It has been about 30 years since I
attended college. I got married while attending the University of Washington and joined my
husband on active duty in Iceland before completing my degree. In July I happened to read
an article about returning to college that peaked my interest. I picked up some additional
information at the Siskiyou Golden Fair on several options. That sent me off on a
whirlwind of document hunting and form completion that I had not experienced since my two
kids applied to college.
First you need to decide what you want from college – a degree,
a professional certificate, additional education, personal enrichment, growth or new
skills. Desire for a degree or a certificate will influence the school you may want to
attend. The College of the Siskiyous (COS) has campuses in Weed and Yreka.
http://www.siskiyous.edu/ COS offers an
Associate of Arts degree (AA) as well as several professional certificates. Southern
Oregon University offers a Bachelor’s degree in Business in cooperation with COS.
(This is a series of evening, weekend and online courses.) Simpson College uses the campus
on weekends to provide post AA level courses in several majors, leading to a Bachelor’s
degree under the ASPIRE program.
In all cases, you need to request transcripts from prior colleges be
sent to the college you select. These are generally available from the college online with
a credit card, or through the mail with a check. Those who are income limited should
consider completing the Federal Student Aid form. It can help with the enrollment and
registration fees. It can be completed online, but a written signature must be mailed.
Personally, I experienced sticker shock with one of the programs I
investigated. After application, letters of recommendation and FSA forms had been
submitted, it appeared that I if I were to pursue that program, I would be facing
repayment of a substantial student loan in my retirement years. That was really not very
practical. I could have quit at that point, but being a stubborn old gal I know that there
is usually more than one way to skin a cat. I continued to look into other options.
I decided to give a series of COS courses leading to a professional
certificate a try. This is a certificate that relates to some of my committee work as a
Supervisor. The classes are given on Saturdays and evenings over a period of a couple of
years – or more. I applied online, but found that I needed to visit onsite for a
counseling session. My counselor reviewed a copy of my transcripts and determined that I
had met all the requirements for an official AA degree, with the exception of a math,
“diversity studies” and P.E. course. I also needed to take proficiency exams in
English and Math. I visited the financial aid office and found, to my delight, that I
qualified for fee waivers. I registered for my chosen classes. All I have to pay for is
gas to class and books.
Later, I decided to take the proficiency exams. I flew through the
English with flying colors. The math was a bit more daunting. I saw symbols I had not seen
in 30 years and certainly had never used. Just barely squeaked by the math, but an
official degree is now in reach with a little effort. (I will admit that if I had failed
the math, I would have abandoned the degree goal altogether.)
My first (evening) class is demanding. The subject matter is somewhat
new and there is a lot of technical reading. Although I must read a lot of paper in my job
as a Supervisor and a lot of it is technical, we read for programmatic structure and
trends, more than for detail. Homework requires a great deal of focus, concentration and
rote memory. There will be a test. The second class is on a few Saturdays and involves
more class dialogue. I was not sure how well I
would do, but so far, so good.
I would encourage anyone who harbors a long lost dream of returning
to school for education or enrichment to look into it. For me, it is requiring some hard
mental work and discipline in redirecting my leisure
time to study. But as someone said, “discipline is remembering what you want.” |
