Need answers about College life and what to expect.

Question

I've been out of high school for a number of years now, and I'm trying to go back. I got a decent job that I do well at, and I got married, had a kid, and got a mortgage. Now I'm tired of paycheck to paycheck in a job I'm not sure I'll stay at forever. I am wanting to attend Tennessee State University for a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. They have a minority scholarship for Caucasian people. I think the only requirement I don't meed is a 2.5 gpa in high school. Life wasn't serious back then, and I had to go through a lot so I am just happy I'm here today. So here's my questions.

1. If I attain scholarships and grants, how long do they last, and do I get penalized or blacklisted if I don't get to use them before they expire?

2. Where do I go to take care of prerequisites, and do these grants or scholarships cover said prerequisites?

3. I work 50 hours/week, how many hours and days does a full time student attend classes? They don't have the Engineering degree for nights :(.

4. How many hours and days per week does a part time student attend classes?

5. Do said scholarships still apply for part time students?

6. Does anyone know how much this minority scholarship will cover?

7. Can some needed courses in math and science be taken online? (this doesn't include prereqs)

8. Is there someone I could talk to at TSU that can help me get an entire 4 year plan made up so I know exactly what to expect.

9. Do scholarships and grants cover book costs? If not I will most likely get a tablet pc or e-book type thing. Are the books available for download? (Not talking about illegal free stuff)

I know this was a HUGE post, and I thank anyone who has even paid attention to it. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to those of you who reply. Thank you!

Answer 1

Wow dude!! That is alot of questions. The other person answered your questions very thouroughly. However, I think you have a lot of questions that need a more precise answer rather than general ones you can get here. High schools usually have counselors that will help you figure this all out. If they don't, which i highly doubt, I would talk to a college counselor. That person will give you all the information you would need. Don't stress out too much, ok?

Good Luck,

Monique

Answer 2

They have pre-calc (algebra + trig) in college if you want to brush up on your math. I'm a recent mechanical engineering grad and depending on the semester you spend about 20 hours a week in class/recitation and an additional 10-15 on homework/reading/studying. I suppose it would be less if you skipped classes and did a minimum of studying but you want to nail those A's in your beginning classes because it only gets more complicated later.

Classes such as calculus and physics can most certainly be taken online but make sure that your university/college would accept them before you spend the time and money.

You're going to pay out the *** for textbooks so try and buy them on ebay for less or maybe a used copy at a different bookstore. Textbooks are a big scam system in the sense that they add a few sentences, rearrange some problems at the end of a chapter and fix some typos and sell a new edition so you can't buy it used. If this happens buy the cheaper used book and get the actual homework problems (since they were rearranged) from someone else in your class. It'll save you a chunk of change. They also have some of the textbooks on reserve in the campus library (free) but that might not always be there when you need it.

I'm afraid I can't be any help with the scholarship info as I didn't have one but where did a minority scholarship for white people come from? O.o Your school should have an engineering advisor though that would be able to help you plan something out. Make sure you call ahead for an appointment and bring with you a list of all the classes that you can take online.

Answer 3

1. Scholorships are usually for every year, but some may be onetime deals, need to find out.  Scholorships given by a school usually require you maintain a minimum GPA.  Individual scholorships expiration or lack there of is just that, individual.  I have never heard of "blacklisting" or anything like that.  You never need to repay scholorships even if you fail, you just dont get renewed.

2. If your going for an undergraduate degree, then you shouldn't have to take any pre-reqs, those are part of the degree.  You take those classes at the university.  This is assuming you have no college experience yet.  If you have some General Education credits, those can count towards your degree, however every school has a minimun number of credits you must obtain from that school in order to receive a degree.

3. That would be very tough, usually a semester is 15 credits, and 15 hours of class time.  1 credit is supposed to equal 1 hour of class.  So a 3 credit class should be 3 credits per week.  Where this doesn't hold true is labs.  Many times labs are 1 or 2 credits, however can be from 3-5 hours.  Engineering you will have physics labs i would say about 20hr/week for classes.  Problem is with school schedules you will have like MWF classes and T TH classes, so unless work is very lenient with you coming and going you have to block off say 8a-1p MWF and 11a-3p T TH (just an example check the schools schedule of classes for exact times)

4. Part time is anything under 12 credits, usually schools do not offer scholoships to part timers, howveer private scholorships may be available.

5. See 4.

6.  Check the school or scholorships website.

7.  You can find just about any class online, however getting one that you can take and your school will count as that class is different.  A lot of schools won't take classes from online that are supposed to be core major requirements, being an engineering major math is part of your requirements, they want that done there.  However english, psych, etc. those can usually be done from another online school.  ALWAYS check with the university you want the degree from to see what those courses will or wont transfer as.  Don't want to do some classes for nothing.

8.  An advisor.  Like a high school guidance counselor but for college.

9.  Usually they should cover all school expenses.  Just not usually living expenses.

Good luck!