If you plan to undertake college studies as a non-traditional student, then congratulations on joining thousands of other students in this venture. Non-traditional student participation in colleges that offer this opportunity around the country have seen growth over the past decade through applications by individuals who need flexible schedules and who cannot attend a college at a distance. Constraints that create roadblocks to a traditional college education include work, family responsibilities, and lack of funds for attending traditional bricks-and-mortar institutions. The following tips can help you increase the value of that time spent in non-traditional settings. For the most part, the information provided is not much different than success advice often offered to traditional students.
Study Time Considerations
Currently, you may face many demands on your time, including family, work, and personal interests. Think about your non-traditional college experience much like you would if you had to leave to attend a college away from home…you may need to eliminate some responsibilities from your life, such time spent on recreational activities or civic responsibilities to attend to studies.
Balancing demands with the time needed for classes and studying won’t be easy. But if education is important to you, you’ll find a balance that works for you and your family. If you think that you might need an hour of study time for each class, double that amount of time so you won’t feel pressured to hand in less-than-satisfactory work. Managing your study time can make class time less stressful, and you can build confidence in your ability to handle higher education.
Time Management
Outside planning for study time, you’ll also need to understand your personal willingness to make your time more productive. Your organizational skills can help you to plan ahead, so you’re not working on two research papers at one time. Learn how to read a book so that you can grasp its concept and argument, so you can spend more time with your family.
Resources you can use to help you increase your time-management skills include:
- Mind Tools Time Management: Mind Tools offers simple, practical techniques that have helped the leading people in business, sport and public service reach the pinnacles of their careers.
- Personal Time Management Guide: This website focuses solely on time-management skills, including ways to avoid procrastination.
- Time management: This guide is an educational public service that shows how students can become more successful through effective time-saving techniques.
- Time management: Tips to reduce stress and improve productivity: The Mayo Clinic provides tips on how to avoid feeling overwhelmed by projects that may seem too numerous and complex.
Be Confident
Adults and beginning college students alike sometimes find it difficult to achieve immediate success. Remember that studies are gauged by midterms and finals, with various factors thrown in along the way. Sometimes you may not know how you are doing until the middle of your quarter or semester. But, if you start off strong, and if you’re well prepared to work hard, you can excel.
Be prepared and gain confidence by refreshing or redeveloping your study skills and your test-taking strategies. Some sites that can help you with these endeavors include:
- How To Study: Although this site may seem geared to younger students, it contains basic principles, skills, and techniques for studying that you may have forgotten.
- Study Guides and Strategies: This entire website is filled with tools that can help you study any course and learn with more ease.
- Study Skills: This Wikipedia entry can provide you with all the keywords you need to search for study strategies across the Internet.
- Survival Strategies for Taking Tests: This simple guide can provide you with a test run on the eve of any test.
- Test Taking Tips: This website is simple to use, and can provide you with the tools you need to overcome fears about taking tests.
You’ll also need to make sure your computer and its software programs are compatible with your online classes. Beyond this measure, you also may need to brush up on your computer skills and feel comfortable with participating in online group discussions and in using electronic library resources.
- Basic Online Skills: This site can help with computer skills, email techniques, word processing and web skills.
- Basic Steps in the Research Process: Use this Cambridge Rindge & Latin School guide to learn how to research a topic.
- Library Savvy: Tutorials to Improve Your Skills: The University of Maryland offers tutorials on how to use important library resources as well as techniques needed to be an effective researcher.
Involve Your Family
No matter if you’re married or single, your desire to enter a college lifestyle will affect everyone around you. Some family members may be stressed about choice, and other family members may be against your willingness to restructure you life for college studies. If you involved your family members in your decision and allow them to make suggestions, they can become involved and supportive.
This support is important, as some family members may need to take on more responsibility because of your choice. You can help make this a positive experience, as more responsibilities can help those family members grow as individuals. Also, keep in mind that your college courses won’t last forever, and your ability to make more money with a degree can favorably impact your family life.
Learning and studying at home is much like running a home business. Your family members can help by identifying a place at home that becomes your space for studying. They also can block time out for you so that they don’t rely on you during your busiest hours.
At the same time, you can honor your family by using your time wisely. If you use the time management tools mentioned above, you can balance your studies with family life, helping to create a more positive environment for your educational goals. Here are some tips to help you succeed in this area:
- 4 Ways to Balance Family and School: This article provides one perspective on how to balance school and family life, especially for online learners.
- Stay Balanced: How to Balance Family, Work and Education: Education Portal provides tips on how to balance work, studies, and family.
- Work — Family Balance: Although this specific tip leaves education out of the equation, look down the page to find numerous articles about balancing lifestyles.
Ask for Help
Finally, you can learn how you’re doing when you ask for help. Ask for peer student help, instructor guidelines, family help, and help from outside the family. Obtain an advisor if your school offers that option so you can discuss how to best accomplish your goals. Learn about the resources available to you before you begin classes, so you can ask for help in all the right places when you need it the most.
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