Are You Sure You Want to go Back to College?

Some jobs don’t require a college degree like a full-time stay-at-home parent, an artist, actor, writer, juggler, bus driver, police officer, real estate broker, construction worker or sales representative. If you’d like to make one of these your profession then you’re off the hook. If not, you’ve got work to do, like thinking of going back to college.

The first thing you must do is let your partner or spouse in on your proposed conquest. Scenario one response: “Honey, we need you here–me and the kids and the dog and the chores.”–you crawl into a hole. Scenario two: “Great! I’m glad you decided to take up a hobby.”… In that case, most likely, he or she will become the stranger who sleeps in your bedroom when the professors decide to let you come home. If you don’t have a partner or spouse, then you must let yourself in on the idea that you’re actually an adult going back to college. Then you’ve got to decide if college is something you can do outside of your head.

“Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.” – Malcolm Forbes

College is an emotional and financial investment, not a feat that’s done between household chores. College will consume your life. College will be your life for the next few months or years, although towards the end, you’d wish it would all just go away. The last thing you’d want to do is bog down your loved ones with Macbeth tragedies and Socrates’ rants. When I was failing college algebra, which I so humblingly divulge, I had night terrors, spotting my professor plodding through weeded fields like Big Foot. Now that I’ve talked most of you out of going back to school, are the rest of you still with me? Good!

The average age of a community college student is 29*.

It’s best to have a clear idea of your goals and why college might be right for you. This way you can better prepare yourself for the challenges ahead, because there will be challenges. Scramble through your brain and make a list. Is it that you want to make more money? A career change? Could it be that your job industry is downsizing, sending jobs overseas and you’ve been perspiring ever since? Is it for self-esteem reasons or just something you’ve always wanted to do? Having a solid plan will keep you focused on the end and not the journey of finishing college.

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* Stafford, Susan H. Community College: Is it Right for You? (21) Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing, Inc. 2006.

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