Won a tuition certificate

[cashbalancetrouble]

I was very lucky at a golf outing this past weekend and won a tuition certificate for a community college for $500. What classes do you suggest I think about taking?

I have been retired 4 years and have no need or desire to work. Maybe I should find someone to pass this on to since it is transferable.

The bad part of taking classes is the school is about 1-1/2 hr drive away in Fremont, Ohio.

[ziggy29]

Congratulations on the win.

That the school is 90 minutes away would lead me to transfer it, personally. But if you want to take some classes, you know what you are interested in. Particularly since you're securely retired, it can be 100% personal enrichment as opposed to something less interesting to you that could help a career. And you know better than anyone else what interests you...

[Moemg]

Check and see if they also have online classes .

[bbbamI]

Congrats on the win! If you decide not to use it, perhaps you could talk with the college about an endowment to a worthy student.

[LOL!]

Donate it to charity.

[Janet H]

You might call the guidance counselors at a local HS and ask if they have a student who could use an assist in the upcoming year. Seniors often take classes at Community Colleges and many will be going to on to full time status.

[Westernskies]

Give the CC a call and ask them to put you in touch with a professor in your area of interest- accounting, IT, or geology for example. Ask them if they have a particularly dedicated student (bright kid, working mom, laid-off dad trying to better himself, etc) in their department that shows promise and could use the help. Let the professor give them the $500 gift certificate anyonymously. You would more than be taking the classes for entertainment value, the 180mile commute would eat up the $500 anyway- pay it forward to a bright student who needs a hand.

Just my 2cents worth- now you have $500.02 worth of freebies to give away.

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Westernskies the 180mile commute would eat up the $500 anyway

That's the real issue...... transportation costs would be way too high to justify sitting in a classroom unless the subject matter really appealed to you.

I'd look at one of two options to avoid the commuting problem:

1. As others have mentioned, give it away and feel good about it.

2. Check to see if the CC offers travel as courses. Ours does. Friends recently took a Canadian canoe camping trip (for credit no less!) that included transportation, equipment, guides, the whole banana and got 2 semester hours credit in the Parks and Recreation cirriculum. The class met twice before departure for some preliminary training and planning and required no tests or papers. The said it was a ball and their "classmates" were primarily fellow geezers. I also see the English department offers trips to New York and Europe primarily to see plays. Check it out!

[Orchidflower]

I would: 1. See if they have online courses as suggested before then 2. try selling it cheaply ($250) on Craigslist or somewhere else and then 3. donate it to a worthy person, and, if you don't know anyone have the College suggest someone (when I was a poor, starving student I'd been thrilled with this). So glad you won, tho, but it just is not worth driving that far for a course to me.

[heyduke]

i recommend a language class ... just because...

[mickeyd]

Financial Planning, investing~ Anything along that line. Just to see what BS they are throwing out to the kids.

Congrats BTW, $500 is $500.

[Orchidflower]

When I took my Personal Investing college course at the local community college, 3/4ths of the class of 25 were people over 60. Most of them were already heavy investors just seeing if they could learn something new, and they never missed a class even tho some of the class had to be repetitive to them. The older students were really into it, and the younger ones seemed bored and tuned out most of the time. So, yes, I agree I would take something in the finance field first. If nothing new there for me, I'd go the foreign language route totally.

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashbalancetrouble I was very lucky at a golf outing this past weekend and won a tuition certificate for a community college for $500. What classes do you suggest I think about taking? I have been retired 4 years and have no need or desire to work. Maybe I should find someone to pass this on to since it is transferable. The bad part of taking classes is the school is about 1-1/2 hr drive away in Fremont, Ohio.

Here's an example of a class offered by the local community college here. Taking this class would avoid having to make that long drive very many times and sounds pretty enjoyable. Of course, you'd have to add some serious bux to that $500 certificate. But there are a number of less expensive courses available you could choose from that sound like this one: a vacation preceded by a single class session where you discuss the itinerary, etc. Skin diving in the Fla Keys, hiking Calif parks, seeing plays in London........ Sounds like you could have a good time with that 500 bux!!

Quote:

Alaska: Traversing the Inside Passage Alaska's rugged Inside Passage is known for having an unrivaled assortment of wildlife, a rich variety of native, early russian, and gold rush history, and magnificent natural beauty. The entire region is shrouded in mountains, glaciers and the Tongass National Forest, the largest contiguous temperate rain forest in the world. Join us as we hike and explore this remarkable area and travel the scenic Alaska Marine Highway to destinations such as Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka and the remarkable Glacier Bay National Park. Participants must be comfortable traveling with a large backpack as their luggage for the duration of the trip. Class: June 2, 2010 - 6-8PM Field Study: June 22 - July 2, 2010 Fee: $2,330 (includes all air, land and water transportation, park admissions, camp fees, lodging fees, camping equipment and some meals).

[mickeyd]

Quote:

Participants must be comfortable traveling with a large backpack as their luggage for the duration of the trip.

Wow, that's my kinda trip. I have traveled to many of those places on a big-ass ship and would really enjoy a slower-paced adventure. Wonder if the "air transportation" includes Texas to Alaska?