Topic: So I'm thinking about going back to school.

[Quemaqua]

Kind of a long story, but maybe not so much. It just feels like it's the right time and right thing to do as an extension of what I've been doing and thinking over the last year.

But I haven't been to school since 2000, and that was just a few semesters at a couple junior colleges back home for computer programming courses and such. It's been a long time since I've been in a classroom, but it's also been a long time since I really felt like it was right to be in one.

I have to admit, I'm almost a little excited at the idea.

[Cools!]

You should do it. What major?

[Quemaqua]

Most likely English lit.

[Cools!]

I bet it's going to be a pain in the ass to get back into the rhythm of it. I've thought of it as well.

[Xessive]

It can definitely be a great experience to go back to school. Challenging but worthwhile.

When I went back I was pleasantly surprised by how much I had changed, approaching my studies with a sort of "work ethic" rather than a juvenile attitude. That's when I realized that I went to university too soon, when I was still immature. This time around I aced all my classes without missing a beat or feeling like I had to go out of my way to study or work hard on them.

Hopefully, your experience will be along the same lines.

[Quemaqua]

That's certainly what I'm hoping for. It's what I feel like at the moment, looking at it from the outside and analyzing myself and the changes I've gone through.

So the big concerns now are where to go, and where to find the money. I'm pretty sure I'd qualify for a Pell grant, so that would probably get me through an AA at a small college somewhere. Getting into a real university for a BA would be a bigger task, and while more scary on the financial front, less scary on the academic one. I'm more worried about banging out the core general classes. I never even took algebra in high school.

[K-man]

Is this a financial related decision or one more motivated by personal development?

Because if it's exclusively the former, then it may be a bad decision.

[sirean_syan]

To be fair, isn't becoming a writer in general a bad financial decision?

Really though, being an older student is a vastly different experience than a younger one. I've lost a bit of that motivation and work ethic I had when I first returned to school in the past year or two, but it helped immensely a few years back and totally set me apart from the crowd in a good way. It also helped me put up with some of the crap I had to put up with when I was doing things at a JC. Push yourself for a bit that first semester and you'll get into a rhythm.

I imagine this will also give some structure to what you're already doing and some (potentially) useful feedback.

Also, if you decide to aim for the two year JC then to a university plan, I suggest being open the idea of moving. If you don't mind moving, it opens the up a lot of nice opportunities (like moving back to CA). Keep your head down, do some good work, and then apply to a boatload of places when the time comes.

[Quemaqua]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'll be trying to head to a JC first to test the waters and see how it goes. Though I do have a feeling that if I feel like I find a groove, I'm going to want to keep at it and go further.

K, this isn't at all a financial decision. Like Sy said, writers make nothing regardless, though this would open up a lot of stuff that's closed to me now. You'd be surprised how high the expectations are for freelance work. This is something I always felt I missed out on, and it was always something I thought about doing but managed to talk myself out of. This is the first time in life I really feel capable of going back, and I'm actually sort of excited about the thought. Life experience teaches you to appreciate education. I think most kids would probably benefit from being out in the world a while before jumping into college, honestly. I've seen too many young people regret it or it end up as a waste for them, and seen a lot of people in Sy's boat that got a lot out of it, or even changed their whole life.

I don't know how it will go for me. I've been out of the classroom a long time and have changed a lot since I was younger. The latter part is a good thing, and maybe the former is too. But it's hard to say. Either way, I think it's time. How far I go will be something I look at more gradually, but I think if I start well enough I'm going to go AA at a local college, possibly here, and then look into seeing what sort of aid I can get for a 4 year school. I don't want to go into debt for the rest of my life, so we'll have to see how that pans out if I do end up going that far.

Time will tell!

[TheOtherBelmont]

If this helps you with your future endeavors in your writing career then I say go for it.  I also agree with you about testing out the waters at a JC first.  Good luck to whatever you end up doing though!

[ren]

Prepare to do a lot of reading. Also, in your first two years you'll be in classes with lots of people who really shouldn't be there. Don't let them piss you off and sour the experience, it gets better.