cant graduate, should i go back anyway?

[Süsser Tod]

You have to look at it in context though- the cost of living where he is could be higher too.

 

 

I'm in Mexico City, not a cheap place to live in, not even by international standards.

[SquareWheel]

If you decide to go for a GED, you should be warned that while they're legally equivalent to a high school diploma, they don't carry the same weight with employers. It's not about skills, it's about character and mindset.

 

The stigma against dropouts grows largely from the assumption that they must have some character defect which prevented them from finishing high school; maybe they don't work well with others, or have problems with authority, or just can't finish a project once it's started. And there's a common attitude that a GED holder is just a dropout who had second thoughts, so all the objections to dropouts apply equally to GED holders in the minds of many employers. For this reason, lots of employers are reluctant to hire GED holders.

 

Some branches of the armed forces even have strict limits on the number of GED holders they'll accept, because experience has shown them that GED holders tend to quit or get bounced out in large numbers. And a number of recent studies have found that life outcomes for GED holders are the same as for plain dropouts. (That alone should be a pretty emphatic warning.)

 

In case you're wondering, I know all this because I dropped out and got a GED myself, thinking it'd be the same as having graduated. I've since found out that it's not.

[BellaDonna]

The stigma against dropouts grows largely from the assumption that they must have some character defect which prevented them from finishing high school; maybe they don't work well with others, or have problems with authority, or just can't finish a project once it's started. And there's a common attitude that a GED holder is just a dropout who had second thoughts, so all the objections to dropouts apply equally to GED holders in the minds of many employers. For this reason, lots of employers are reluctant to hire GED holders.

 

 

SquareWheel makes some excellent points there. This is what I worry about for my brother too. Unless you end up going to college later and have an impressive post-secodnary transcript- it may be hard to leave the GED "stigma" behind.

 

I think whenever possible, it's best to get your diploma. It may take some extra time and effort on your part to complete the credits- but you'll be thankful for it later on.

 

BellaDonna

[BetterKarma]

SquareWheel is absolutely right.

 

My girl friend's daughter found out the hard way. She couldn't even get a job at major discount store as a sales clerk because they required a High School diploma and her GED was not looked upon as equivalent.

 

I know people who are highly successful after getting their GED but they went to a respectable College afterwards and got their degree. If a GED is the only degree you are planning on getting, I would highly encourage obtaining an actual High School diploma instead.

[CluelessGuy321]

Yeah. If you get a GED...you better be preparing for college....because GEDs are not really that highly rated.

[easyguy]

I agree with everyone else. Dropping out of high school should never be an option. Unless you plan on washing dishes and flipping burgers and living out of your parents' house for years to come. If you don't accomplish something as simple yet important as a high school diploma, you'll be in a real pickle in years to come. And it'll only be harder to get yourself out of it. It may not seem important now, but a high school diploma is almost required for any job that requires some thinking and decision making; which is most of the jobs out there.

 

Good luck with everything... and keep your head up!

[brando]

It isn't so much about the diploma itself. It is important when applying for jobs, but think of living your life knowing you did not complete it. I went back an extra year, because i indulged in some illegal substances during HS. I am glad i did go back, and it was an eye opener for me to see how ridiculous i was acting prior to going the extra yera needed. It did mature me at that age.

 

I think it is more about finishing what you started. Building your self esteem, and of course getting a job.

 

DO yourself a favor and go back to school.