A quarter of all undergraduate students in the United States — nearly 5 million students — are raising children. Graduate students are also raising kids. Most of them worry about being loving partners, great parents, valued employees, and successful students and how to pay for it all.
Student-parents struggle to find the time to work, study, clean, shop, parent, and spend time with partners, family, and friends. Some have completed expensive degrees that have follow-up exams. These students, in careers such as accounting and architecture, must pass their exams and receive additional certifications or lose their careers. There are many options available to help you pay for school as a non-traditional student. You can refinance your student loans from any earlier schooling, look into private student loans, or even find scholarships still. Use a free student loan calculator online to figure out how much you owe.
Nevertheless, a vast number of parents — paired or single — succeed in their studies. And you can, too. You simply become the manager of your own project: Graduation Parent.
Create and Stick to Your Objectives
Image via Flickr by SMBCollege
Everyone has a plan, but a project starts with something better than a plan. It starts with objectives that tell you what you will achieve at each milestone to your goal. Your objectives help you decide whether you should attempt one or more courses. They remind you to include date nights and to make time to play with your children. When creating your objectives, go as easy on yourself as possible. Life will provide plenty of things to take up any slack.
Take Advantage of Resources
Every part of a project requires resources, which are the fuel of objectives. These resources may be time, money, textbooks, sleep, college fees, energy, love, or child care. Some people worry about time constraints, and others worry about resources such as money and energy.
There are many ways that your loved ones can give you other resources. If you’re a woman, skim-read Linda Babcock’s “Women Don’t Ask,” and start asking for the resources that you need.
People want to help and you need their help. Look for help with childcare. Purchase secondhand textbooks and a pre-loved laptop instead of a new model. Request contributions to a GoFundMe account. Ask for love, support, and encouragement. Then accept those resources graciously, knowing that others want you to succeed.
When you have your certificate or degree, you can pay it forward and offer some help to others!
One of the hardest resources to replace is time. To make the most of it, you can get up early, study late, share housework with a supportive partner, or study during lunch. You can order takeout instead of cooking. Of course, no one can live forever on pizza, and dinner can be precious family time.
Create a Contingency Plan
Think about what could go wrong before it does. Take time to sit quietly and list the possible problems that might arise. Are you a go-with-the-flow type who leaves things to the last minute? Join a study group. Are you a visual learner? Choose flash cards over audio recordings. Get a promise of emergency child care from a reliable friend before you get the flu. Expect things to go wrong, and have a solution in place before it happens.
Happy graduation!
It is very important to be very organized, especially if you are returning to school after having a child. These are all good tips.
I went back to school when my son was a toddler and I found that I had to be very organized with my time. Having a plan and finding resources make a big difference. It was hard but so worth it.
For help with those meals….those make ahead freezer slow cooker meals are a time saver. Just take one afternoon (and get the kids to help) will make 2-3 weeks of meals. I love to do that just to give me more time in my life.