Lately, I've been hearing a lot from people of all ages who want to go back to school, and I have to tell you, I'm not at all surprised.
There are a few rules of thumb in regards to a down economy -- things we can expect to happen whenever the stock market goes berserk and the country slips into a recession. The first is that people scale back their spending. The second is that a lot of people, thankfully, shift their focus to paying down their debt and building a cushion of savings. And the third is that enrollment numbers at colleges tend to shoot up.
Many of the people who've written to me were recently laid off. Others are trying to skirt a potential layoff by learning skills that will make them more valuable to their employer. And some are stay-at-home moms or dads who want to earn a degree so they can get a job and add to the family's income. All of these people want to know two things: One, how do I make this transition easy on my family, and two, how the heck do I pay for it?
Luckily, neither problem is as difficult as it seems.
-- Communicate. Going back to school is going to shake things up at home, no doubt about it. If your family is used to you being around all the time -- or even if they're just used to you being home after work, when you'll now be in class a few days a week -- this is going to be a big change. "Getting them lined up so that they are supportive of what you want to do is very, very important," says Al Siebert, co-author of The Adult Student's Guide to Survival and Success. Your spouse is going to have to step up and take on some of the household tasks you usually handle, and if your kids are old enough, they'll need to pitch in as well. You'll also need quiet time when you are home so that you can study. This is a family project -- in a sense, you're all going back to school -- so treat it as such and make decisions together. Keep in mind that the end result will promise a better lifestyle for all involved.
-- Don't be deterred by the price. We all know that higher education is costly. But in nearly all cases, the sticker price of a school is merely the starting point -- once you factor in financial aid, that number often drops significantly. You want to be sure you're comparing apples to apples, so don't start ruling out schools until after you find out what sort of financial aid package they are willing to offer. You need to take value into account as well
-- if a school is less expensive but doesn't offer your major, for example, it won't do much to advance your career.