One Woman's Journey of Returning to College in Adulthood - #2

You're thinking about returning to college in adulthood, or perhaps starting college for the first time. For teenagers who plan to attend college, the transition from high school to college is rather natural -- it's just another summer break followed by a new academic year in the fall. With adults, however, it's quite the opposite. Starting the process of being a part- or full-time student is usually a complete diversion from what has been the norm for most of us. Returning to college as an adult can present many daunting challenges, so I have decided to take you along with me through each step of my return and long-awaited completion of college.

If you haven't read my introductory article you may want to do that first to familiarize yourself with my situation. In this installment I will discuss the few basic steps that I had to go through to start the process.

1. Decide What You Want to Be When You "Grow Up" -- This may seem self-evident, but I don't believe most of us thirty-somethings would spend our time going back to college, or beginning college, with no end-game in mind. What do you want to do with your degree? I believe on this point we have a distinct advantage over the 18 year-olds entering college. Our life experiences have helped us to hone in on interests we did not have as teenagers. Our experiences have also shown us talents we didn't know we had, and they have perhaps humbled us in some areas where we thought we did have talent.

2. Find a School That Fits Well with Your Plan -- This part was easy for me. I have two classes left and the college is only a few miles from my house. That obviously begs the question, "Then why has it taken you so long to finish?" Just cut me some slack, okay? My degree is in Psychology. I definitely love the subject, but at the time I chose it, I had no particular purpose for that degree -- it was just a default choice because, frankly, I had no idea what I actually wanted to do. My hope, now, is that I will finish my degree in December, and from there, I hope to start graduate studies -- I'm aiming high -- and pursue an MBA in UNC's business school.

Some of you may find that for your particular field, there is no college nearby that is easily accessible to you. At UNC, there are a multitude of online classes that can be taken right over the internet. In fact, since Al Gore invented the internet, there are tons of educational options available to you from all over the world. I have taken a real estate course online, and my children have all taken academic enrichment courses online. It obviously saves you time and gas, and you have the benefit of perfectly tailoring your education to your needs instead of having to fit your needs into the offerings of one particular campus.

3. Apply! -- I surfed around on UNC's website for months before I finally took this plunge. I applied right online and then sent in my $70 application fee. If you're not ADHD like I am, you can't necessarily understand why something like that is actually worthy of being called a "step". Trust me, it is. Once I actually hit the "submit" button, wrote out a check for $70, addressed and stamped an envelope, and walked it out to my mailbox, I felt like I had accomplished some incredible feat. Besides, you don't know if you can actually attend the school unless you are accepted through the admissions department first.

4. How Will You Pay For It? -- This one, again, is pretty simple for me since I have only a few hours left. I've found (through a friend of mine who is a college counselor) that universities and colleges across the nation are full of scholarships, grants, work-study programs, etc. that provide funding for college. For an adult, leaving a full-time job to attend college may be impossible without a source of funding. My suggestion is that you decide on a particular school, then see what that school has to offer in the way of funding. If you search the net for ways to pay for college, you'll have to sift through a lot of junk and potential scams. Though it doesn't apply to me, I've recently heard of a grant, for instance, that pays for single, adult mothers who want to return to school. My particular school will pay for "non-traditional" students who are in financial need, though it doesn't pay for the last few classes needed to complete a degree (thanks a lot).

You will find at any particular school, more than likely, there will be a staff dedicated solely to helping students find funding for their education. There are also several federally-funded loan programs that offer money at low-interest rates, and they do not have to be paid back until after graduation. In addition, the company you're currently working for may actually be willing to fund your education. Just ask! It can't hurt.

Well, those are the preliminary steps I took for starting up my re-pursuit of higher learning. I will report back next time on registering for classes and meeting with an advisor.