Those who went back to uni later in life, what was your experience like balancing study and life?

7 comments

1. It’s really tough but I block out time on the calendar to do so. Like Mon/Wed are homework time from 1-4pm. Sunday is also usually homework, all day. I am only able to do 2-3 classes at a time, to still be able to work and be a single parent.

2. I’m probably an exception to the rule, but I didn’t find it too difficult. My husband has a ridiculous salary so for me it was really only a scheduling issue.

3. Not as difficult as I was hoping, also I never liked studies growing up because of home situation. Once I broke free from that and somehow by God’s grace managed to get a strong support system, and finally found subject I felt passionate about, I thrived.

   It might not be what you are looking for, but takeaway from this could be, study what you really want to learn about and taking time out for ut would be relatively easy. And people support passion and shrug off complainers IMO. (no personal comment, just an observation)

4. I don’t know from experience, but both my best friends and my sister all did this. One got her masters last year, and the other two are getting there’s this may 🙂

   What I can say is it’s EXTREMELY difficult. Especially when you’re working full or part time. None of them have kids yet, so that may help with their work/school/life balance.

   One thing is that if they have a free moment they try to see friends, because their schedules are full ALL day EVERY day.

   However! Not one of the three regrets it 🙂 they are all glad they went back to school

5. I work full time and am in a graduate program part time. I don’t have kids, am in a city I’m familiar with, and do have a partner to help. And it’s still hard. It’s harder than when I was doing school full time and working several part time jobs – priorities shift, energy levels are different, the different pieces of your life probably don’t overlap as much. It’s doable and I am always in favor of education, but it can be tough, and you’ll have to make some sacrifices (likely social time) to get it all done well. It also means knowing yourself and what your limits are. If you can make being a student your priority I’d suggest that.

6. I work full time and am in uni part time. The workload has been pretty manageable, but I’m at the point where I need to take specific courses that aren’t offered at compatible times, so scheduling is probably more difficult than most of my actual classes. I think having a job that allows some flexibility with timing is key, otherwise I would have to skip semesters and wait for the schedule to work in my favor/seek alternatives.

   I do have tougher semesters than others, usually summer is rough, and the first thing to get left behind is apartment upkeep. This is easier now that I live with my partner though. When I lived with roommates I just let things build up until I got too stressed out and had to deal with them.

7. Content wise it’s all about managing your time, once you nail that it’s not bad. Certainly much easier than my first time around at 18. Making your own schedule and sticking to it is an underrated skill.

   I take my electives in the summer when they’re available but maintain a course load enough to be considered a full time student during regular semesters for funding. If you didn’t have consistent work the year prior to applying like I did you might qualify for more grants, depends on where you live.

   Financially it’s been easier because I qualify for a lot more now that my parents income isn’t considered anymore as a mature student. They didn’t contribute when I was younger and application still considered their income as part of my assessment so that was a huge problem when trying to apply for grants and even loans contributing to a lot of my trouble last time around.