it :/</p>
<p>I keep in touch w/ her regularly and my family also does stuff with her so it wasn’t awkward at all :)</p>
<p>@poertgrl: mpls is nice but other cities like NYC and boston are nicer …but mpls is perfect…not too overwhelming and has a but of everything :)</p>
<p>Now, what is the best way to frame this for your mom? </p>
<p>what is the best thing to say and what is the best way to tell her? What would she object to and why?</p>
<p>How can you make this sound a little bit like this was her idea? As in, “I thought about it, and the best CC is at__<strong><em>, and I remembered that what you did was to go and stay with aunt _</em></strong>__, and I thought, that was a good idea. Maybe that’s what I ought to do.” Or, is there a better way to say it to her?</p>
<p>I didn’t know SD State was an option for you. That’s certainly a better school than SCSU, though it may be less convenient. I personally quite like SDSU.</p>
<p>Seton Hall is not worth taking on that much debt. No way. Especially not if you are considering transferring.</p>
<p>If you can live with your aunt and go to a CC in Minneapolis, that would be a great option. I personally think MSP is much nicer than NYC or Boston, but you are certainly entitled to your own opinion.</p>
<p>community college sounds like the best thing in your situation. make sure that before u get there (meaning, before you enroll in random classes), u make an appointment to meet with a counselor and get an education plan, so that you carefully plot out all of the classes u need to take in order to have a successful, seamless transfer. try not to focus too far in the future for now. take this one step at a time. choose a community college, apply, see a counselor, get an ed plan, enroll in classes and study hard. </p>
<p>organization and focus will take you farther than u ever imagined possible. good luck!</p>
<p>I will keep everybody posted about how everything works out with my mom. I’m still waiting for a good time to tell her/preparing for it.</p>
<p>My aunt lives in Edina which is in a very nice area, easily accesible to Normandale CC by bus or car. Less than 4 miles away (i calculated it on mapquest). </p>
<p>I’m going to enroll in the MNCap program…so as long as I fulfill my Gened & program requirements and maintain a certain gpa (I’m aiming for a 3.7+) my transfer to the UMN-Twin Cities should be seamless I’m going to try to transfer to the Carlson School of Management–but it’s not part of the transfer articulation agreement…but all i need to do is satisfy their requirements like, Calc, Macro & Micro Econ, Bus. Stats etc. Just an FYI Normandale is the biggest feeder to the Carlson School of Mgmt (CSOM) :D</p>
<p>The only thing I feel very disappointed about is that I am going to miss out on the ‘college experience’ my first 2 years of college But I think I’ll be fine :)</p>
<p>I need your help again! Today, I sat down and spoke to my mom about my future college plans and how i wanted to stay with my aunt. She says I can’t stay with her (she even called my aunt up) and she says i can stay at home and commute…but it would be a big hassle for me to commute to the CC then b/c id have to take the bus & wait in this freezing MN weather I think I might have to rule out going to a CC now :(</p>
<p>I don’t know what to do! do I stick it out and go to a CC and transfer w/ no problems…or now do I need to look at my other options…South Dakota State or St.Cloud State??! If I do end up going to SDSU or SCSU i will hopefully transfer elsewhere… I don’t know which one to choose. I don’t know what to do…help!!!</p>
<p>If the cost is the same, then choose which of these schools you can “best” see yourself at. And go.</p>
<p>It’s not ideal, in your mind. Based on your posts, you are a bright girl who took a few wrong turns along the way and now you have to make it right for yourself. YOu are not the first and you won’t be the last. I have heard some nice things about south dakota, odd as that sounds.</p>
<p>Why not start a post: “Tell me everything you can about going to college in south dakota” and see what you come up with. Clearly you don’t have much time left to decide. </p>
<p>I’m sorry you find yourself in this situation, and it is probably no comfort at all if I tell you there are kids in worse situations. I have a feeling that wherever you go, you are going to do very well.</p>
<p>Best of luck, and let us know how it turns out.</p>
<p>@poetgrl: Thank you so much for those reassuring words I really appreciate that. Yes, I have made many wrong turns which I regret…now I’m in this tough situation. I really wished I took my academics more seriously. Even my mom tells me everyday that i’s my fault and I should accept responsibility for it. She always talks about how my other cousin in FL will be going to Columbia in the fall and how she studied harder for it and how hard work pays of blah blah blah. It makes me feel like crap I’m just hoping to have a second chance. This afternoon I received my financial award letter…and I can afford to go to SDSU i actually got more money from SDSU than from St.Cloud Thta’s because I have tuition reciprocity for SD,WI,ND and one college in Iowa Right now I’m leaning towards SDSU but I’m just worried how SDSU isn’t very diverse…it seems very homogeneous …lots of farm kids SDSU’s minority counselor has contacted me several times which is a good sign, I guess. I ddefinitely don’t want to go to St.Cloud b/c of its racist reputation…and other stuff…</p>
<p>My mom agreed that we could visit SDSU some time :)…i think it’s a 3-4 hr drive from St.Paul…</p>
<p>Families can be so odd. You can stay with perfect strangers four hours away in South Dakota (and pay for the privilege), but not with your aunt who is relatively near by. </p>
<p>Well, when presented with lemons, make lemonade!!! I have a feeling you are going to come out absolutely on top! Keep in touch.</p>
<p>(For some reason, I am reminded of Tom Brokaw, who dropped out of the University of Iowa, where he majored in “beer and coeds”, and later went back to school where he graduated from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.)</p>
<p>Onward to SDSU! You will now have a Parent Forum cheering squad in your court. It may not have the diversity you want, but you can work with the minority counselor to make connections and make the best of it.</p>
<p>You may find it fits you a bit (or a lot) better than expected. Or not. But you can spend one or two years there and consider whether to continue or transfer to a more diverse place if desired. </p>
<p>Remember that “farm kids” may not share your ethnic or cultural background, but they are not all the same either. There will be some there who have things in common with you - whether it be family dynamics, economic situation, academic background, hobbies and interests.</p>
<p>@mini: haha …i know…my family’s kind of crazy sometimes :p. I think it was simply just that she doesnt want me to be a burden for my aunt…especially since she is a neat freak. @jmomm: thanks for the support…i hope I can make friends…i have a feeling I wont at that school :/</p>
<p>But honestly I swear somedays I feel like killing myself.My mom literallyy every single day has to remind me about my past mistakes,how I have ruined my life,how how other ppl she knows of are aiming higher…going to top schools etc. It makes me feel like a failure.I know im not but it hurts my feelings :/Also,the fighting in my house is non-stop…way too much yelling. It’s toxic.</p>
<p>Im also feeling extremely anxious know bc if I go to sdstate and attempt to transfer…i wont be guaranteed to get in anywhere…so those thoughrs make me feel giddy :(</p>
<p>^sorry about double losting but…do you think future adcoms will look down upon me transferring from sdsate?! I feel like might not have an edge like somebody applying from a top tier school.I will try to get the best gpa as I can w/ good ecs,recs, work exp etc. IM also URM so I have no idea if that would help :/</p>
and yes, I’m trying to view my situation from a realistic and positive approach. Do you have any tips on how I can approach my aunt to ask her that I’d like to like to live w/ her for college…I mean I’m not troublesome and I’ll keep the house clean and everything…should i even offer to pay? I don’t think i’d have to.</p>
I’m going to try to transfer to the Carlson School of Management–but it’s not part of the transfer articulation agreement…but all i need to do is satisfy their requirements like, Calc, Macro & Micro Econ, Bus. Stats etc. Just an FYI Normandale is the biggest feeder to the Carlson School of Mgmt (CSOM) :D</p>
But I think I’ll be fine :)</p>
I think I might have to rule out going to a CC now :(</p>