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[Solifuge]

I am exceedingly poor. I grew up in a trailor in a single-parent household, and even 22 years later, after a move, my mother remarrying, and an abrupt departure from my parent's home almost 3 years ago, I still have next to nothing. I am a college student as well, and so far have been paying my way through scholarships, savings from what menial jobs I've had over the years, and the intermittent financial support of my father, step-father, and mother.

However, my scholarships have run out, 2 of my parents are out of work, I lost my last job, and with the US economy such as it is (Michigan having one of the highest unemployment rates in the country), I am having great difficulty finding more. I've been desperately looking for anything, and in the meantime have been selling my blood plasma to afford food and transportation, have been helping a friend pay rent and utilities in order to sleep on his living room floor, and have once even turned to petty theft (and I am nothing but sorry about that).

The way I've been keeping sane is through College... it's been providing a hopeful future for me, where I can get out of the mess I'm in, giving me the option to do work in biological research in a lab or the field, or any of a number of things. It'd make me exceedingly happy, and would help me repay my family and friends for their help in getting me where I am. However, with things as they have been: working full-time for minimum wage in addition to 12 Credit Hours of school per week, with my economic situation such as it is, and the usual stresses that life hands you, I've been finding it harder and harder to focus adequate time on it, and for it have failed out of several classes, costing me nothing short of several thousand dollars.

I'm considering student loans, but those won't pay for food and rent, and the one chance I had at a Lab Position (which I was qualified and accepted for) had conflicts with my school schedule... and the position paid $20.00+ hourly part-time, with potential to advance to full-time research. Ironically, being a student kept me from a research job.

I'm essentially trying to decide what I should do now. I have this month's rent and food covered from my tax refund, and have 2 potential jobs in the works, but I'm getting desperate. I could quit College now, and commit my time to work, but I know that would make getting back into college much more difficult. However, I've failed my last 3 classes, and school is becoming a huge money sink for me. If I can't commit the time to my classes that they need, I'm afraid this will only continue to happen as my coursework gets harder.

Basically, I need advice.

[DJ]

You could put the college on hold for a year or so and get one of those horrible jobs that pay well. For example, you could work on an oil rig or as a sailor. You can save tons of money at jobs like these because you've got nowhere to spend it. And since there's no place to go in your free time, you could also do some studying and go back to college prepared for those classes you failed. Hopefully, you could save enough money to cover the remaining education.

[inaluct]

My father was in a similar situation a while ago. He and my mother were both poor, and he dropped out of college to be a carpenter. Something like that. Anyway, he ended up going back later, getting a masters degree in math, and now he works at White Sands Missile Range.

I would go into detail, but it would be hard to place the initial college attendance, marriage, dropout, construction work, divorce, 4 kids, and later college attendance in chronological order.

What I'm saying is; you can always go back later.

[Yanlin]

Yet you are still working hard on our D&D campaign. You need to get your priorities straight. If you want a storyline, I can field my experience with scripting and whatever knowledge I learned from my movie-making class. (There's a set of "job" classes that teach you job specific skills. I took the movie making class. I also have whatever other knowledge I have fielded over time.) Hell I could probably write it.

Really. You shouldn't be doing all of the work.

[Onlyhestands]

You could try joining one of the armed forces if you're desperate enough. My brother saved up for college through the army.

[Mephansteras]

I'm considering student loans, but those won't pay for food and rent, and the one chance I had at a Lab Position (which I was qualified and accepted for) had conflicts with my school schedule... and the position paid $20.00+ hourly part-time, with potential to advance to full-time research. Ironically, being a student kept me from a research job.

Any chance you could still get that Lab job? Or something similar?

Taking a year or two off from College is fine, but it's even better if you can work in your chosen field while you save up money.

[Cthulhu]

Yeah, three years in the national guard gets you(I believe) full college tuition and a huge stipend.  At least that's what they told my brother, who is joining.

[Solifuge]

I've considered the US Army and/or National Guard when I was younger, but I've also seen the changes it causes in people. I am the furthest thing from a fighter that there is, and I've seen people like me return from a tour of duty Broken on some level, and that worries me. On a personal level, I also don't think I would be happy with myself if I elected to fight in a war I didn't believe in.

Actually Meph, I'm hoping on landing a Lab Job this Summer... it's entry level, and lower pay, but it works around school. I just don't know how many others are applying for the same position, and if I really have a chance at it. If I can land such a job, I can see about financial aid for the coming Fall, and hopefully pull part-time work and full-time school.

Returning to school after working a high-paying job (at present thats what I'd like to do before I try for my Master's Degree) is a possibility... problem being finding such a job, and that all progress I've made towards a degree would be wiped when I got back.

Also, Yanlin, I enjoy working on creative projects like the campaign. They serve as good distractions from problems that can't yet be tackled.

[Mephansteras]

That Lab job sounds like a good idea. I worked Temp jobs when I was going to school and got loans for tuition. It was tight, but I managed all right. And I lucked out and got a job in my field through the Temp work before I even graduated. I think I made less money that way, but at least it was an interesting job doing what I wanted to do and I didn't have to worry about finding a job after graduation like most people.

If the lab job will work around your schedule, that's a really good option.

Also, you can try dropping your Class load down to just 1 class a semester/quarter. That can (at some colleges) keep your record going while leaving you enough breathing room to work full time and still get some progress on your degree.

[Jude]

Go to Canada. College costs next to nothing there.

[Eagleon]

Might be a little bit of a desparate move and I don't know how feasable it is with what credits you currently have or what you're majoring in, but have you considered applying for jobs in other areas and transferring to another school? You'd have to talk to an advisor at the other school about what would be applicable in their program, and it might be difficult to get a position well enough in advance to make the switch, but I'm just throwing this out there because I'd hate to see someone drop out when they wanted to continue.

[Navian]

That sounds like a great job, especially with the advancement opportunities. If I was in your position, I'd quit school and never look back--it exists as a proving ground first and a place of learning second. You'll probably learn a lot more on the job, and if it's a good environment, feel a lot better, too. And that's not even taking into account the reality of getting paid.

I'm biased after my own experience, but if you're under the same kind of pressure I was, college just isn't the right place to be. You can rework things later if you don't like where your career is going and really want a job that requires a degree. (Job experience might look better on your resumé, anyway.)

[Solifuge]

I'm actually in school for the cultural and social enrichment first, and the job opportunities it opens comming second. I'd still want to do research even if the pay was just enough to get by, because I'm a bit of a knowledge-junkie... and there's more I want to get out of life than a comfy home and a well-paying career.

I'm actually completely open to transfering to new locations... save for peronal relationships, and my friends and family, nothing is tying me to this location. Actually, once I get my first degree, I'd been making plans to work for half a year to a year aboard Alaskan Fishing Vessels doing identification and deep ocean censusing/research. There's potential to study any new or rare species that are turned up as well, which could be really cool.

[Little]

What would happen to me if I dropped out of highschool? Just while we discuss dropping out of educational facilities.

[Muz]

Could you apply for a bank loan or something? Personally, I can't afford my uni's fees of $12,960 a semester, but I keep going because it'll qualify me for a job that pays me double the average wage. And has the potential of making $60K a month in a country where the higher class are paid poorly.

Depends entirely on what you do though. College is an investment, but if it's high cost low profit, it might not be worth it. It's harder on some people more than others, you'll have to decide if it's worth it for you. And if you're in it for the knowledge.. getting a degree is the only way to getting a job in the proper field. Seriously, you can't expect to get an academic job in a first-world country without a degree.

And yeah, dropping your class load would help greatly. It's a waste to drop out completely.

College is cheap in Malaysia; around $300 a semester, possibly double for international students