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I will not be taking out a loan to go to school. I have seen too many people fall into the pit of debt, and with the current political climate with the older ge

I will not be taking out a loan to go to school. I have seen too many people fall into the pit of debt, and with the current political climate with the older generation completely comfortable screwing over younger generations with false promises of success, I prefer to be financially solvent when I graduate. If my country cannot do this, then it is a failure compared to Europe. So, that means either financial aid, or a scholarship. Are there any scholarships for low income white guys? My guess is no, because we are assumed to be on top of society already. I'd be considered an older student too since I'm in my late 30s. Based on my own cursory search, there are no real opportunities for me to reach higher education without putting myself into potentially life-ending debt. I'm even in a state that's renowned for CS (Washington) and I have not found anything.

zlg_codes 3y ago
In the interest of trying to prove myself wrong, I looked around a little harder, and preferring government sources to any old page. https://wsac.wa.gov/sfa-overview https://wsac.wa.gov/sfa-overview A lot of programs seem to be targeting mostly high school students or minorities. It's great that those groups are getting help, but I cannot help feeling left out. Is my desire for education or a better life less valuable or less important because of my identity? Of the programs listed on that page, I have a chance at maybe two: the State Work Study, or the College Grant. The College Grant seems to look at a lot of variables, so the level of coverage may not be as "free college" as advertised, though I do make less than 200% of federal poverty at present. The others which advertised helping disadvantaged people seemed more focused on helping women, minorities, and foster children. Fair, of course, but still doesn't seem like they'd be interested in helping someone like me. It seems like a wonderful environment for non-white, non-male students to get a leg up. Lots of stuff to help them. I wonder if there's a male outreach program to get enrollment and graduate rates up for men, since they've been falling for at least a decade...
- throwguy7 3y ago
  WGU: $6k/semester. Online. If you already know everything in a CS curriculum and have the practical knowledge (e.g. databases, ds&a, calc/discrete, front-end, back-end, OSes, etc.) you can finish in one semester by testing out. Low income? Go into sales or work in an oil field or go be a lineman for a year. Save $100k, go to school after. If you live in Washington state, I know you know linemen are in demand. If you’re able-bodied: this is a viable path. Risky? Yes, but that’s life.
  - zlg_codes 3y ago
    Sadly, I am lacking in higher math so I would need some refresher courses on algebra, geometry, trig, and calc to catch up. I suspect I learned parts of those things "intuitively" so I would prefer to fill those holes in. I've learned a little about sin() and cos() with 2D graphics but a deeper understanding of math I think would propel me further. Is that something WGU could do? I don't know what a lineman is, but I'm definitely not up to hard labor; recovering from tendonitis I got from a recent agricultural job. Is electrical easy enough on the body? I've daydreamed about a dual CS/EE but I imagine the grit required for that path is far beyond the resources available to me. Thanks for the recommendation, though, I'll look at it.
filoleg 3y ago
> Are there any scholarships for low income white guys? You seem to be really focused on this specific "low income white guys" thing, but you are missing forest for the trees. I cannot speak for every single state in the US, so I will just give one example. Georgia (since I attended college there as a "low class white guy", so i am very familiar with this specific one) has HOPE+Zell Miller scholarships. The former covers 90% of in-state tuition at any public GA college, the latter covers 100%. For the first one, you need a 3.0 GPA, for the other you need 3.3. Both are available to every GA state resident, including "low class white guys". This allowed me to graduate pretty much debt-free from a great school. I presume a lot of states have some similar scholarships/programs. And that's on top of federal financial aid+other forms of financial assistance.
- zlg_codes 3y ago
  > You seem to be really focused on this specific "low income white guys" thing, but you are missing forest for the trees. I realize it comes across that way, but I'm keenly aware that most assistance for college, in the States at least, is highly based on unchangeable traits of each student. It's worth considering that when you are a student who will be unfavored due to those traits. What forest do you think I'm missing? Do you think my sex and ethnicity won't be taken into consideration? It is for other students, why would I be any different? Is it because it's somewhat uncomfortable to talk about a crack in the system where people are assumed to have favor and resources to gain an edge, but in reality don't? If the bias was as strong as is perceived, we wouldn't be having this conversation because I'd have graduated in my 20s. Everyone deserves an education. We should be more like Europe in actually investing in our people.

zlg_codes 3y ago

In the interest of trying to prove myself wrong, I looked around a little harder, and preferring government sources to any old page. https://wsac.wa.gov/sfa-overview https://wsac.wa.gov/sfa-overview A lot of programs seem to be targeting mostly high school students or minorities. It's great that those groups are getting help, but I cannot help feeling left out. Is my desire for education or a better life less valuable or less important because of my identity? Of the programs listed on that page, I have a chance at maybe two: the State Work Study, or the College Grant. The College Grant seems to look at a lot of variables, so the level of coverage may not be as "free college" as advertised, though I do make less than 200% of federal poverty at present. The others which advertised helping disadvantaged people seemed more focused on helping women, minorities, and foster children. Fair, of course, but still doesn't seem like they'd be interested in helping someone like me. It seems like a wonderful environment for non-white, non-male students to get a leg up. Lots of stuff to help them. I wonder if there's a male outreach program to get enrollment and graduate rates up for men, since they've been falling for at least a decade...

throwguy7 3y ago
WGU: $6k/semester. Online. If you already know everything in a CS curriculum and have the practical knowledge (e.g. databases, ds&a, calc/discrete, front-end, back-end, OSes, etc.) you can finish in one semester by testing out. Low income? Go into sales or work in an oil field or go be a lineman for a year. Save $100k, go to school after. If you live in Washington state, I know you know linemen are in demand. If you’re able-bodied: this is a viable path. Risky? Yes, but that’s life.
- zlg_codes 3y ago
  Sadly, I am lacking in higher math so I would need some refresher courses on algebra, geometry, trig, and calc to catch up. I suspect I learned parts of those things "intuitively" so I would prefer to fill those holes in. I've learned a little about sin() and cos() with 2D graphics but a deeper understanding of math I think would propel me further. Is that something WGU could do? I don't know what a lineman is, but I'm definitely not up to hard labor; recovering from tendonitis I got from a recent agricultural job. Is electrical easy enough on the body? I've daydreamed about a dual CS/EE but I imagine the grit required for that path is far beyond the resources available to me. Thanks for the recommendation, though, I'll look at it.

filoleg 3y ago

> Are there any scholarships for low income white guys? You seem to be really focused on this specific "low income white guys" thing, but you are missing forest for the trees. I cannot speak for every single state in the US, so I will just give one example. Georgia (since I attended college there as a "low class white guy", so i am very familiar with this specific one) has HOPE+Zell Miller scholarships. The former covers 90% of in-state tuition at any public GA college, the latter covers 100%. For the first one, you need a 3.0 GPA, for the other you need 3.3. Both are available to every GA state resident, including "low class white guys". This allowed me to graduate pretty much debt-free from a great school. I presume a lot of states have some similar scholarships/programs. And that's on top of federal financial aid+other forms of financial assistance.

zlg_codes 3y ago
> You seem to be really focused on this specific "low income white guys" thing, but you are missing forest for the trees. I realize it comes across that way, but I'm keenly aware that most assistance for college, in the States at least, is highly based on unchangeable traits of each student. It's worth considering that when you are a student who will be unfavored due to those traits. What forest do you think I'm missing? Do you think my sex and ethnicity won't be taken into consideration? It is for other students, why would I be any different? Is it because it's somewhat uncomfortable to talk about a crack in the system where people are assumed to have favor and resources to gain an edge, but in reality don't? If the bias was as strong as is perceived, we wouldn't be having this conversation because I'd have graduated in my 20s. Everyone deserves an education. We should be more like Europe in actually investing in our people.