Being a Non-Traditional Student

[Calamity Jane]

Definitely something I hadn't thought I'd be. Is that just a polite, PC way of saying "Old lady trying again"?

I'm enrolling in January. For now, y'all are the only ones who know about it. I'm not telling Mr. PCG until I've already enrolled. I'm scared to death, because it's not like I've never attended college and failed miserably at it. I have, and it sucked. But, I'm going to be 29 next week, and I think that if I don't do this soon, I'm never going to.

I'm seriously going to need an Algebra tutor, and I decided that I'm going to take that class first. It might even be the only class I take that semester. If I can't pass it this time, there's really no point in signing up for anything else.

I haven't even spoken to the school yet, and I'm nervous. Will I have to take my ACT/SAT again? Will my current credits still be any good after almost 10 years?

I just keep telling myself that this is for me and the kids, but I know I could talk myself out of it so easily.

Who else has gone back to school after a really long 'hiatus'? How did it go? Were you scared? Did you feel like an idiot walking into a classroom full of recent high school grads and a teacher younger than you?

 

[penguindance]

 

[mritsme]

well congrats for you, you will do just fine, i to am turning 29 and i just started college this summer. It is harder than i thought but starting to get into the groove of it again, just be patient with yourself and you will do just fine. My wife to had a little bit of a hard time with my choice to go back for finaincail reasons but now she is behind me and helps with homework or test studing when she can.

Just do the best you can. And remember my signature." If your consistant in your efforts you can acheive a dream come true"

 

[Mischka]

Will my current credits still be any good after almost 10 years?

If it's at the same institution, then the grades will always be there. If you're trying to transfer them to another school, then there's the possibility that they won't take them. Talk to the Registrar's Office.

It's not quite the same, but I took off several years between undergrad and law school. About half my class went straight through. Outside of a few notable exceptions, the ones that took off a few years have done better. It's a matter of perspective and focus.

You'll do great, PCG. I absolutely know it.

 

[Guest]

DO this for you, PCG! You deserve it!

I you.

 

[SkyBluAngelEyes]

I'm seriously going to need an Algebra tutor, and I decided that I'm going to take that class first. It might even be the only class I take that semester. If I can't pass it this time, there's really no point in signing up for anything else.

I haven't even spoken to the school yet, and I'm nervous. Will I have to take my ACT/SAT again? Will my current credits still be any good after almost 10 years?

I just keep telling myself that this is for me and the kids, but I know I could talk myself out of it so easily.

Who else has gone back to school after a really long 'hiatus'? How did it go? Were you scared? Did you feel like an idiot walking into a classroom full of recent high school grads and a teacher younger than you?

Hey girl. Yep, I'm 39 and just returned last year after not being in for a while. Hey, I was born without a math gene and I have to do algebra all over again. You know, by trade, I'm a nurse. I can calculate dosages without problems, but there is a serious flaw in math when they use numbers and letters together. Fortunately, I have a daughter who is brilliant in Math. She's doing calculus this fall. She said she would tutor me for a price. (how about I don't feed you for a month?)

I didn't have to do SAT/ACT's. My credits didn't transfer though. I think the colleges make more $$$ that way... you have to retake the whole damn thing over again.

I was scared as hell. I am going back with a fellow nurse who is completing her BSN as well. And, I was glad to see that I was not the oldest in the class. There were a lot of them younger, but definitely a lot of them that are older.

Good luck!!

 

[Hamletmaschine]

Going back to school after a few years will seem awkward at first, but you'll see that you're not alone as a "non-traditional" student and that most of the younger students will treat you as a fellow student and not the "married old lady trying again."

I stopped out of school for awhile (after basically flunking out the first time through), and when I went back it was great! My mother did the same thing--she didn't start college til she was 34, after flunking out the first time at 17, and she also loved it.

The SAT/ACT should be no problem, but the credits will depend on the institution, as Mischka said.

If I could make one recommendation, I'd tell you to start by taking a subject you are really interested in, rather than one that you have some trepidations about. Algebra is probably a requirement that you'll have to fulfill eventually, but why don't you put it off until you feel more comfortable and have some successes as a student? I saved all my dreaded required courses until my last semester of my senior year--and breezed right through them, which I couldn't have done if I'd started off with them.

Best of luck to you!

 

[Orwell84]

I sort of did this, but the gaps were a lot shorter. I took a year off after high school before heading to the university. I then took another year off after completing my under graduate work before going to grad school. The good thing was the hiatus was a time to refresh and just do other stuff, an escape from the routine of being a student. The bad thing was that when I went back to school each time, it took a while to adjust back into the routine, and getting back to putting in the time that school can demand. Also, I don't know if I just lost the discipline and good study habits, or whether I just didn't have the same capacity for learning as i got older, but I seemed to have to work harder at it in the later years of my education, an I'm not sure I was getting the same results as I thought I was when I was younger. My grades definitely declined in the later years, but that could just relate to the fact that college was harder than high school, and grad school harder than college.

Anyway, just have a positive attitude and believe in yourself, and I'm sure you'll do just fine. Good luck!

 

[Cibo]

I'm taking 2 years off from high school before going to college.

And if you need help with Alegbra, let me know. I'm pretty damn good at it except for geometery *mumbles*

 

[Guest]

PCG

go for it girl!! i am sure you can do anything you put your mind to doing!! my wife started collage whenshe was 38, it was a little tough at first, math was her worst subject also, but she is going to get her associate degree in dec. just one warning, all the young boys will be staring at you!! i tease her about them staring at her breasts!!best of luck to you!!!!

 

[Ice Princess]

While I was teaching, I loved getting non-trads in my classes. God, they would actually listen and ask questions and could bring so much experience to a discussion than the eighteen-year-olds who hadn't seen or done much of anything (but were sure they had seen and done it all). That's not to say all my traditional students were bad, of course, but you know what I mean. You don't have the annoyance of dealing with students who still need to mature quite a bit.

It always seemed to me that the older students were much more uptight about the age difference than anyone else was, and that once their initial discomfort was forgotten, age wasn't much of an issue. Ok, the time I taught the 71-year-old man with hearing problems, it was an issue ... but otherwise, fitting in really shouldn't be a big deal.