Studying and the Quiz

Well, the bad news is I got 2 B pluses on my written assignments.  The good news is I got 100% on the quiz.  I couldn't have done it without youse guys.  Moral support definitely helps.

I think I study more than some of the other students.  The girl next to me doesn't even have a book.  She called me crazy for actually doing the readings.  Some of the students are only hoping to get an Associates Degree which basically only requires that you pass your class.  You can graduate with a C average.  Some of them are hoping to go on to 4 year schools that have approximately the same standards.  But I won't consider this a worthwhile endeavor unless I get into the University of Pennsylvania.  That school requires at least a B average to get in, but the higher your grades are the better chance you have of getting in. 

There are at least a few others in the class who are also reading their book.  I think the other woman in her thirties is studying hard.  I guess no one in their thirties goes to school unless they're serious about it.  There's one other woman there who I think must be in her thirties.  She brought her daughter to class on Monday.  Her daughter was so sweet and so well-behaved, so it wasn't a problem at all.

The professor mentioned before handing back the quizzes that it was very easy for her to tell who was actually reading the book, and who was just going from notes taken in class.  She grades pretty easily, though, and I think some people take advantage.

It's still hard for me being so old and going to school.  I do feel a little out of place.  I guess I just have to keep my eye on the prize of the University of Pennsylvania where there will be many other adult students.  And until that time, just focus on getting the best grades that I can.

Adult Education

I did a search on "adult education" just to see if I could find anything the might inspire, inform, or enlighten me.  It's pretty slim pickin's.  There were a lot of sites devoted to combating adult illiteracy.  I'm pretty sure I'm not illiterate, but neither do I have a degree.  I'm really stuck in this hard to define position.  Though I don't have a lot of formal education, I have, in some sense, been schooled by life, and through independent study.  The classroom isn't the only place you can learn.

I did a search on "adult education blog" to see if anyone else had shared their experiences as an adult student.  Nope.  Not that I could find, anyway.  It looks like I'm either totally out of my element, or blazing a new trail.  I think I like the thought of trailblazer better.

I do think I will have quite a fish-out-of-water experience at the community college.  They don't get enough adult students to have a separate school for "non-traditional" students, like me.  At the class registration, there was only one other adult there that I noticed out of about twenty students.  I hope there are at least a few other adults in the classes I've signed up to take.  I deliberately signed up for night classes when I could, because I figured adults were more likely to take those classes.

Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by the prospect of what I'm doing, and think I should just give up.  But, of course, I realize that the longer I wait, the older I get, and the more awkward it will be.  When I was in my twenties, I already thought I was too old for college.  I tried to go about building a life without a degree.  It almost worked, but not quite.  And now I realize if I had done it then, it would be over with.  I'd already have a degree, and it would have been a lot less awkward.  Realizing that helps me stay on course.

The University of Pennsylvania is my real goal, though.  If I can get through the awkwardness of the community college, then I can arrive safely at the University of Pennsylvania in their school that  is specifically for adults and other non-traditional students.  I'm pretty sure it will be a better social experience for me.

Less than a month to go before classes start.

School Nerves

I've been to the school registration, I've taken the placement tests, but I've yet to step foot into an actual classroom.  That won't be until May 23rd.  And I'm full of nerves.

I fear that community college might be the pits for me since most of my fellow students will be significantly younger than me.  We'll see how that goes.  It might not be so bad.  But this is one of the reasons why I am so eager to get into the University of Pennsylvania's LPS school.  It's a school specifically designed for adults.  It will be nice to work alongside others who are intelligent, interested in learning and in the same general age range as me.

Once classes get started, I'm hoping the quality of my blog will improve too.  Not only will I be able to share stories (and pictures) from the trenches, but if I write any good papers, I'll probably share those too.

It's been so long since I've been to a school, that I just don't know what I'm in for.  Actually, I hope it isn't anything whatsoever like high school, since that was quite terrible for me.  Hopefully the professors will be able to jumpstart my brain.  It's been so long since I've had any intellectually challenging and invigorating work.

Long ago, when I almost had a career, I did some interesting work.  I was a guest panelist on Philly After Midnight, a local ABC show.  I was a semi-finalist for Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, and I was selected as a guest panelist when the ABC show The View did its "View Across America" tour.  I wrote, produced and hosted my own little local cable show.  I don't know what happened, exactly.  I guess I sort of gave up.  I didn't believe in myself.  I began to fear that even if I was "successful" that I still wouldn't be happy.  I feared success and failure.  I had no guidance.  People were becoming jealous of me and hateful towards me for the little success that I had.  I didn't want more of that.  It was a venture into the unknown, and I bailed from it.  I gave into the naysayers.  I shouldn't have.

So now, in my old age, I'm trying to find my way.  I don't really know what I want to do with school, but it has to be better than just stewing in regret.  A new beginning, despite my fears.

Adult Education in the NE

The following are the top 2 colleges in the NE for adults seeking a bachelor's degree, according to me.  I'll admit, I haven't done  a thorough researching of all of the possibilities.  But from the research that I have done, these were the two that I had to decide between.  It's kind of a toss up for me between the two.  If I lived close to Harvard, I'd probably go there.  But since I live near the University of Pennsylvania, that's where I'm hoping to go.  Realistically, there really isn't that much in the way of undergraduate schools specifically for adults.  So this list may well be comprehensive.  Here's what I found about these two Ivy League schools:

#1  University of Pennsylvania
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Offers a regular bachelor's degree to adults through their College of Liberal Professional Studies (LPS).

Admissions: Does not require SAT scores.  Requires a B average or higher, and an admissions essay.

No average age of students given.

#2  Harvard Extension School
Location: Cambridge, MA

Does not offer a regular bachelor's degree to adults, but their equivalancy degree has led students to academic success as graduate students at good schools.

Admissions: Take 3 classes at the Extension School including one expository writing class, get a B+ average or higher, and write an admissions essay.

Does not require SAT scores or prior GPA.

Offers long distance learning for a few concentrated areas of study.

Average age of students: 35

Greetings

Here's my plan, as of now: To go to community college to get the GPA that I need to get into the University of Pennsylvania.  They have a school called the College of Liberal Professional Studies (LPS) that is specifically geared towards adults.  The faster I get in there, the better, as I dread the thought of only going to school with people half my age.  Supposedly, if I take four classes at community college, get good grades, and write a killer application essay, then I should have a good shot at getting into the University of Pennsylvania LPS school.  It's been about 13 years since I took the GED test, so hopefully they won't hold my old test scores against me.  Do I sound like an unlikely candidate for an Ivy League school?  Well, we'll see about that.  Even though a lot of people think you're stupid if you haven't gone to college, I think I may still have a few tricks up my sleeve.