ForumGarden

I went back college when I was 34 (Actually, I had to. I needed to get an Education degree to teach, despite my engineering degrees.)

My wife just went back to school to get a degree in Interior design. Go for it!

My experience as a student :-5

It's a lotta laughs, tears, work and play! Am also a mature student (not that i would ever consider myself grown up enough to be labelled "mature". I find that i actually enjoy studying most of the time, am studying something i am interested in, and i know it's for a purpose whereas when i was younger - studying was too much of a chore - especially when there was so much fun to be had.

Busybee :-6

It never stops. I have exams to sit for further qualifications all at post graduate standard. They're not essential but will help my career development. Sometimes I feel like getting a job driving a bus driving a bus. :-1 Think I'll go have a sorry for myself break



posted by jives

I went back college when I was 34 (Actually, I had to. I needed to get an Education degree to teach, despite my engineering degrees.)


Don't tell me you were one of those who thought teaching was a dawdle.

gmc wrote: Don't tell me you were one of those who thought teaching was a dawdle.


Huh? No way man! I'm a teacher and the son of teachers! I just never got to use my Electrical Engineering degrees because I went straight to fighter pilot school out of college.

I'd always wanted to go to college, but didn't see any opportunity to do it until I was 31. I took one class per term at the local community college, but every class helps, lemme tell ya.

For the longest time, I wanted to be a human rights attorney. I think this is one of the most important aspects of our society, and I (perhaps arrogantly) thought that I could offer a voice of reason.

But...my accounting job got interesting, and I was encouraged to get my CPA license. I realized I could do as much good in the world by understanding money as I could by having legal battles against people with names I can't pronounce in far-off countries.



Soooo....I finished off my Associates, and went on to university. I go online, though. Frankly, 18 year olds who knew everything about everything were starting to wear on my nerves.



I have 3 more classes at the junior level, and by summer I'll be a senior. Everyone tells me senior year is the goof-off year. LOL. I'll graduate Nov 2006, and take 6 months off. Then I'll go to a local university to earn my MBA. That's a 2 year program, and then I'll take a bit more time off before I take the Becker Review (6 month program). And then I can sit for my first CPA exam.



There are definite advantages to going to school as an older adult. There are disadvantages as well. I do miss having time to myself, to read, play, or just come home without hours of work ahead of me. I think I'm getting tired of constant school. But I'll hang in there anyway.



The online courses are intense. We have a one-semester class in 5 weeks. Normal reading assignments run from 4 to 8 chapters a week. We have a minimum of two essays, a team project, and independent assignments as well for each week. It's great to see those credit hours racking up, but unless you have the time, I wouldn't recommend this method. I often wonder how people with jobs and kids manage it all. I do love my one week off in between classes, though.

Hey Princess P...

nope.. I graduated with an AS in liberal arts.. after being on the 20 year plan.. and I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up. 23.. mature student.. that's a hoot.. I was a mature student at 40... just keep looking.. you might wanna grab a copy of "what color is my parachute" and read it.. you will find your passion.. no worries..

What about those who were once mature students, and did complete their degrees? It will feel really good once it is finished, I wish you all luck.

(It toook me about 12 years to finish all three degrees, because working full time made going to school difficult, and had to aim for the night classes)

Well grade school was tramatic due to them thinking I was ADD dyslexic or both.

Later they decided I was "gifted and talented" One teacher said I would never learn how to read.

I graduated in the top 10 percent of my class in high school. But I did not take classes like Band that could harm my GPA.

Graduated from college in 3 years but continued to work on a masters degree.

Left school for a while to make a living. Went back to finsish masters but ran against a time limit.

I absolutly loved middle school, high school, and college. Hated grade school and grad school.

In college I tended to hang out with the "mature" students as they were more serious. I did party on the quarter system as all the tests were on the same day. But when the university changed to the semester system the having a chance to party was diminshed due to having stuff due at all sorts of different times.

Lotto

http://www.flalottomagic.net/cgi-local/ ... elcome-344

MagicZ4941A

I think, BSM, that you are one of those people stimulated by the mind more than the body. Cool for you...the mind lasts longer...cause of that danged gravity thing! LOL.

My two-month leave of absence is now officially over, and I'm back to the college grind. I've missed it in a strange way, even though I've enjoyed my nights off.

The things I like about the online school is that I can do it in my pajamas, of course. But also, it's learning at my own direction. If I already know something, I don't need to spend endless amounts of time on it. I can move on quickly, concentrating on what I don't know. I don't get that option in "live" classes.

I also find the format and speed to be highly relevant to real life. My job is fast-paced, oftentimes communicating only through emails, and demanding that I research things I know little about in a limited time period. Just developing the skill to clearly, concisely state my message has been very helpful to me.



The down side is that there is no professor per se. We have facilitators, and they aren't exactly quick or forthcoming with required information. It's most detrimental in my accounting courses because of the constant assumptions we have to make. (What type of interest - simple or compound? When was the contract signed - on the first or last day of a month? etc etc)



I've complained to my advisor, and by working with her, I've learned to demand what I need. That's a skill as well.



As for essays, if I couldn't write farily well, I'd be failing. We have two essays a week to write - one individual and one with a team of 4 people. The first week always goes well. By the second week, my team knows I'm gunning for an A, and they tend to let me do the majority of the work. By the 5th week, I've had it with my team. So obviously, team work is yet another highly relevant thing I am learning. Or not learning, as the case may be. LOL

A Karenina wrote:

As for essays, if I couldn't write farily well, I'd be failing. We have two essays a week to write - one individual and one with a team of 4 people. The first week always goes well. By the second week, my team knows I'm gunning for an A, and they tend to let me do the majority of the work. By the 5th week, I've had it with my team. So obviously, team work is yet another highly relevant thing I am learning. Or not learning, as the case may be. LOL


Great post...I like how you talk about your homework and the need for writing skills. I'm printing this out and using it in our study skills class on Monday. Thanks for the lesson plan.

Ooooooo....That just BUGS! I have the same problem with some of my team. For example:

We had to organize a field trip to the Albuquerque Zoo. I delegated responsibilities to everyone including myself, making sure to balance the difficulty of each responsibility so that no one was working too hard.

I got the bus trip tickets ready, I contacted the principals, I wrote and distributed the permission slips and organized a checklist to make sure that I knew who was going.

All that was left to do was contact the Zoo and get ticket prices, and times, and to get the purchase order to pay for everything in advance.

So I get this call yesterday that the Zoo has not received the deposit and are preparing to cancel the trip. I have to go busting around on Spring Break when everyone is gone, trying to get a purchase order made out and faxed to them that day. I got a lot of mean looks and had to shake trees causing ill will towards myself.

I have an advantage over you though, BSM. I am their boss. Some heads are gonna roll when Spring Break is over. (figuratively speaking.)

my boyfriend is doing an OU course through his work, without a degree he cant progress to the next grade level (or shouldnt progress put it that way) so they offered him the chance to do a degree and they would pay, thing is he has more experience in the job than those with a degree and so to a certain level is better than the degree bods at the job, i think its kinda unfair in a way, surely people should be judged on their capabilities not on their paperwork??

doesnt mean im not a fan of degrees and unis etc just that i dont think its fair he should have to be help back for 4 years or so before he can progress (and actually its longer than that coz u have to take the degree further now so itll actually be about years.....) not fair IMO........... :-3

no he doesnt feel its a waste of his time but now to get qualified he has to do about 7 years work when others have done 3/4 yet hell then only be the same level as them, so hell have 14 years experience in the field plus hes got another 6 years of studying to go, by the time hes done he should be the MD

i have friends who finished Uni last year and not one of them is doing a job related to their degree, most of them are in 'half-way' jobs and a few of them dont even have a job yet.......

a degree isnt everything

helpful but some employers now look for more because so many people have degrees it doesnt mean what it used to

i never went to uni opting instead for the job option, im all for people who do go and i hope that they achieve what they want out of it but i think its unfair he has to go thru 7 years of education and doing a job at the same time to get to the same level as someone who has no years experience in the job and a 4 year degree.....

to diverge from the topic.....

i see ure from 'near edinburgh' ever been to castle? its one of my top places to go

planning to go for the first time this year hopefully

hiya

to be honest im kind of enchanted sby the idea of it, it sounds really romantic and i LOVE scotland, been there a hundred times - ok not quite a hundred but a good 20 probably - been further north to the highlands/outer hebrides and then stayed a little further south nearer oban, never stayed as south as glasgow though normally just a case of driving past that area (tho normally on the glasgow side as well)

have you been to stirling castle?

the wierd thing is some of the hottest and sunnniest days of my life have actually been in scotland!!

you should definitely go for an explore of your beatuiful country up there, so many amazing places and the most perfect natural beauty - tho it has become slightly more touristy of recent years but still its simply wonderful

ferry journeys you can go on are brilliant!!! at some points theres nothing but water, its such a feeling of freedom - oh i could go on about it all day!!!

edinburgh is definitely one for me to visit tho, dont know that much about it from the castle - any thoughts on other things to see?