do you mean continuing education like grad school or more like a weekend workshop type thing.

sometimes with things like this it can help to approach companies directly (a student at the college i work for just got a small scholarship because he was talking about his project to the steel yard he was picking up supplies from, they were so into the idea they offered to work something up for him out of the blue)

so i wouldn't tie your search only to places that have on the books scholarships, especially if its for something more in the week long kind of range. think about the companies in the area that kind of have that development side built into their mission statement. also you might want to check if the program youre going to has any scholarships as well.

also what are your other skills? if you do anything in the creative fields you might be able to find some stuff either in artisttrust.org or 4culture.org which both have programs in the area and are REALLY big on community building. maybe a long shot, but if you peruse their postings you might find something that will fit. another place to look if any aspect of your life is in the creative fields is http://www.miraslist.com/ which has a ton of postings as well as some really good FAQ on how to apply for funding in the creative fields.

unfortunately most of the things i can think of off the top of my head are more the type of places that are actively seeking funding from other places and probably don't have much to pass down, and probably wouldn't appriciate you poaching their donor list...

i think some more info can help trouble shoot your funding problem - some things that fund this kind of stuff have a 6 month wait, so having more info of what are the programs exactly, are they rolling admission or a one time thing, do they require you to be accepted into the program or just pay the fee, what is the time line (is this something thats next month or a year from now, ie. do you have time to even do a hunt for the money)

also what is your job? its not as common now days but some companies actually understand that this kind of thing enriches you as an employee and makes you more valuable, if you havent discussed this at work you might think about it there may be someway to get some money out of them if it relates to the field you're in and isn't like youre leaving for a full on grad program.

Office.microsoft.com has some good beginner training. Their help/howto is pretty good so you could learn some stuff on your own by just looking thru common solutions

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/CH010369467.aspx

A coworker of mine recently signed up for a one-day Excel class at Bellevue Community College. It's $209 and they have options for levels 1, 2 or 3. She hasn't taken it yet so I can't tell you how it went, but I expect it's higher quality than the cheesy online options out there. Here's the link.

If you are a self-starter check out Lynda.com:

http://www.lynda.com/

They are a great online training resource for all sorts of software.

Every state handles it a little differently, but in Washington, they generally want you to convince them that you've lived in the state for at least a year, and put down some roots--and that you came here for something other than to go to school. If they believe that that school was the primary reason you moved here, you may end up paying non-resident tuition for as long as you're here.

Some of the things that people do to establish residency include: get a Washington driver's license or ID; register your car here; sign a rental lease; buy a house; get a job; open a bank account here; register to vote here. Things that signify long-term intentions to stay are better (so buying a house says more than signing a 6-month lease; a career-type job is more convincing than a one flipping burgers; etc.)

Here's UW's policy: http://www.washington.edu/students/reg/residency/

(I'm not someone who decides these things, but I've been an academic advisor at UW and Evergreen, so I have some experience with this stuff.)

You may want to also do a search on Ask MetaFilter. It's pretty thorough when it comes to these types of questions. Reading it helped me figure some things out when I was in a similar situation. ask.metafiler.com

Tags such as: change, debt, education, life, career, depression, stress, etc will bring up questions similar to yours. ask.metafiler.com/tags/life or ask.metafiler.com/tags/life+school. I like Questionland, but AskMeFi has more extensive discussions and a much larger database to search since it's been around longer.

The above advice is fantastic! It sounds like you hit a low point but are working to climb back up. That's something to be proud of - keep it up. I'll add that a change of scenery can do wonders for my motivation when I'm in a slump. If you have the resources, consider spending a half day on a ferry ride and drive out to the islands or peninsula. If that's out of the question, maybe take a bus to a new neighborhood or park (Discovery is awesome) and spend a few hours walking around somewhere you've never been. It might kick-start some of those goals, plus exercise will help you sleep better. Don't rush it, but you're poised to take the next step and bust out of this funk.

You have a list of the things that have gone wrong or got in the way.

You should follow this by making a list of your accomplishments, skills, and positive qualities. Did you have a direction in school, a selected career path or field of interest? What was it? How could you get involved in that area right now without the top credentials of a degree? Perhaps a reminder of what your passions in life are in order.

Your complete description shows you have been doing some activities towards getting things fixed up with your situation financially. You mention goals but not the timeline involved. Have some things identified for what you can get done by the end of summer and others you may see as coming to fruition in a year, or two, or five.

Talk to people who are in fields you are interested in and find out how they made it to the positions they have in their careers. It is always eye-opening to have the opportunity to learn how others made their decisions and how they wound up where they are. Ask for references of where they think the future opportunities are and the way to get there. Someone in the field you want to be in, will be better able to see the future of the profession.

Finally, don't wear the mantle of shame that seems to be emanating from your family. How easy it is for them to make judgments on your life - you are the one who is living it - your feelings are the important ones to be concerned with. Be positive when speaking of what you are doing in life. If they seem most concerned with making you feel bad, TELL THEM TO STOP!

Recognize your successes, make plans, think clearly and be happy with your progress.

Home skills :)
- Can you make a cheese sauce for home made mac & cheese?
- Combine raw ingredients to clean your house?
- Do you have a patio or balcony with a little sun? Maybe you can tend a pea plant or two. My fav part of gardening is watching things grow.
- Personal Finance / home econ

In regards to the debt situation, I like the book Your Money or Your Life
http://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-Life-Transforming-Relationship/dp/0143115766

I also like the personal finance blogs: Get Rich Slowly & The Simple Dollar.

Can you re-finance (I don't know if that's the right term). My debt collector said I could combine my old perkins loans with my sub-stafford loans and through magic they can deem them current and in good standing if I agreed to a new payment plan.

I don't know what areas you intend to study but there are more and more free online edu these days:
http://see.stanford.edu/see/about.aspx
http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm
http://www.khanacademy.org/ (tutoring website)

Are you working so that you can work on paying your debt? That's a good first step. Cut out all extraneously spending and get out of your debt hole as best and as quickly as you can. If your debt is student loans, get on the IBR plan (applicable to federal loans only, though) so you're paying out a manageable amount a month. Don't ignore the companies and people you owe--rather, call them and set up payment plans. Most will negotiate with you.

Are you getting any sort of treatment for your depression? If not, you should look into getting into counseling at the least. Here's a source at which to start: http://www.kingcounty.gov/courts/detention/resource_guide/counseling.aspx

Exercise. It helps lift moods, increases sleep quality, and is generally good for you. Reading is good for boredom, cheap (hello library), and educational.

If you dropped out of school because you failed out, look into community colleges, where you can take one class at a time and rebuild your GPA, getting you at least ready academically to go back, or you could just get a two year degree or certificate, which may help you get a better job. You'll also be forced to socialize a bit by taking these classes.

If instead, you ran out of money, you can try contacting the financial aid office of your old school and see if there are other aid packages available to you.

Take your time to figure out what you want to do. A counselor can help you figure out how to get there. Good luck.

GRE itself offers practice tests for free via software download. I found it helpful when I took it, not least because you get a sense of the format of the test. The site is http://www.ets.org/gre/revised_general/prepare?WT.ac=rx46

Honestly, I've not had advanced math in a long time, but the most difficult part of the whole test was remembering cursive script so I could copy out the anti-cheating pledge you must write out (in script) before the test. I had to ask for scratch paper.

I'm a graduate admissions advisor, so I hear this question a lot.

I've heard good things about the book and DVD combo published by Princeton Review. It lets you take practice exams and get used to the format of the test, which takes a lot of the apprehension out of it for some people.

If you want to take an in-person prep course, the Women's Center at UW offers one http://activenet10.active.com/uwwomenscenter/servlet/registrationMain.sdi?source=activityframes.sdi that I've heard is very good, and at $210 it's MUCH cheaper than the commercial ones. You don't have to be a UW student to enroll. They have a new class starting November 7.

Whatever you do, make sure the book or course material is very recent. ETS revised the GRE substantially in fall of 2011, so an older book or course will be based on the old format, and that may not help you as much.

Good luck!

Math is logical and predictable. You learn to understand the process, recognize the elements, manipulate the terms, and perform logical regular functions in solving a problem, come up with an answer. That reliability and success at approaching new problems and solving them leads to a feeling of mastery of the concepts and trust in your knowledge.

When you understand how these mathematical concepts accurately describe and predict natural phenomena and real world situations (the laws of physics, biological activity, weather, etc.) the world makes better sense, and appears less random. Knowledge is empowering.

Hot professor??

Or- Sometimes we do well at a thing we didn't think we had much interest in, maybe because we're more attentive to something that is just beyond the edge of our comfort zone. Maybe that's the case for you? Taking a wild guess, but perhaps it feels good to learn and achieve in an area you were wary of.

I can relate. I never would've seen myself in my current work situation. It fell into my lap and I expected it to be tedious and boring but it's fun for me, and I'm, ya know, good at it.

Rock on sis ;)

I am now the jedi master of "x".

Even most young immature non-vocabularians are familiar with the SW franchise.

Howdy,

I as well just applied for the MHC program. So heres the deal with Antioch. It serves as one of the only MHC schools in Seattle. It has its pros and cons. The pros, Mostly everyone gets in, and its VERY liberal. The negatives, well mostly everyone gets in.... Of course over time they weed out the idiots and if they dont well shoot we have shitty therapists now out there...

Antioch goes on a pass/fail system and it is mostly self reflection. The teachers are alright, but some mostly suck. The people who go there are mostly hippies or weirdos... But the education is phenomenal, and alot of the class set up is going through your own issues at hand, which is helpful especially when trying to become a mental health counselor. Their Drama therapy program is stupid, but the art therapy is good.

NOW this being said, this is from 2 recent graduates and both were satisfied and unsatisfied. All in all its an OK school, probably not the best out there but its enough.

hope to see you in class ;)

"Be the ball Danny"

For a younger audience, how about to own/0wnzr something, or to pwn it?

You own it. It's your bitch. Maybe explain prison rape? Tough call. Good luck bro.

Another suggestion...
Look for taller, older houses with large brick chimeys. At dusk, watch for the bats to soar out and around those chimneys.

They like the residual heat stored in the bricks by the sun...and they especially like to sleep in narrow openings (thin cracks) inside roofs, befreys, or vents.

Good luck.

I asked a relative who's an RN who works at a hospital, and she tells me that they will require it if you work at a hospital. As far as a clinic, she's pretty sure they'll require it there too, but since she's only ever worked in hospitals (and started before drug testing was the norm), she can't say for sure.

I would like to second what Dan Williams said. I have been told by multiple people in the industry that the program at Seattle U is much better preperation for working in a kitchen and cheaper.

I have been working as a prep cook for about six months and everyone that I have worked with that went to Le Cordon Bleu has been, to put it bluntly, pretty worthless. This includes a chef who was forced to resign after they figured out he knew next to nothing about cooking despite having had several high profile gigs and a culinary school education. Another is a recent graduate who brought his full school kit with about fifty different knives and kitchen tools but literally didn't know how to peel a carrot properly. Sorry for the rant.

Overall, Le Cordon Bleu seems to produce people who think they know a lot than they do and aren't open to learning from others.

I don't have any hard data to back this up but I have always heard that the program at Seattle Central Community College is the best in the city.

The Art Institute of Seattle is more expensive and less respected and I have never heard anything about Le Cordon Bleu, good or bad.

I've seen them at Greenlake and Volunteer park at dusk.

I'm not in Seattle, but I am a biologist and a good friend in my department studies bats. She and I would recommend heading to an outdoor monument or flagpole with lights and not too many trees around(I like Washington Monument... look for something like that). As Sacrelicious said, wait until dusk (whatever time that is in your area). Bats will come out then, attracted to the insects that are attracted to the lights. If they are limited in their choice of roosts near the food source, you'll also have a better chance of following them back to where they are resting between catches, which would be cool to observe. Have fun!

I thought the Rodrigues fruit bats were still there at the Woodland Park Zoo -- they just moved them to the Adaptations building??

If you go outside at dusk and lie out on your back at the edge of some trees, you may well see dark flapping shapes. Those are our bats. All our bats are insectivores and are pretty small. Your best bet is at about 8-9 PM, when there's still a little bit of light left in the sky to silhouette them.

If you know of a secluded beach area (like on Vashon or something), I've had good luck there.

If you turn on a light in your house at night and watch the bugs come to the window, you may well also see a bat come to take advantage of them.

This organization might be able to help direct you to a good location:

http://www.batsnorthwest.org/index.html

Interesting that you are asking on a Seattle site - UW is one of the best programs in the country. Very competitive, therefore, but very good.

But it does definitely depend on what type of work you want to do and what your process is. Some programs will require you to take acting courses alongside those MFAs, for instance.

Always best to look at the work the profs are doing and see if it matches your aesthetic; ditto with past students.

A good place to start is a guide that breaks down the programs and gives info on competitiveness, etc.

Good luck!