Going back to college, where to start?

LadyM

I'm 27 years old and recently I've been thinking about going back to college. (I flunked out spectacularly in my sophomore year. Boy, am I kicking myself now.) The trouble is I'm not sure where to start. So in no particular order I have some questions . . .

1. When I go to scholarship websites the first thing they ask for is my GPA because naturally they're geared up towards graduating high school students. I don't recall my high school GPA, but could order the records from my school. Is it worth it? I mean, does the GPA of a mature student still matter? Because I think I had a pretty good high school GPA, but would think flunking out of college would negate that.

2. How much stock do employers put in where you go to college? A state university or two years of community college would be kinder to my finances than colleges which are better known, but have a tuition larger than my yearly income.

3. I don't know what I'd major in. I'm inclined towards an English major but I'm worried about finding a job with one. I'm open to other major possibilities. My previous major was computer science, which I found dry but didn't dislike. Does anyone know of a good aptitude test that would help me narrow down the possibilities?

I'm flailing. I also want to move and don't know if I should do that before or after college . . . I guess choice of major and what's available here would have an impact on that.

Theungry

In my experience employers don't put a hell of a lot of stock into where you went to school unless its a more specialized field. If you study something general like Business, Math or English, you're fine. If you study Film Editing or Robotic engineering, I'd worry.

The way college does influence jobs is that it is your chance to network with future colleagues and employers. Your professors know people, your upperclassmen will get jobs ahead of you and your current classmates will be competing with you for jobs in the local area. A more "prestigious" school will probably get you "more prestigious" contacts overall and up your chances of knowing the right people at the right time.

Kaenneth

Your failing grades from the previous time you were in college will probably be on record, lowering your GPA; which may affect a lot of things such as financial aid, and admissions.

You may have to retake placement tests.

supabeast

I went through this at 25, so....

1. Your old GPA matters, but you can erase it with a semester or two of good grades in continuing education programs or community college. This is also a great way to befriend a professor and get recommendations. Regarding the high school stuff, colleges are going to ask about it, so you should be ready to answer when it comes up.

2. Where you went to school will affect certain careers, but mostly at the graduate level. One exception is when you go to a really shitty school, or online/correspondence school, which nobody really respects. Going to Ivy League schools is another exception, but you're probably not in a position to do that.

3. An aptitude test is not something you should do to decide what you should study. Aptitude tests are for people who aren't looking to study and want an easy fit (or their employers). The whole point of school is to develop new neural pathways that one lacks to begin with. Anyway, don't worry much about the major, because you'll probably switch majors at least once anyway.

citric

My advice is to go to a community college for a year or two and then transfer to a cheapish, local state university for the last two years. Community colleges and state universities are used to working with each other like this; visit an academic adviser every semester to make sure you're on track. The adviser at the c.c. will tell you what courses will transfer successfully to the state university. Bonus points if you go to the state university's web page or administration offices and find the correct equivalency sheet so you can keep an eye on this yourself.

It's possible you're better off just forgetting about your previous experience and pretending you're going to college for the first time. Community colleges have no real admission requirements, so just don't tell them about your first university on your admission. Do well your first year and you'll have a great GPA and hopefully have made some friends with the instructors and you can start applying for money.

Don't get a humanities degree; it's really not worth the effort if you're trying to improve your life now. College + Grad school will take 9 years minimum, and you won't be earning any money that whole time, nor will you have time to enjoy life. You'll end up old and bitter and still fighting to get a very stressful and mediocre-paying job.

Instead, get a business degree or something from the hard sciences. You'll be able to improve your life and start moving upward immediately.

Not that you mentioned these, but -- stay the fuck away from online universities, online degrees, non-state institutions, vocational certifications, and 2-year degrees. None of these count for a flying fuck in the real world, they only exist to dupe people without the social background to know they're not really real. Four-year degree from a real state university, and you'll have really achieved something. Less than that, and you'd be better off taking up plumbing, or carpentry, or construction, or be an electrician, or a mechanic, etc. (And if you want to do that, first talk to an actual plumber, carpenter, mechanic, etc. at the management/hiring level, and find out how to become them.)