Schools Am i crazy? high school to uni back to high school

[scubahood]

am i crazy?? high school to uni.. back to high school...

Well, I finished a combined fine art degree last year.. I've been working in a pretty 'okay' position at a commercial printer for two years.. spend most of the time I'm supposed to be working reading about the cosmos and inventing stupid projects to do..

you know where this is going..

I'm thinking about doing all the high school math and science courses over again via the internet and maybe applying for another bachelor degree in physics or engineering..

I was kind of a wild kid and didn't go to class.. or do any homework..

But I'm older and wiser now and the real world is telling me that there's a lot more interesting things in this world then corporate losers telling me what to do.

is this totally crazy?

has anyone here gone this route or know anyone that has?

thanks :)

 

[story645]

has anyone here gone this route or know anyone that has?

I had a friend with an art degree (focused on sculpture) who came back for mechanical engineering and ended up with decent grades. I think he transferred in and don't remember how he sorted out his math.

I'm thinking about doing all the high school math and science courses over again via the internet and maybe applying for another bachelor degree in physics or engineering..

Look at community colleges. They're usually really suited for this sort of thing.

 

[TMFKAN64]

is this totally crazy?

Yes. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't give it a try.

I agree with the previous poster... take a few math classes at a local community college and see how you do. Do algebra, trig, and calculus, then see if you really feel like continuing on.

Good luck!

 

[skoomafiend]

I'm 23 now, I had not even really finished high school. This September I started college to work towards a electronics technologist diploma (as a mature student), this is 2 years in length.

When I was in high school I had no real direction or any plans for the future.

Now I just finished my first semester of college(with great marks) and I am also completing my high school diploma on the side (and getting those high school prerequisites required for university, Canadian universities require that you have the mandatory high school courses regardless of background. This is especially true for engineering programs)

My plan is to be enrolled in an electrical engineering program at the degree level for September 2011. The college is really a stepping stone, rushing right into university might not have been a great idea. I say this because most engineering programs are very rigorous, and going into it without a strong foundation in mathematics would not be very wise.

I hope you get everything sorted out. I am not sure how old you are, but if its around my age, I don't see any reason not to go back. I am finding school to be a much better experience as I am more focused and have a much better idea of why I am in school and what it is I am trying to achieve.

Once again, best of luck!

Let us know how things work out.

 

[BogMonkey]

Not crazy at all. 2 degrees are better than one. I left school in 3rd year (8th grade in the US) and when I was 22 decided to go pick up from where I left off so I did a pre university science course, got good marks in it and managed to get into a chemistry course in university as a mature student and I'm doing fairly well in that course now.

 

[hitmeoff]

Hey, I took 2 years worth of math and physics in High School, went to UCLA as an Astrophysics major, partied my *** off, got kicked out, didnt try coming back for 3 years came back as a Sociology/Psych major in 3 years, went into sales for 4 years and then went back to school to try my hand at pharmacy, took two years worth of chem and bio for it and also took physics and math along with it, fell in love with physics and math all over again and now transferred into a 4 year to do Math and Physics. Goal: Get a PhD in Physics and become a Prof.

So are you crazy? Maybe, but there are crazier people who've taken a crazier road (ie...look at me!)

 

[sponsoredwalk]

Can't believe this is such a fresh page, 2 days ago...

I'm pretty much the same. I had absolutely no interest in school, especially mathematics. I didn't even know what physics was apart from F=ma & I didn't even know Einstein was a physicist until I was 20, (I'm 22 now). I pretty much failed school, left, got a job because I had to get money to pay for the front teeth that I lost a few nights before (this was all 2 to 3 years ago...).

For me, I realized how unsatisfied I was in a low paying job, well actually, in a job because to me a job is only something that you don't like doing. I went back to re-do our high school exams while working. I did pretty well and was hoping for a career in literature until I actually read my biology book and found out wtf was going on inside the cell.
That was great but I neglected my French exams and failed again.

No hope for poor Johnny :(

Then I was still working over the summer (a year ago) and was getting free books off the internet and happened across Einsteins Relativity (the popular version he wrote) and was mesmerized. I couldn't get far enough into it to really get something out of it, but still... I got so much from just a little. It's just been a roller coaster ever since. That was August, over a year ago. I worked up to the following march (9 months ago) and quit because I decided to study physics on my own. 9 months ago I couldn't add fractions or tell you why people sometimes spell Newton as Newton. Now I'm *almost* onto Fourier Transforms and the like.

As far as I'm concerned, it's not crazy to go back and try your hand at all the stuff you ignored. I really felt like an idiot because I literally knew nothing about math and was told by all my teachers I couldn't learn this stuff. I got 27% in some aptitude test they gave & it cemented into my mind the idea that because I'm a musician I'm supposed to be bad at math. I still miss the odd thing and feel terrible but other times I realize I've gone faster than I would have if I'd joined any particular university course. I get to spread out and teach myself set theory, Chemistry, Modern Algebra, Linear Algebra, Astronomy, recently an easy university level biology book & mainly Physics/Calculus.

I sincerely recommend that you go and do it, but I don't think you need to enroll in an online course to learn the basics, it's just my opinion and I'm sure people will disagree, but if you have the time or are smart enough to figure out a way to get more time I advise you to get;

A) A college level algebra book. It teaches you everything from the basics up, just goes a teeny bit quicker at the start but is very manageable.

B) A pre-calculus textbook. Really advised. I could have saved myself a lot of time getting this straight away. Pre-calculus Demystified is pretty good but whatever, they are all pretty much similar.

C) A college level engineering book. They always cover the essentials but some go a lot faster than others. Get one that has the padding.

D) A good physics textbook. Do a lot of research before you buy one because I bought some terrible ones before I found the one that suited me. It really is a personal thing, a physics book

If you want the names of the books I use and some help on finding them just e-mail me @ sponsoredwalk@hotmail.com & I'll help you out.



As for the other posters, I love them :) It's really great to hear other people say they went back around their mid twenties or mid thirties. There are jokes that it's mandatory for university students to switch their majors at least once. I think that's because most people rush into university after high school. It works for some but not for all. If I went to university back then and had to struggle with all my courses and not go slowly to appreciate them I think I would have quit, especially if they were teaching me from Halliday and Resnick lol.

Hope you figure it all out, if your courses start next August/September as most do, I advise you to go for a college level engineering or physics course. 8 months of self study with the books I've advised should over prepare you or at least show you that you're not cut out for either profession (which is highly doubtful if you are persistent and put the time in).