Photo by Tony the Misfit

I'm curious. . . why didn't you attend college right out of high school? Here's my story: I started college right out of high school, but ended up dropping out. There were a number of factors why. I lived in a remote town in British Columbia, Canada and there were no post-secondary opportunities available there when I graduated from high school. I ended up at a large university 400 miles from home and it was culture shock for someone from such a small place. I was used to being one of the better students in high school, and when I started classes at this university, I soon found out I was only average among these students. I was homesick, and just couldn't get myself motivated enough to do well. Not wanting to put my parents into a lot of debt when my heart just wasn't in it, I dropped out.

I married just a short time later at age 21, and had two children in quick succession at ages 22 and 24. Like many marriages undertaken at too tender of an age, my marriage ended in divorce in 1998. I was still living in that same little town, with no good job prospects and not much of an education. I worked for a year doing bookkeeping for a law firm, but I knew in my heart that it wasn't my calling. Luckily, by that time both a community college and an extension campus of a university had been started in my little town. I enrolled in the community college in Fall 1999.

Paying for college myself was a great motivator. As well, there were many other students like me who were a bit older and couldn't or didn't take the opportunity to continue their studies the first time around. We supported each other in our studies, and were also pretty competitive about getting the best grades possible. I continued attending the little college in 2000, and also enrolled in courses through the university extension. Many courses through the extension were audio or video conferenced in to us; this was great if the equipment and technology was working--but half the time it didn't.

I grew tired of the very limited course selection available and the limitations of the delivery method. I had heard many great things about Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington and put in an application to attend there. At the time, GU had a program specifically for adult students that granted a 40% tuition reduction. I was accepted and packed up the family and moved to Spokane. I was more than ready this time, I had learned to concentrate and attend to my own needs. At no time did I ever neglect my family for my studies, but I will say they learned to go somethings on their own. I graduated in 2004 with a 3.70 GPA, not bad if I say so myself.

If I had it to do all over again, would I still go this route? Probably not. I'm not going to lie to you--it's a tough road to attend college while you're raising a family. If Ma and Pa are willing to pay for it the 1st time around, you'd be smart to let them (only if you're going to apply yourself diligently of course.) But I'm here to say it's not impossible to go back to college as an adult. You just have to really want it and want to be more than you've ever been, and do more than you've ever done for yourself.

That's my story; what's yours? I'd really like to know some of the reasons why my readers didn't go to college when they were younger, and why they are attending or thinking of attending college now. Are you like me, and going back after a divorce or death of a spouse? Have you been laid off in the curent economic meltdown and want to increase your job prospects? What held you back from attending back then, and what's holding you back from attending now (if anything?) Has online learning made a difference in your decision to attend college now? If you have already gone back, my readers would love to hear how you're coping, and what enables you to be successful now if you weren't "back in the day."

Thanks in advance for your repsonses.

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9 Tips For the Back-to-School Mom - Organization is Everything!
By Karen Fusco

Well, just about everything. If you’re a mom who’s headed back to school, you want to get serious about time management, delegating, well, everything. Here are nine tips to help you get both you and your children back to school easily, confidently and most importantly, quickly!

1. Ditch Perfectionism. The dust on top of the furniture? Protective covering. Smudge on the front door? All your best friends come to the back door anyway. Perfection isn’t everything, especially when you have a test to prepare for.

2. Delegate. Even young children—and husbands!—can pitch in. And they should, no matter what Mom’s doing. Helping gives children (and Dads) a feeling of competence and confidence which helps their self-esteem (yes, Dads, too).

3. Be Realistic. No one, not even Oprah or Martha Stewart, has it all or can do it all. Don’t believe me? Then tell me why Oprah just gave her best friend a million dollars? For all the help she gave Oprah along the way, that’s why. Celebrities have staffs who do it all for them, they don’t do it themselves—and neither can you, unless you employ a staff of 20 full-time people. Keep expectations of what you can and cannot do in any 24-hour day realistic, and both you and your family will be a lot happier.

4. Flexibility Is Queen Every Day. When you’re juggling school, work and family, you have to be flexible and be able to shift priorities quickly. Think of life as one large yoga exercise, and be ready to bend and stretch as needed, when needed.

5. Play Beat The Clock. Setting deadlines is a great way to motivate you to take care of the most important priorities. Create deadlines for your tough chores and assignments (and your children’s) and put a portion of your time aside each day to tackle the largest ones. This will keep you from getting crazed the night before your midterm when your son’s science project is due the next day.

6. Organize, Organize, Organize. Don’t just talk about it, do it. Pack lunches, lay out clothes, bathe, get book bags ready, and set out dishes and non-perishable breakfast items the night before. This will not only save you time in the mornings, but also make them far less stressful overall. Have a place for everything—make sure everyone knows where those places are, and let them go there all by themselves!

7. Know Your Prime Time. Everyone has a time of day or night when they perform some tasks better than others. For example, studying may be easier at night after everyone’s gone to bed, and mornings are your best time for household chores. Take time to learn what your prime time is for the truly important tasks you need to accomplish daily—then use it to your advantage.

8. Don’t Learn To Say No, Say It! We all know how to say “No”, we simply don’t do it often enough. Don’t let yourself be bullied or guilt-tripped into taking on projects or volunteer work that strips you of valuable time you need to spend elsewhere. You won’t be in school forever, and those volunteer organizations will still be around when you’re finished and have more time.

9. Reward Yourself. You are marvelous, Mom! Just look at everything you do every day—and on top of it all, you’re acing school and making it to your daughter’s swim meets and your son’s soccer games, and on time! Have that bowl of ice cream (two scoops is fine, really), and give yourself a pat on the back. You deserve it!

Copyright 2006 Karen Fusco

Karen Fusco is co-founder of http://www.SilkBow.com which supports Busy Moms with free gift ideas and helpful tips to meet the challenges of motherhood. SilkBow is the perfect place for the perfect gift. Karen can be reached directly at: karen@SilkBow.com.

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Photo by demibrooke

Want to go back to school, but unsure what field of study you should enter? Been downsized in the current economic downturn and unsure as to your next move? Here is some food for thought to start you on the right track towards choosing the right field for you.

 In your last or current job, what part of your job do you enjoy most? Loathe most? Make a list of the pros and cons of this job. Do the pros outweigh the cons, or vice versa? Would staying in the same field but getting a degree or an advanced degree advance your career to make more money, take on more challenging assignments, or allow you to lead others? Or is there nothing that really appeals to you in your current field?

What are your goals, financially and in terms of personal growth? Is going back to college the only way you can attain these goals? Are there any certificate programs of much shorter duration than a full-fledged degree that will put you where you want to be? Investigate all possibilities before you start headlong into what will be an expensive, sometimes exhausting, but always exhilarating journey of pursuing a degree as an adult learner.

It’s never too late to begin training for a new career if you really want it, but you owe it to yourself to investigate all options before you commit to a program. You don’t want to get two years into a program, decide that it’s not for you and have to change majors—with a brand new set of prerequisite courses, not to mention the wasted money in tuition and textbooks.