Is there a place for parents to go to school?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>This is probably silly…but as I get more and more excited for my son, who departs for the beginning of his college experience in mid-August, I find myself wishing I could go, too.</p>

<p>Of course I can’t. First, I seriously doubt I could get into any elite college these days! Second, if I could, I seriously doubt I’d want to experience college life w/thousands of 18-year-olds (much as I love them), nor do I think they’d be real excited to see a bunch of mid-fifty-year-olds sharing their campus!</p>

<p>And then of course there’s the minor little detail of earning a living (if for no other reason than to pay for S’s exciting upcoming college experience)…</p>

<p>But…if I could…is there a place for a person like me to go? Is anyone else just a tad “jealous” (I vaguely remember a thread expressing the “wish I could go too” sentiment)…but is there a college for adults? Or could we start one? I suppose it’s too impractical to think about…but I’d sure look hard at going if there is such a place…</p>

2

<p>St. John’s online, that would get my vote.</p>

3

<p>Smith has some kind of a program for older, non-traditional students. Any state school will accept older students, too. You can do it if you want to do it. Good luck.</p>

4

<p>

YES!! Some of these are held on college campuses during the summer:
<a href=“http://www.elderhostel.org/welcome/home.asp[/url]”>http://www.elderhostel.org/welcome/home.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>What exactly do you want? When I went back to school for my master’s at age 37, I was far from the youngest person there. Generally, your local commuter college will have plenty of “non-traditional” students.</p>

<p>I took a course in Italian at our local community college this year, which was pretty much entirely populated by 35-60-year-old women.</p>

6

<p>Smith has some kind of a program for older, non-traditional students. Any state school will accept older students, too. You can do it if you want to do it. Good luck.</p>

<p>That’s the Ada Comstock program. Smith reserves 10% of its places for older women - ages 24-75; average age is 36. You can’t have had 80 credits previously. 85% receive financial aid. When I visited about a year ago, I met one woman who usually lived near our home in Washington State, in her mid-50s, working in the music library. Her daughter was at Smith at the same time, though doing Junior Year Abroad in Paris. Both were receiving financial aid. My d. reports that they are very distinct asset to the intellectual community there. </p>

<p>There is also the Harvard Extension School, though the students seem to be isolated from the regular students on campus. Same faculty, though.</p>

7

<p>Wasn’t the poster latetoschool considering the same thing? You might try searching her posts. At my husband’s (doctoral) hooding ceremony at UCLA there was one doctoral candidate whose grandchildren took up an entire row in the auditorium. She received the longest and loudest aupllause of anyone.</p>

8

<p>I wanna be her when I grow up.</p>

9

<p>Thanks, everyone…the elderhostel site is particularly interesting…(altho I sigh at the notion that I qualify for “elder” anything!)…a couple of weeks at a time I can do…taking the whole year would be a much bigger bullet to bite…I’ve got enough saved to pay college tuition for S…but living on what’s left, w/no paid work in the equation, would be dicey (read: impossible!)…</p>

<p>Sure appreciate the referral…now I can get a bit excited for me along w/being excited for S!!</p>

10

<p>Harvard Extension School</p>

11

<p>here’s another idea - watch college lectures on video or DVD. We have a bunch of these, and the majority have been just great! (Everything goes on sale 3-4 times a year, so don’t buy anything at the “regular” price)
<a href=“The Great Courses”>The Great Courses;

12

<p>Many colleges have programs for the mature student: Simmons College (all women) has the Dix Scholars program, Wellesley College (also all-women) has the Davis Scholars program, Boston University has Metropolitan College, just to name a few in the Boston area. Check out the websites of colleges or community colleges in your area. You could get your feet wet taking just one course a semester.</p>

<p>Some schools also offer summer “terms” sometimes referred to as alumni college. These are not always restricted to alumni of that school. I recall <a href=“http://www.frommers.com%5B/url%5D”>www.frommers.com</a> having an article about it.</p>

<p>Have fun!</p>

13

<p>Overanxious, I have researched this extensively, as I have never been to college. I found many interesting programs but none that hit exactly on what I was looking for, or that aligned with my career. </p>

<p>I finally found one that comes close - I have applied to Embry Riddle’s World Wide Center/Distance program, undergrad major in technology management and minor in global security and intelligence. I am waiting to hear what additional materials they require, and hopefully will have an admissions decision by early fall. I really really hope I get in. </p>

<p>Long term, I would like to continue my education and apply to graduate school at Columbia - they offer a masters in global security. Or, possibly law school. I’m really interested in homeland security as it relates to technology, and this is in line with my career. If I didn’t have a career to consider, I’d study political science. </p>

<p>I found many, many interesting opportunities and possibilities during my search - seems like I spent a year researching it all - sometimes it feels like I’ve spent time on nearly every website of every college in the country!! - for example, would you believe that you can apply to Tulane Law School with just three years of undergrad completed - you don’t actually have to have your degree? (!!!)</p>

<p>I’d recommend you start with researching the fields you’re most interested in studying, and then find schools that offer programs. If you drill deeply enough you’re certain to find some interesting options for adults. I found more information by going school by school based on majors of interest, rather than trying broader searches for non-traditional programs. </p>

<p>As for the money, I’m pretty sure there must be some breaks for two people in the same family in school (full time) at the same time. Embry Riddle doesn’t really have very good financial aid for adult students, but, I like the program and so for me it’s worth it (if I get in of course).</p>

<p>I did consider Harvard Extension, but couldn’t really see any practical way to migrate my professional world to Boston, and also couldn’t really see where I could easily transfer to the traditional program at Harvard, etc. I looked at lots of other schools, but nothing else really just struck me the way Embry Riddle’s programs did. </p>

<p>By the way, don’t let age worry you - I’m 46 lol…</p>

14

<p>I took a few evening courses this past year, and suprisingly there were a lot of older non-traditional students in my classes. i’d say the one class was about half an half, and the other was about 25 percent older. we all worked together on projects and got along great.</p>