[MQAAord]

Originally Posted by killbilly

If I'd gone to college when I was 18, I would have flunked out.

I did go to college right out of high school. And I DID flunk out. I wasted my time, and my money in those 2 years. I got accepted to the private university in Tulsa where my (genius) brother went, but I didn't have quite the GPA or ACT scores he had, and I didn't get the same financial aid package. Therefore, I couldn't afford it. So I ended up a small state school in northern Wisconsin. Had a blast, but my heart wasn't in it, and it showed.

Why did I fail? Because I didn't have a goal! If your goal is to be an airline pilot, you need your degree! Let that goal be your focus point, let it keep you going when school gets tough and you don't want to go to class and you don't care if you do well or not. If you don't have a goal, then maybe you shouldn't go to college right away, or at all. But I think kids reading this website DO have a goal, they have the goal of being a professional pilot, and to achieve that goal you need every tool possible in your arsenal. One of those tools is a degree. Be motivated, know your goal, get the degree.

Older and more mature now, I plan to go back.

I did that. I finally did finish my BS, via correspondance while working full time. Finally finished 2 months before my first baby was born because I knew if I didn't get it done before he was born, it would be many many years before I would ever get back to it. But I'll tell you this, it's not as easy as it sounds. It's hard to find the time to study when you're older and set in your daily routine. It takes even MORE dedication and determination. Of course it can be done, lots of folks here have. But be prepared to work for it.

And for what it's worth, both of my parents earned their degrees in their 40s - Dad did an executive MBA at 40-something, Mom finished her bachelors and masters degrees in her 50's.

That's great for them. My mom never did go to college, when my brother and I were old enough to be in school full-time, she made the decision to help my dad get his business going full-time instead of going back to school herself. She could probably qualify for her MBA with what she did with that business! But she has no formal 'degree'. My dad went to one sememster of 'college' in 1968. He couldn't afford to live on campus and had to drive 40 miles each way. That became too expensive too, and he dropped out to go to work to help out his family. He went in the Air Force, worked for the phone company, then took the plunge of being a small business owner for 20 years. Finally, at age 45, he went back to school to get his A&P. He was top of his class, and now teaches at the school he attended. Going back to school was hard for him, he was in class with kids who were my age at the time (18-19). He was motivated, and he had a goal. And he succeeded wildly.


Dropping out of college is something that has haunted me ever since. Every now and then I have a freaky dream where I'm back on that UW-RF campus, I've 'gone back' to school to finish. It's a failure in my life that my mind won't let go of.