Starting over again...34 and going back to college...

[claud]

I think it's great.
Humans are made for continous learning.
When my little guy is a bit older I definitely want to go back to school for my Masters or Phd depending on exactly what I decide to pursue.

 

[Karrie13]

Congratulations! I think you will be much happier once you get your degree and are able to search for another job.

One piece of advice. When you do online classes, make sure you have the discipline to follow along with the syllabus. I took a lot of online classes and some in class classes to get my degree and found that towards the end, I really had to work at making myself get the online class work done. With online classes you don't feel the same pressure (not sure this is the right word maybe need?) to get your assignments finished like you do in a classroom environment.

Good Luck!!

 

[DawnSuiter]

Congratulations!!!!

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
AIU is where I will be going. I am awaiting word as to whether I was accepted and can start. It was a $50 application fee. In the end I didn't have to pay it. Someone called me and went over the finishing stages of the application and said that since I am ex military, I not only don't have to pay the application fee, but I get 5% of my tuition taken off. I was glad to hear that! They said they would call me today. I am praying they accept me. I'm not fresh out of high school anymore. My sense of direction is better and so is my motivation. Fresh out of high school nothing was as important, I had my whole life ahead of me. Now, I want this so bad I can taste it. I want a better life, I want to not worry about money any more, I want to succeed instead of just surviving. What school are you attending? I will also be taking the freelance writing course at Penn Fosterm but not yet. I am still working on getting the book I've been writing finished so I can publish it. I guess I am slow to finish things!

I'm going through the Axia College of University of Phoenix. It's pretty intense, each class is 9 weeks long, and you take 2 classes at a time. They run back-to-back, so my current classes end this coming Sunday, then my next classes start on Monday. It makes it go by a lot faster (obviously) but I would think it would be easy to burn out fast. But you can take up to a 30 day break whenever you want, if you need to, so it's not too bad. I'm getting my associate's degree in about 20 months total, and it's a 60 credit requirement (I think).

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
I totally agree with this statement. Online classes are easier, to the extent that you are more flexible (can 'go to class' at 2 in the morning if you want to), but it makes it seem like it's not really real? If you get what I mean? One definitely needs to be dedicated to getting their degree in an online program. I've slacked a bit in my current classes, and my grades show it. I'll pass, but it won't be as good as my previous courses have been. My grade point average going into these classes was a 3.71, and I'm sure that will drop

 

[chicken_china_mom]

Well, here is the update I promised. I made it, I'm in! Classes start October 5th. I am just trying to get the last of my paperwork straightened out before classes start. They actually wanted me to get my transcripts and military records to them in 5 days. Wishful thinking! I need to call my advisor and tell him, that ain't happening! My DD-214 is still packed, and I'm not sure where, and I don't have a copy of my college transcripts here at the house, never did, so I have to send in for them. The military says they can get my DD-214 to me about 10 business days after they receive my request, and seeing as how I have to mail it in, we're talking nearly 2 weeks time! In the meantime I will be searching boxes here at the house for my copy. Hopefully it wasn't one of the boxes we left up in Chicago in storage! I hope to get all that worked out in the next few days or so. I do have a question though for those who returned to school and took the online courses. How did you manage to work it around your job, if you had a job? My concern is that I work Mondays, all day, and I can't access the internet at work, and I don't have a laptop, not that I would be allowed to do school work AT work, I'm just saying. So do the schools usually work around that? I'm new to this and I know the traditional classroom courses are rigid. I just want all my ducks in a row before I start my classes. Now I am working on getting some financial aid. I want to pay as little as absolutely possible!

 

[WriterofWords]

I did the better part of a Doctorate online and most online classes have flexible schedules. You go on and do your contribution at the time you have available at home, they never expect you do to school work while at your regular job. Your group meetings are what you will have to work in, and since most online students have day jobs you meet in the evening or on weekends. It's not the piece of cake a lot people think it is, you have to have extreme self-discipline, be able to work on your own with very little guidance, and also work with people you'll probably never meet face to face. Online schooling is twice as hard as in the class because of those reasons.

 

[shelleyd2008]

The school I go to has specific days that assignments and discussion questions are due, but they don't have any certain time of day. Other than that, there are weekly requirements for participation (on a discussion week) or attendance (every week), but those are also whenever. No set time of day, just certain days or number of days per week. That's one reason many people choose to go online, it is much more flexible. I chose to because the only college nearby is just that: a college. It is very small, and very expensive. The nearest University is at least 30 miles away, and I don't drive. Online is easier for me to do.

Congrats on the acceptance!

 

[chickenlady08]

Wow that is fantastic!!!

I am 38 and have just started back to school in August. I have 2 kids and only work part time and I am going into the nursing program. I have always wanted to go back to school but the kids were to young etc..... I figured that I wasn't getting any younger so what the heke...

Congrats to you