What's the best way to get a college degree, being over 50 years old, with no college credit at all?

Answer 1

I am 52 years old and a Junior in a Business program at a state university. It is the 1,000 mile journey that you will travel on, but there are many rewards once you decide to take the first steps.

What I did was take classes at a Community College. I started with the placement examination. Remember, it had been decades since I gotten my H.S. degree and only had a 1.9 gpa.

I took the math and reading test at the community college. I got into a math 081 course and a reading 092 course.

The first course that I took was typing. That will be your smartest move because you will be typing tons of papers.

Then take your math courses. Purchase a TI- 83 calculator because you will be doing some graphing eventually, so you might as well get comfortable with it now.

I was extremely self-conscious about being the oldest one in the classroom. But after a few days, the students realize that you are there trying to do the same thing they are, and that is to pass the class.

I decided that I wanted a business degree. I know that because of my age that employers discriminate against older workers. So, I am enrolled at the university in their Entrepreneurship program.

You will have to take math 098 and another math course over 100 for consideration in a university. You should also have taken English 101, and 102.

As you are completing these courses, you should see a counslor to find out what your options are.

If all you want to do is learn computer graphics or get a technology degree or some other certification from a Community college then you may not need to take any English courses. You will need to if you want to transfer to a 4-year university.

Avoid the temptation to take any on-line courses for the first year. I had to take one and I did not like it. It was Humanities 105 and there were some pretty "HOT" topics and discussions that being on-line was not as lively as it could have been if you were in an actual classroom. Besides, you need to have excellent study skills to do an on-line course, and you would not have developed those skill yet.

Here is an excellent resource for you, I will include it in the sources section below.

Good luck, one thing to remember about going back to school at 50. At the community college level there are older students that are doing the same thing you are doing. The average age is about 28 years old.

There are younger in the state univesities, I have only found a couple students in the business school that were in their 30's. In community college there were a lot in 40's. So, you will fit right in.

Answer 2

Go to the admissions office at your school of choice. Someone there should be able to guide you through the process of getting started.

Something to consider: An advantage you'r likely to have is that, at 50, you've probably developed a healthy work ethic, something that the kids right out of high school are still working on. So much of college is just buckling down and grinding through the work.

Don't get discouraged. Good luck and Godspeed.

Answer 3

If you have a local college, ask them for a descriptive course catalogue and schedule. You could start slow with one class until you get your feet wet.

Also, ask about testing out of courses. Life experience often translates into college knowledge. For a fee, you can take one (very long & thorough) test in certain subjects - like English, certain math classes, etc.

If you feel unsure of your skills, most colleges have student tutors.