Considering Going Back to School

Well, I got my degree right after high school, so I don't have first hand experience with going back to school when you've got kids BUT just wanted to add something for you to think about. Why not start with O. class per semester and see how it goes? After all in 10 years, you'll be in the same boat AND 10 years older.
I say GO FOR IT! Good luck!

I went back to school the first time right after my divorce. I had three small kids, and was on my own with them. I went back just barely full time and took both traditional and online classes. It was great. I simply found a decent sitter for the time I was in class, and set up my classes so I had them on the same days basically back to back, with just enough room in between to have a few minutes for myself, that i knew i wouldn't get when I got home. I managed to complete my associates degree, and am now working on my bachelor's, all online, while i homeschool 2 of my kids and enjoy our new addition.

Start off slow and get your feet wet. Online courses or blended courses (ones that are part online and part in the classroom) may be ideal for you.

Do you know what you want to go to school for?

Although I had a master's degree, I went back to school to take the classes required to become a registered dietitian. When I started in 2005, I worked full time, had one child, and took one or two classes per semester (I had to take 16 classes total). When I finished the classes (2009) I had three children, worked part time. My husband was an orthopedic surgery resident so it was a very busy and stressful time; he was NEVER home. Between the kids and day care (I was on my own for handling the kids-I still am) and I was trying to exercise (only time I could was 5:00 am), we were all tired. My dietetics program was run by women/mothers (thankfully) that let me take some time off to have the second and thrid babies, and I took some of the classes independantly and online. Since I have a great work ethic I made it through fine, but it was a very busy, tired few years. I did not read anything for fun (just nutrition) and my weekends were spent catching up on housework, my kids, and exercise.

I did not have a great support system either, so it was hard then, but now I do (near in laws now), so things are better.

Now, I am an RD, LD and my husband has his job as a surgeon, but now we have four kids and since he is so busy, our lives are just as hectic! I don't even have time to work full time (you're right, doctor's appointments, etc...), but I some part time dietitian projects planned, and they make me feel like I've got something to contribute to the world!

My advice: go for your dreams, no matter what a challenge it is to reach them. There is never a "perfect" time to do anything. You will always be busy. So I say: go for it. People seem to regret NOT doing things a lot more than they regret trying to do them. But first I would pick out what kind of job you want to have and pick out your clases/program accordingly. It'll help you focus. Maybe call someone at the college you will go to, and map out some classes or programs that you would like to think about. It has to be something you really want and are dedicated to, or it'll be too easy to quit.

Good luck to you!

College grades are not all based on attendance. Much of your work will be out of class, studying, doing research for papers, etc....

If you go to classes in person you can always talk to the professors if one of the kids get sick and you need to miss a couple of classes. What you might find out is if there is a child care program for sick kids, ours is at an older clinic that the docs have moved into really nicer ones and they rent it out to a group that are nurses who take the sick kids on a drop in basis. Each child is in an individual exam room that has been redecorated to be kid friendly and has a TV and DVD with toys, books, and other stuff to keep their mind occupied.

Going to school was awesome for me. I was a single parent and I enjoyed some of the most stress free time time in my life during those years. I lived in married student housing and every bit of my housing was covered by Financial Aide. I had lots left over to cover any other expenses, like a sewing machine, a car, a bicycle, a TV, lots of extras. I also got Food Stamps due to Financial Aid being my only income. I had no other expenses. I walked or rode my bike to classes, the rent, utilities, phone, cable, and books, fees, tuition were all taken out of my money before I got it. I always left some in the bursar account for rent due during Summer months because FA is for the whole year.

I had no financial worries, the only thing I had to buy was car insurance, gasoline, food and clothes.

Going to school can be as stressful or stress free as you want it to be. Do what you need to do without worrying about it, just do it and make the best of it.

I had finally made the decision to go back to school, when I found out I was pregnant with my first child. I was really down at first, thinking that I couldn't juggle both. Though I was conflicted, I ultimately decided to go ahead and start school. At the school I attend, all students have to take an orientation class to start. I was about 6 months pregnant, but I took this class in person. The rest of my classes have been online. I went into labor during finals week of my first online class. I had worked ahead and informed my professor of how far along I was so that it would be known if I didn't show up for class. I ended up in the hosp. for 3 days because I had a c-section. I had no sleep, my son had breathing issues, but when I came home, I completed my assignments (and got an A!) That was very stressful, so I took the next term off.

I returned to taking classes online the following term (he was 3 mths old). I find that if I do most of my work while he's sleep, and I do some each day, it's pretty manageable. I have two hard classes right now, but I just work around him. At 15 months, he does play by himself, and he loves to watch Dora, so those moments I steal some time to read emails, work on assignments, or do housework. His dad works second shift so he's not much help, except on Sundays. I dedicate a few hours on Sunday to knocking out a lot of it. I do have babysitting options for finals, but I usually just make it work around the baby.

Online classes really depend on you. You still have access to the professor. We have live online sessions, that are recorded if you can't make it. We have powerpoints, recorded lectures, a class bulletin board where you can post questions and have discussions with the whole class, instant messaging and email. You still have to read, take notes, study, and do HW. We have access to the entire library, there is online and in person test review and tutoring that you can attend. So there is lots of resources. For me, it's more convenient and I can work at my own pace. Group projects do suck though.

I think it's good to go ahead and do it. Ultimately, it will help you and your kids. Talk to an adviser so you know what classes to take, which ones to take together, which ones to hold off on, etc. As for me, I can't wait to graduate, I know I made the right decision for me and my son. That feeling of completion is going to be great!

What's your end goal in terms of going back to school? Are you trying to get a degree? Looking to get back into the workforce? Just feel like you should because the kids are getting older and you want to keep your mind active?

I ask because it really makes a difference in terms of how you can approach going back to school. If you want to do something specific, then you should apply to the brick-and-mortar schools near you and then figure out how many courses you want to take each semester and how long that would take you to get a degree. If you want to take some classes in a variety of things that you are interested in, look into extension schools for universities, or perhaps some classes through the local community college.

I think that you should take "real" classes, rather than online classes, especially at the beginning. I always feel like I've learned a lot more in in-person classes than online.

Finally DO NOT take classes anyplace other than an accredited university. Not ITTtech, University of Pheonix, anything like that. It's a huge huge rip off. Those classes are not transferable to other universities, they charge you an arm and a leg, and employers don't take them seriously at all.

Going back to school can totally be done - I got my masters degree after I had my daughter and while working part time. But I think unless you are really clear on why you are doing it, it's very very hard to be motivated enough to make all the pieces fall in to place.

Good luck!

I just answered a similar Q... so I'm going to cut and paste (so a few things might be off)... but in general it's the same info I would send your way :)

R
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I started school again when my son was 2 months old. Here are the biggest things I learned :

- Start off with a "fluff" class. Every time I've had to take a break from school (a couple times over 8 years... I've been in school for 6 of them) it takes me about a quarter to "get back into the swing" of it. A hard class that first quarter either means a lower grade or a LOT of unnecessary stress. An easy class lets me get my feet under me again so I can hit my hard science classes (hard sciences are difficult for me) running. They're hard but FUN, because I'm not also trying to figure out how to balance my life around them.

- Naps, preschool, and other major changes in KIDDO'S schedule change what kinds of classes and how many I can take. (Because I'm a mediocre mom and mediocre student when I try and study when he's awake... I personally have to only study when he's asleep). When he was taking 2 naps a day I could take 2 hard classes a quarter. When it dropped to 1 nap, I could only take 1 hard class and 1 easy class. When he went to preschool 4 hours a day I could bump back up to 2 hard classes.

- SOME parents have kids that can "play by themselves". My son wasn't one of them. I COULD NOT study while he was around until he was 8 years old. (See the mediocre parent/student comment above). And now, I suspect, it's purely because we homeschool. (but we started hs'ing at age 6... prior to this year, kiddo really needed my full attention while schooling). Kiddo can work on his work, and I can work on mine *for limited amounts of time*.

- Arrange extra daycare for the week before midterms and finals but DO NOT depend on it. I've had my daycare vanish, and I've had kiddo get sick during those weeks. As long as that time was BONUS, I could live and ace my exams... when I made the mistake of *depending* on that extra childcare (for cramming, etc.) my grades and my temper both deteriorated. It's NOT kiddo's fault that I was "behind" because he was sick.

- For *myself* it was worth missing a class to deal with discipline issues. I'm an A student, and I "overdo" everything in regards to school. AKA I had a good relationship with my profs. So when kiddo was having temper tantrums (age 3, we soooo had the terrible 3's at our house)... there were many days I missed class in order to deal with him as he needed to be dealt with. I'd scan an email my assignments (or photograph projects) to my profs, and check in as to things I'd missed *as soon as* I realized I was going to miss class (typically sometime before they started). It took about 5 minutes. And was sooo worth plopping kiddo (screaming) in his crib while I took care of getting my stuff in... and then dealing with him as he need to be dealt with. As opposed to trying to stuff him in the car, get all my stuff, drop him off a complete mess & go into class and then try and deal with him a couple hours later.

- For me'self... nursing practicums were worth waiting until he was in school.

- Kiddo changed his "awake" patterns to match when I was home. I found that day classes meant he'd be up longer and more often at night. Night classes mean he'd skip naps like crazy in the daytime. Talking with other student parents, this is pretty normal. Not really anything to be done about it, but a good thing to be "forewarned" about.

- In our area there is typically a "lag year" between getting your PreReqs done & nursing school entrance. Knowing that ahead of time means that year can be put to good use. Most commonly (in our area) people either get their phlebotomy cert (3 months), EMT cert (3 months), or go straight into being a Unit Secretary at their local hospital. That way one can work part time during the lag year in the field and it *also* helps weight the application in your favor. ((AKA to improve their chances of being accepted -in our area nursing schools have between 500 - 6000 applicants for 30 spots... so instead of applying as soon as one's prereqs are done, the "smart" move in our area is NOT to apply until 6mo after rereq's/ AS graduation. That way you get your Phelbotomy or EMT training on your transcripts AND have 3-6mo of healthcare experience on the "books" for your application.

- Financial aid typically takes about 3-12 months to "kick in". FAFSA and then application & acceptance. So it means planning ahead for the $ to be there when you need it to be.

- There are TONS of programs to assist student parents. From housing (or housing subsidies), childcare or childcare subsidies, and lots of other money programs. ASIDE from my financial aid we got a $1000 a month housing subsidy and a $600ish (changed a few times) childcare subsidy. The first let us stay in "family student housing" (tiny but we would have been priced out of it without the subsidy), and the 2nd put our son through a KILLER montessori preschool that we could have never afforded without it. One typically finds these programs through the "family services" AND the "women's and minorities" programs (being a student parent puts you into a minority, and the women thing is fairly obvious). The financial aid dept usually doesn't have a clue about EITHER of these units, nor the services they provide. AKA you have to do your own legwork on them.

- I always arranged for "extra" childcare. Typically an extra hour (including drive time and class time). I used that hour for PRIOR to class so I could do any last minute things / make sure I was prepared for class / OR just to sit in my car and read a book / calm down from a hard day at home. Other parents I know split 50/50 who did the same thing. Some used the time prior to class, some after.

- I *personally* found that it worked better to have 1 class per day (instead of stacking both classes 2 days a week). Others prefer to get them stacked. It's really a personal preference. But it's a good thing to work out logistically. I had thought 2 days a week would be better than 4... but it turned out to be the opposite *in my case*

GOOD FOR YOU!! Have you considered online courses. I did that and it was so much easier to do things that way. Good luck!!

Look into CollegePlus.org. From what I understand, you do the work at home and take tests online. You'll have a mentor or coach that will assist you if you need help but basically, you can do it on your own time. It's cheaper, faster and it's transferable. My children will be doing this in the next couple of years and I'm planning on getting my degree eventually too. I haven't started this yet but I've talked to them on the phone about my children and I've looked at their website. They are ideal for busy moms like us!!! Good luck and congrats!!

CollegePlus.org

Make an appointment to go in and talk to the admissions people at the school/s you are considering. This will help you get your game plan together. They may have classes that meet one night a week-in which case you can find a teen to watch your kids.