The SNU Adult Education Blog

Applying for college is a powerful step toward a better life. College graduates have median weekly earnings that are $502 higher than those with just a high school diploma. Their unemployment rates are lower, and they’re safer in an economic downturn. A college degree can change the course of someone’s entire life. Despite these benefits, the path to a degree for many adult students is windy and uphill. For example, many students leave college before completing their degree. Others struggle to fit college into their already busy lives, straining both their personal and professional endeavors. 

Follow your dreams. It’s advice we’ve all heard—and something adult students are trying to put into action every day. Without a specific plan, though, it’s easy for your dreams for the future to feel too far away or too difficult to achieve. Setting clear, actionable goals can help you more effectively develop a plan to get from where you are today to where you want to be tomorrow. It also helps you benchmark progress on a daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis, so you always have complete insight into how far you’ve come and what needs to happen next.

Do you feel unmotivated at work? Do you struggle with your identity as a worker or worry that you can’t advance any further in your career? If you’ve already tried everything you can think of to breathe life into your job, you might be burned out or stuck in a career rut. If so, you’re not alone. Many workers report feeling bored and uninspired at work. 

Eighty percent of college students report ongoing stress. For adult students, the pressure can be both chronic and intense. You may be juggling many roles—parent, worker, spouse, child, and now, student. The daily grind can be tough, but what may be even tougher are the high stakes. You know that your future success is closely tied to your performance in school. So when you’re trying to manage a toddler having a tantrum, a spouse who’s also stressed with everything that’s going on, and a paper deadline, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

Adults returning to school are taking the first step toward a life that offers a better job and higher earnings. It’s natural to feel mixed emotions during such a major transition. You might be eager to learn, anxious about the future, and worried about whether you'll be able to juggle your many roles as you pursue your education. Strong study skills are a key ingredient in the recipe for student success. Master these techniques so you can excel at school, work, and life—even when you’re balancing all three at the same time. 

The economy, much like the weather, never stays in a single state permanently. Yet it’s easy to panic when the economy is bad, or to lull yourself into a false sense of security when it’s good. Rest assured, no matter what things are doing now, something will be different a year from now—and perhaps very different in a decade. The right career can offer considerable job stability, even during a recession. 

To many, getting a college degree means getting up each day, getting dressed, packing your stuff, fighting traffic, finding a parking space, sitting through class, then making your way back home. You can easily spend twice as much time getting dressed and commuting as you spend in your classes. Online learning tools change all of that. 

If you have young kids at home, then you already know how difficult it can be to study with them around. In addition to juggling the responsibilities of caring for them with schoolwork, it’s hard to get into a rhythm with consistent distractions and interruptions throughout the day. And for many parents, it’s easy to feel guilty that you’re not doing enough—you may feel bad about not spending time with your kids, and if you hang out with the littles instead, you may worry about your academic progress. 

You probably already know that a college degree can improve your life and open new career doors. Degree holders boast much lower unemployment rates, and earn more. In 2018, bachelor’s degree holders had median weekly earnings of $1,198, compared to $730 among high school graduates and $802 for people with some college under their belt. That means that, compared to a diploma, a degree offers $24,000 more in annual earnings. Over a lifetime, that adds up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Your peers will one day be your professional network. They might help you get a job, partner with you to start a business, or connect you to new workplace opportunities. Getting to know them while in school allows you to begin networking well before you graduate. But these cohort relationships aren’t just instrumental. The people you attend school with understand the challenges of balancing work, life, and school. They may share your anxieties about returning to school and graduating. Lasting relationships with this group offers support, employment opportunities, and a chance to commiserate when the going gets rough.