Education today has undergone a radical change, mainly as a result of technological advancement in communication methods over the past two decades. Distance education, e-learning methods, virtual universities, part-time evening study programs, and weekend courses have all allowed professionals, from corporate executives to managerial-level employees, to housewives/single mothers as well as the elderly, to enroll into school as students, at any point in their lives.
An individual who returns to school as an adult might not have attended a formal classroom lecture or been a student for several years. Therefore, a school might understandably feel somewhat alien to them. The adult student might also be married and/or parent to children, and probably working full-time. These factors can make returning to school as an adult challenging and demanding.
Choose the school and study program that suits you:
Whether you are well-aware of what you want to study (e.g a short Montessori Teacher Certification Course or a Bachelors in Information Technology) or just starting out with a desire to gain knowledge in one of several areas of your varied interests, you need to do your research and finalize the institution and program you will be enrolling into.
The things you need to research in order to decide on a study program are listed below:
The institution of higher learning: You need to thoroughly search the Internet for available certificate programs or university degrees in order to make the right choice. You can also pay and register online for the chosen program, or order more material regarding courses and fee structure from websites.
Financing: Fee structure is an important factor each individual will need to consider, depending on the amount of money they can dish out for their education.
Location: Whether the institution is near your residence, or near your workplace, or in a different city or country altogether where you will have to relocate - with or without your family - are other factors that will affect your choice of program.
Mode of study: There are several virtual universities that offer purely online courses. For this mode of education, the student never leaves their own home or office in order to study.
Plan your weekly study schedule:
Make an outline or table of your weekly activities, which will probably involve some family commitments, career-related must-do's, and personal leisure time. Divide your time on a weekly and daily basis in such a manner that you can find time to study.
Study at a local library if you can:
Studying as an adult cannot be done at home, particularly when cramming before examinations, unless you have a remote home office or study, in addition to a family that fully cooperates with you regarding your privacy needs (i.e they will not knock on your door for petty reasons when you are studying). Therefore, get membership to a good library nearby where you can study in silence for a few hours.
Cash in on periods of privacy:
This could mean waking up an hour earlier to review for your quiz when the house is quiet, or chucking your novels and newspapers for textbooks while riding the tube or subway to work, or taking along your class audio lectures on your iPod during your run in the park, or going to a coffee bar with your laptop to work on your assignment for an hour or so.
Do not compare yourself to younger students; just focus on doing your best:
As someone who has taught eclectic groups of teens, young adults and the elderly, the greatest factor I noticed hindering educational progress of the older students was their preoccupation with how and why the younger ones were doing better than them in tests and exams. For example, "They have more time to study", or "They do not have family responsibilities". Such comparisons not only impeded the older students' concentration in class, but also made them feel inadequate. Therefore, as an adult, when you return to school, you have to make sure you stop such negative thoughts from becoming an obstacle in your path to academic success.
The one important thing to remember is that returning to school as an adult will not be easy, and yes, the younger ones in your class will always have their sharper mental abilities and comparitively more responsibility-free lives to their advantage. However, this should not bog you down if you keep your goal in mind and work hard to honor your commitment to getting a good further education.