Returning to Full-Time Education: Challenges Faced by Mature Students

I recently found a list of goals that I had written 20 years ago. Most of the goals were realistic and I was able to achieve them. While I was checking the items off my list that I accomplished, there was one that I have debated about for many years—returning to school to earn a degree. Returning to school has always been achievable; however, as each year of my life sped by and I got older, I always came up with more and more excuses as to why I should not return to school. One day I received a course catalog in the mail showing online classes at the college. I decide that an online class would be the first step to my future. I am so grateful for the first day of that class. All the excuses and delays regarding returning to school

Going back to school as a working adult was never apart of my ten year plan as a high school senior. Like most pstudents, I'd expected to finish school and live happily ever after while earning a living in my dream career. I never anticipated my career being far from a dream or deciding to pursue another degree, ten years after my initial decision to pursue an undergraduate degree. I'd never thought about the effect of student loans nor did

First, our family's dynamics. Right, wrong, or indifferent, our family has dynamics that may not be in play in your "typical" student's family. I say this as a precursor to this... I believe your priorities and ours may not always match, but hopefully the success of Emma, the child of topic, does match. First of all, my husband and I both work advanced careers. Many days I leave as early as 6am and get home as late as 6pm, and some days, I work until 9pm or later. Jeremy and I switch off working late many times as well. I have two children with special needs and have hundreds of appointments each year to attend, which also means at times, I work in

When it comes to education, it is never too late for a second chance. And although returning to school as an adult may be one of the most challenging ways to advance your career, it can fortunately be one of the most rewarding. Success however, is not always guaranteed. To flourish as an adult student requires the tenacity and dedication necessary to overcome the countless obstacles that block the path of success. While the severeness of each obstacle may, financial considerations are generally a momentous dilemma for most returning adults. In addition to financial woes, time consistently outflows its limited supply when prioritizing a schedule to include school, work, and family obligations. When the stress of these elements is enhanced with tight deadlines and unyielding assignments, the whole process can feel overwhelming and futile. Still, undeterred by the unending supply of stressful situations, the rewards are tremendous for those that persevere.

Mature students’ involvement in higher education is life enhancing and vital to social mobility, but current changes to higher education fees and adult skills strategy represent a substantial risk to forthcoming partaking. This research aims at exploring the challenges faced by mature students to access higher education and the motivating factors that helps them to pursue or resume their academic studies. Whatever the motive, going to higher education as a mature student can be very gratifying, not least because it tends to be a bigger enterprise later in life and consequently the wish to excel is often heightened.

The decision of returning to school while continuing to work could be a challenging one. To balance your time to fulfil all requirements among school and work is what I find myself challenging with today. As this would be my first distance education course I have yet to learn the right balance. I find myself falling behind with my studies. Working with a small clinic with a handful of employees I tend to leave more availability to work then I should. With a recent purchase of a house and the obligations that go with it play an important impact as to how much I need to work. As well as having young children that are of school age helping them with their homework and their extracurricular activities has a huge influence as well. I have yet to

Returning to School Why I decided to return to school Tabatha Johnson Health Care Administration, AS (Adult) July 9, 2015 I decided to return back to school to further my education in the Health Care Administration field because I like helping people and I need to further my knowledge in this field of interest. I chose Colorado Christian University because of it's background and accreditations and because it is a Christian school my Christianity is very important to me in my life in my family life as well. The economy is so disorganized now days and it hard for many people to find jobs to be able to provide and care for their families even to put food on the table, so I have chose to return to school and further my education and get a better

It takes courage and I applaud you for returning to school after being out for a number of years. After reading your introduction, I must admit, it brought music to my ears to learn that I am not in this venture alone as I am also returning to school after numerous years. I wish you great success in your

Between 12% and 20% of second-year students do not return to their original institution for a third year (Schreiner, 2011). With a loss of a sense of purpose, the second-year student often questions the purpose of returning to school. To some students, the college or university thus can have the appearance of another commercial enterprise and he/she begins to see themselves as customers whose satisfaction is not being met (Cabrera, Stampen, & Hansen, 1988; Richmond & Lemons, 1987, Schaller, 2010). Without the sense of institutional commitment, students often drift away, looking for another post-secondary institution that may meet their immediate needs (Cote & Levine, 1997; Gardner et al., 2010; Tinto, 1987)

Although there were many stressors in my life while returning to school, I found that there was a great advantage and a more rewarding future because of it. For example, now that I’m back in school and doing well, my children look up to me as more of a role model. They see, that no matter my medical

Time management is more often than not a challenge for many students. This is more so the case for adult students. It is important to note that unlike their younger counterparts, adult learners face a host of unique challenges when it comes to the management of time. In addition to the demands of their fulltime or part-time jobs, adult learners often have to attend to other responsibilities including but not limited to child care and other familial obligations. This text clearly demonstrates how adult learners can better manage their time for academic success.

Gaining experience is essential which lead one to improve in daily life and professional life. A gap year is a new phenomenon which is recently very popular among young people. In the past, people would not be able to take a gap year, and they had to continue their study non-stope in order to obtain their desired degree. Having a gap in between their study would cause significant damage to a future profession, but nowadays the tradition of studying straight forwards is abolished, and no one considers a gap year as a problem. Many schools and colleagues offer the gap year to their student and encourage them to take a year off of school. Martha Merrill said once “It’s reached the point where a lot of us in admissions are talking about ways to get students to just kind of relax [between high school and college]. A gap year can have many advantages such as, determination of future profession, appreciation of higher education and accelerating maturity.

Try to remember your first day at school. Generally, teachers cannot even remember the name of any one of their students. Now, how exactly are they supposed to remember all of their 120 students’ personal lives? Contrary to that belief, most students believe that teachers should account for their extracurricular activities and personal lives. But, not only is that not possible, it is not plausible. Obviously, for students, keeping up with their work and personal lives is a hard task to manage, but developing their time management skills is something each student will need to learn to do as they continue their studies in college. Teachers should not have to plan their curriculum around student responsibilities due to the numerous types of jobs and extracurricular activities students take part in.

The teenage years, is a time in which high school students are faced with important decisions. This is an influential phase in life as they are transitioning into young adults . Post-secondary education is critical, as a matter of fact, it is a credential crucial for economic success; inevitably, in some cases, it is the opposite. As pressure intensifies near the end of high school, it is essential for students to unconventionally take time off school -- not learning -- before proceeding on to postsecondary education, to ensure a promising future.

Going back to school had been in my radar for some time prior to enrolling in this class. My wife continuously tells me that I’m smart, and that she considers me as wasted talent if I don’t get my degree and work professionally. The night prior to this class beginning, I was not able to sleep one bit just thinking and over thinking about how I needed to manage my time, and prioritize my tasks to make this idea of coming back to school work. I still feel somewhat nervous about not being able to stay on top of everything. Therefore, I felt great relief once Professor Frasure guided me through the orientation of this class to understand the full scope of expectations and resources available on eCampus. Although going back to school is a challenging decision, reviewing the Syllabus and Textbook, Lessons, and Resources tabs has given me certainty and confidence in myself to achieve success in this course.