Hey, I hate to bother y'all, especially when we're being reasonably on-topic for once, but I could use some advice from intelligent people. I'm kinda torn up about this university option I have this summer - costs $1500, but is equal to a full year of high school classes in that one subject. The problem is, fifteen hundred dollars is *no* small feat for my dad. For him to pay for it, he'd have to give up all his summer plans - buying a trailer, upgrading the computers, etc etc etc. Of course, he says "The decision is yours, Mindy, if you want to go then go." So what should I do - learn this C++ stuff I keep hearing about and spend all my dad's luxury cash, or bum around home all summer and let him buy stuff?! Advice advice advice PLEASE!
-Mindy Unfortunately, no pompous, arrogant, old guys were harmed in the production of this post.
Hi Mindy. Some questions that might help clarify things for you.
(1) Is it in a subject you're really interested in? Will you be motivated to work hard? If not, will you be making the most of the opportunity?
(2) How will your next year's studies be affected if you spend the summer studying? Are you robust enough to work through the summer without it tiring you so much that your grades suffer next academic year?
(3) How will attending the summer school affect your future? Will it (could it) make the difference between getting into a good university and a less good one? Will it make a difference to your future career? What sort of difference?
(4) Do you have independent evidence, ie not from anyone who stands to benefit by inducing students to take the course, that the course offers good value for money? Can you speak to someone who's done it, and ask what difference it made to them?
(5) If it's career-related, can you speak to someone in the industry you plan to enter and ask what difference it would make to them if they saw it on you CV?
(6) If it's related to university entrance, and you know your desired uni, can you ask someone in the admissions office a similar question?
You may already have pondered every one of these points, but I offer them just in case there's anything here that helps you see things more clearly. 8-)
If you decide it will make a real difference to your life, go for it. It'll bring more lasting pleasure to your dad to see you do well than it will for him to get that trailer, or to upgrade the computers this year instead of next.
On Mon, 08 Feb 99 15:16:09 GMT, [email] (Mindy) wrote:
Anything wrong with waiting for the fall semester (assuming you've just graduated and are planning on going to a university next year)? If not, you might as well wait. Fall and spring semesters give you more units for the buck... but wait. You said high school. $1500 is definately not worth it for 1 year of high school coarses. You might as well spend $50 on a "learn to program C++ in twenty-one days" type of book, assuming you have the drive to complete such a program (I don't...)