Hey there everyone, made an account more or less to ask this question express a thought that has been on my mind lately.
A bit about myself:
19, currently working as a marketing representative and working on a side weekend job as well, have a house, dog, bills, in the National Guard, and all that other good life stuff. Taking online courses at a college nearby at night time to build My GPA up to good enough standing to achieve the goal of going in-person somewhere by next fall.
My main question would be, how would I make the adjustment to college life? The advice I’m looking for wouldn’t necessarily be relating to transitioning from a dependent high school life to college as I have already graduated a two years ago. More or less looking for some tips from adjusting to working 7 days a week and running a household to the new environment. Not sure if the transition would be easier, and possibly a bit more calm in the sense classes and responsibilities are spread out a bit more, or if it would be more difficult of a transition with a good majority of my peers having college be their first fresh breath of independence. Any advice is highly appreciated, and Happy New Year to all!
@bigb133: First, congratulations on all you’ve achieved at 19. That’s very impressive and says a lot about your level of maturity which will serve you well as you continue your education.
I have not been exactly in your shoes, but I did go off to graduate school (at 30) after having a husband, house, career, and other responsibilities for many years. Sometimes, I found it difficult to be with students who were at a different stage of life with different priorities. Also, the program I was in required living on campus, and I found it hard to adjust to married student housing after the “luxury” of my own home. Eventually, I left the program to get back to my regularly scheduled life. But, I already had an undergraduate degree and a career that didn’t require the masters, so it was no real loss.
Our son is in the military, has a house and a job, and will start a masters program in the fall. Like you, he will have to juggle his studies with these responsibilities but, also like you, he has the maturity to set priorities and focus on his goals.
I think you may be surprised to see that not all undergrad students have freshly arrived on campus from their parent’s house. You will not be the only “experienced” student on campus. It’s not clear from your post if you are planning to move to campus (rent out your house/leave your job?) or keep your current life and commute to a college near your current home. You would definitely face adjustment issues if you’re planning on living on campus and immersing yourself in the residential experience. If you’re commuting and adding classes to your current work/life schedule, I think the maturity you’ve shown to get where you currently are will enable you to schedule and prioritize your new studies properly.
It may help other posters if you clarify which scenario you’re planning because each poses separate challenges. However, I think you’re up to it either way. You will not be unique on campus, and you’ll find your niche. Good luck!
I’ll update in the post but yes, I plan on going in person on campus. Not sure what the housing situation is going to be like up there but if possible I want to try and rent an apartment off-campus. This would in turn result in me quitting where I currently work at and move a few hours away from where I am now. Glad to hear you have had some similar experience, and I can only imagine it must take a bit of adjustment when fully immersed in that environment. Glad to hear I won’t be the only “experienced” student there either, my main concern was stemming from me being one of the few. Also, good luck to your son. I really hope the best for him on his journey.
Be careful about how many credits you take… are you wanting to start as a freshman ? or a transfer?
If a freshman some colleges limit how many credits you can have…this makes a difference for financial aid (especially merit aid) which is available to freshman but not transfers.
I think you will do because you will have the ability to treat college like a full time job… in college it is expected you will spend 2-3 hours studying/reading/doing homework/writing outside of class for every hour in class. So for a 15 credit semester that is 45-60 hours /week.
Also I think you will do well because you will have the maturity to not waste your time/money. You understand what a college education will get you.
Read this book: How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less by Cal Newport. It helps you with things like time management and how to figure out what to write about for a paper, etc.
Hey there, and thanks for the response. I am currently enrolled at a community college online doing some basic courses to get my GPA up. I am going to be transferring to a university this fall but with only 2 semesters under my belt I would still consider myself a freshman. I’m used to working 60 hour weeks as it is so making the adjustment would be easier I think with taking a high amount of credits. Thank you for the time range as well as I want to plan out my hours a day/week for working on the side and how much I would be able to ahead of time. Also I appreciate the book you provided, I will definitely check it out. Looking forward to college, still think it is going to take some lifestyle adjustment but I think it should be manageable.
[quote=“bigb133, post:5, topic:2806458, full:true”]
am going to be transferring to a university this fall but with only 2 semesters under my belt I would still consider myself a freshman. [/quote]
You might consider yourself a freshman, but the college you want to attend may not. Most colleges have a cap on the number of credits that you are allowed to accrue before you are considered a transfer student instead of a freshman, and transfer students generally get less financial aid. If you’ve only been attending part-time and have earned under 30 credits, you’re probably fine, but once you hit about 30 credits is when many colleges start considering you a transfer student.
That said, I actually think may be a lot easier to transition to college after you’ve been out in the world a few years. You have a lot more free time in college than you have as an adult working a 9-5 job; the issue with it is that it’s mostly unstructured. But with some experience, you can structure that time yourself. You’re also not so much older than the traditional students that you’ll find yourself at too different a life stage to connect with them (although you’ll find that many people live their lives before going to college, especially if you attend a public college nearby you).
I agree with @julliet … check what your State U says so you don’t accidently screw yourself.
For example, at Rutgers U (the state U of NJ)
Definition of a Transfer Student
You are a transfer student if:
You are a high school graduate/GED holder, and
You will have completed at least 12 college credits after leaving high school and a college transcript showing these courses and final grades earned will be submitted within the required due dates.
So if you took 4 classes you would be a transfer student.
But also see if your state has scholarships for CC students.