Totally OT--DH returning to college at 41 years young :).

[DonnaL]

I didn't do it, but, my son did. After college he worked almost nine years for an international company and was moving up the corporate ladder at age 30. He was in a successful middle management position, but, really did not enjoy his job. So, at age 30 he applied and was accepted to law school...he's now in his third year of law school and he and his wife are expecting twins in a few months......talk about this being a crazy year!!

 

[elaine amj]

My husband is 43 and just graduated with his Masters this January. It helped that his employer paid a chunk of it. The rest was drawn from our savings. He did it all online for 2 years while working fulltime. There were many lengthy evening conference calls. I also spent nights with him poring over his textbooks helping him to understand certain concepts. Then proofing all his papers. I was really proud of him though...i had expected him to ask me to do more and i ended up doing much less.

On on of our trips, he had to find a computer the day we got back from our cruise and submit an assignment whch took about an hour or so. It also impacted other trips as we worked around his school schedule.

He has actually been studying hard for the last few weeks as tomorrow morning he takes a major exam for his professional certification so he can add some more letters after his name. This one has been the most stressful by far. He has had a hard time focusing and I have had to spend 1-2 hours every evening quizzing him. 2 weeks ago we were on a long weekend trip and he was so stressed at that point that I quizzed him while he drove, he sat down and studied while we did a corn maze and while the kids played at a beach.

I am proud of his dedication. It has taken some from me... But he has done all the hard work. And it has already been paying off. This spring he was hired by a local university to teach an online course.

Since he loves to teach, my vision for retirement is for him to teach several online courses. He can do it while we travel!

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[nemajovc]

My advice (in my 19th yr working at a college) is to make a good plan and keep checking it off.
Check out financial aid- see if u get any help and make sure you calculate costs
Ensure classes are taken in correct order - there may be some given only certain semesters so keep a checklist DON'T miss deadlines
At start of school become familiar with support services such as online writing labs, library services, career counseling etc there may even be discounts included @ movies etc
Look at book costs and try to buy ASAP IF u know u are going to take class - some students order from disct places online and get books after 2 weeks of school but books are expensive so it can b a smart gamble if u have backup planned.

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[mimmi]

I quit my job last year and went back to college.
My case is much easier than yours as my husband has a good job, I only worked part time before I quit, college is almost free over here and I got the possibility to enter a so called work foundation where I get paid a small monthly sum anf have full insurance as long as I study.

But it was still a big change in our lives. My greates fear was standing out too much because of my age but isn't a problem at all, I've found quite a few friends in the group.
Althou I think that my age and experience are a huge advantage concerning my attitude towards studying for exams. I'm not 20 anymore, have no time to waste, so I work harder for exams and am the most successful in the group.

Stepping out of the comfort zone after 13 years in the same job is a scary experience but also a big boosterof the self esteem.

 

[eliza61]

OP, I also wanted to mention some thing a previous poster brought up.
Have your dh really check out on line classes. I took an on line french class just because I've been dying tolearn the language and I could not believe how flexible it was.
Wow if they had offered this when I was in school I would have totally loved it.

 

[pigletto]

As some others have mentioned..it will impact trips. We still found a way to go, but we had to really scrimp in other areas to make that work. We chose to stick with our very small car (Cobalt) for the duration because it's very good on gas. It wasn't perfect but it did the job and we all fit and didn't have a car payment. We were limited to the 3 or 4 weeks a year that he had reading week, or a week between the school portion and the co-op start. Luckily those breaks, with the exception of Christmas feel in moderate crowd times. So I think you'll still be able to find a good week to go, but again, it might not work due to cost. It just depends.

 

[SandrA9810]

If he needs to brush up on skills, like an English course, he can audit classes. Once you have a degree you can't really start from the beginning again. English and math skills are the ones that seem to fade or change drastically over time. So a refresher on those courses won't be a bad idea. Auditing a class is much cheaper than taking it for credit. Depending on his learning style, online classes might not be a good idea. There's pro's and con's to online and classroom learning, but he needs to do what works best so he doesn't get frustrated with it. Many schools are offering nights and weekend classes. So one Friday night or Saturday morning for three hours to go to class on campus (plus the drive).

There's some degrees that are more popular among the older crowd rather than the younger 18-20 yr olds.

 

[JandJ]

Good luck to your DH!! I decided to go back a couple of years ago. I have a Bachelor's but I'm going into a whole different field. I don't have to get another Bachelor's but I might as well considering all the post-bach classes I've had to take! I love it when I see others over 30 (and over 40) in my classes! I joke that I'll be 50 when I finally get my doctorate

Word of warning - you, and your DH, will be amazed (scared?) at how much studying he will have to do. I can't lie - it is not easy. Every semester I would think "oh, I can get this done or that done" but I just couldn't. I was working part-time and volunteering part-time while taking full-time classes and prepping for my doctoral entrance exams. I was burning the candle at both ends and my health suffered, physically and emotionally. If I was not in class, I was studying or sleeping or eating. It was SO much easier when I did this at 18 but I just can't pull an all-nighter anymore, and my mom isn't here to do all the cooking and cleaning and laundry, like she was when I was 18. I can't imagine doing it with kids and I am in awe of those who work, go to school, and have kids

Making a schedule saved my sanity I now carve out time away from the books, time for me, time for DH, and even time for the dog. I highly suggest your DH make a schedule and stick to it. Schedule in studying time, wife time, kid time, and hobby time. He will need to clear his brain and do something for fun every week or else he'll go nuts.

Vacations are now only on winter or summer breaks, and I don't like that, but what can you do. We also don't go to Disney anymore. We live within 2 hours and used to go every month, usually a couple of times per month, but we gave up our Passes because I couldn't take away a study day (and to be honest, we also had a hard time finding a place to put the dog for a day). We love Disney, but we like to vacation in Europe or go on a cruise, so we do that for one to two weeks at a time. One day we'll get the Passes back, but it was a sacrifice we had to make for now.

My motto is: the time is going to go by anyway so don't focus on how old you are or how long it will take - just do it, enjoy it, and know it will be worth it in the end!

 

[goodfood4ursoul]

My husband squeezed 4 years of college into 20
He went to community college part time (pre-internet years) for 10 years to get his AA.
Then he went to two different 4 year colleges before graduating with his BS in 2008 (the same year our DD graduated from HS).
Only one year of that was being a student full time.

When he was deciding whether or not to go back and finish, he said "I'll be 41 when I graduate!"
Heck, you'll be 41 whether you graduate or not, why not be 41 with a Bachelors degree?

Best thing he ever did, set a great example for our kids.
He was always there for family events, yes, he always had a book on hand for studying and writing papers, but he was always there.

These days, online classes make going back to school far more convenient.
There are so many classes and degree programs available.

Here's where DH got his degree, though he took 2 semesters on campus as well: http://www.liberty.edu/online/

Good luck~

 

[DVC-Don]

Good for him ! I was a full time college student when I was in my early 30's.

 

[Jill in Chicago]

I went back to school at 50 years old! (I completed my B.A. back in 1983.)

My goal was to earn my teaching certification. I went full time including both online classes, and ultimately all classes during the school day. I was not working at the time.

Begin with the end in mind. Know exactly what degree you are going for, and from which university. Do not take any class before knowing if it will transfer/be accepted to your final goal university. Keep in mind that there may be a limit of the number of online courses you can take that will be accepted by a university.

Do NOT depend on any online university or 2 year college to give you your information. They do NOT know what the college/university requires, or what rules have changed. I cannot emphasize this enough. You do not want to waste time or money with classes that do not count with your end goal university.

I was confused about your comment about "core" classes. Most of your general education requirements from your B.A. or B.S. will transer, no matter how old they are. BUT you have to check with the end goal university.

Again, do not guess on this. Go to the end choice/end goal university and have them run it all through and make it "legal."

My brain actually hurt when I began this journey. You are making new brain links, and the physical pain is true, not imagined. Some of the courses will be wow o wow tough. Others will be pure joy along with the tough.

Much to my surprise I made 2 new best friends. They are in their 20's. I went in with no expectations of friendship. Other younger students can be cold, but still excellent group partners. I found the majority of younger students very kind to me. I went in with an attitude of future employees together, versus "I'm your mom." I never made "mom," or "I'm the old gal here" types of comments.