College and Health Insurance

[Khadijah]

Did anyone else here inroll in college to have health insurance? At the (communit college) school i go to (occasionally ) there seems to be a good amount of people who do the same thing.

Whats some of the down sides of this?

I cant get benefits from my job so if i didnt join college i would have no insurance, (staying on ur parents is allowed until age 24 if you a student, 19 if you not. i just turned 20.)

Also if i wasnt a student at the time of my 20th bday, that would be it, there would be no way to get back on the insurance once I was off.

So it was a choice i made for the time being but i aint liking it and it aint solving the problems that will come up once the Fall semester comes around, then its just delaying the time until ill have to figure this al out. Class started on Jan 23. I have 4 classes. Aside from one, i been to each class one time. i just reall dont care.

Its a bad situation....I quit school 6 years ago and goin back is just painful and un fulfilling. i cant make money cuz im in school instead of work, and school has been my anti-passion that i hate with a fire burning deep inside my heart, for about the past...oh....15 years ever since i started school. So they say "college is different." Not for me. I feel 12 again and its hard for me to do the work becuz I just honestly dont give a fuck, the work aint why Im there.

I figure one trip to the hospital emergency room comes in about $10,000 without insurance so $1000 a year for comm. college , and sticking on my moms insurance plan, is about worth it. if i get any type of non basic medical care, just ONE time, then the shit basically payed for itself already, so its a good move I guess but as far as actually GOING to school and all that its another matter...

Well, just venting my feelings on it, but this thread aint for me to bitch. Im interested in anyone elses experiences w/this type of thing and how you got around it/worked it to your advantage or anything you got to say about it.

 

[youarewhatyouis]

yeah, I was in the same situation. My mom works for the state and when I was in school full time (12 credit hours) I got health and dental insurance on her policy.

basically my only real reason for being there was for the health insurance. I had to goto the hospital before I had the insurance, and I was lookin at about 900 dollars in bills and I needed about 4000 dollars worth of dental work done, so I said fuck it and signed up for classes. it was just the smarter move, money wise.

I got A's and B's the first semester, but then I failed all my classes in the 2nd semester because I lost interest, and I was too fucked up to care.

so now I'm gonna try and join the Army because I got like thousands of dollars of bills and I dont want to work a minimum wage job for my "career." and just recently they are letting people in with criminal records. so yeah, at least Iraq is good for somethin

 

[Khadijah]

^^^Word, my mom "works for the government" too. If you count Delivering the Mail as that. LOL. the Post Office gives some DAMN good insurance. last (and first time) i was in the hospital, the bill for a Cat scan, and a IV, was $11,000. WITH the indsurance, we paid $200.

So, that shit makes you doubletake when you realize how expensive even the simplest medical care can be.

I aint gotta keep a GPA of any kind to stay on the plan. so....you can pretty much guess i aint big on that whole "goin to class" thing.

I dont wanna waste the opportunity but, i aint really gettin anything outta it neither. the classes i signed up for aint exactly what i expected.

(Dont read this part if you aint interested in the long story just skip to the end.)
******
Color And Typography for Designers - Suposed to be a advanced class that you take a bunch of prereq's for, for people who are into the advanced aspects of graphic design.

Sounded fun plus i love typography.

When i got there, the kids didnt even know the reason why you shouldnt design graphics for print in RGB color. it turned out to be "Baby ABC's of beginner design for dummies." supposed to be this thing where "Good, now that we have the basic crap outta the way, we can get to the real shit." instead, even a couple classes into the semester it was still mad simple shit that i aint got the patience to go over again for the 5000th time. PLus it was at 8:25 in the mornin. nuff sed.

I also picked up "Animation and Design" thinkin "SWEET! finally a class that appreciates comic books and graphic novels! i cant wait to develop characters and do the different styles of artists" When i got in the class i found out that it was actually MACROMEDIA FLASH animation, for the computer. which i got no interest in. nothing really related to character design or style development, just how to make circles turn into squares and bounce around the screen for web ads and shit like that. 8(

The only class i like at all is Portrait Drawing and everytime i go there i wanna walk out in the middle of the class I get so frustrated at the teacher telling me to do shit a certain way. one of the teachers like "you have to do it like this, to learn how to do it correct." the only problem is...i learned to do it her way in 3rd grade and now i am way beyond that shit. i already know the shit that the teacher is sayin. its all shit i learned and developed like 7-8 years ago. im done with that and ready to do my own shit and becuz i aint doin it "her way" theres just arguements all day w/her. Well , becuz i CAN do it her way, and do have the ability but just choose not to work in that style, i just shut up and do it how she say. but it pisses me off the whole time.*******(end of extended version.)



I really wann just stay enrolled in school and not GO to school, and just work all week like i used to, save my money and do what im tryna do with my life. but school is actually makin it harder.

Also, becuz i aint gettin a degree, or any type of advancement from the classes since i aint enrolled in a degree program but just for "personal interest", it aint like it will help me get a better job, so im basically gettin nowhere by goin to school, and somewhere by goin to work. which is just the opposite of what they always tell you. 8(

Shit got me confused as hell, anybody hear me?

 

[youarewhatyouis]

its hard to get a job in any sort of art related field tho, even if you got alot of skill. and even if you completed those classes, it wouldnt have helped you make anymore money. were they actually credit classes or "noncredit" classes? the school I went to seperated their courses into those 2 different categories.

what kind of work do you do?

 

[Meeko Baybee]

I hate to say it but you are really setting yourself up to be fucked if you ever decide to go to college to get an actual education. And most schools have really shitty insurance. Sure it might help a little bit but some schools make you go to certain doctors or hospitals so if you get hurt/sick and go to a different doctor you are fucked. Thats how my school insurance is, it SUCKS.

And why enroll in college just to not go?!? You would save more money by not paying for classes. In the end you are fucking up your transcript to pay for classes just to get insurance, but why pay for the classes then?!

I don't see the logic in it.

 

[youarewhatyouis]

^^ beacuse the classes cost 800 dollars in total, compared to thousands and thousands of dollars in doctor bills

what do you mean your schools insurance? we're talkin about state or govt employees that can put their children on their health insurance policy if they are enrolled in school. we're talkin about 2 different things

 

[Khadijah]

Meeko -

Well, thanks for the reply but, Re read my post. I aint recieveing insurance from the school. if i was, then yea i could see what youre sayin 100% but maybe you misunderstood. the funny thing is when i applied at school they include insurance in the bill, but i GOT insurance and im going to school to keep MINE, not get theirs.

Anyways to clear it up-
I am on my parents health insurance plan, which kicks you off the plan once you turn 20 - unless you are a student. so, right before my 20th birthday i signed up for class so i could stay on their plan, in theory if i stay in school i would be able to be on their plan til age 24. it is very good insurance, better than any kind i could get even if i had a job that offered benefits. so its either that or public assistance .

About My transcript....Word is bond....take this with the most seriousness that you can, cuz i know it sounds careless or like im exagerating to make a point, but i just want you to know exactly how i feel about it. I aint playin, If you gave me my 'transcript' right now, i would seriously not think for two seconds about wiping my ass with it. seriously. to me school means nothing. i never did homework or assignments in highschool so i would be fucked anyways if real, serious college was included in my plan for the rest of my life, but, it never has been.

you know how if you got a ticket from a cop, youd be like shit i better pay this, cant just throw the shit out or bad shit will happen.

Now imagine if you got a ticket that your 5 year old niece wrote with crayon, on a paper towel. ha ha ha ha, ha, yea, ok, crumple it up and throw it out and not care.

To yall, school is as serious as the first. to me, its as serious as the latter.

If i was interested in ANY kind of college, do you think i would have dropped out of school at age 15?

Like i said before.....Trust.....i think the $1000 or so tuition to be considered "student" is worth the insurance money that gets paid out if i get even ONE thing that needs serious medical care happen to me. does it make a little more sense now?



Youare - Where do you live at? Im in the NJ/NY "metro area." There is a LOT of work for artists out here, best believe. It aint a piece of cake like gettin hired at Micky Dees', but, It aint hard to get work in art fields. I already worked in the field in a job with a significant amount of importance for almost 2 years from the time i was juuust turned 17, to right before i turned 19. i was a ad designer and senior page designer (the head of the page- layout workers or what they called paginators) at a newspaper as well as a photographer for them and a buncha other shit they had me do. so i was in charge of getting the paper layed out every week and editing all the designing errors that the other page designers had made, also doing special 2-or-3 page spreads with creative photo layout, etc. So, nah, it wasnt this big fancy job or nothing, but at the same time, it wasnt like it was the school newspaper. the owner of the paper has papers in 9 communities and i laid out at least 5 of them each week. this was as a H.S. dropout as well. That has taught me never to doubt my ability to get what i want becuz as much as there is places that wont think twice, there is also always that place that will give you a chance.

Plus i have worked as a freelance artist before and made some money doin that wwhen i was 16-17 so....yea...i got what it takes for all that. One year of highschool and i know Photoshop and Illustrator like the back of my hand and Indesign (layout software) and a whole buncha other shit that you would never guess someone w/my credentials (or lack of) would be capable of....I have went farther in that field with nothing more than a GED than many people who went to 4 year colleges for the shit.

But anyways..I am gettin credits for the classes if thats what you mean, each one is worth 3 credits and i have 4 classes making it 12 credits. i dont give a fuck about them obviously but in theory if i do the class i get the credits.

right now i work (by choice) in a restaurant as a cook. some people dont get why i chose that after workin in what most ppl would consider a much "better" job, but honestly workin in a office got to be too much for me. I aint that type of person and i felt more relaxed just coming home after my shift from cooking, not havin any takehome stress or drama, than having to be someones bitch at the office. yea, i had alot of responsibilities and was technically the "boss" of a handful of ppl. but at the end of the day i still had to answer to a bunch of people and that shit wasnt my deal.

I love cooking actually...I love art....I love a lot of shit...But i also love finding out where life will take me...

 

[subopm420]

college is bunk as fuuuuuckk.

im gonna keep going though and keep doing well cause i dont know what else to do. they stuff im interested in? you gotta go to college just to know how it all works. and yea i got the rents health care shit comin in. free scripts, hell yea.

mother fuckers gave me codine when i was 14 for an ingrown toenail hahaha. and again when i fractured my ankle like a couple months later.

 

[Khadijah]

so you doin the same ish as me subo? but you more in it for the college than the insurance ay =P

Yea, see, this whole little...."Not Caring" thing definately dont keep me motivated...how ima be motivated about something i aint interested in.....Its like askin someone who is interested and passionate about becoming a auto mechanic, to put all their focus and ambition into competing in American Idol. they just aint gonna do it, cuz it aint what they feel. same problem here. Too bad the only thing i feel as far as that goes is stackin up paper and makin my art when i feel like it.

 

[subopm420]

yea, im here cause i got nothing else goin on haha. and it was pretty much always expected of me or w/e....

for real though, i cant make myself care and when i dont care nothing gets done. i love my major classes, always go... but fuck the other shit.

going away to college is pretty cool because basically your parents are payin for you to go and live, eat, ect. for free and just get fucked up alllll the time.
ill finish though, just the kind of person i am, i dont even think i really have a choice. its what ive always thought i would do, so now im doing it.

its not all bad though, as the saying goes 'college is fucking sweet, except for that whole going to class thing'

to bad my school sucks ass.

 

[wizekrak]

Be careful.

Just because you don't need a minimum GPA to be covered by your mother's plan doesn't mean the college doesn't require a minimum GPA to allow you to come back. If you fail a course or score below a C you may get the boot, losing your coverage. It all depends on your school's academic guidelines.

 

[Khadijah]

Well, its County Community College. aint no standards there. shit, they let me in, that should tell you enough.

Yea, shoulda made it clearer, i aint goin away to college or whatever. aint nobody payin for me to eat and get fucked up and whateva thas on my dime.they are payin for the class, but, that was their idea that i didnt wanna do.

Me all like "Fuck that shit, i aint gonna just let you pay for it and shit cuz i know i wont go, and i dont wanna waste the money."

Mom dukes "You gota have insurance, you fucked if you aint got it."

me " I dont wanna go to school cuz then i wont have enough money and i need money to get by"

Moms "Ill throw you some loot for gas and shit if you get tight on money"

Me "Ma i dont wanna just be some lil school college bitch takin money from my mom to get by that shit feels wrong to me"

Moms "Aint nothing wrong with that, im offering you , you aint asking me"

And so on....So i feel prety bad about the whole thing in general cuz i dont like to have shit handed to me and i feel like this is bein spoiled or whatever......I work for what i have so it feels fucked up when i just get some shit like that.

the funny shit is now that im in school, she aint givin me no money anyways, so now im just back in square 1 with goin to school, not enough loot, and STILL LIVIN HOME at age 20 which to me is pretty sad. I jus wanna get out and not feel like a kid still livin aith Moms and Pops like shit, im too old for this.

I dont even know what to do. If i move out, i aint got insurance anyways, so i wont have school, but ill be fucked if i so much as break a finger. if i go to school i cant move out cuz i got no money. if i dont go to school, ill have money, be living home, and have no insurance.

Fucked up!

 

[subopm420]

hah

yea. but your not goin to school anyways, so just work when your sposed to be in class. save your money and move out, they will prolly still pay for your school so your covered until your 24 and then you have saved enough money to pay your own insurance and do whatever you want.

and dont feel bad bout takin your parents money, if they didnt want to give it to you, you wouldnt get it. and anyways, for them its like spending money on a favorite hoby. like, your their kid, they have spent more time and shit on you then anything else, so they must like it, at least alittle.

 

[Meeko Baybee]

Be careful.

Just because you don't need a minimum GPA to be covered by your mother's plan doesn't mean the college doesn't require a minimum GPA to allow you to come back. If you fail a course or score below a C you may get the boot, losing your coverage. It all depends on your school's academic guidelines.

Yup and some schools will not allow any kind of coverage/financial aid/any benefits provided by the school without the minimum GPA. And if you take out any financial aid, some schools will make you pay it back early if you continually fail classes by not attending.

At my school you have to be enrolled the minimum required hours for whatever level of insurance that you want, as well as keep a minimum GPA to keep the insurance and stay enrolled in the school. And if you screw up enough by not attending the professor will drop you which can actually drop your insurance as well, because then you arent considered a student anymore.

 

[Meeko Baybee]

hah

yea. but your not goin to school anyways, so just work when your sposed to be in class. save your money and move out, they will prolly still pay for your school so your covered until your 24 and then you have saved enough money to pay your own insurance and do whatever you want.

and dont feel bad bout takin your parents money, if they didnt want to give it to you, you wouldnt get it. and anyways, for them its like spending money on a favorite hoby. like, your their kid, they have spent more time and shit on you then anything else, so they must like it, at least alittle.

Maybe they want to pay for his college so he can actually get an education?!?!? Which by the looks of his spelling/typing skills... could do some good by actually going to class.

 

[Khadijah]

Maybe they want to pay for his college so he can actually get an education?!?!? Which by the looks of his spelling/typing skills... could do some good by actually going to class.

First off, Ima female.

Second, while i appreciate your extremely astute observation, i would appreciate it even more if you would put aside your condescending attitude long enough to contribute to the thread other than to drop hints that you think what im doin is stupid.

If i didnt want to be in college I woulda said no. but i aint stupid, i know that insurance is important cuz i witness all the time what hapens if you aint got it so i decided this is the best thing to do for now.

"My parents paying for college because they want me to get education" is irrelevant, iunno how it is for you but my parents dont "send" me anywhere, i aint got that type of family that says "you HAVE to go to college" or whatever the fuck. I think its more like "youre our oldest kid and your younger sister just got offered a $90,000, 100% tuition scholarship to the school of her choice cuz she worked so hard and busted her ass. Now, we aint gotta pay a dime of that shit, so have some money for school, here!"

Since youre so interested in my situation, no, my parents aint paying for school for me to get a education, its straight up, no bullshit all about the insurance.

Dont get it twisted. i knew i had to go for that purpose but i wasnt lookin to totally waste it if it turned out to be enjoyable in any way. I was hopin to go to school and enjoy it. actually looked forward to tryin it out.

but once i got there , i realized, the people suck, no one will even make a conversation with me when i try and be friendly and the art classes are so simple i could teach the shit myself. the fun part is, i have ALL art classes, so i guess thats "challenging." the fun part is when i get to leave at the end of the day.

so, after the "doin it for the learning" part sucked, i tried for "doin it for the people" which didnt work either, so now i just dont care and dont talk to nobody cuz they a bunch of country-ass bitches scared of ppl different than them...So, now i guess it just comes down to "its too bad that i cant get more outta it, but i guess im just doin it for the insurance."

paying a grand , to avoid paying several grand if i gotta go to the doctor or get any tests or whatever seems logical to me. so, as pointless/baffling/puzzling as you might think that is, thats what Im doin.

So, do you have anything to say about that now that its all cleared up, or would you rather just think about how superior your are in your head without writing it down here.

 

[subopm420]

First off, Ima female.

Second, while i appreciate your extremely astute observation, i would appreciate it even more if you would put aside your condescending attitude long enough to contribute to the thread other than to drop hints that you think what im doin is stupid.


so now i just dont care and dont talk to nobody cuz they a bunch of country-ass bitches scared of ppl different than them...

So, now i guess it just comes down to "its too bad that i cant get more outta it, but i guess im just doin it for the insurance."

so, as pointless/baffling/puzzling as you might think that is, thats what Im doin.

So, do you have anything to say about that now that its all cleared up, or would you rather just think about how superior your are in your head without writing it down here.

hahahaha yea!

 

[Chaos Butterfly]

Now I don't understand the health system over there in the States as I'm over here in Australia, but I pay ~$70 a month for my own health insurance. I'm 28 so it definitely doesn't have anything to do with my parents anymore even though I'm still a full time student (4th year PhD).

So my question is, can you pay for your own health insurance? Like, nothing to do with your parents, or school or anything? Is this possible? It's standard procedure over here... so I'm a bit confused if it ain't the same over there.

CB

 

[youarewhatyouis]

^ you can do that here, but its extremely expensive. the cheapest plan I can think of is COBRA, and thats like 300 a month depending on where you live. plus, they send you to shitty doctors and you have to pay at least 25 percent of the bill even if you have the insurance!

Alot of employers in the US do whatever they can to avoid giving health insurance to their employees. Like alot of places I've worked, the policy is that you qualify for health insurance if you work 40+ hours a week, or if you work for the company for 18 months or somethin like that. So of course, they'll schedule you for 39 hours a week, or just find a reason to fire you on your 17th month with the company.

 

[Khadijah]

^^straight up, yea.

CB -

nope, i cant pay for my own insurance. Thats the whole reason wy i got this problem. i cant just go out and "get" insurance. i have to have job that offers benefits which i aint got and is pretty hard to find. plus, like i said before, i got some pretty sweet insurance under my moms plan b/c they give postal workers governemnt insurance. the example i used before is that we only had to pay two hundred dollars of a eleven thousand dollar hospital bill. Aint no other insurance gonna give me that. and like youare said the cheapest plans that would be available cost about 2/3rd of what i make per month so that aint even in the question plus they make you go to shitty doctors and you really dont get much outta it....Also correct about the jobs fuckin you over on insurance thing, it happens everyday....

My job is actually gettin auditited by theNJ Dept Of Labor becuz they scammed everyone outta overtime , whenever someone got over 40 hours a week they switched them to "salary" so that they wouldnt have to pay overtime, even if the employee was only makin 41 hours for that week only, and the next week it was 35 hours. so they would say the kid was on salary pay by the year one week if they would be gettin overtime, and the next its back to by-the-hour once they under 40 hours again, cheap ass muthafuckas. so nah, i aint gettin shit from them.

the US insurance and healthcare system is a fuckin mess yo....it aint as easy as australia or the UK, we cant just get insurance like goin to the store for milk, you gotta have a job that offers it, or be on public assistance.