WovenGalaxy

I'm an adult going back to school. I'm currently taking self paced classes to become a certified peer specialist, and I'm applying for an unrelated program that starts in Feb. Both are online.

I would like advice - how do I be a successful student?

Yaowen

Dear WovenGalaxy,

I think it is so great that you are taking on this exciting and promising challenge. Bravo!

I can't speak for others, but what helped me to be a good student was a deep love of the subject matter I was studying. In addition to the required reading I actively sought out as much information as I could. It was easy for me to memorize information in a subject I loved. This wasn't a odious task or chore for me since I was driven internally by a love of learning. This is what helped me most. Hopefully others here will share their experiences. I hope you find what helps you the best.

Sincerely yours, Yao Wen

WovenGalaxy

Thanks Yao Wen.

A lot of my interests will not make me financially stable. So I'm more interested in being employable at this time. I'm going to be taking classes in medical billing and coding in Feb. Its a good opportunity in many ways for me.

I AM interested in helping others and peer work, and so that's something I'm doing. But its actually still hard to get myself motivated to do the classwork. I have no time limit or timelines for any of the peer classes. I think that's part of the issue. Its very informal.

divine1966

I hate online classes be honest with you but that’s what people do now. Many do like it

I did both two of my undergraduate degrees and graduate degree while working full time so my experience was different. Plus not online. I’d sometimes procrastinate and then cram it all on the weekend sometimes but I am slightly obsessed with getting good grades too, so whatever it takes etc

But I still think I have some ideas on how to be successful in school even though it’s a bit different than your situation. I love to learn BUT it’s usually a luxury to go to school just to learn.

For me honestly the reason to be a good student was: career and salary advancement. For you it could be to get employed. So you got to hurry up so you can get employed. The other one is in many jobs they see your transcript so I’d rather they did not see anything embarrassing. It’s good to make to do lists and schedules and prioritize what assignments should be done first

Couple of years back I finished 30 post graduate credits in a hurry because it meant pay increase. It was TEN classes but increase was so substantial that yes I was going to rush and finish by a deadline no matter what

I hate sounding materialistic but I like comfortable life so getting more money is a major push for me. For you to be employable could be an excellent push. My husband had college degree that was not particularly useful so he went to nursing school in mid 40s. He dreamed of it for years but circumstances didn’t allow it. His motivation was to become RN ASAP so he had to do well. He has a disability so nothing is easy but it was great motivation plus he never dreamed of the kind of money he makes now. It’s extremely hard work but sure worth it.

So honestly if you want to get a job, you’ll have to do reasonably well getting training and that’s would be motivation number one.

Sorry I kind of rambled