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Thread: Have any of you gone back to college in your 30's

  1. #21
    Hokey / Ancient JAD's Avatar
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    Ottawa. About like Phoenix. Does not impress people much but it did what I needed it to do.
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  2. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by LittleLebowski View Post
    I tried online college and hated it.
    Unfortunately these days, much of the work is done online.
    "The rocket worked perfectly, except for landing on the wrong planet." - Wernher Von Braun

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  3. #23
    Murder Machine, Harmless Fuzzball TCinVA's Avatar
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    Virginia
    Quote Originally Posted by Jared View Post
    So, what I'm asking, if anyone here has done it, just how hard was it for you to go back after an extended time away from school? I know it's going to be an adjustment mentally, but I'm hoping that classroom learning as an adult isn't just this side of impossible.
    Academically it was easier for me to go back. You have the benefit of a lot more life experience and you're working toward a very concrete goal of self improvement. This is not how a lot of people in their late teens approach college.

    Your professors will likely love you. You are more likely to have interest in actually learning the subject and doing quality work instead of wanting to regurgitate power point presentations on an exam and write the bare minimum number of words using the bare minimum number of sources for a paper.

    Because you are an adult working a job and perhaps taking care of a family, most professors will likely be more than willing to be more flexible with you than they are with people who aren't coming to classes or exams because they are hung over or want to take a ski trip with their friends. The fact that you had mandatory overtime or a sick kid is going to be much more well received. Occasionally you will encounter a prick PHD who will make no exceptions, but most will be very reasonable.

    Your fellow students will likely be extremely unimpressive. They will still be children...and not very well behaved children at that. You will find working with them on group project will likely be the absolute worst part of your experience. There may be some fantastic exceptions, but as a general rule you will feel like you're from a completely different species. Because you are, really.

    The pace of progress is slower because you cannot devote yourself fully to college thanks to having adult responsibilities...but you can take advantage of that pace to really focus and do excellent work.

    If you show up to class, take halfway decent notes, do the assignments, and study even a little bit it will be nigh unto impossible for you to fail most classes. Things vary from college to college and even from discipline to discipline within the same institution, but by-in-large if you do the bare minimum you are likely to perform significantly better than many of your fellow students because they cannot be bothered to do that.

    Yes, it really is that bad.
    If you are willing to do more than the bare minimum you are likely to pull more than the bare minimum out of your instructor...so develop that relationship...especially if they are tenured and influential within their department.

    The more you delve into hard sciences...math, physics, chemistry, etc...the harder the course work will be and the better your fellow students are likely to be. Partially because of the material...partially because a lot of the people teaching those classes are associate profs with English as a second or third language. Whenever possible, use resources like Rate My Professor and asking around to try and get some intel on a particular instructor. It's bad enough to struggle with the material without having to throw in a severe language barrier on top of that.

    If you are in the harder math and science disciplines, there are often tutoring programs at the school. Take full advantage of them, or of any study groups you can get into.
    Last edited by TCinVA; 01-16-2016 at 10:00 AM.
    3/15/2016

  4. #24
    My wife got her Masters at 39, in a non-native language too. That took her from wtf do I do with my life here to a college teaching job. My secretary is 41 and is going back to school now. That will push her career to a next step and as much as I would hate to lose her, I'll be the first one to write a rec letter. Most people who do it late in life do it for a thought-out reason; I hope you got yours.

  5. #25
    I obtained my AAS in CJ after my hitch in the Army. I kept getting told by admin types and that I wouldn't get far up the ladder if I didn't have a BS in something related to law enforcement. In 2006 I decided to take the plunge and went to Western Carolina through their online CJ program. Graduated in 2008 with my BS...I was 38 when I got it. Much better student at that age as I was able to study better, even with a full time job and be a single parent of 2 kids. It was hard but it was a great feeling, especially being able to do so and have my kids see what happens when you work hard and stay focused.

    In LE, I feel like there is too much emphasis placed on having a degree over being a good cop. There are tons of folks who have BS, MA, and now Doctorate degrees that have a huge problem with practical application of cop stuff.
    Last edited by KeeFus; 01-16-2016 at 10:53 AM.

  6. #26
    I finished my MBA at 36. My maturity, personal goals, and wherewithal carried me through with flying colors in comparison to the much younger clueless kids.

    Good luck. You will do fine. Just manage your time like an adult.

    Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk

  7. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by TCinVA View Post
    Academically it was easier for me to go back. You have the benefit of a lot more life experience and you're working toward a very concrete goal of self improvement. This is not how a lot of people in their late teens approach college.

    Your professors will likely love you. You are more likely to have interest in actually learning the subject and doing quality work instead of wanting to regurgitate power point presentations on an exam and write the bare minimum number of words using the bare minimum number of sources for a paper.

    Because you are an adult working a job and perhaps taking care of a family, most professors will likely be more than willing to be more flexible with you than they are with people who aren't coming to classes or exams because they are hung over or want to take a ski trip with their friends. The fact that you had mandatory overtime or a sick kid is going to be much more well received. Occasionally you will encounter a prick PHD who will make no exceptions, but most will be very reasonable.

    Your fellow students will likely be extremely unimpressive. They will still be children...and not very well behaved children at that. You will find working with them on group project will likely be the absolute worst part of your experience. There may be some fantastic exceptions, but as a general rule you will feel like you're from a completely different species. Because you are, really.

    The pace of progress is slower because you cannot devote yourself fully to college thanks to having adult responsibilities...but you can take advantage of that pace to really focus and do excellent work.

    If you show up to class, take halfway decent notes, do the assignments, and study even a little bit it will be nigh unto impossible for you to fail most classes. Things vary from college to college and even from discipline to discipline within the same institution, but by-in-large if you do the bare minimum you are likely to perform significantly better than many of your fellow students because they cannot be bothered to do that.

    Yes, it really is that bad.
    If you are willing to do more than the bare minimum you are likely to pull more than the bare minimum out of your instructor...so develop that relationship...especially if they are tenured and influential within their department.

    The more you delve into hard sciences...math, physics, chemistry, etc...the harder the course work will be and the better your fellow students are likely to be. Partially because of the material...partially because a lot of the people teaching those classes are associate profs with English as a second or third language. Whenever possible, use resources like Rate My Professor and asking around to try and get some intel on a particular instructor. It's bad enough to struggle with the material without having to throw in a severe language barrier on top of that.

    If you are in the harder math and science disciplines, there are often tutoring programs at the school. Take full advantage of them, or of any study groups you can get into.
    This is encouraging, thank you.

    Referencing the kids, it's sad in a way, but then again, it was that way when I got my Associates. Thing is, in my technical classes, I was very very good. It was the general studies stuff that I didn't put the effort into that I should have back then. I had a guy in his 30's back then that would always partner up with me in our lab assignments in the technical classes because he knew I was damn good, and getting the lab done early meant leaving early, which got him home in time to do some stuff before he had to be at work at 3 in the afternoon. I liked doing labs with him because he was a veteran and I got to hear some pretty cool Army stories. Now I guess I'm going to be in his shoes, the older dude looking for a bright youngster to pair with.

  8. #28
    Member SGT_Calle's Avatar
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    Feb 2012
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    Upstate SC
    I say go for it!
    I joined the Army band strait out of high school in the late 90's because I didn't really want to go to college yet and it sounded like fun (and I passed the auditions). I planned on four years then get out and go to college for music Ed. using the GI Bill.
    13 years later I got out, transferred into the SC NG. I knew music Ed was not what I wanted anymore so I worked odd jobs and procrastinated on getting into school again. At 35 I started into a Architectural Engineering Technologies program at our local tech school thinking I would just do the two year program or transfer into the Arch program at Clemson.
    I just started my third semester at school and things are going pretty great. The biggest challenge for me was just time management and getting reacquainted with school. One of my professors got me into a drafting job back in November for a big project that the firm just needed more manpower on, churning out drawings. My work ethic and personality (and moderate skill at this point) have turned that into a very promising gig, they were all to happy to get someone new in that was motivated, willing to learn fast, and hungry for a challenge. This semester I'm working M,W,&F in the office and taking two classes T&Th. The professor that got me the job is giving me work credit for two of his classes so that I can accomplish this. That keeps me at a full class load (14 credit hrs) for my GI Bill stuff and has me working doing exactly what I want to be doing.
    My only regret is waiting to get started. The transition into school was hard but it's totally worth it.


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  9. #29
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    Columbus Ohio Area
    I started college in my 30's. Some aspects were easy. Basically, 95% of classes are very easy to get an A in. The teacher tells you what assignments to do and when to do them by, and you do them on time and get an A. I personally like some aspects of online learning for some courses, but it does not work for every course. For example, if you're taking something like a history course where you just read the book, listen to the lectures and take tests on the material, then online is the way to go. You get to choose when you want to study, and can study when your brain is freshest. On the other hand, some information from other courses either needs the benefit of practicing a skill, or seeing something visually in person, and some classes like, for example philosophy might benefit more from the open discussion of other student's opinions, which you can't really get over a discussion board during an online course.

  10. #30
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    East Greenwich, RI
    I went into the Army right out of high school in 74. I took a few classes while in the service but waited until I was in my 30s to finish my undergraduate. I was working full time with the LSP Criminal Intelligence Unit at the time with some unorthodox work schedule issues. I was a MUCH better student than at 20. Occasionally, my work schedule conflicted with class but every professor understood and we were able to work out acceptable alternatives.

    In my 40s, I finished an MPA. Going to school as an older, non-traditional student was a great experience. For the most part, your professors understand you are there to learn. Your life experiences will add much to the class discussion and will help frame the academics with real world experience.

    The most important advice I can offer is develop good study habits and stay on top of assignments.
    Last edited by LSP552; 01-16-2016 at 11:55 AM.

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