Thinking About Going Back to School? Be Prepared for these Challenges

Once upon a time there was a young woman with a promising future. She graduated from high school early, earned scholarships, and worried only about finishing her high school credits while her mom poured over admissions applications, student housing applications, scholarship awards, and financial aid forms. Then the girl graduated, fell in love, turned down her scholarships, and moved two thousand miles away from it all to begin the marriage of her dreams. At 20 she had her first baby. Then at 21 her second... and then by 24 years old she had three beautiful children. She was happy with her family, though they struggled with low income jobs, and the hard work to bring to fruition her husband's dream to start his own business. At 27 she and her husband decided it was high time for her to get her higher education...

Yes... the person described is me. So here I am, a mom of three, a partner by default in a struggling entreprenuership, and I'm heading back to school. I am not unique in any of these things. There are many people out there who, for any number of reasons postpone their pursuit of higher education. Some are not ready for it. Some have extenuating circumstances with family, finances, or academia... but there is a growing number of non-traditional students entering colleges, universities, and trade schools.

I believe this is in part due to the nature of today's economy. With corporations out-sourcing work, costs of living sky-rocketing, and the cut-throat competition in the employment market, it is difficult to get by with just a High School Diploma anymore. Some would say that it's difficult to get by even with a Bachelor's degree, depending on your area of expertise. So many people, as they are growing a bit older and wiser, are seeing that the best way to secure a good financial future is to buckle down and go back to school. Some (such as in my case) are also concerned about providing a good example to their own children about the value and the necessity of Higher Education in today's economic world.

So for someone who's been out of school for a while, some of the hoops you have to jump through to get back into school may come as a bit of a surprise, and be quite stressful. Personally I was surprised to find that it costs money just to apply to most colleges and Universities! Research and planning should be done when taking up this pursuit.

The first thing to do is to find out what your application deadlines are. Most of the time these are listed on the school's web-site, or you can find them out by calling the admissions office. In some cases a deadline may be extended because there are classes still available, or it is still early enough in the process that they may be able to make an exception. The best thing to do however is to apply as early before the start of the semester as you possibly can. This will give you a chance to make sure you have met all of the institutions requirements for attendance before classes actually begin, and you will not have to juggle trying to finish up and start classes as well. Even though this may not sound like such a difficult thing, it can be if you have other life responsibilities such as parenting or work. The other result if you do not meet the institutions requirements within a certain time of the start of the semester is that you can have your classes pulled. In trying to get started in school this is not a discouragement the non-traditional student needs to be met with. So do yourself a favor and start the application process as early as possible.

The next thing to do is to go on-line or to the financial aid office of the instiution you plan to attend and fill out your FAFSA. When you go to fill it out you will need to have information handy, such as your previous year's tax return and income information, and any tax exemptions, or government assistance you might have received such as TANF, Social Security, or Food Stamps. The FAFSA is a fairly easy process to follow but can be problematic if you do not have the information you will need to complete it when you begin. Also for those filling it out on-line you will need to go apply for a PIN. Generally speaking it can take a couple of days for your PIN to be assigned, but it is necessary for logging in and out of your application, should you need to come back to it later, and to electronically sign the application for it to be processed.

Meanwhile you can fill out your admissions application. Some institutions have implemented an electronic application process. But be aware, so that you don't waste time filling it out that way, that there is generally an application fee. If you do not find the amount of the application fee listed on their web-site, you should call the admissions office and ask them how much it is. If you are not prepared to make an on-line transaction, find out if the institution has a downloadable PDF file that you can fill out and turn in physically with the application fee. (Some people may not have Adobe Reader on their computer, but that's not a problem either because it can be downloaded here.) As I said there is going to be some expense in registering for school that the average person might not forsee. Application fees are generally not covered by financial aid.

The next thing you will have to decide is your housing situation. Will you want to live on campus? Most campus' do have housing for families, and this can be covered or partially covered by financial aid if you qualify. This is one of those areas though where the earlier you can apply, the better off you are. Campus housing fills up fast. It is generally a seperate application that must be turned into the housing office. in some cases there is an application fee. Campus housing also requires that a deposit is put up by the student. Financial aid will not cover this deposit, and the amount of the deposit is dependendant on the rates set by the school. In most cases it will be cheaper to live on campus in the long run, even though the deposit may seem high, especially to those of us who are already struggling financially.

While you are dealing with all of these issues, your next call should be to the Student Health Office. Most states require that Colleges and Universities have a record of at least two MMR vaccinations on file, in order for you to be able to attend (unless you give proof of a religious exemption). This will mean you will have to contact the health offices where your received your last vaccinations, or ask your physician if they have them on file. Generally if you are attending school in the state you graduated, these records are easy to obtain. For those of us that relocated after high school, it may mean long distance phone calls and requests for faxes. In some cases, you may just have to go to the local Health Dept. and be vaccinated again. If that's the case it's also a good time to get your Tetanus shot updated as well.

For those of us who have waited more than three years to go back to school, you may be in for another surprise. Remember those ACT's and SAT's you might have taken in High School? After three years those scores are no longer considered valid, which means the school you are applying to may require you to take an entrance exam, and rightfully so. Even though you may have done well on your tests in High School, you tend to forget what you don't regularly use. The testing is not nearly as frightening as it sounds. In some cases however you may have to pay a testing fee. If the school requires you to take a test, they'll either inform you of a time and a place to come take the test, or give you a number to call to schedule an appointment to do so. Often times they will send you a small sample test for practice. You can also visit ACT.ORG to dowload PDF's of more extensive sample tests in order to prepare. Based on this test you may be placed in accelerated courses or in refresher courses depending on your academic needs.

So up to this point you've applied and been accepted. Yay! You've got your immunizations taken care of, and your test completed. The next step is to register for courses. This usually includes attending an orientation, and speaking with an academic advisor. Hopefully at this point you have an idea of what Major you'd like to pursue. Your academic advisor will be able to suggest courses that will suit your major, and will help you figure out how you need to tailor your schedule around the rest of your life. Be careful to make sure you maximize your credit hours! You do not want to take courses that may be appealing but will not help you achieve your degree in lieu of courses that will. However also be realistic with yourself. Just because there are courses that you are eligible to take for your General Educational requirements doesn't mean you SHOULD take the hardest thing available. After all you do need to give yourself time to adjust back to being a student, and there is no need to overload yourself and face discouragement.

Once that is accomplished the next thing to do is to talk to Financial aid again. You should have some response from FAFSA about what your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) will be on your tuition and fees. You will need to explore options such as loans, work study, and scholarships if Pell Grants will not cover your costs. Scholarships are another area, where the sooner you can get started in the registration process, the better off you are. Otherwise you might find that the awards have already been exhausted by the time the Summer ends. Fastweb is a great place to research scholarships you are eligible to apply for, and to find out which ones are available. They list the deadlines and the application requirements in one handy place. In exploring loans be very careful to have things such as origination fees and interest rates explained to you. Remember, student loans can NOT be put on bankruptcy anymore. You want to make sure any loans you take out are manageable once you have completed school. DO NOT take out more than you need for your education. Also make sure that you understand the differences between subsidized and unsubsidized government loans. Subsidized loans are preferable, as the government usually pays the interest on the deferred payments until you have graduated school and through your grace period. Interest will accrue on unsubsidized loans during your time in school. You can choose to pay it while attending, or have the amount added to the cost of the loan after graduation. Remember it does not stop accruing interest there.

Once your financial aid is worked out, find out if you will need parking permits, student I.d.'s, or a meal plan. If you need any of these things be sure to visit the corresponding offices and get them taken care of.

From there now you have text books and supplies to worry about. I was advised to wait until the first day of class before purchasin my texts, and the advice was sound. In some cases the teacher may not use the text. In other cases you may be able to get away with purchasing an earlier edition. Books can also be found used in the student book store or on-line. I recommend CheapestTextBooks.com as they compare prices between the large book store competitors. Also find out if courses will require special equipment, i.e. certain math classes may require a specific kind of calculator. You can also find things like this new or used if you are willing to do some research. Also, before taking your aid money and going to buy that new laptop, make sure you will actually need it for your classes. Some professors prefer that students handwrite their notes. In many cases a regular PC will do the job fine. Also many campuses have open labs available for research and study. Some offer free printing as they've figured some of the cost into your tuition. You might as well make use of it, and it's one less thing you have to drag around campus with you.

One thing I have experienced in coming back to school is having to actively seek out information. I've found that in each department I've been assigned and advisor, and none of them have done much advising. You will have to hound people to get the answers that you need. But once everything is arranged, the rest falls into place. It becomes easy to settle into a routine once it is established. My family and i will have to adjust to the new life style, but I know now that all of us know what to expect, we as a whole can make this endeavor a success... as can any non-traditional student returning to school for the first time.