Where to start? Atypical student looking to transfer in a few years

[iamluis]

Hi all,

Wondering if any of you could give me your advice and/or feedback on where I should start my journey to going back to school, and working toward an undergraduate degree in either Anthropology or Psychology.

I’m an older student (no other way to put it) in my early 40’s going back to CC this summer. My academic record is not that great and frankly embarrassing.

To give you context: I attended SFSU 1995-1997. Although my grades improved during my last semester because I moved out of the dorms, I ended up dropping out due to having to fully financially support myself. I ended that chapter with a cumulative 1.70 gpa. Flash forward to 2003. I started taking classes at CCSF without knowing what I wanted to major in. Same story, lot’s of financial, family responsibilities, and mental health issues. Ended up with a 2.75 gpa.

Now I feel like I have a much healthier mindset and I am ready to start again.

I have contacted CCSF about academic renewal and have an appointment with a counselor there. As far as SFSU, it doesn’t seem like a possibility and I’ve research it a lot.

Anyway, I guess I don’t really have a question. Maybe I’m looking for words of encouragement. Hopefully some of you that have experienced similar academic journeys can give me some advice. How did you juggle work and family? How did you compensate for your low cumulative gpa when it was time to apply to colleges? Any of you end up getting a degree through an online program?

If you are still here, thank you for reading!

[ucbalumnus]

SFSU’s policies on readmission with low GPA are at http://bulletin.sfsu.edu/policies-procedures/academic-standards/ .

[happymomof1]

Work, family, and studying can be a tough combination. One advantage of starting over again at a community college is that there will be lots of students just like you. Don’t try to study full-time. Study part-time. Start with just one class at a time, and work up to more if you find that you can do that.

Also, since classes are almost certainly only going to be in online format this summer and fall, you will have the opportunity to find out how well that works for you! If you like online classes, when/if face-to-face classes resume, you can keep taking online classes instead. There are going to be a lot more online options now that we know how to do it.

I completed my MS Ed. in TESOL in an online program. There are advantages (especially if classes are asynchronous and you can do the work whenever it fits your schedule), and disadvantages (you don’t get to hang out with your classmates before/after/between classes). If it is the best or only way for you to get your degree, then you can make it work for yourself.

[iamluis]

@happymomof1 Great advice about time management. I work part-time at the moment and do the majority of the childcare. I have two very active 4 year olds at home getting antsy. My kids’ school will open at the end of June so I will have more time for well, pretty much everything, which I am really looking forward to LOL.

I’ve been researching some online programs. There’s lots out there to explore. The one hesitation I have is regarding graduate school and whether it would be a deterrent to some institutions if I do end up wanting to get a masters degree in the future. But I digress, I need to focus on now!

[happymomof1]

Provided you earn your bachelor degree at a regionally accredited college or university, it won’t matter if you did most of the work online or in person. Not to mention of course that almost everything is going to be online this fall, and probably for the whole time you are working on your degree.

One advantage of choosing a program that has been designed to be online from the get-go is that the faculty know what they are doing, the students are expecting to be online, and the college/university administrators, library services, etc. are all ready for that. Those of us who had one day’s notice that we were going to be teaching the second half of the semester in Zoom are still reeling from the shock. But we also survived the experience, and are ready to take on whatever comes next.

If the college/university you are looking at doesn’t explicitly state that it has regional accreditiation, then check here: https://www.chea.org/regional-accrediting-organizations