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If you are
attending college or university after a lapse of several years, take heart!
I did it, and I survived. Being older than your fellow students can
offer advantages, but also
pose stresses and challenges Here are some tips to help
you.
(1) For
inspiration, check out a wonderful book, The Girls with
the Grandmother Faces. The author entered a college program in her sixties
after she lost her husband and completed an alcohol rehab program. Best
line: After her children warn her against too many extracurricular
distractions, she promises not to run for prom queen.
(2) Don't
expect every professor to be an advisor or mentor. Your boss might have
twenty direct reports but your professor might see two or three hundred
students a term. Build relationships by doing the assigned work before you
attempt more personal interaction.
(3) Need
money? If you have a solid employment history, consider applying for a
full-time job at the college. Often you receive tuition waivers and time to
take class during the workday.
(4) Frustrated
with life on campus? Remind the powers-that-be that you will soon be an
alum, and colleges like to ask alumni for money. When they do, you can vent
your feelings about parking, crowded classes, and inadequate housing.
(5) Being a
student is not an idyllic interlude. If you're taking courses for credit,
expect to be busy and pressured. Courses don't have sick days and parental
leave. If you have a lot of personal and job responsibilities, cut back on
your course load or take an online course.
(6) Need a
deadline extension because of special circumstances? Your request may
be perfectly reasonable but your professor has to think about what is fair
to everyone -- and the appearance of fairness as well as the reality. She
also hears a lot of hard luck stories.
(7) If
you really want to alienate your professor, say, "I had to miss class
yesterday. Did you do anything?" If you have to miss a class, get notes
from classmates. Form a study group for your most challenging classes.
(8) If your
professor invites questions or comments, offer yours. When you ask for
recommendations, you won't be a stranger. But don't monopolize the floor.
Forcing the professor to say, "Let's hear from someone else now,"
does not earn points.
(9) Build your
support system. One student chose living space as support: "I may be a
student but I have a grown-up apartment." Another kept in touch
with friends from the "real world" who supported her.
Sometimes you want to be with people who share your age and life
experiences.
(10) While
you're in a pressure cooker, your judgments may be biased. These days your
professors will be affected by your course evaluations. Resist the
temptation to blast the professor who gave you a B instead of an A.
If someone
touches your life while you are studying, don't send a card, letter or gift
to the professor. Write glowing comments
and circle high numbers on your course evaluations. Write a nice letter to
the dean or even the president of the university.
And if, after
graduation, you realize that a course was more valuable than you
anticipated, take a moment to thank the professor and the university. You'll
make someone's day and help hundreds of students who will work with that
professor in years to come.
Cathy Goodwin,
MBA, Ph.D. served a lot of time in classrooms as student and professor.
She is now an author, speaker and career consultant, specializing in
creative career change for mid-career professionals. Visit her website
http://www.movinglady.com and
subscribe to her Career Freedom Ezine http://www.movinglady.com/subscribe.htm.
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