Adventures Attending College

[RichPella]

Having recently rediscovered the FFF, and having discovered for the first time The Journaling Forum, I have decided to start my own journal concerning what's going on with me and my college education. Let us begin with some history.

1985-1986: My family were living in DeSoto, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. I was a finalist for a Navy ROTC scholarship worth $50,000, based solely on my SAT score. As part of this process, I applied to several universities with NROTC programs around the country. I was accepted at Purdue, but the Navy rejected my scholarship because I did not participate in athletics in high school.

February 1987: Having been denied college for free, and neither me nor my parents having the money to send me to college, I chose to enlist in the Navy. I signed up for the Montgomery GI Bill, which allowed me to receive $10,800 for college in exchange for four years of service and $1,200, paid at the rate of $50 per paycheck for the first 12 months of service.

June 1989: USS Virginia (CGN-38) got underway from its home port in Norfolk, Virginia, for a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea. Among those on board was a professor from Central Texas College in Killeen, Texas. From him I took my first ever college class, Introduction to Business. Later in that same cruise, he taught a Personal Finance class, which I also took. The Navy covered the cost of the class. My only expense was the book. It wasn't easy to fit in time for a college class while being on call 24/7, but I made it work and scored a "B" in both classes.

December 1990: USS Virginia left Norfolk for another six-month deployment to the Mediterranean. This deployment was scheduled for September 1991, but Saddam Hussein's actions changed that plan. We shipped off to participate in Operation: Desert Shield. Not long after, Operation: Desert Storm began, and we were there for that, too. Both operations ended very early in our cruise, so we again invited CTC professors on board. I took classes in College Algebra and English 101 (Composition & Rhetoric), earning an "A" in both classes.

August 1993: While stationed in Yokosuka, Japan, I discovered that the University of Maryland had a campus there. I decided to retake my Intro to Business course, bettering my previous "B" to an "A." The Navy did not cover the full cost of tuition, but I was able to use Tuition Assistance, which covered 75% of its cost. I paid the other 25% and bought the book.

January 1994: Intro to Statistics course at UMD in Yokosuka. Another "A."

June 1994: I was transferred to San Diego and immediately fell in love with the place. After a year, I decided I wanted to make San Diego my home and became an official California resident.

July 1996: Honorably discharged from the Navy.

Fall 1996: I began attending classes at San Diego Mesa College, part of the San Diego Community College District. I was then able to use my GI Bill benefits, which paid me about $400 per month while I was in school. Considering that resident tuition was only $13 per credit hour, I made a substantial profit during this time. One of the provisions of the GI Bill was that I had to declare a major, so I selected Sign Language Interpreting. My goal was to transfer to UCSD, where I planned to pursue a degree in Linguistics.
For the Fall semester, I enrolled in three classes, all of which I later dropped because of time requirements of my new job.

Summer 1997: Re-enrolled in two of the previously dropped classes. I dropped one of them again, but earned an "A" in Calculus I.

Fall 1997: Earned "A" grades in Calculus II and Biology I (with lab).**

Spring 1998: Enrolled in my first Sign Language class and in English Composition 102, earning an "A" in each. I also enrolled in two other classes that I later dropped. At that point I had dropped 6 courses and completed only 5, so the college put me on "Progress Disqualification." I had to beg to continue to take courses, and they agreed.

Summer 1998: I took Fingerspelling, a Sign Language class. I was heavily distracted during that time and earned a "C" in the class. For the second summer session, I took a government class, earning an "A."

Spring 1999: Enrolled in three more classes, including one previously dropped. When I lost my job in February, I dropped all three. I was back on "Progress Disqualification," probably permanently. I moved to Oregon in May, and my education was on hold.

November 1999: Moved to Washington state. I lived in all three continental U.S. West Coast states in one calendar year.

November 2000: Having relocated back to the Dallas area (specifically, my parents' house), I got a student loan and took a course from the University of Phoenix Online. The GI Bill helped here, too, but I spent the money on my job search and had to repay the loan later. I earned a "C" in their introductory course because the job search required so much of my time that little was left to complete assignments. I signed up for a second course from UoP, but quickly dropped it.

Summer 2004: Enrolled at Brookhaven College, part of the Dallas County Community College District. Registered for a business computing class, taken online. My job at the time kept me so busy that I barely had time to do any classwork. When I did have time, I was too tired. I forgot to drop the class, so I earned an "F." At that point I realized that online classes are not a good fit for me. I need the imposed discipline of going to physical classes to make college work.

Fall 2005: Enrolled at North Lake College, also part of the DCCCD. Registered for the previously dropped business computing class, earning an "A" with no difficulty.

Spring 2006: Two more classes, two more "As."

Spring 2007: Two more classes. Dropped one because the professor required a special group project and refused to give necessary assistance. Earned an "A" in the remaining class.

Summer 2007: Three more classes, three more "As." These were taken one at a time.

Fall 2007: Three more classes. Dropped one because I was working 60-80 hours per week. Two more "As."

Spring 2008: Two more "As."


**The Biology class in San Diego was listed as being for non-science majors. When I transferred to North Lake, they evaluated my transcripts and gave me credit for Biology for Science Majors. This points to a huge disparity between the quality of education in California and that of Texas. That was another reason for wanting to stay in San Diego and get a degree there.