Its official! I'm a college student!

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keri6789

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Its official! I’m going back to school. I went yesterday and enrolled and got my student id. Its exciting!! I didn’t want to take a bunch of classes and get overwhelmed so I’m only taking 3. I’m taking English Comp I and US History to the Civil War. I have to take a class about success in college that is required so I’m just going to take it now since its only 8 weeks. My advisor said that the success in college is a really good class to take and its required to graduate. I have that excited scared feeling now! Its that good scared feeling. I start August 20th. I just had to share my excitement with my CAF family!! This is going to sound nerdy…but I can’t wait! I get so excited looking in the ads to see where I can buy cheap school supplies. 😃

Any advice about going back to college??
 
It doesn’t sound nerdy at all. I know you are going to have a great time going back to school. Hopefully I will be too, for my teaching credential. Although the admissions office seems to be dragging their feet. I am not sure why either, since I definitely meet all their requirements.
 
dulcissima said:
It doesn’t sound nerdy at all. I know you are going to have a great time going back to school. Hopefully I will be too, for my teaching credential. Although the admissions office seems to be dragging their feet. I am not sure why either, since I definitely meet all their requirements.
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I’m majoring in early childhood and elementary education!! I hope everything works out with you going back to school too. Let me know how everything is going for you!!
 
Congrats Keri and hope you are feeling better.

You’d also make a great economics person since you are already thrifty with supplies - a very important aspect of an elementary teacher is to spread a little over a whole lot of kids - sounds like you will be successful already.

For advice - I would recommend setting a definite time and place to study each and every day. Be prepared for each class ahead of time if possible. For example, if you can get a hold of the History book now- get it, read it, make sticky notes in it about important stuff (that way you can remove the sticky at the end of the semester and maybe sell the book back in great condition - see thrify again). You’ll be ahead of the game already.

Good luck future teacher. P.S. I understand there is a shortage of science teachers nationally - check it out.
 
I agree on the study time/place. I find that I am easily distracted if I try to study at home. If I’m actively working on a project, then I can usually manage, but for straight studying from books and notes, I’m more successful if I go somewhere else. Try the library (I had my “own” table when I was an undergrad), an open cafeteria or lounge area (my other favorite undergrad spot), a coffee shop- but don’t blow your money on expensive fancy drinks since a $1.50 plain coffee or tea is just as much excuse to take up a table. My friend here at school swears by the Denny’s near her apartment. She’ll camp out, order coffee and a snack, and work undisturbed.

Good luck! I think you’ll really enjoy it, and as you’re not going straight out of high school, you’ll probably appreciate it more than many 18-year-old’s do.
 
Good for you! I, too, am going back to college (for the 2nd time) after 1.5 years of absence. I’m studying music/vocal performance (but my real desire is to compose).

Advice:

–Choose your friends carefully. Recognize that you are older and more mature than most of the other students. Picking friends who are too young or immature could get you all caught up in drama and leave you feeling drained of energy. I know this sounds silly, but it happened to me.

–Make sure you have, or will have, enough money before you even start. Money problems that come up in the middle of a semester could cause you to drop all your classes, making the whole thing a waste of time. Not to mention, you don’t need to be worrying about money when you’ve got tests to take and classes to pass.

–Explore internships in your field while you are still in college. You’ll be much more likely to get a job if you have actual work experience under your belt, and internships are one of the best ways to get your foot in the door.

–Meet people and make as many connections as possible! This is the best chance you’ll get to meet a lot of others in your field. The relationships you create now will help you in ways you cannot yet see.

–Do not get overwhelmed! You’ve been away from college, and now you’re diving head-first into a complete life change. Do whatever you need to do to keep yourself sane, and do not be afraid to take advantage of the college’s counseling services. They provide it for a reason!

–Eat a well-balanced diet! Malnutrition will make you irritable and make it much harder to keep your grades up.

–Last but not least, do not be discouraged if you see that many students lead very un-Christian lifestyles. Remember that you are not responsible for anyone’s actions but your own, and you need not get too wound up over others. Pray for them and move on. Don’t try to “convert” anyone; they will probably not be open to such things at this point in their lives. Let the Holy Spirit speak through your own example of charity to them.

I hope this addresses at least some of your concerns. These are just some of the things I have learned over the course of my own quest for graduation.

Chris
 
Here are some important pieces of advice that really helped save me money and sanity:)
  1. Never buy NEW textbooks unless
    a) you want a new one because its something you’re going
    to read over and over
    b) There are no used available
The best websites to check for used books, www.alibris.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, www.half.com
  1. Always buy the notebooks that have the pocket included inside. Yes they are more pricey, but they totally saved me the hassles of trying to remember where I left something.
  2. Invest in a USB keychain hard drive. I think they go for $20 to $30 dollars. That way if something is ever wrong with the network at school you can still access/print your paper.
  3. Get to know your Professors, I don’t know where you’re going if its a large school or not, but I found that Professors were more willing to let me make up assisgnments, miss class etc, if they knew who I was and that I wasn’t doing it because I had a party the night before
  4. If its a large University(or even a small one), get to know all kinds of people. I don’t think I was ever a better Catholic than when I went to a public university. I had some of the best religious/ethical conversations I’ve ever had with people.
  5. Find a way that writing papers, studying and so forth fits you best. There is no one right way to do it. For example, I have to have noise while I study, it cannot be too quiet otherwise, I hear everything.
  6. Be extremely nice to your computer’s lab assistants, because they’re the ones who’ll save you when the computer decides it hates you.
  7. Don’t expect to make a killing selling your text books back. Think more like 30-40 dollars back if the text was over 100.
9.Don’t forget to give yourself breaks when needed. It’s okay to go out every oncie in awhile:)
  1. Join www.questia.com Its worth every penny. Its an online research/libray so when you have to write a paper, you just highlight the qoute and it will automatically insert, footnote and add to your works cited page in the correct format. Its a ***big ***timesaver.
 
Congrats Keri!

I went back to school for a law degree after being out of undergrad for 6 years. It takes some time to adjust to studying again.

I 2nd the advice to start reading ahead if you can. Sometimes you can contact the professor and get the reading/book list early. Be careful about double checking to see which edition of a text you are supposed to have before buying used or from an off-campus supplier. You don’t want to get stuck with an older, obselete edition.

Make sure you budget some extra money in case you get a photocopy crazy prof who makes you go to Kinko’s and buy the equivalent of another text in printed articles and such.

Are you starting out at one of the local 2yr colleges like Rose State and then planning to transfer or are you already at a 4yr school? Be certain whatever you take will transfer if you are at a 2yr school. Check with the receiving school, not just the one offering the class. It would be a shame to waste money and have to repeat a class.

I hope that you enjoy your college experience and excel.

Finally, I have to give you the pitch to attend my alma mater in scenic Norman, Oklahoma if you have not already chosen a 4yr school. You know the one that I mean with a gorgeous campus, friendly people and a catchy fight song! My best years were spent on that campus both living in the dorms and as a commuter student. I also worked for a while OU after graduation. Believe it or not, my closest friends are from OU even after 20 years! Take the time to meet some people at your school and study together or just have a coffee because it could be the beginnings of a life-long friendship.
 
jc-servant said:
Congrats Keri!

I went back to school for a law degree after being out of undergrad for 6 years. It takes some time to adjust to studying again.

I 2nd the advice to start reading ahead if you can. Sometimes you can contact the professor and get the reading/book list early. Be careful about double checking to see which edition of a text you are supposed to have before buying used or from an off-campus supplier. You don’t want to get stuck with an older, obselete edition.

Make sure you budget some extra money in case you get a photocopy crazy prof who makes you go to Kinko’s and buy the equivalent of another text in printed articles and such.

Are you starting out at one of the local 2yr colleges like Rose State and then planning to transfer or are you already at a 4yr school? Be certain whatever you take will transfer if you are at a 2yr school. Check with the receiving school, not just the one offering the class. It would be a shame to waste money and have to repeat a class.

I hope that you enjoy your college experience and excel.

Finally, I have to give you the pitch to attend my alma mater in scenic Norman, Oklahoma if you have not already chosen a 4yr school. You know the one that I mean with a gorgeous campus, friendly people and a catchy fight song! My best years were spent on that campus both living in the dorms and as a commuter student. I also worked for a while OU after graduation. Believe it or not, my closest friends are from OU even after 20 years! Take the time to meet some people at your school and study together or just have a coffee because it could be the beginnings of a life-long friendship.
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I’m starting out at Oklahoma City Community College and then transfering to UCO. I’ve looked at the bookstore and priced my books. I’m taking English Comp, US History to the Civil War and Success in College…IF I got all brand new books it will be $202. I’m going to try to get used books if I can. Sucess in College is a required class and my advisor said that alot of people wait to take it since its not a class towards a major but it tells you about all the services you can use on campus and study stuff and things like that. Its only 8 weeks and she told me its like PE…You have to try to fail it.

Thanks everyone for all the advice!!
 
Congratulations! We told you you can do it, and I believe we were right. I would add the following suggestions to those written above:

Join (or form) a study group. It makes figuring things out a lot easier, plus having to prepare for the study group helps structure your individual studying. Not to mention the fact that, as a rule, what’s hard for one person in the group is easy for another person – and they switch positions on the next hard part.

Do all the work ahead of time instead of the night before (or morning of) class. When I was in school, the returning students were all much better prepared than everyone else – and not just because they had more life experience. They treated school like they would a job, and they did well as a result. E.g., if class meets Mondays and Wednesdays, they did the homework Monday night for Wednesday and Wednesday night for Monday. So they were always prepared – and, annoyingly, they always had time to party on the weekends because they were already done with their assignments. (Obviously some things take longer, but even their papers and stuff were done long before everyone else’s).

And here’s a tip I wish I could follow: do the work for the class you like least first. Force yourself (and there will be classes you dislike, either because of the material or the professor). Then the rest of the work will be easier and more fun by comparison.

Above all, remember that your real goal is not the grades (although good grades are good); it’s an education. So take classes that are good for you, even if they’re hard; take classes that will broaden you, even if they won’t do anything for your career; and prepare for the final exam in bits and pieces throughout the semester, rather than in one long cram session the night before.

I’ve always thought (from the other side of the desk) that night students in general are more serious and more prepared (and more tired:p) than day students. I believe this is because they have jobs like you and are consequently more focused on doing their jobs as students. Keep the work attitude and you’ll do fine.

And don’t forget to have fun, too. 🙂
 
keri6789 said:
I’m majoring in early childhood and elementary education!! I hope everything works out with you going back to school too. Let me know how everything is going for you!!
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I just called the admissions office since I was getting impatient waiting to hear, and they had just finished going over my transcripts. I am now officially “accepted.” Oh, and btw, don’t feel old at 23…I’m 40!
 
Congratulations to those of you just getting back into the thick of things! You’re never too old to further your education. 😃

(I’m almost 36 y/o, married with four children… DH and I both work full-time and are both college students.) 🙂
 
Congratulations! I know you were having a hard time with that (financial aid and what not). I’m starting college this fall myself (though as an 18 y/o) for Spanish and premed. I know it’s going to be quite the experience, moving away from home the first time in my life, taking only four classes (but having them be really challenging), rooming with new people, having to make my own decisions (though my parents have been letting me do that most of the time). Definitely keep us posted about how it goes! My sister is also hoping to go to school for education, she wants to be a preschool teacher.
 
It’s official I’m a college student!!! I cant wait to start my college life and have so much fun. My only problem is I have to apply for student loans. I hope I don’t go to far into debt with all these high tuition and book fee’s.
 
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