Reddit mentions of Interplay: The Process of Interpersonal Communication

Yes, do it. but taking a loan is worth getting to the higher income more quickly. 20 yr old, and I only make 1k a month- working 30-40 hrs a week. Advice:(though I could stand to take some from you)

1test for credit if you can teach yourself, it's about $75 for a shot at 3-4 credits. look up which tests your school accepts. My community college accepts most, but my state school doesn't, and they transfer stuff on a class by class basis, except the state transfer program MNTC, which they take as a unit, so I'm appyling them to that.

2 re-take placement tests if you can, and do serious studying beforehand. you probably won't get credit for the stuff you bypass but it's something you don't have to take/ pay for. I understand not bothering and taking the easy classes, but then you're just wasting your education

3 plan how it will transfer try to get certifications/degrees as you progress so you end up with maybe an certification, asoociate's, and bachelor's in 4 years

apply for a crap-ton of scholarships- the more specific, the better. Go for stuff that only a few people are eligible for. At my community college that has 12.5k students, they didn't award a few of the 130-ish scholarships because not enough people applied. go for local stuff, specific to your major, race, financial situation, anything. Google scholarship search engines. Be smart about your odds and amount of time needed to apply compared to potential payoff. They are not giving it to you for charity just to you. They expect a return, just not as money. They expect you to do something useful with it for your field, community, culture,exc. Get volunteer/ leadership experience. FMSC is great for low commitment/flexible volunteering. If you're not especially rich, or your parents don't have 4 yr degrees, apply for TRIO. Worth it.

4 If you're not in school now, learn something useful if you want to move up. Anything. Coding or a foreign language are common choices- preferably something useful for your region, but if it's kinda obscure you won't be easily replaced if you find a niche- an instrument, learn to cook and shop frugal, teach yourself drafting/autocad, or just work out. Consider getting a certification that you study on your own time then test- pharmacy tech, anything in IT or medical, something in a field you enjoy. Any of these will either increase your earning potential, help you spend less, or just be happier.

5 Learn to write and research. This is critical to most jobs and all of college. Reading critically/ analyzing is a big part of this. most useful textbook i've had also, before you ever pay for a MLA formatting guide,use this free online guide

6 work on your communication with people. Some of that means just getting out and practicing, and if you act like you know what's up, people generally believe you. good and worthwhile analysis in communication is this also invest a little time and $ to make yourself look "upstanding" or just project an image that will be effective. People stereotype. It's inaccurate, and it sucks, but it happens, so use it to your advantage and stop doing it

7 buy the older editions whenever the professor is ok with it. They usually are, and they're occasionally using an older edition than what the bookstore tells you to buy. Always get the international edition if you can (same thing, different cover, maybe different pg #'s)

8 Joining campus clubs or student gov looks great on an application, and it's the easiest way to meet people with a common interest. Also networking. At least try a club or 2, there's no commitment; they're just glad you showed up

9 most schools offer free or discounted software or deals at local businesses. state colleges give you free access to software that otherwise costs thousands (photoshop, autocad, solidworks). Use it. Community college has some, ya just gotta ask a professor or the tech dept.

10* Get a planner. Use it, write your assignments from the syllabus on it. Schedule regular time to be undisturbed and get stuff done. You are paying thousands for the opportunity to learn. Do not waste it. Show up to class on time, know people in the class who will let you get notes if you skip. Only skip if you absolutely have to- calculate exactly how much you paid for that hour of instruction and see what you're wasting. Go over what they're going to talk about that day ahead of time. This isn't high school, nobody gets it all on the first time hearing it. That homework that's not being graded? understand how to do it, and do some of it. If you don't practice, you'll never finish exams on time, even if you "got it." did I mention to learn discipline and keep a schedule? It's the single most important thing here. even if you son't feel like doing it now, just start, then it gets easier. Cramming sucks, and doesn't end well

edit: if your college allows you to take anywhere from 13-18 credits for the same price (pretty common), consider taking 18 credits and not working much, if you can. it'll be cheaper