Open Question: Enlist or finish college?

28 July 2010, 1:28 am

Due to increasingly tense situations at home, I will not be able to live here much longer. Let me tell a little bit about myself: I finished my first year of college at the University of Washington, however I achieved a 2.8 gpa, which doesn't exactly qualify me for, well, anything... let alone the engineering degree I eventually want. This is after I got a 2060 on the SAT and graduated from high school with a 3.87 gpa WHILE taking tons of AP classes. Part of the reason I might have done so bad is that I commute from 35 miles away from school by bus every day, and I have to balance that with working on average 30 hours per week at Target. I recently went down to the Navy recruiter's office because I am interested in being a crypto linguist for the Navy. I want to be able to travel and see the world, and I want to get out of the house. I have almost no money saved up because I used most of it to pay for school and my hours at Target haven't been too great lately. I would start in the Navy as an E-2 with my college credits, and they tried to tempt me into their nuclear propulsion program with the opportunity of enlisting as an E-3 right away and all the fancy signing bonuses, but I don't think I want to do that program. If I go Navy, I don't want to be a nuke. I am pretty interested in the nursing program at Everett Community College though. I'm a math and science person, and I love helping people. Everett CC is a lot closer to home and obviously costs a lot less, but then again, it's just a community college. I wouldn't mind at all being a male nurse. I'm just stuck. I have almost equal enthusiasm for each of these three options. However, I don't know if I can keep up academically at UW or get into any of the engineering programs while I am stuck commuting. Not to mention I won't be able to afford a car if I go that route. The Navy will make me wait almost a year to even ship out to Basic, but I will have housing paid for, food, dental, medical, etc. But I owe what like six years of my life? Nursing school would be fast, and I think I could do it pretty easily, and I would be able to afford a car and everything to drive myself to school, but again it is just at a community college. Does anybody with experiences in any of these have any advice? I don't want my decision made for me, I just need a little sense of direction. Add to the fact, my parents aren't helping me pay for school, and my dad is a very successful engineer. Which means the only financial aid I get is the federal unsubsidized stafford loan... and the commute, though only 35 miles, takes about 2 hours each way.... Read More »

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