Going Back Into Education As An Adult: What To Expect

If you are considering seeking some further education, you may well be aware that there are quite a lot of things that you need to think about and prepare for here. The truth is that there are all sorts of approaches you can take to this and it’s going to be important to make sure that you are as prepared as possible before you start. Going back into education as an adult can bring a lot of difficulties with it which you will want to be aware of too. It’s good to know what you can do about that, so you have some sense of how to rise to the challenges.

In this post, we are going to take a look at some of the things you can expect when you go back into education as an adult. All of the following will be really useful to bear in mind and should help you to really have more of a sense of what is likely to happen during this experience. Let’s take a look.

You’re Not Alone

One of the fears here is that you are going to be the only older or mature student there. But this is unlikely, and actually what you will probably find is that there are lots of people your age or even older who you can get along with. This can be great news, because it can be difficult to get on with younger people sometimes, and you might find that you are struggling with trying to make friends.

But there will be other people there who are a little older too, and you can hang around with them. You might even find the institution has a society for mature students. If that’s the case, you’ll certainly want to consider joining that, as this could be one of the very best ways to help you feel more comfortable about the situation you find yourself in.

Juggling Life & School

A major concern too is trying to find a way to juggle life and school, and this is something that is always going to be tricky to get right. When you are a little older, you will probably have more responsibilities that you need to try and look after, and it’s going to be a much better thing that you are going to have to think about, but also a lot more stressful. So this juggling act is probably going to be much harder than ever before, and you will need to ensure that you are thinking about that if you want it to work out.

So to that end, it might be that you have to set some clear boundaries with your family and those around you – this is when I’m doing college work, and I should not be disturbed – so that you are much more able to balance things out. At the same time, you should ensure that your family and your job don’t suffer, as that is the other side of the balancing equation here.

As long as you find a way to juggle these things, it’s going to mean you have a much better experience, and that you can therefore get a lot more out of the whole process too.

Be Aware Of Imposter Syndrome

This is a fairly common experience for those who go back to school in adulthood. You might feel a little out of place or as though you are an outsider of sorts. Rather than panicking about this feeling, however, you should make sure that you are simply working with it and allowing it to do its thing. Ultimately, it is going to pass, so you should try not to be too worried about this. Just try to notice when it arises, what seems to precede it, and do all you can to try and work with it.

It’s ultimately a normal feeling, and it’s something that you are going to find really useful to bear in mind if you are trying to make sure that your education experience is as positive as possible. By showing up, you are already providing you can handle more than you might have thought, so that is something to remember here. Plus, your life experience is actually something of a bonus, and it means you probably have a leg up in motivation and perspective, so that is something you can make use of too.

Get Ready For New Learning Systems

If it has been a while since you were in education, you may be surprised at how different learning looks now. There are all kinds of systems in place that you wouldn’t have used before, and you are going to need to be prepared to learn those. Thankfully there will usually be quite a lot of help that you can make use of for that, and you’ll probably find it’s easier than you think to learn this anyway. But you should certainly make sure that you are doing all you can to try and get ready for those learning systems. This is something that is really going to make a world of difference.

You should expect lots more focus on online work and evening classes, as well as online tutorials too. Having the right equipment, such as a reliable laptop or a certified refurbished desktop, can make this transition smoother and more affordable. On the plus side, you can expect instructors who are actually aware of the importance of balancing college with other affairs in life, and this is a really positive thing that you might find quite refreshing, especially if you don’t experience much of this elsewhere in life. You might even find you enjoy studying more now that it is on your own terms.

Think About Finance

You have to know how you are going to finance the course, and this is something of a major stress for a lot of mature students too. Without a clear plan on how you might do this, you are likely going to struggle to make sure that you are really making this work, so it’s something that you should really try to focus on and hone in on as best as you can.

As it happens, there are a lot of options available for you to make use of. When it comes to financing the course, there may be government help you can apply for, even as an older student, and there might be some specific bursaries for those who are returning to work. So this is something that you should definitely make sure you are thinking about here.

You might also want to look for private student loans, which can be a great option if you need a little extra funding to make your education work and you want to make sure that you are going to be a lot more likely to get through it intact. And of course it might be that there are some decisions to make around your work-life balance, and you might need to work a little more to make it a possibility.

Finance is hard, but it’s a consideration you need to take great care with if you want to ensure that you are going to enjoy getting back into education as much as possible, and avoid much of the potential stress.

Enjoy A Confidence Boost

You may well find that from time to time you get something of a confidence boost, and this is something that is likely to be really useful for you to consider. Once you get your footing, don’t be surprised if you notice your confidence climbing, and if this happens quite rapidly. More to the point, try to enjoy it. And make use of it – that confidence can be a really powerful way to ensure that you are working through things and really starting to make the most of the education experience.

You can’t fake it, but once the confidence is already there you are likely to find that it is something you can develop more easily. So it is something of a tool that you can make use of as well.

Don’t Force The Social Stuff

There are a lot of social elements to college and university, and you might find that there is a surprising amount of pressure around this and how to make it work. If you are keen to try and ensure that you are doing right by yourself, it’s a good idea to be social to the point that you want to be, but not to force anything either. This is a balance that is really tricky to strike, but as long as you get it right you should find that you are going to have a much better chance of enjoying the college education for what it is, and it’s all about respecting yourself in all this.

Those are therefore some of the things that you might want to think about when you are going back into education as an adult.