Putting this in IMHO because I think it’s all a bit too vague to fit into GQ, and it leans into the advice-poll-request range of things.
Preamble: things have been rolling about in the deeper bits of my mind for awhile on that whole “what do you want to do with your life?” stickler of a question. Then they’ve been nudging me, tapping me on the shoulder, running up and uttering non-sequitors to me. The upshot is I’m thinking more and more seriously about getting back into school, landing a psych major, and pathing into some kind of cognitive research/therapy. Plans aren’t crystallizing beyond a murky idea yet, but that does seem to be the general shape they’re taking on.
These thoughts make me nervous. It would be a rather large time and money expenditure. Time, well, that’s not so nervous-like, I figure I’ve the same number of breaths allotted to me for this particular spin around the earthy-go-round regardless and that’s just a matter of how to spend them. Money, though…barring a timely lotto winning or two, well, it’ll take some footwork and planning.
How prevalent are such things as scholarships for the non-traditional student, the guy returning for an unrelated degree? What sorts of things do they look for–what can a fellow do over the next couple years to maximize the chances of landing them? Are there any books and websites and sundry sources of information you’d recommend for this kind of thing? (See what I mean about vague?)
And to stress the further IMHOishness of it all, personal stories either reassuring me that this kind of major life-redirect isn’t utterly insane, or warning me that it is, are certainly welcome as well.
There is lots of financial aid available for so-called “non-traditional” students. You might want to check out fastweb, a very good database of scholarships and grants.
From your posting style, I’d guess you’re from the U.S.A. If that’s the case, taking a look at the U.S. Department of Education might not hurt, either. You’ll get an idea of what loan and work-study packages are available. And, better yet–if this is your first bachelor’s degree, you’re probably eligible for Pell grants–aka Chunks of Free Money.
Your state may have supplemental grants you might be able to use. Check out the financial aid web page of your state’s main public university. That should tell you more.
Best of luck to you. I don’t think you’re crazy at all to do this. I think you’re ambitious and gutsy to consider it.
My mother went back to school when she was in her mid-thirties. She was a stay-at-home mom with 3 kids when she went back to school for nursing. After she graduated, she spent several years as a nurse in a blood plasma center (she wanted to be an ER or OR nurse, but she got multiple sclerosis not too long before she graduated. She didn’t have the energy to do the kind of work she really wanted.) Now she works in administration for a blood, plasma, and other biological products/pharmaceuticals company. She loves what she does, and she’s raking in the dough. About a year ago, she told me that she earned around 70K/year. By now, her salary’s probably even higher. Not too shabby, if you ask me.
I’ve had many classmates who were “non-traditional” students. Most of them seemed to be more focused than the general run of undergrads usually are, and several of them struck me as generally more together and as having better priorities than a lot of the younguns.
Do you already have an undergraduate degree in another field? It’s not clear from your OP if this is the case or not. If you already have another degree (and thus all the general eduction requirements, etc.), it strikes me that you might look for a creative way to construct your educational experience.
For example, I know that some schools offer a sort of combined undergratuate/graduate program, where you can take some courses for both graduate and undergraduate credit. It would be neat if you could set up a program where you took one or two semesters of undergraduate psychology classes and then segued immediately into graduate work. This might be particularly attractive if you could pick up a research position in the course of your graduate studies, getting a small salary and tuition waiver.
Caveat: This is more speculation than advice. I’m not familiar with psychology programs at all, nor am I familiar with degree requirements for graduate/undergraduate programs.
I went back to college for a second bachelor’s degree years after my first. I found that it was difficult to get loans and grants (they tended to go to first bachelor’s student’s first). I got a Dept. of Ed loan which cut out on me after one semester because at that point I had too many credit hours (they counted all of my previous college hours as well).
I found things tougher to get as a returning student. Your experience may vary, especially if you don’t already have a degree in something else.
Unclear OPs are a talent–hopefully there’s a grant for that kind of ability. Yup, I already have a Bachelor’s degree (in English). Some sort of combo undergrad/grad thing would indeed be nice–I figure this is going to cost me anyway if I greenlight myself, and anything to reduce the amount of that to manageable levels fits that “nice” descriptor.
Legomancer, sounds like you got caught on the “minimum reasonable progress” rules. They want you to push ahead to a M.A. or whatever, no stalling on non-degree classwork.
I dropped out and went back to finish my BFA after a hiatus of about 20 years, I didn’t have any trouble getting Pell Grants and student loans. But now I’ve racked up quite a heavy loan. I kinda wish I’d have borrowed less, but it’s the cheapest money you can borrow, I think it’s around 7% now.
Chas–Amazingly, the interest rate is even lower now. Since the interest rate on federal student loans is linked to the Fed’s monkeying with interest rates, some of those loans are charging a measley five-point-something percent. Amazing, huh?
Yup, I already have a Bachelor’s degree (in English). Some sort of combo undergrad/grad thing would indeed be nice–I figure this is going to cost me anyway if I greenlight myself, and anything to reduce the amount of that to manageable levels fits that “nice” descriptor.