Financial tips for adults returning to school?

[StephMK]

If you did it, how -what worked, what didn't, what would you change if you had to do it again, do you regret it? I have been looking into it for a few years and am finally convinced I have to make it work somehow, there must be a way. I want to change careers, (I have BA in Psych & work in business) & need additional schooling to be able to teach/counsel.

Financially, scheduling, budgeting? What helped you survive studying, paying school expenses & raising a family?

I will need student loans to help out and am going to start the FAFSA tomorrow. I did our taxes today so I'll be ready.

Anyone use the TEACH grant? Just found that tonight - grant to help pay if you agree to teach a high need area or low income school for 4 yrs post grad.

Thanks for any advice & would love to hear experiences of those that have done it!

 

[lucigo]

My husband just spent the last 5 years in college after retiring from the Navy, and I have 2 kids in college now. Go to financial aid and see if they have a blanket scholarship form to fill out for their school. If so write the biggest sob story in the "additional information" section that you can come up with, about why you need this education and how hard it is to juggle this with raising kids, etc.

One of the hardest things for the family was getting used to a new schedule every semester, and the next was his home office space that multiplied until it took over my dining room.

Good luck!!!

 

[Gretchen2]

Hi,

First I would do a lot of research regarding the programs/schools in your area. After working for about five years post undergrad, I went back to school for my teaching certification. I continued to work while I took one class a semester (they were classes that had to be taken sequentially and were prereqs for other classes so it made sense to start part time). After taking two classes, I left my job (used student loans and credit cards) and went back full time. I would avoid the credit card use these days if possible.

Most teaching certification programs take about four semesters full time. There are a few programs that are a full calendar year masters with teaching certification. You could also look for online offerings through reputable schools although I do not know if they offer those for certification.

I do not know of anyone who used the grant you referred but do have friends who worked in Detroit schools and were burnt out after 3 years and moved to other districts.

Gretchen

 

[dakcp2001]

I saved for a few years before I went back, I took a leave of absence from my former job and work part time on weekends. I use financial aid for tuition and fees. I thought I had planned well, then my first month back my car died, and i was NOT expecting books to cost over 1K which they did (nursing). We cut WAY back on groceries, cable, car insurance etc. All the extras are gone! And really not missed much at all.

We had to give up a lot to make it work, but honestly now that i see how little we can live off of, I am actually ashamed at how much we were spending on frivolities when we were both working full time. I will never go back to spending the way I did before. We really stay in a lot, but its great to be comfy cozy and watch movies, and we dont go out to eat much at all.

Studying at home is only possible when no one else is home, otherwise there are far too many distractions. I dont like the school library, too loud and too many cell phones. I do a lot of studying at a local library and at a Starbucks during the day when its relatively empty.

It might take you a while to save up, but it is worth it to not have to juggle working full time and school.


You can make it work! Just takes a lot of planning, and being able to change plans when you come to a bump int he road. There have been a fewe!

 

[lastminutemom]

In many states, there are hiring freezes for teachers (in most places, school counseling jobs have never been easy to get.)

I tell you this because this is a huge change from even 18 months ago. I would find a way to do this for the least investment possible as you are no longer guaranteed a job. (The situation where you are may be very different and of course, we can only hope that things improve in the next few years, but it is important to understand the CURRENT reality of the teaching career.)

Programs like TEACH are generally vary by state. If you are interested, I would try and visit a school or two that would qualify you to receive the grant. Let the principal know that you are interested in teaching in high need/low income area and would she/he be able to let you shadow a teacher for a day? High need probably means math, science or special ed (though again this varies by state.) Regardless of the economy if you can get a certificate in secondary (middle or high) math or science, I would do this. These fields are always in demand and easier to find jobs.

I work in education policy and these are really different times.

 

[arielmomma]

I went back to law school while my oldest son was a baby (he was born after my 1st year). I was fortunate enough to be able to quit my job and allow my husband to support us. Before hand, we paid off all of our bills, leaving only the regular monthly stuff that you can't cut. We dropped out of all extra spending activities. I also took as many classes on weekends and in the evenings so that we never had to pay for day care. I also finished as quickly as possible to avoid any extra fees. Either James or I was always home with the baby. Make sure that once you start, you apply for scholarships. There are tons of grants and scholarships out there. I managed to get a full ride based on my test scores. I agree with the person who posted before me with the advice about saving. Try to save as much money ahead of time to cover all of the unexpected things that happen in life and make sure that you have as few extra bills as possible. It wasn't fun, but we survived. It helped immensely that we were prepared ahead of time.

 

[lucigo]

In many states, there are hiring freezes for teachers (in most places, school counseling jobs have never been easy to get.)

Regardless of the economy if you can get a certificate in secondary (middle or high) math or science, I would do this. These fields are always in demand and easier to find jobs.

I work in education policy and these are really different times.

This is what my DH just got his degree in (middle school math/science). There are no jobs available...hiring freezes all over Florida. We are wishing he had gone with ESE now, and he may go back and get his certificate in that. (He teaches at an autism camp in the summer.) He was very lucky to get one of the last jobs before the county put a freeze on, and its at a very rough alternative school. We are waiting out this economy and hoping for better days ahead.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

DH and I both went back to school in our late 30s/early 40s and got laid off from our new professions 2 years later, due to changes in Medicare reimbursement. We borrowed around $40,000 and really had to stretch out our loan repayment due to the layoffs. If we had it to do over again, we wouldn't do it over again, and we most certainly wouldn't have borrowed money. I have a "press on regardless" attitude about life , but DH really, really regrets his decision to go back to school.

I agree that you should check around and see if you can get certification by going to night school or even an online program with a legitimate university. A co-worker of mine just got her teacher certification by going to school at night while she worked fulltime.

 

[jodeeluvsdisney]

I am taking 1-2 classes at a time to complete my Master's degree at our local university. I am still working full-time and there is no way I can quit my job to go to school as we have 2 houses on the market (not including the home we live in) and so with 3 mortgages alone things are tight. I know it will take me longer to finish, but I'll still have my degree in less than 3 years.

Studying happens on my lunch hour, most evenings and weekends. You just have to be disciplined, it is hard though. I am taking out federal loans (mostly subsidized) to pay for school.

Good Luck! I hope the teaching field looks more promising in the future!! It is not great in my area. I am a firm believer that higher education is never a waste though!

 

[barkley]

dh just began doing exactly what you are talking about.

we are trying to pay as we go for tuition/books (no eligibility for most grants because he already has a degree, scholarships were impossible to apply for at this point because he has a 10 years lapse in education so no teachers to get letters of recc from). we may look at the grants when he's doing the full bore credentialing program (he needs to get some pre-reqs and a degree that they will let you get a credential with in our state-fortunatly he does'nt need too many courses in that respect because allot of his units were acceptable in the major he went into).

as far as making it work-he contends at this point it's working because i am his "admin assistant" (i keep track of all the financial stuff, college correspondance, when he needs to register for class, appointments...). i also help him out when he has assignments that require research (library books, internet searches) i gather the stuff so he has it to do the assignment.

we purposely schedualed his classes half during the day/half at nite. that way he's only gone 2 nites a week so he's not entirely cut off from the kiddos. it gives him the quiet of the day hours to do his homework (and he does'nt have to compete with dd for the computer to do homework ). he goes to school around the same time as the kids, gets home later in the morning and then has that time to do his homework before his 2 evenings of nite classes.

if you are set on doing it make sure to see an academic counselor NOW. even though dh has a degree he had to be initialy considered as a freshman for the program he's going into-and our state and most others are realy scaling back on freshman admissions for next fall. some colleges are also cutting programs (the one dh is going into is not accepting anymore students for the next couple of years at least-he was told he was lucky to have applied as a mid-year student, he would'nt have gotten accepted for the fall).

the actual teaching program dh will do is 6 quarters long (summer through fall a year later) but he qualifies to teach after 4 quarters (last 2 finish off the masters). we were concerned with job prospects but we are lucky in one respect-dh and the kids get benefits through me so being a sub, a part-timer or a contract with no benefits is'nt an issue (and in our region that's where allot of the openings are-they pay better salary wise than f/t perm. but you have to forego the benefits).

 

[Leajess99]

If you did it, how -what worked, what didn't, what would you change if you had to do it again, do you regret it? I have been looking into it for a few years and am finally convinced I have to make it work somehow, there must be a way. I want to change careers, (I have BA in Psych & work in business) & need additional schooling to be able to teach/counsel.

Financially, scheduling, budgeting? What helped you survive studying, paying school expenses & raising a family?

I will need student loans to help out and am going to start the FAFSA tomorrow. I did our taxes today so I'll be ready.

Anyone use the TEACH grant? Just found that tonight - grant to help pay if you agree to teach a high need area or low income school for 4 yrs post grad.

Thanks for any advice & would love to hear experiences of those that have done it!

I prefer taking online classes through our college as I am able to work on my assignments when i have time and I don't have to worry about sitting in a class with the college age generation. Some of the ones in my classes are rude and disruptive to classes.
I would recommend contacting the school or searching online for adult/non-traditional scholarships as well.

Good luck going back to school.

 

[StephMK]

Thanks for the replies! Yes, I am trying to get stuff paid off, cut back unneeded spending, etc. in anticipation. I think that is my biggest fear.

Luckily, I live in a city w/2 great colleges, both have post-BA teaching programs. One is just starting a cert/master's program. I spoke to the coordinator last fall but fear stopped me from moving forward. They have a 1/2 price tuition program for postBA going into teaching. I'm comparing the programs now.

I'd like to get into early/elem special ed. and worked at a preschool that had some autism enrollments & aided a CP boy at one point, lots of Scout volunteering - I like working with kids.

I know there are a few pre-reqs I need that are offered at night. I am thinking of applying for a para job at a special needs school nearby that's hiring. My hope is to be able to work with kids and be around the classes so I can get more experience. Then hopefully if all goes well, maybe they will let me student teach there & possibly move into a teacher position when I'm certified. Most are night classes but there will be a few that are during the day.

There is an online cert program at one school in the state but it doesn't look very comprehensive & I don't want to go into a class unprepared. I would like online though if I can find it.

In our areas, there are still a lot of teaching positions hiring - I've watched the want ads the last year or two, and know that special ed is usually hiring. We're close to a few districts so I think my odds are not too bad.

I appreciate the responses!!

 

[branv]

You didn't really specify what your home situation is, but I'm going ahead and responding as someone in a relationship who has returned to school. For full disclosure, we don't have kids. But DH and I both returned to school as adults, and I did a seminar speaking with the spouses of adults returning to school who did have kids. We all got and shared some great tips -- all of the below tips were ones that we follow and I also learned that those with kids found worked best in the long run:

One -- if you're married, in a relationship, or co-parent with someone, it's very hard to do this if you aren't a team. Heck, even the kids have to get on board. They need to know that this may be your thing, but he/she is absolutely going to "suffer" right along with you. He/she is going to have to take up some slack, learn flexibility, and learn to put socializing/events/family-time off or do without b/c you have school to do. But as long as they know this won't last forever, and that there are greater rewards at the end, you can do without now. They also need to be able to kick you in the rear or give you the reassurance you need when it gets hard and you feel like giving up. And you have to be able to listen to them vent now and again about how hard it is for them. Patience, understanding, teamwork.

Two -- THE CALENDAR. So VERY important. You need to write down EVERYTHING on a calendar your family can easily access. DH uses both one of those really large eraseable calendars as well as sharing his Outlook calendar with me. When you register for classes, write down those class dates and time (and room #'s in case of emergency) for every day you're in class. Then, when you get your syllabus, write down when papers, tests, etc. are due. This will let your family know those periods that you won't just be studying, but will also be ramping up to something important. With DH I know that in the weeks between projects, he can be a little more flexible, has more time. But, for instance, the weekend before a test we don't do a single thing. His job is to study.

Three -- get help where you can. I edit (heavily sometimes ) DH's papers -- he's a computer guy, I'm a lit gal. After finishing a paper, he hands me the source material and I complete his MLA citations/bibliography for him. Often, I help him research, or I go to the library to pick out some books for him to peruse. I don't do his work for him, but I certainly serve the function of tutor, editor, clerical assistant. Helping him is self-serving in the end as it decreases his stress and frees-up some time for us to do family things.

Four -- Set a die-hard study schedule, and make it non-negotiable. Now we both know in emergencies it will flex, but start out with a "Mom/Spouse will be studying every night from 8-10, and every Saturday/Sunday from 2-5 and 8-10" or whatever works for you, of course Your job is to learn to turn away requests that others can handle perfectly fine without you, and ignore the guilt of doing so. It's not easy. Your spouses job is to learn that he/she has to pretend you aren't even in the house during those times. They'll have to figure it out for themselves. If you don't have a study you can claim for yourself, set up a study center in your bedroom and shut the door. Lock it if you have to. If noise is an issue, buy some headphones and play some music that won't interphere your studying.

Five -- and from a budget standpoint, going to classes can be a budget buster from the eating side. If you physically go to classes, for working adults, that's often during meal-times. You can get into the trap of snacking at vending machines, or eating meals at the campus cafeteria, but it adds up. The days DH goes to school, I pack him a lunch and a dinner. He will eat dinner at work right before he leaves (about 5 pm), and I pack snack bars/water for him for during break (around 8 pm). Sometimes when he gets home he'll have another snack. Otherwise, for instance, I forgot to pack him a snack the other night and he spent $4 just getting a water, pack of gum, and a snack. And if he'd also bought dinner? Ouch, it would add up.

I'm not saying you'll accomplish any of this overnight. It may take 3-4 semesters before you get it down. And the resentment will flare-up suddenly sometimes from the spouse/kids, and you'll fall off the wagon now and again when you get burned out. But like any good "diet" you just get back on that horse, or talk it out, and you'll make it.

Best of luck to you.

 

[crisi]

I did this.

I continued to work full time.

I did it at a school and at a pace where I could pay tuition out of pocket. Didn't take out any loans at all. The pace helped me not only avoid loans, but be able to parent and work full time.

My mother - for the first year or so - helped a lot by watching the kids for study night. Then my sisters both had health issues and I had to make time - but my kids had gotten a little older. My husband was also very helpful.

I tried to take two classes each semester - one in class and one on line or independant study - that way I had a lot of flexibility with the course that didn't have class time.

I did a program that was pretty easy for me. Where other people would spend ten hours a week studying for one class, I seldom needed to put in more than five hours a week for both courses.

 

[Denise6131]

My husband is currently a student. He entered a post bachelor teacher cert program. He should be done at the end of the year I refer to myself as his guidance counselor - generally taking care of financial aid and what not. We've been trying to pay out of pocket but one semester he took three classes which we got a loan for. I don't know about your area but in PA you can be a substitute teacher as long as you have a bach. degree. He's been subbing while going to school. I think it gives him great experience while also offering flexibility from day to day. Good Luck with your endeavor.

 

[kgle]

I am in my third semester of school and should hopefully be starting the nursing program in the fall of this year.

I have one child and honestly my life saver has mainly been online courses. I take my science courses on campus but the remainder- like English, Psychology, etc I have taken online. Its helped out a lot due to the fact that they are so flexible with my schedule and I don't have to pay more for a sitter or anything. Then again, I am a single parent so it might be a bit different for me.

I take out loans each semester to help with living expenses and in the past for added daycare costs (though my mom is keeping him this semester). I also qualify for the Pell grant and a state grant.

As a previous poster mentioned, make sure you take the time out to sit by yourself and study. That has been my main challenge as my 2 year old is a handful!

Good luck!

 

[pezheadmeg]

For me the biggest issue has been TIME. I spend most of my Sunday afternoons in front of the laptop getting school work done, that is in between loads of laundry and getting everything else prepped for the week.

What I find works by far the best for me is to wake-up by 4 at least 2-3 mornings a week and get heavy work done before I head into work. I'm refreshed and no one else is awake to distract me. Yeah it sucks, but in the end it's worth it. On Saturday when I have an afternoon class, I'm at the school library at opening getting work done. It's a very lonely library on Saturday mornings.

Pack your own food, in my quest to be greener I've had my own re-useable water bottles for years. It saves tons of money filling one up and freezing it the night before. There are always snacks in my backpack. A handful of nuts and a protein bar can go a long way. I'll haul my own can of soda around in a can holder all day rather than buying one from the vending machine.

It can be done it just takes a lot of patience. My mother and aunt both went back to grad school in their 40's while raising families. I didn't find my bliss to after bouncing around jobs through most of my 20's. But now that I'm at the place I want to be I'm the happiest I've ever been. Even with all the stress of juggling.

 

[vettechick99]

I have a BS in Psych and I was able to get my teaching certificate through TAPP (GA's alternate program). I didnt' have to go back to school, but it did require me to miss days for workshops and such. So I earned my certificate and taught at the same time.

I am now in grad school which is online, so I fit it around my already very busy schedule. It works out great, although I'm doing 3 projects on a Sunday when I could be playing with DD, so that kinda stinks!

 

[Ephany]

I went completely back to school while DH supported us. Thankfully I have the GI Bill, so I did have an income but things added up. Being a commuter student my gas bill went way up (no public transportation here). I also learned to pack a lunch and keep snacks in my backpack as food on campus was expensive. My books the first semester were a budget-breaker, it wasn't unusual to drop $500+ on books (and that was buying used whenever possible). I resold my books as soon as the course was finished (after verifying I wouldn't need the same text for another class) and that helped a bit. I ended up buying my Ipod because the library was so noisy and my classes were back-to-back all day long so I couldn't leave campus.

My school did offer an Adult Degree Program (ADP) which was specifically designed for working adults to either finish their degrees. I believe those classes were generally in the evenings and on weekends. I also sat next to a young lady at graduation who had completed her entire degree online, although I'm not sure what field she studied.

The hardest part was not being able to do things for/with my family. School came first most of the time. I was the mom sitting in the soccer stands reading a textbook, and I missed field trips for DD because I couldn't miss class. I couldn't just hang out with DH, I always had homework/lab report/paper due. I don't regret it for a second and in a few years hope to be able to completely support us so DH can go back full-time, but it's not easy. If the entire family isn't on board, there can be a lot of resentment because home stuff gets put on hold for school stuff. Good luck!

 

[StephMK]

Wow, it's nice to know there are so many out there that have made it work!
Good suggestions & I plan to print this for inspiration & help!

DH is totally on board. We had a long talk a few times & he's willing to do whatever it takes for me to do this. His hours are flexible in that he can work his 8 hrs anytime from 6am - 6pm. We have a pretty good house routine down as far as laundry, cleaning & are working on better meal planning.

Oldest DD is almost driving & willing to help w/the younger kids -babysitting if there is an hour I leave before DH gets home. We're not a super active family - 2 kids do base/softball & 1 art or swimming but none are in super competitive, high time involvement activities.

DD is in the school musical but again, next year she'll be able to drive herself. She is actually a little of my inspiration - she's a straight A honor student , in 2 choirs, musical & church activities & has no trouble. She is also completely supportive of seeing me transfer to something that makes me happier.

I went back FT to my previous field a year ago & am miserable. DH was not quite on board last fall when I originally signed up for a class so I dropped it & tried changing jobs instead. Not working. I really want to be in a job where it can be frustrating but some sense of personal reward.