What advice would you give someone thats been out of school for ten years?

Hi Brittney,

It's great to hear that you are thinking of returning to college. It is never too late to get a degree and it will only help you and your life by pursuing an undergraduate degree of some sort. Now I do not know why you left school to begin with, but that should not matter; now that you are starting it again view this opportunity as a new slate, what happened in the past is in the past. You are a smarter more seasoned individual now, and you should be well equipped to meet the challenges of college. Ten years may seem like a lot of time to be out of an academic environment, but you are quite brave to be giving college another shot. Your college experience may be different that many of your classmates, but do not let that dissuade you and you should not feel nervous or embarrassed because of it. I remember during my freshman year of college there was a woman in her thirties who had just gotten out of the Navy and decided to get a degree. She had great stories of her time in and had a unique perspective that none of us had.

I would say to be confident in yourself and that you have something to contribute in your classes that nobody else has. You have a unique perspective given that you have lived longer than anyone else in the class and have had a life outside of school. College may not be the easiest for you because most everyone will be younger than you, but keep your head up. You will make friends and you will be able to get involved. Getting back into the swing of academics and its expectations will be a little bumpy at first, but so long as you speak up if you're having trouble, stay organized, and don't put things off, you will do well in school. Most of the difficulty of college is because people are young adults (18-22) when they enter, you are older, wiser, and better equipped to handle the stresses of college.

I hope this help and I wish you the best in college, you'll have a great time.

Best,

Austin

Brittney,

I got my Bachelor's right out of high school, in 1983. I returned a few years ago to study to become a Paralegal.

Advice? If you will be also working, start out slow. If you take only 1 or 2 classes a semester, you might be able to pay as you go, rather than going in debt. See if your employer has tuition assistance, as costs are crazy! Apply for financial aid, hopefully grants.

Books: lots of different options, on-line, renting, buying. Determine what will work best for you. Lots of neat study assisting gadgets (on-line) to go with the books. They can be helpful.

Technology: professors use an on-line platform to give you assignments and for you to submit your work and take exams. Schools offer tutorials on how to use these on-line platforms. Make sure you understand this system prior to the first day of class! this is super-important!

Don't fall behind, and don't get lazy. Read the lessons prior to class, and the lecture will be more meaningful. Even if the professor posts the PowerPoint slides for the class to access on the on-line platform, set those aside, and take real notes. It will help you to retain the information if you are writing it down as you hear it. As soon as possible after class, review your notes and make sure you understand them. Follow up with questions to the professor if you need clarification.

Make friends. Always have contact information for other classmates, so you can find out what you missed if you miss a class.

Hopefully you find some useful tips here. Best of luck!!! What's your major?

Kim

Hi Brittney,

I know that some people are nervous to return to college after some time way. That is completely understandable.

That said, when I was an undergrad, I admired the folks who were 'late bloomers.' They tended to have more of perspective on life, which meant they were more interested in the course material and asked more interesting questions. They had the ability to see why the classes and content could be relevant in the real world ... and they brought a lot of good life experience to add to the discussion. They tended to be some of the best students, earning the highest grades and getting more out of the experience overall. Professors loved them, too.

And to help drive the point further: when I got my MBA, I had students who only had 2-3 years of work experience (instead of the average 5 years), and it was a detriment to them. They weren't able to add a lot of meaningful talking points to the class discussion, and they had a harder time understanding the course material. Nothing wrong with their minds, but they simply didn't have enough life and work experience to really relate to what we were discussing in class. So - it would've been better if they had joined the program later.

Hope that helps!

Chau

Brittany,

Personally, I returned back to college after 7 years and found it very rewarding. I was more focused, I found much of my course content easier to relate to now that I had life experience to draw upon. As a former adult student, I recommend spending time with an academic adviser to establish goals and identify any work-related experience that could be used towards college credits. I wish you all the success in your pursuit in continuing your education!