For whatever reason, and the list is long, many people decide to finish their schooling on a part time basis. It doesn't matter the reason, what is important is that you are attending college, on a part time basis, and you need to make certain things work out. It is important for you to succeed as a part time student so you must be prepared.
Success is spelled as many different ways as there are part time students striving for it. What does it mean to succeed at your venture into part time schooling? For our example we are going to define success as passing all classes taken and graduating within a pre-determined amount of time with little or no disruption to your home life. Let's take a look at the proverbial list of ten important things to hopefully, secure your chances of succeeding at being a part time student.
1) Long term goal: Set your sites immediately. If you are going to be a part time student, your task is going to take longer than most other students as it is. You really don't have the freedom to play around in several different areas. You must drive your stake and head for it. Even before talking to a counselor, make your mind up as to what field you want to get an education in and even what position you would like to hold in that field. Establish your goal right up front.
2) Be practical: Remember, you are part time. In America anything is possible, but still, you are part time. If you want to ultimately reach your goal you must be realistic about how you are going to get there. Be practical and select something that you are both interested in and maybe even have some experience in already. Some of the more attractive, lucrative fields may beckon you but they may not be the best way to go as a part time student. They could be difficult enough as a full time sutdent who has zero other distractions. Choose something that you are confident you can successfuly achieve.
3) Schedule: Set your daily schedule to make room for daily studies and other required time for your classes. If you have a family, try to be socially friendly at school but don't forget you are first a family member and secondly a student. Try not to spend your precious free time at school, save it for your more precious family. If you are a Mom or a Dad, you have stronger obligations at home, make certain to reserve room for your family and home life in your busy new schedule. You are part time, don't try to become full time.
4) Go local: Most metropolitan areas of any size today have a community college of some kind. Some will even have a University. Concentrate on your local resources. Try to schedule all your activity in your immediate area. The less time you spend on commuting, the more time you have for family and / or your studies. Local schools may not have the highly sought after letter head but what your looking for is an education any way. Stick with the locals.
5) Slow: Remember, you are part time. Be patient and stay part time. Schedule no more than one class a term. Go slow and ensure your success. You are probably paying some of the tuition yourself. Every class you fail is just wasted tuition. Make sure you will shine in every class you attend. The ego stroking you will get will be worth it. Go slow and reach your goal in one piece.
6) Persistent: Going slow is just part of it. You also must make certain to stick with it. Make your part time venture a regular part of your daily life. Attend right through sumer. Schedule that one class for every single term. Never let up. You are only taking one class at a time anyway so just make sure you keep taking at least one class. Try to make your challenge a regular part of your life; make it a habit.
7) Finances: If it's possible, apply for and secure every bit of financial aid you can find. Going to school will be expensive, no matter how slow you do it. It is especially interruptive if you are also trying to raise a faimly. Go to the financial aid office and just lay yourself at their mercy. Tell them you don't know a thing about what they do but you need help. I have always had extremely good fortune with the financial aid office. Whatever financial help you can get will help lessen the burden of losing your time and a little bit of your freedom.
8) Communicate: Yes, you are only part time, but you are still a student. Do not hesitate to raise your hand in class. Many college students don't like asking questions during class but if you don't know or if you are donfused you have to find out. Once you leave and go back to your busy every day life, you are, for all practical purposes, cut off from any of the valuable, available learning resources. Many of your classmates will leave the classroom and go straight to the library or a study center. Many of them live right there. You don't have that privelege, you have to find out what you can while you are there with the instructor. Be brave and ask questions.
9) Study time: This will be a tough one but absolutely required. You need to block out a certain time period at home where everyone knows that Mom is studyng, or don't bother Dad he's working. Try to be consistent here. Maybe every single night from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM or something equally as specific. If you don't have anything to study, consider taking the time anyway, you have earned it, now enjoy it. If your studies demand more time, try to be stingy with your family time. Work very hard to stay within that established time block. You must study but don't punish your family as a result.
10) Attend: This may be the toughest one of all. You have to go to class. Don't depend on your knowledge learned or experience in the world, you must attend. So many things are going to get in the way; birthdays, joy-rides, household chores and duties, family visits, on and on. You have already set your goal, you are approaching it in a persistent manner, now don't trip yourself up just because you want to go get an ice cream with everyone. Get to class!
The rewards of having finally met your goal of graduation will be so stimulating you will wonder why you didn't do it a long time ago. All your struggles and worries will be behind you and now all you have ahead of you is that better paying position. I wish you good fortune in whatever part time student venture you may have in mind; you won't regret it.