Since Irma took out my sole source of income I'm no longer really tied to FL, and most likely going to continue education. (I had a business, I didn't want to shutdown just to leave or pursue a graduate degree).

I have about 1 year of science courses required for what I'm intending to go for and believe that the big island is inexpensive enough and friendly enough to be able to swing a student loan or live off credit for the year and make just enough to get by until I come back and work a bit to move on for my graduate studies.

Any feedback on the college and approximate cost of living on the big island? How about finding part time work for students? Thanks a bunch.

 

On a side topic, I'm also considering Puerto Rico but even though I've read mixed feedback about their school system, like the option as its far enough away but still close and still relatively inexpensive. (I know you all are thinking great S9 has another question.

Sorry to hear of the Irma effect.  The University of PR does have a campus at Ramey.  How's your Spanish?  The economy is a wreck, everyone moving to Orlando.  Also, power outages from Irma are very serious.  The island's electric system was aniqquated, running on expensive oil.  Replacing fallen power poles and lines looks like a mess.  

 

University of Hawaii at Hilo would be a more affordable place to live than Honolulu, but out of state tuition looks pretty high. 

How about England?  University of Plymouth?

 

 

 

 

Thanks WW. I'm thinking of the one on the big island so I believe Hilo it is. I hadn't even considered the cost of out of state tuition. I'm assuming I'll be able to get some student loans to offset the cost but it might not be enough if a job can't be found. University of Hawaii out of state tuition is $30k!!!

I didn't realize PR's economy was so bad, just hoping that student loans can carry me most of the way through the 4-5 years of education. I'll be applying to a graduate program for Optomology so I'm limited to locations which offer it. (I don't think Hawaii has it, but I have a few prereqs. to take before I can apply as my degree is in a non related field)

My spanish is not good, but I do have 1 year of college spanish and understand slow speakers. I guess that puts PR spanish out of reach for me. LOL.

England sounds interesting. I'm also looking into other places. I'm not sure how international graduate studies go but if you're going to spend a decade in school might as well try it in new places 

Edited: 09/17/2017 at 02:45 PM by Sector9surf

If Hurricane Maria stays on track, , , , PR is going to go tits up!

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Dora Hates You

English college tuitions for foreign students seem to be well below typical full-freight private college tuitions in the US (based on someone I know whose daughter is in college in London).  Their idea of undergrad education is different from ours, doing it in 3 years and I think exam heavy.  My impression is that Australia and New Zealand are expensive.

I mentioned Plymouth because they have a surf science program.  They're near Cornwall.

 

 

One of the best decisions I made when going to school was setting aside my surf needs and focusing on school. If I was in Hawaii or puetro. Idk if I'd have ever studied. Esp if the swell was macking.

That's a great field to go for but highly competitive. I suggest opening your options and trying as many schools as possible. Student loans are not fun to pay back so attempting to stay in state can help a lot with that.

Good luck. And can't wait for your next question!

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One oddball worth a look:  Alice Lloyd College.  Kentucky mountains.

 

 

LMAO... limited is a good word for it..stay in school you big doofus! you're not ready yet. maybe repeat a year or 3...

Ha you caught my mistake.  ^Optometry can't be that bad!!! Looking online however, everything is so negative. It would be great to know a few successful ones and just see what they have to say.

I'd be quicker to an MBA, but then I wouldn't have an excuse to be in PR.

Anyways back on topic, looking into graduate programs abroad which are on islands and affordable for a college student. I figure if I'm going to be broke and in school might as well do it somewhere new.

Edited: 09/18/2017 at 08:14 AM by Sector9surf

You really are all over the place, bro.What you really need ....is a father figure. I'm not sure da2ndLight is the best place to find one, but I do wish you luck!!!

 

I can tell you one thing for sure ... radiologists  and dermatologists have a lot more free time!!

Hawaii is expensive. Big Island relatively less so. Jobs are thin on the ground I heard on the news that unemployments down to the lowest level in like 10 years so maybe there are more opportunities? UH is in Hilo not sure what kind of science programs they have and there is now a dinky community college on the Kona side.

How old are you?

I'm 32 and with my choice in career. Sure it's not the best choice in retrospect but guess what. That's life.

But my drive to make a commitment with what I was going to do with my life has allowed me to set my goals, achieve them, and then move on to new goals. I.e.: house, car, wife, baby, surf and snowboard trips and gasp1 401k. You seem like a smart guy with commitment and over analyzation issues. Sounds like you should be a EE! Haha

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I type on fone 99% of time. Let the typos slyde. Thanks

And radiologists and derms are great fields but you gotta be top of your med school to get into them.

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I type on fone 99% of time. Let the typos slyde. Thanks

I'm not quite 32, but will be there soon enough. No career, but countless college credits. I'm 2 years from multiple engineering fields, 4 years from med school completion(if I can get in), and not too far off from an MBA. I have yet to find hourly work which earns more than being self employed.

Being self employed is great, but for me it is seasonal. I work summers full-time and then less than part-time in the winters.

I think that once most people reach a certain age, they accept what they earn and what career they are in as a forever thing. For me, I haven't hit any lottos by being self employed and while I am enjoying the flexibility am looking to advance into a real job and make the educational investment worthwhile.

Edited: 09/19/2017 at 04:25 PM by Sector9surf

"Advance into a real job and make the investment worthwhile"

Don't we all. There isn't a handbook on that. You just have to have faith. Good on you for all of the education and skills and life expericies you've acquired up to this point. Haha even if some of it is thanks to 2ndlight!



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I type on fone 99% of time. Let the typos slyde. Thanks

It's all got to pay off someday. I got a bit side tracked from the original topic. I posted here figuring that as surfers there must be a few on here who attended coastal or island colleges for graduate programs or post bachelor education. I assumed PR or Hawaii would be awesome choices..

No that's what I'm saying. You're missing the point.

Puerto Rico or these island schools are not the answer to your goals. Yes they're going to offer you school in a "vacation" style academic setting but they're going to kill you in student loans, questionable accreditation at times (if they lose it while you're there, you're toast), and my personal reason 'inherent distraction from your studies'. Set aside this grad school time to be the best you can be at the program. Use some of the student loans to take a trip or two.

But if you so must be on the coast and near surf. UCF, UNF, or FAU are your best public uni's to go with.

There's other threads you can look up on "surf universities".


Garsh, I think I need to take a break from following your questions. Good luck to your professors!

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I type on fone 99% of time. Let the typos slyde. Thanks

I would second the advice to just finish SOMETHING - if you're going for a grad school degree, pick somewhere you can finish as quickly as possible, with as little distraction as possible. This nearly enough credits for several things tells me volumes - so finish ONE of them and then pick a grad school based on program and estimated time to finish.

Grad school is tougher than most people think, and the payoff is nebulous. I did a master's and a PhD locally, just so I could stay here with my kid (I had custody, but didn't want to move her away from her dad's family). The distraction of having a family made me take 100 times longer, and I would vote for as LITTLE distraction as possible till you're done. Having a satisfying career that you feel somewhat in control of is wonderful, and I love what I do, but I wouldn't hesitate to discourage someone who wasn't laser-focused. I didn't get my PhD till I was in my 40's - by then I knew what I needed to do.

And look into what WW suggested. We tried to get our oldest son to go to school in the UK (he is still a UK citizen) but he didn't want to go so far so he ended up at UCF. I think that was a mistake - he would have finished earlier, too (he was already enrolled in the Cambridge program and had his A levels when he graduated HS here).

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[Feminism is] a socialist, anti-family, political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians. ~Pat Robertson

Thanks for all the feedback. I agree with you guys. The thought of island school is nice but considering out of state costs of tuition and the time commitment it would probably be unreasonable to think it could be worthwhile. Staying in FL and getting it done is definitely a less expensive and likely better option. My next step is to talk to a few recent grads and professionals and get their opinions. The 2ndlight forum can only go so far. Lol. 

 

Edited: 09/20/2017 at 09:03 AM by Sector9surf

Thank you moody! I was trying to sound the alarm on this one.

Pick one and do it! If your best choice gets 6/10 of your wish lists then that's probably your best bet.

The best thing I did in grad school was set aside surf, instead study and enjoy the campus (leave that up to your own interpretation).

Again thanks moody ( I quoted her thesis because it's worth reading again)



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I type on fone 99% of time. Let the typos slyde. Thanks