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The GED
basino
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I dropped out of high school before finishing the 9th grade. I'm currently 17 and working full time. Going back to high school isn't really an option so I've been looking at the GED test in order to get myself into college. I have been reading this book to prepare myself for the test: http://www.amazon.com/McGraw-Hills-GED-CD-ROM-Mcgraw-Hills/dp/0071451994/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-2096683-9183925?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184098477&sr=8-1
Although I'm finding that I know almost everything the book teaches already.
I'm looking for advice on taking this test, any alternatives that are worth considering, and also what my next steps should be to get into college after I pass the test. I reside in Brooklyn, NY if that is relevant.
Although I'm finding that I know almost everything the book teaches already.
I'm looking for advice on taking this test, any alternatives that are worth considering, and also what my next steps should be to get into college after I pass the test. I reside in Brooklyn, NY if that is relevant.
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pleasepaypreacher.net
Also most colleges you can get in with a GED, just say that A) your 100% finically independent [from your parents and others] and
I've gotten into 3 different colleges (one was community, one was a major U and third was a private school). All you have to do is claim independence and that you are an adult student and they usually let you in. You still have to take the tests to see where you place though.
pleasepaypreacher.net
If you have problems getting into a state school, go to a community college for a year or two and try to transfer. Most community colleges have deals with state schools to transfer credits.
Just get the GED, regardless of your future plans. At the very least you'll have the satisfaction of getting it done.
Well the GED is a good thing to get regardless of career. And Tradeskills make similar if not better money then post college careers (unions, demand play a big part) not to mention you go to plumber school (which is more apprenticeship last I heard) soon as you are done you are a plumber and can start making good money, where as a college degree doesn't always guarentee big post college money. And there is the added benefit of not as much if any debt after becoming a tradeskiller.
pleasepaypreacher.net
And while a tradeskill may be good for you, it's still not the only route. If you know what you want to do and it requires a college education, go to college. No knock against tradeskills (and I don't want this to become the "is college necessary?" D&D thread), but degree-requiring jobs tend to have more room for advancement even if the starting salaries aren't as attractive, and will probably be better for you in the long run. You're young, you have time, if money is tight consider just being a part-time student and graduating in about ~6 years instead of a full-time 4 (which could leave you with a good amount of debt). Maybe join the army and then go to college if you think you'd be cut out for that.
That book would be fine, but as a person who dropped out and took the GED right away I can tell you it's pretty damn easy. The only challenge, like every test, is psyching yourself out. Study up, man up, and get it done. It will save you alot of headaches later in life and get you into a good college (with a good ACT/SAT score of course).
The first step to anything in your career is the GED, no matter what you choose. Trade school or not, the GED is not even a choice.
Otherwise, the test I took was set up like this (if you don't know):
- Math
- Science
- Writing
- Reading
- History
- "Bonus"
I finished all of them in three days total, but you can schedule for it to take up to two weeks.
The bonus they offered to me was an essay on the topic of their choice, and added to the overall Writing score. I'm not sure of the word/page requirement, but I know I filled about 2 1/2 pages, which is more than enough.
Good luck.
Now, how should I go about studying for the SAT? I heard some colleges offer training courses. I consider myself fairly intelligent but I definitely need to brush up on the more advanced math and science.
1) You know what you want to do and it requires a college degree -- Obviously, you make the financial commitment and go to college. Even though it's going to be expensive, it'll be worth it to further your career.
2) You know what you want to do and it doesn't require a college degree -- Then it's probably not worth going to college.
3) You don't know what you want to do -- I would probably still lean towards going to college at this point, but it's a far riskier proposition, because you might just come through the other end with no better idea of what you want to do, and be saddled with debt. I would probably go to some career counseling center and investigate options at this point. Do your interests make you more disposed to careers that would be better pursued through college or trade school?
In the end, I think it's better to try to figure out what would be best for your future happiness, monetary costs notwithstanding. If you pursue a career that is lucrative but makes you miserable, that just isn't worth it. You're probably still a little young to have a good idea of what you want to do, unless your job gave you a good idea, so you should get a better education, be exposed to more stuff. My career interests have definitely changed as a result of going to college, so I think going to college is not only a good way to advance your career, it will also help you pick a career that you will really enjoy. Though, again, if you already know what kind of career you want, that's moot
Edit: Re: SATs
If you want to get into college, definitely take the SATs. You might not need to take some fancy courses for taking the test. The test itself doesn't cover a whole lot of knowledge -- you might need to study some vocabulary, maybe learn a few math theorems, but that's about it. What those courses really teach you is how to take the test; stupid things like, "Don't guess at the answer unless you can eliminated at least two of the choices." Just get some study guides and practice tests. Most test guides have practice tests that you can then score yourself to see what score you would have gotten if it had been a real test. That's a pretty reliable gauge of how well you'd do on the real thing. And look at what the colleges want. Most places require you to take additional tests, like SAT II Writing or SAT II Math, especially if you want to get into certain programs.
Honestly, I don't know exactly why I would go to college. Society puts this pressure on us about needing a degree to get any decent job. At this point all I know is that being a waiter or something like that isn't gonna cut it and that I need to do "something".
On the practice I got like
Math:800
Science:800
Social:700
English:675
and on the GED I got like
Math:725
Science:725
Social:700
English:700
You need a 400 to pass, 800 is a perfect score.
If you were still in HS, looking at a GED, Id tell you not to drop out. But since that isnt the case, go for it
Worst case scenario, you wasted like, what, 50 bucks, and one saturday, taking a test?
I went to one for a few months. Basically it was taught by some big hippy that (and I shit you not) let us do school work if we 'felt like it', because he thought stress and forced learning was upsetting the comsic balance of our culture (or something. No one had a clue what the dude was talking about.).
All the kids just ended up going out for smoke break in the back and getting really stoned then leaving after the "state oppressive" (his words) 3 hour min-requirement.
The good thing about it though, is they just had all the books and study material for all the classes (that the public schools had) so you could go, check out a book, cram it and then ace the entire classes within 1-2 hours for the easy classes (just opt out with the test) or a few weeks with the harder ones.
Depending of course; on ones own motivation since it was very "free formed" and "open" learning environment. Some of the kids went there for 4 years and never got a single class done. So it was very self-driven.
Actually it was pretty good, I liked it; they let me read anything I wanted and it was only three hours. Most of the other kids just got stoned and drew pot leafs on their note books and complained about how much it sucked. It was way better then public school!
I was told similar stuff but in my state it turned out that it was just "GED prep course" which is laughably simple bullshit so I refused to attend and demanded to take the GED right away. There was some minor drama, but they let me do that. I passed the test in about an hour and with a near perfect score - which speaks to how easy the test is, not to my super smarts. So double check you really do have to take this course.
data point for you: I dropped out of school in 10th grade, got my "Good Enough Diploma", dicked around for a while, and I'm now in a networking job that "requires" a 4 or 6 year I.S. degree and I'm making near 6 figures. So anyone that tells you a degree is the only way to get a "decent" job is full of shit.
I'll second this. It probably varies somewhat, but the GED was the easiest standardized test I've ever taken, bar none. I didn't study at all, just walked in and aced it.
But then, I am super smart, so YMMV.