Returning to college as a working adult can be a daunting prospect and many of us will hesitate to make the leap out of a sense of insecurity- can we keep up with the energetic younger students, those who are not attempting to balance work and family responsibilities? In order to finance our continued education, for most of us, working full time remains a necessity, and at the same time, we must continue to maintain our relationships with a spouse or significant other, which requires time and energy. Some of us also have children, and the major responsbilities associated with parenthood.

 So, how do we learn to juggle all of these demands on our time, and is it really worth it? According to the American Council on Education, adult students are retuning to higher education in record numbers, most of whom remain in the workforce. While the older adult of today is, generally, better educated than the same age group of previous generations, they are returning to secondary and postsecondary educational programs as they plan actively how they intend to spend the latter parts of their lives. Because of this, many colleges and universities have developed programs geared toward the older adult. But let us focus on the younger adult, between the ages of 25 and 50, which are the prime years for raising a family, and thus have different challenges associated with atttending school then either the young adult fresh out of high school, or the older adult retired from the workforce or whose children are grown and raising families of their own.

I returned to school a little over a year ago, after being a registered nurse for almost 28 years. Certainly, my job did not require me to have the advanced degree, but my sense of professionalism and my self esteem needed to return to school, and to do well. Maintaining a 4.0 GPA seems to be much easier as an older adult than it was the first time around, even with all of the added demands on my time. I haven’t got any more brain cells than I did when I was 18, so there must be something else that is responsible for the difference, and I believe that it is life experience, and essentially maturity.   

There are still only 24 hours in a day, just as there were all those years ago, but I have learned to juggle my time, to meet all of my responsibilities- work, family and school. And for every class, I am proud of my efforts and the end results- great grades, induction into honor societies, and a tremendous amount of self-respect.

Someday, I hope to parlay my advanced degree into a position of greater authority, and higher income, but for now the benefits I mentioned above are enough.