The number one reason students drop out of school, according to a 2011 Public Agenda report, is the difficulty of working and attending school at the same time.
It's an unfortunate irony: you need to work in order to pay for school, but work makes going back to school a challenge. Juggling work and school is always a difficult proposition, but the following tips can help keep you on the right track.
1. Get aggressive with financial aid
The Public Agenda study found that 69 percent of students who did not graduate also did not have a scholarship or financial aid. The good news about funding an education is that you may not need to do it alone. Loans, grants and scholarships can take the sting out of your tuition bill, and there are literally thousands of scholarships for everything from financial need to academic merit or extracurricular interests. Your employer may even be able to help.
It might seem to clash with the idea of saving money for school, but this advice comes with an important point: part-time students may be eligible for less financial aid than full-time students. If you could cut your tuition costs in half while reducing a few hours a week at work, you could complete your education sooner without too much impact on your bottom line.
When you picture school, you might imagine the 9-to-3 hours of your high school days. Fortunately, college is a lot more flexible. Schools offer night classes, weekend programs and even hybrid courses that have you going to school online and on-campus. Fully online courses offer yet another option, particularly if you're only available at odd hours of the day or night.
Picture your future with a college degree. Can you describe what your job would look like? One problem, the Public Agenda study notes, is that students who did not graduate college did not have specific goals in mind beyond finding a "better job." The simple act of learning more about potential fields can inspire you to stick with a degree plan.
It's an unfortunate irony: you need to work in order to pay for school, but work makes going back to school a challenge. Juggling work and school is always a difficult proposition, but the following tips can help keep you on the right track.
1. Get aggressive with financial aid
The Public Agenda study found that 69 percent of students who did not graduate also did not have a scholarship or financial aid. The good news about funding an education is that you may not need to do it alone. Loans, grants and scholarships can take the sting out of your tuition bill, and there are literally thousands of scholarships for everything from financial need to academic merit or extracurricular interests. Your employer may even be able to help.
- Take action: Fill out a FAFSA every year. When meeting with financial aid representatives, make it a point to ask about aid options for working adults.
It might seem to clash with the idea of saving money for school, but this advice comes with an important point: part-time students may be eligible for less financial aid than full-time students. If you could cut your tuition costs in half while reducing a few hours a week at work, you could complete your education sooner without too much impact on your bottom line.
- Take action: Work with financial aid counselors to do the math on the potential financial aid boost you could find by becoming a full-time student or at least boosting your enrollment over half-time.
When you picture school, you might imagine the 9-to-3 hours of your high school days. Fortunately, college is a lot more flexible. Schools offer night classes, weekend programs and even hybrid courses that have you going to school online and on-campus. Fully online courses offer yet another option, particularly if you're only available at odd hours of the day or night.
- Take action: Look beyond colleges in your neighborhood. The community college across town might have a better weekend program, or an online school could offer exactly what you're looking for.
Picture your future with a college degree. Can you describe what your job would look like? One problem, the Public Agenda study notes, is that students who did not graduate college did not have specific goals in mind beyond finding a "better job." The simple act of learning more about potential fields can inspire you to stick with a degree plan.
- Take action: Research your dream jobs to learn more about average wages, job growth, and what people actually say about the work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has a job search feature that can help you learn all about potential careers.
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