You Are Never Too Old to Continue Your Education

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Now that you have retired, you may be thinking about plans for your future. You may be one of those adults who retired from one career only to think about beginning a second one. You may be worried about continuing your education for several reasons. Your new dream career might involve you going back to school, which costs money. You may be worried that you won’t be successful in school. Here are some tips for continuing your education after you retire.

Funding Your Tuition

One of your largest concerns might be paying for school, especially if you are retired. First, you may want to look into whether you can get scholarships or grant money to fund your tuition. Many colleges offer non-traditional students (such as retirees) money to return to school. You can also think about generating the income yourself through a reverse mortgage like what you’d find at https://reverse.mortgage/, especially if you own your home. A reverse mortgage allows you to get a lump sum for your home, or a monthly payment–without a mortgage. This would give you money for tuition, and a little extra.

Start Out Slowly

When you haven’t been to school in a while, a return can be daunting. You know that you want to return to school, but you are worried you won’t be able to handle the workload. No worries. Why not start out slowly? Take one class and see how you do. You may find that you can keep up with those college students just fine. If you are happy with the results of your first class, you can take two the next semester. By starting out slowly, you’ll be able to handle coursework easily.

This can also be applied to vocational courses as well as undergraduate or graduate school. If you want to become a welder, why not start with one course? Taking it slowly gives you time to adjust to your new student lifestyle.

Study on Your Terms

Now that you are back to taking coursework, you will find that you have a different plan of study now than you did when you were young. You probably stayed up all night cramming for exams and drinking a lot of coffee. That was fine when you were 18, but it will not work well now that you aren’t. Think about the times of day when you are most productive. It may be that instead of being productive late at night, you are most productive early in the morning. That becomes your time to read and study as a student. Also, instead of cramming, which doesn’t help you remember anything, think about studying in short spurts of time, and then come back to it. This helps keep your memory and retention fresher.

Find Your People

You may think you are the only person in their 50s, 60s, or 70s who is in school, but you aren’t. In fact, the number of people in their midlife or senior lives that are returning to school is continuing to grow. This trend is only expected to increase as Baby Boomers age and look for new things to try.

Because there are increasing numbers of adults returning to school, you may find that you have peers you can hang out and study with. It will be great for you to have a study group of adults your own age, as you will have similar experiences as they do. Studying together also means you’ll be able to combine your workload. Not sure where to start or how to find your people? Ask around. There may be a student group for non-traditional students. You might be able to find a group of college alumni who have returned to school as well. By finding your people, you’re finding your spot on campus where you can be comfortable.

Don’t Be Afraid to Try New Things

One of the best parts about retiring is that you get to try new things you may not have tried before. Unlike when you were young, you don’t have to worry about making anyone happy besides yourself. This is the perfect age to get out there and see what you want to do in this next stage of your life. If you have always wanted to take an art class, or go to graduate school, why not try it now? What’s holding you back? You may find out that retirement is the perfect age to try something new and different, and your search may guide you into a new phase of satisfaction with your life goals and your journey.