Do you want to go to college? If the answer is yes, then, contrary to popular belief, the hardest part of the process is over. A lot of times, people tell themselves that, for whatever reason, they are not able to go. Well, I’m here to tell you that you shouldn’t let the fear of going to college keep you from going. Now, I know what you’re thinking. What about that finance thing? How are you going to pay for it? Well, here are some lessons that can go a long way towards making your goal a reality.
1) Follow the MONEY! Unlike the famous phrase from the movie JERRY MAGUIRE where the actor says “SHOW me the MONEY”, when it comes to college, I say “FOLLOW the MONEY”! You should go where they are going to offer you the most money to attend. So many of us have our hearts and minds set on attending certain Universities. However, we may not have the money to attend those universities. So when you are investigating the possibility of attending college, keep your eyes open for those schools who are willing to give you scholarship money or grants in order to attend them.
2) What do they call the person who graduates LAST from Medical School? DOCTOR!!!! Let me be the first to tell you this simple fact. The MAIN goal of attaining an education is to get the DEGREE! So many times we allow ourselves to be lulled into this false belief that we must graduate from a certain university in order to obtain a job or hold a particular type of status. Now, I’m not suggesting that you not pursue going to the school that will help you achieve your dreams. What I’m saying is that you need to not devalue the quality of the education because you are not familiar with the university that is recruiting you. And trust me, if you are trying to get into Med School and you are competing with someone from Harvard and both of you have the same test scores, but they have a 2.0 GPA from Harvard and you have a 4.0 GPA from Alcorn State University, TRUST ME, you will probably be accepted to MED School before the Harvard student.
3) Online or In person, it doesn’t matter! Let’s face it. Quite a few of you have careers, families, and responsibilities. You just don’t have the time to leave the home and go and sit in a class room for 1 to 3 hours a week. Now, if you were sitting at home on your own time after the wife has gone to sleep and you’ve put the babies to bed, you would be fine. Don’t underestimate the power of ONLINE universities. Schools like REGIS University, University of Phoenix, and CTU are offering wonderful opportunities to get your degree on your own time.
4) Put your foot in the door and walk one step at a time. Take one class. That’s all I’m saying. Just take one class. So many times, people think that they have to go to school full blast. I knew a guy that took 10 years to get his degree. In the end, no one cared how long it took. What was important was that he did it.
5) Resources, Resources, Resources! Start as early as possible to research every loan, grant, scholarship and assistance programs, to determine the ability to pay for your education. There are a wealth of programs out there to assist you in pursuing your goals. Also, if you’re working for the State, the Feds, or a large employer, investigate all of the educational programs they have to offer. The idea is to use someone else’s money to pay for your schooling.
Remember, going to college is YOUR dream, so surround yourself with people who will encourage you to make that dream a reality. Don’t let anyone convince you that you are not capable of accomplishing your goals. You can make it happen. Just use the tools that you have to put it into action.
