How I did it: My problem was that I was supposed to graduate high school in June 2009, but due to some problems in my personal life, I was unable to finish a required credit on time. It was difficult emotionally, because I was formerly an honor student, and it looked like my only option was a GED. My cousin recommended to me a charter school that normally catered to at-risk students, and took new students up to 21 years of age. I enrolled in August 2010, and was able to finish that last credit at my own pace, which was less than five months.
I applied to my local community college part way through the program, was accepted, and scheduled my classes The important thing is that I got my high school diploma, albeit without the honors and awards I would have received at my former school, and I'm now a college student with a plan in place to get a bachelor's degree in nursing, followed a few years later by a master's in midwifery. I actually started college two days before my high school graduation, so I'm pretty proud of myself for finally taking control of the situation.

Lessons & tips: The most important thing is to get started. I went from one of the best high schools in the county to an inner city charter school in order to finish, and started college at a completely adequate community college, though it was not the prestigeous private college I always dreamed of. It's ok to start at the bottom and work your way up, as long as you get started! Also, you can save a lot of money that way. My tuition would have been around $40,000 a year had I gotten my way, and I would be on a path of enormous debt, like my sister, whose bill was $42,000 per year. I learned from her mistake for sure. The community college costs less than $4000 a year. :)

Resources: the college board
school counselors
support from friends and family

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May 18, 2011, 01:14PM PDT | 1 comment | 4 cheers