Advice for going back to school in your 40's.

Make the choice...

First, you must make the choice to go back to school. It is not as easy as it sounds. You must make sure that your lifestyle will allow you the time, energy and money to attend classes, do homework and study.

Once you make the choice... the rest is even harder.

Research...

Once you decide to go to school, you need to research your options.

• OPTION 1: Community college

• OPTION 2: State university

• OPTION 3: Online school

Depending on your work and family schedules, option 3 is the most popular for older adults. It allows work to continue and minimal amounts of time to be taken from the family. Having attended online universities in the past, I know from experience that they are far easier than traditional state universities (where I have also attended college).

Online schools...

Finding an online school to fit your needs is simple. Google search for "online degree programs" and read up on the many different schools and programs available at each one. There are hundreds of schools and thousands of programs.Choose an area you want to study, such as Criminal Justice, Education or Social Sciences; there are degrees tailored to those subjects.

Once you have a list of potential schools, Google search for message boards, or reviews. Talk to students of those schools to find out how they like the instructors and the classes. Call up the schools and talk to enrollment advisors and get a feel for what program is used, such as Blackboard. Blackboard is very popular for online environments. Make lists of pros and cons for each of your schools and choose the one that fits you best.

Financial Aid...

Always, ALWAYS apply for financial aid. I don't care how much you make per year. Most students are entitled to something. In some states (like Colorado) simply being a student grants you some monetary assistance for higher education.

http://www.fafsa.gov is the government financial aid website. Sign up. Get yourself a PIN. And write the PIN in a safe location, because you will need it every school year.

Make time...

The most important thingI can stress is to make time. Going to school is very important, and it cannot be treated like a hobby. Cut out 30 minutes of EVERY DAY to devote to only doing schoolwork. Read your texts, work on assignments, but do not do anything else. No phone calls, no family obligations, no work obligations. I cannot stress this enough. Any family that cares about you, will care enough to leave you be for half an hour a day!

Have the right tools...

If you do not have MS Office (with Microsoft Word), don't worry about buying it. Download the free OpenOffice.org and use it instead. It has the same features, and can save in MS Office format, so it works just fine.

Don't look like an idiot...

Having been a student at not one, but two, online universities, my biggest gripe are students who do not take the time to really understand what they are doing. Follow these guidelines to keep yourself looking like a complete idiot:

1. Type up all posts/assignments in MS Word or OpenOffice Writer BEFORE posting them online. These programs have SPELL CHECK and will keep you from making simple spelling errors.
2. Read everything OUT LOUD and WORD FOR WORD before you post. You will catch many simple grammatical errors this way.
3. Post something more substantial than "I agree/disagree" and then a restatement of the post you are responding to. Nothing is less helpful to a discussion than repeating the same thing over and over in a thread.
4. Post on time (or even early!). Nothing will make you look sillier than posting an assignment for week 3 during week 5. Really,you'd be surprised how many people do this.
5. Always read the assignments carefully. Copy and paste the assignment text into your MS Word or OpenOffice Writer document. Type up your response while the assignment is there in front of you, and you won't lose focus.

You aren't there to make friends...

The biggest thing I have learned while attending online universities is that everyone is too supportive. Yes, it's nice to be "feel-good" and hope that all your classmates succeed and that you succeed. But, you aren't there to make friends. Challenge your classmates into critical thinking by debating on the discussion boards. Ask them to explain their posts. Pose valuable questions on the reading assignments that will make them think.This will do more for a learning environment than simply posting "I agree, you are so right, thanks for sharing and have a nice day" to every single classmate. Trust me! What would you rather do to learn a topic: discuss it in depth or make a statement and have 10 people say "you're so cool" in response?

Buy books in advance...

If you know what your future classes are going to be, buy the textbooks. You'll have to spend the cash eventually, so you may as well buy them ahead of time so you can lookover them and get a feel for the class. Nothing will make you more confident about a class than entering it already knowing what's in the textbook. Most online schools even give you access to your "classroom" a week or so before class begins. Download the syllabus and look it over. Know what your assignments will be. Start forming ideas for that final writing assignment or read a chapter or two ahead if you have time. It's worth it to be prepared.

Stay in touch with your advisors...

Know who your academic advicor is and stay in touch with them via email. Checkin with them, ask them questions about your future courses, and make sure they know you are doing well (or not!). They get paid to help you, so make them earn their paychecks! This way, if you ever have an important question or issue that needs addressed,you already have a rapport with them and it's more likely you'll get helped sooner.

Stay true to your goal...

Finally, stay true to your educational goal. Know what it is, how long it will take you, and take measures to keep from overstressing or not having time to complete your degree. This is for YOU, but likely also for your career and your family. If you want to put taking careof your family first, then you must put your education above all else! A degree means more money,which means more care for your loved ones. Never for that.