For future reference I will be starting a bi-weekly blog post about school. This will range from returning to school to just daily stories and advice from my point of view as an older college student.
Making the Decision to Return
This can be a tough decision for someone to make to return to school. There are many facets that come into play for reasons to return to school. For some it is to further their career, maybe they have reached a limit where they work and graduate degree or certificate is needed to reach the next level. For others it could be manual labor starting to take its toll on the human body from years of work. As for most I believe see that completing their degree would land them a dream job that would otherwise be unattainable.
For me it is a mix of the second and third reason. Most of the jobs I have held in the past were manual labor which took a toll on my back. I worked at a landscaping company, appliance moving and at a distribution center controlling all the inbound shipments. I returned to school in the Fall of 2015 part-time while working full-time.
As mentioned in my first blog post, it worked out great for me to go back full-time in the Spring of 2017. That happened because in the fall of 2016 we were having our first kid and I was able to take the severance package from my work to focus on our son and finishing school. I know for others this opportunity may not come along to make the decision easier on focusing on school.
Paying for School
The cost of getting a degree has been continuing to skyrocket. There are some simple ways to try and cut costs. The first one is to attend a public school; public schools are less than half of what a private school costs. The second way is to make sure the public four-year school you choose is in state. Going out of state can nearly double your tuition costs.
Some other ways to pay for schooling is to try and get as many scholarships as possible. This will reduce your out of pocket costs greatly. Another way is to take out student loans, this is the easiest, but you will be living with these loans long after you graduate. And finally, to work full or part-time while taking classes is a great way to offset a lot of the costs that you would other incur in student loan debt.
The Balancing Act of Life and School
I didn't realize how well I had it when I first went to College straight out of high school. I had zero responsibilities the first time I went to school and should've taken better advantage at that time to finish my degree. It seems the older you get the more responsibilities that you take on. The one thing I am thankful for the fact that if I would've finished school the first go around I would've ended up with a degree in marketing instead of informatics.
Most adults already lead a chaotic life with very little spare time to think about adding college courses into the mix. When thinking about going back to school you need to take in account that you will lose time with your family during the week. Or you will have to make certain sacrifices now that will payoff greatly in the long run.
I would say the toughest part for me returning to school was learning how to effectively study for exams and quizzes. Staying on top of the readings and projects was key to staying on track. Setting up an area to study to avoid distractions and blocking off time to complete homework and readings helped immensely.
This is the first entry of more to follow on how to return to school and be successful. These posts are mostly from what I have learned from all my years in college later in life. Are you someone who is thinking about going back to school? Are you someone who is a non-traditional college student? I would like to hear from my readers about their experiences.
Here is a blog about tips for returning to school.
