Ah okay, then it is pretty much what zeus meant. But here it would be between School and University and not in the middle of School.
Or am I wrong zeus? I always thought you do a FSJ when you have finished school

hi gremlin^^

i get enough student loans to live on, i can buy what i want and do not have to worrs that much about money... i have like... 150 euro each month to spend on shopping^^ (except if i have to pay university fees and stuff like that x-x)... but anyways... my boyfriend is half croatian and if we feel like travelling we go to croatia and visit some of his relatives XD

Shimawa_zen - Thanks for the warm welcome!
DieTotgeburtDesZeus - Hi there!
How are you today?

Zeus: I'm trying to keep loans and stuff to a minimum. With the career I plan on going into, it takes a while to really break in and start making decent pay, so I'd rather not have collectors on my back while doing that x_x

Shim: That's a cool job. I'm taking French, Japanese, and ASL, so maybe tutoring is something I could do in the future. I'm also really good at math and such...o.o

Gremlin: I'm okay =D And yourself?

Zeus: Must be nice to have that much spending money each month. And traveling to Croatia with your boyfriend sounds wonderful!

Kirsch: Example of a gap year: I graduate from college next year, and I plan to go to grad school in the future. But, instead of going directly into grad school, I plan to return to China to get a job, and work more on my Chinese language on the side. It will give me valuable experiences, and will help make my Chinese better before I start grad school (and the money won't hurt either).

i can't really decide the amount of loans i get x_x the state decides by my parents' income. so either i take it all or i get nothing... (then i could move back in to my mom because i have 3 siblings and my parents are divorced and therefore couldn't pay for me living alone)...

Zeus: Same here. The government decides how much money I get for student loans based on my mom's income. But, in my case, I think that it is being a helpful system because if it didn't give me those loans, I couldn't afford my college. But those student loans will be a pain later. I don't mind too much though, because this is the life I chose, and everything worth having comes at a price.

o-o That's weird. My country is just like "pay for it yourself or we'll make your life hell. Your choice".

really? we get 5 years of a break after university so we can find a job and earn some money. and we also only have to pay 2/3 back... (but i think they changed it to 1/2 now...) if i am married after those 5 years, i get half off and like 10% for each child i have by then ö.Ö and if i get good grades i might get some money off either. so it pretty much depends how much you have to pay back^^

Bishielurfer: O.O - no loans of any kind? That's harsh. I'd be starving on some minimum wage job without an education if my country was that cruel to it's rising students. *shudders*

i couldn't afford studying either... then again the german government always complains not to have enough university students... >.> still many don't get a job afterwards. kinda weird.

Shim: You can get loans from banks, but they charge you interest and get on your back and all this stuff....it's really only worth it if you have no other way to pay for the tuition.

Zeus: Our government is mean to us |'D You pay back all the money, usually more, and you don't really get a "break". The smart ones secure a job before graduating.

Bishielurfer: The government charges interest on some kinds of student loans (depends on what they offer you). Most people in the United States cannot afford college unless they get loans, so loans are very important over here.

same here. living in europe is somewhat expensive x_x and even if you study you do not have aguarantee to ever find a job u_u

btw, where are you from, bishielsurfer? i can't imagine a country being that mean to its students...

I live in Washington, and I've been looking at student loans...everything they'll offer me has either got a way high interest rate or has all these weird strings attached.
My father's willing to help, but...bleh...=( I don't much like him.

Zeus: An education is never a guarantee that you'll get a job, but you don't have much of a shot at a good job without an education in the US. But in my field I won't get far without at least a Masters. I don't mind though - because I'd probably want to go for at least a Masters anyways. I'm a knowledge seeker at heart.

sounds sucky .____. then the best thing for you is to take a year off and work... and maybe get a part time job afterwards so you can still earn money while you study... :/

That's most likely what I'll end up doing. I'm also praying I can get a scholarship, which would help a lot.

in germany you need a good education, too... it's just weird how the state is complaining that there aren't enough students and at the same time there's tons of people without a job out there ö.Ö

most of my friend have decided against university because it's expensive and you don't get much practical experience u__u

Bishielurfer: Fill out FAFSA if you haven't already. That's the best option for aid you are going to find. And if you qualify, get a Work Study job. Pay is usually no more than minimum wage, but it is on campus, and it is work. And definitely go for every scholarship you can get. www.fastweb.com can be a good source for scholarships, of all different kinds of sorts and qualifications. Also see which schools offer you the best aid packages when they accept you. Where are you thinking about going to college?

Sorry that I did not post in a while. But I am stil coloring that picture and the river in the background drives me crazy. I jsut can't get the water to look good.
Has any of you a tip for me?

Kirsch: What part of the river is giving you trouble? Are you having trouble with drawing it, giving it the right color, shading it . . . ?

Shim: I'm already a member of Fastweb, and it's a really helpful site. I love it.
I'm looking at Central Washington State University right now, along with a couple others (Seattle U, Whitworth, University of Washington, Northwest University).

♥ Shimawa
Yup, Shading it is the problem :/
I have the shape and the color but shading or even findng a good texture is a problem that drives me mad atm

Bishielurfer: Sounds like you are planning to stay instate then. I'm not particularly familiar with any of those, but good luck with your college and scholarship search!

Kirsch: The difficulty with water can be remembering how it reflects and refracts light. There doesn't tend to be many dark spots unless there is something blocking out the light completely - and even then light refracting around underwater can sometimes partially light up dark spots in it's beautiful pattern. Highlights can often be very bright. Also, to show different depths of the water, you can play with the color of the shading as well - like mix in some browns and dark greens to show deeper areas and such. Looking at some photos for reference might help. As for textures, to show the movement of the river, something streaked in the direction of the flow could work, but don't lay it on too strongly.

I hope that helped at least some.