For those of you attending college now (or at least recently have)....

by 2pink 15 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Witness 007

  I did a course for afew months and got a well paying job.....too lazy for College, but my kids MUST go!
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  mamochan13

  From my experience you are taking on a pretty ambitious load. Whether you can do it depends on a couple things. First, how much support you have for taking care of kids and other things. Your pending new arrival is likely going to consume a great deal of your time. Second, how well you want to do in class. I'm an overacheiver, and all my papers needed to be perfect. I don't think in reality that's necessary - employers only care that you have the degree, not whether you achieved honours status, so you can make your workload more manageable by being satisfied with a decent grade and not needing "A-plus."

  I found masters work harder than undergrad, and online/distance classes to be much more work and harder than in-class ones. Initially I was going to try the accelerated program of 3 classes per semester, but I listened to everyone's advice and pulled back to 2. I'm glad I did.

  Although I managed to complete the first part of my degree in 5 years (out of the six allowable), I hit a wall before I could finish my final project/thesis when my daughter left an abusive relationship and moved in with me. I ended up basically becoming a parent of four children under age 5 and simply could not continue my schoolwork. I also found the financial pressures impossible. I lost a year and almost lost my chance to graduate, but thankfully I've managed to pull it together and as of next week will be back on track to finish my final project so I can graduate in June.

  So from my experience I'd suggest not taking on too much. But there is also something to be said for fast-tracking and getting it done quickly before unexpected life pressures interfere.
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  MarkSutter

  Good decision, you won't regret it. If you haven't been in school for awhile, give yourself a chance and start at a normal pace. Maybe 4 courses. If you do good on those add one more the next semester, etc. I do agree with mamochan that online classes can be more work (more reading and writing). I find online classes are twice the workload than regular classes and you don't get quick answers to simple questions you might have when you're in a classroom with a professor. The thing that's nice about online classes is that they're open book. If you've read the material you know where the answer is. Good luck.
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  chickpea

  well first off! congrats on the growing family!
  i wish you the strength and health to face
  all the good things coming your way

  that being said, i am definitely agreeing
  that online is more work than in person

  with all you have headed your way i would
  want to ask what is the urgency of getting a
  degree at this moment in time? why not 7 years
  as a timeline?

  i am only taking between 6 and 12 credits at any
  given time and when it gets to 9+ the stress level
  increases dramatically

  i think you will find it an expensive proposition
  to have to drop classes and lose tuition because
  there was too much on your plate....

  whatever you end up doing,
  congratulations and good luck
• 

  Palimpsest

  I think it's all so subjective. At my community college, I got by without doing more than maybe ten hours of studying per week, and that includes my writing. When I transferred, I went to a top college doing an interdisciplinary major that was very philosophy-heavy, but since that type of reading and writing comes naturally for me, it wasn't bad at all; classmates, meanwhile, were regularly sleeping in the library. Now I'm looking now at being at an elite school next year for an accelerated Master's program, so between the ever-increasing expectations, grade deflation, and outside obligations, I fully expect to have my pathetic semblance of a social life slaughtered for me. That's going to be a new experience, so I'm trying to remind myself that it's not a race, and I can't be too obsessed with the timeline. If I can't speed it up, I can't speed it up -- it's not the end of my world.

  I'd encourage you to take a similar approach. We're already behind -- an extra year or two isn't going to make that any different. In addition, based on the on-line classes I took at my community college, I can say that they involve a lot more work than usual courses since there's so much reading and writing. They're especially hard for people who have learning styles that are more suited for the classroom format, which is the vast majority of students. That means you're probably going to struggle a bit with it at first since you'll effectively be teaching yourself the material, so you need to leave some space for yourself to adjust to that without falling behind. Keep all of that in mind when putting together your short-term and long-term schedules. I wouldn't overwhelm myself my first semester if I were you, and actually, I'd consider doing that first semester as a part-time student.

  But obviously, you know your circumstances, preferences, needs, and strengths better than I do! No matter what you do, I wish you the best. Just don't beat yourself up over being human if you find that you need to take a step back at some point. Plenty of us have done it. :)
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  palmtree67

  It will be a challenge, but all the best to you as you take it on!!

  Please let us know how you are making out.

  Good luck!!