Is this a good idea?

JackOfAllTrades · 2011-07-01T02:32:24

I am 22 years old and I was home schooled my entire life. I sat around all day everyday programming and have been doing it about 15 years now. I left home when I was 18 and my mother never graduated me. I recently got my GED and I scored in the 80-99 percentile on all tests. I enrolled in college this summer and have been doing pretty well. I hate the community college I'm at right now and I feel like all of the courses are not challenging me at all. I know I could test out of all my computer programming classes without a sweat. I have been looking into CLEP as a way to expedite my degree but my current ghetto college does not offer it. I really want to move to nearby Raleigh, NC and attend NCSU. Also Epic Games is in Cary, NC which is very close and it would be my dream to work there. I have devised a plan which could allow me to reach all my immediate goals within the next 6 months or at least bring me very close to them. First, I will drop out of next semester at my current college. Next I will study very hard to get a high score on the SAT then when I am sure I will do well I will take the test. After that I will apply for admission to NCSU. If they accept, I will transfer my work over there and move. Finally, I will attend college next spring and I will take the CLEP tests for as many computer programming courses I can(I believe the max is 30 credit hours) Apparently I can use a pell grant to pay for them as well. After that I will try for an internship at Epic Games but if that does not happen it won't really matter because I will still have my current job. This seems kinda crazy to me but I honestly think I can do it and it would set me a lot closer to my goals. Should I go for it?

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Started by JackOfAllTrades June 28, 2011 03:47 PM

24 comments, last by way2lazy2care 12 years, 10 months ago

JackOfAllTrades

109

Author

June 28, 2011 04:49 PM

Honestly if the courses your taking arent a problem then just study for your SAT's while at school.

There are also some aspects of school you might miss out on if you trying to rush through it, its not ALL about book learning, your gonna miss out on the social and networking aspects of it. I met some of my best friends while going to school full time, while making some good connections with professors and other students. The networking you will especially find useful in the future when you need a letter of recommendation or basically someone to hook you up with an oppurtunity.

That said, You could also improve on some of your other skills not programming related, Like your math and sciences, maybe your liberal arts. For example I know my writing skills are lacking, and I wouldn't really excersise them that much outside of school so Iam excited to go back and brush up on it as I see now how important having good communication skills can be.

[Edit] Depending the kind of job you have and the situation your in, which I dont know either, Id look into leaving your job and possibly finding a part time one, unless of course your job will help out your resume (like if your already working as a programmer)

No the job has nothing to do with programming and only pays enough to get me by. I was honestly thinking about taking out a bunch of student loans and just living in the dorms at NCSU which would free up a lot of time so I can focus on school and building my portfolio. I would have to take out some student loans to pay for NCSU anyway.

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The_Neverending_Loop

635

June 28, 2011 04:57 PM

I would go with the second option and just bust your a$$ in school to make sure you get a nice comfy job to pay back those loans easily lol, Honestly enjoy college, life after it is not as glamarous as it seems.

frob

46,223

June 28, 2011 06:35 PM

"[color="#1C2837"]It's just one semester which I can far surpass if I do the CLEP tests but if I don't do this I won't even have a chance to take the CLEP tests"[/quote]
[color="#1C2837"]I've seen that logic before, and it generally fails.

[color="#1C2837"]The purpose of the CLEP tests are to show that you already have the knowledge. Most schools only allow a limited number of hours from CLEP tests, often just a single semester's worth. Assuming that's the case, you'll spend a semester doing personal study in the hopes of getting credit at a smaller cost, at the risk that you must pass the test which can be more difficult than the course itself would have been. Balanced against taking the semester of study at full cost but assuring you credit if you achieve even a minimally passing grade.

[color="#1C2837"]A much better approach is to estimate if you can pass the test, and if so, take it. It is only about $80. If you pass, then congratulations! If you don't pass, you are only out a nominal amount of money and have not sacrificed a semester of school. If you don't pass you can continue to study on the side and retake the test, or take the regular class, depending on how you felt you did on the test.

[color="#1C2837"]Another option is to talk to the dean of the school directly and ask about their policies. Sometimes they will allow you to simply test out of a course by taking a comprehensive exam. I had one college dean who simply wrote off one general education requirement based on conversation in his office; he grilled me for ten minutes and was convinced I could pass the GE examination. I had another CS teacher who gave a comprehensive test as a pre-test of the course to see what to teach; if anyone aced the test he would automatically give an A grade for the course, and you could re-register to another class for free during the first week of school. Open communication about your intent and your reasoning can do a lot to progress in school and in your career.

[color="#1C2837"]Don't quit school, not even for one semester. It is incredibly difficult to resume studies even after a short break.

tstrimp

1,798

June 28, 2011 07:12 PM

Being Able to Talk in Public
Managing a Team
Discussing project features and deadlines
Handling a broken milestone (very important to be able to explain to the managers why you just missed a deadline)

Being a IT Director / sometimes developer running a team of developers (mostly) with degrees... I don't believe that college teaches you any of those things. In my opinion, the only thing a CS degree is really good for is to get you the initial interview and the importance of that drops as you gain more and more experience. Of my two most useful developers, one doesn't have a degree and the other has a non-CS degree. That being said, if you have started getting a degree, stick to it. It will make getting a job easier, especially early in your career.

Edit: The other major thing that college gets you is connections. You can come out of it with a network of people in your field. This is something I'm still struggling with. It might be worth it for that alone.

way2lazy2care

793

June 28, 2011 08:38 PM

Are you sure you need to take an SAT/ACT? If you are in a tech college it seems like your credentials there should be able to get you into a state school.

frob

46,223

June 28, 2011 09:24 PM

Are you sure you need to take an SAT/ACT? If you are in a tech college it seems like your credentials there should be able to get you into a state school.

Indeed, transfer students and other "non traditional" students, those not coming from high school at age 18/19/20, are generally given much less strict entry requirements.

Transferring from an existing college they will look at your current school transcript, not SAT/ACT scores.

JackOfAllTrades

109

Author

June 29, 2011 01:01 AM

Are you sure you need to take an SAT/ACT? If you are in a tech college it seems like your credentials there should be able to get you into a state school.

Yes I would, unless I finish the two year transfer program.

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way2lazy2care

793

June 29, 2011 12:30 PM

[quote name='way2lazy2care' timestamp='1309293497' post='4828819']
Are you sure you need to take an SAT/ACT? If you are in a tech college it seems like your credentials there should be able to get you into a state school.

Yes I would, unless I finish the two year transfer program.
[/quote]

Are you sure? I went to a community college for a semester after transferring home from a tech college on short notice before transferring to a state university. I don't remember my ACTs being brought up during the application process.

Brain

19,059

June 29, 2011 01:00 PM

You should probably speak to the relevent people at your current college about this, and about finding time to do the CLEP and whatever else you need time to do.
Any college worth its salt at furthering your education and personal development will be able to recommend a plan of action or maybe adjust your timetable to free up the time you need. Be aware though that this wouldn't mean you would be doing less work, they would no doubt have you cramming your normal amount of work into a smaller timescale.

Now i am in the UK and this was 13 years ago, so your mileage may vary on this advice, but when i was at college one of the subjects i took was Physics. I found i was useless at this subject and was predicted to fail it very badly by the end of the first year, so i approached my tutor and spoke to him about it. They placed me on a different subject in its place (Business Studies) which I had to complete in one year rather than two but with a two year workload.

I did achieve this and did much better than i would have done if i'd stuck with Physics.

So yeah, the option is there to do what you need to do without leaving, if you explore all possibilities and leave no stone uncovered.

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JackOfAllTrades

109

Author

June 29, 2011 02:12 PM

You should probably speak to the relevent people at your current college about this, and about finding time to do the CLEP and whatever else you need time to do.
Any college worth its salt at furthering your education and personal development will be able to recommend a plan of action or maybe adjust your timetable to free up the time you need. Be aware though that this wouldn't mean you would be doing less work, they would no doubt have you cramming your normal amount of work into a smaller timescale.

Now i am in the UK and this was 13 years ago, so your mileage may vary on this advice, but when i was at college one of the subjects i took was Physics. I found i was useless at this subject and was predicted to fail it very badly by the end of the first year, so i approached my tutor and spoke to him about it. They placed me on a different subject in its place (Business Studies) which I had to complete in one year rather than two but with a two year workload.

I did achieve this and did much better than i would have done if i'd stuck with Physics.

So yeah, the option is there to do what you need to do without leaving, if you explore all possibilities and leave no stone uncovered.

No body seems to be listening. My college does not offer CLEP.

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