How to Continue you Education quickley?

Question

I'm a single mom with college and I'm starting to feel like it's not going fast enough for me. I know I know I should keep the pace but I really need a career type job. Is there any trade school I could go to and take my college credit with me so that way it's not like I'm starting all over again?

Answer 1

I'm sure most trade schools would be happy to put you through quickly, as long as you pay their inflated fees, and they won't care about your college credits, but it won't benefit you anywhere near as much as graduating from college. Here are a couple of other suggestions. Can you take some on-line courses in addition to the on-campus ones you are currently taking so that you can take more classes at once without needing to increase the number of hours you are away from home? What about summer school? It can add almost a complete semester to your year, and people can finish college in 3 years or less if they take a full summer program of courses. What about an internship which can be expanded? One of my best students took an internship one semester, did really well, and continued her internship at a higher pay rate for the next year, then moved directly into a permanent job with the company upon graduation.

I do know a fair number of students in situations similar to yours, and in most cases, they have just found it too easy not to stick to a program which allowed them to progress. They will take only one class at a time, take summers and whole semesters off, and generally treat the whole thing as a hobby, rather than a serious career plan. If college takes four years for someone going full time, of course it is too long for someone taking two classes a year! There are jobs you can hold while going to school. Alternately, you could make a conscious decision to take a few months off your academic program to learn a skill, then use that to work at a job that pays better while doing the part-time student thing.

Talk to your advisor and to someone in financial aid at your school to see what they might suggest.