41 and going to college

Question

I just wanted to know if someone could tell me what college is like? I decided to go to college to better myself.

Answer 1

Your experience will vary drastically depending on what type of school you attend (major university, community college, trade school) and which major you choose.

However, I am a 23 year old community college student (not an "older student" i know, but I am still married and supporting a family, compared to most of the recent high school grads who attend)

Community colleges tend to have more flexible hours for older students, who most likely have to work in addition to school. Day classes, night classes, or even some mix in between if that is what suits your schedule best.

As far as my experience, it goes something like this as a chemistry major (pre-med) at a community college.

Monday/Wednesday/Friday: Wake up 8am, shower and eat and what have you.. first class starts 10am. Listen to lecture and take notes for 50 minutes. Ask questions, typical "school" type stuff. I then have 15 minutes to step outside and smoke between biology and chemistry. Come to chemistry class, do the same for the 50 minutes in this class. After that class I have 2 hours before my chemistry lab (Mondays only) and biology lab (Wednesdays only) I usually use those 2 hours to go to the library and study, or get something to eat. The benefit to this is that I can knock out a good chunk of my studying before I ever get home.

Chemistry lab is 3 hours, biology lab is 2. This i consider my "fun" time because it's when I get to apply hands-on use to what we learn in lecture time.

Tuesday/Thursday. First class 9am (psychology) It's a little bit longer because it meets twice a week instead of three times. 10:45 I am done with psych and I go outside and smoke and head to British Literature (11-12:15) then I have 15 minutes to smoke again before heading to Calculus. (12:30-1:45) At 1:45 I am done for the day and am free to either stay in the library and get some work done, or go home and attend to the family.

I should note that college requires much more study time than high school, and it isn't as teacher-led as high school. You are expected to study the material on your own, and then the professor enforces what you studied on your own, and explains it. Don't let that scare you, you will fall into the routine before you even realize it.

There is a wide variety of extra curricular clubs and activities for you to take place in (even if you arent an 18-something!) and it's a wonderful experience.

Just remember that most of the people in your classes will be freshmen also , and will be just as nervous as you are about starting college. HAVE FUN!

Answer 2

Im 36 and will be starting college aug.26th. I choose University of Phoenix which is could be done online or in class. I will be going one night aweek and then doing the rest at home. There will be people in situations like mine so im not to worried. good luck to you!