Back to School

[thestrangequark]

Has anyone here gone back to school after a long absence? Any advice?

I graduated from NYU in 2006 with a BS in Childhood education and Special Education. I also earned almost enough credits for a degree in psychology (I'm something ridiculous like 4 units away), but because I was student teaching full time, going to school full time, and working part time my junior and senior years, I just couldn't handle the extra workload of those one or two psych classes.

Anyway, I think I want to go for a PhD in Neuroscience, possibly specifically neuropsychology. I graduated cum laude, but I know I'll have to get stellar test scores to qualify for a good program, especially as money is a big issue. I basically need to go to school for free, no loans at all.

So, any advice for one whose been away from academia for awhile and wants to get back in? Any stories of triumph or woe to share?

 

[Kestra]

I'm hoping to finish up a BA in psych this June. I was out of school for several years and decided to go back. It's been great the second time around although it felt odd at first. I'm actually taking an undergrad course in neuropsychology this quarter and I've been working in the "brain and language lab" to learn research.

Do you have all the prereqs to apply to PhD programs or are you going to go back for classes? I assume you want to do a PhD, though some PsyD programs are funded now as well. If you need to take the GRE be aware that they're changing it a bit this fall. Scores are good for five years though, so if you've already taken it you might be fine.

Let me know if you ever want to talk! I'm probably going to apply to clinical programs but I've been looking into neuropsych as well.

 

[Misfit Toy]

My wife graduated with a BA in English and went back after 10 years and got her MBA. It was hard work and there wasn't as much interaction with the other students but the studying actually came easier - I think it was having a tangible goal that helped.

 

[Tora Ziyal]

I guess you could call this one a triumph: I started seminary seven years after my first masters and got my Master of Divinity degree when I was 39. Because I was more motivated than I had been in my previous graduate program or, especially, as an undergraduate, I studied much harder, enjoyed it more, and got better grades.

 

[Finn]

Good luck. I'm currently in school for my second degree, secondary education; biology. I went back two years ago after 6 1/2 years. I'm student teaching this coming semester.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

After high school i did one year at community college. I was bored out of my mind and frankly not ready to be serious about school. After getting married and having a child i decided to go back to school (at age 30). It took me four years to get a two year degree in American Sign Language Studies, but i graduated with a 4.0. Not easy to do while juggling a husband, child, house and home business! I loved school, i loved meeting new people and just LOVED learning! Got a job and worked in the field for ten years. I had to quit after that because i just plain burned out.

But, yes, i did go back to school after a LONG absence. I loved it and i'd do it again. In fact, i have actually been thinking about going back again. Good luck TSQ. I'm sure you'll be awesome.

 

[Holdfast]

At a minimum, you should do the classes needed for your undergraduate psych degree!

A PhD in Neuroscience is a challenge, but one that can be taken in lots and lots of different directions. The basic principles are well worth knowing, simply because they provide a plausible interpretative framework for understanding how we perceive the world and ourselves, something that we would all be well-served in contemplating.

Neuropsychology can be very interesting, esp. experimental neuropsychology where the kinds of questions being asked often border on the philosophical/metaphysical. There's a lot of donkey work too, of course, but the point is that the questions can be dared to be asked at all.

At one point I thought of subspecialising in cognitive neuropsychiatry for the same reason, but actually doing research isn't something I enjoy. Posing the questions and theorising, yes, I can do that. Following through with the legwork and dealing with the inanities of research politics, not so much...

Anyway, I have no practical advice, but would simply encourage you and wish you luck!

 

[Mary Ann]

I graduated with my first degree in 1995 when I was single, childless, and living in my parents' basement. A few years ago I started home-study through the Open University towards a Bachelor in Child and Youth Studies while working part-time. I'm married, have 3 kids, and my husband works evenings, so it's been a challenge. Recently I quit work so that I could concentrate more on my studies and take more courses simultaneously, and I changed my major to Law. I found I quickly got back into the routine of studying and hadn't lost my knack for writing essays, despite not having been a student for over 10 years. Good luck with your future studies! As the parent of a child with autism spectrum disorder I find your choice of major fascinating.

 

[thestrangequark]

Thanks for the well-wishes and encouraging stories, everyone. And, Kestra, I may take you up on your offer if I come up with any questions.

Holdfast, I am actually very interested in the research aspect. I took an intro to neuroscience class in undergrad and really enjoyed the labwork. I also enjoy experiment design and (quite wickedly) love criticizing poorly designed experiments, so I could always have a future in peer reviewing for a journal! Actually, some of what may be considered the tedious aspects I think I would find soothing. Part of the reason I've realized that teaching is not for me is that, although I am very good at it and have infinite patience, it is one area of my life where bipolar disorder has a huge negative effect. When one works with young children one must always be on, as it were -- I can't have a bad day. When I struggle with depression my job drains so much from me that I can barely function. I don't want to burn-out.

Also, my job doesn't provide enough intellectual stimulation, to be honest. This is going to sound snotty, but there's no way around it: I know neuroscience is difficult, but I also know that I'm smart enough. What is causing me some trepidation is my math skills. While I am capable at math, and understand very well the fundamentals of statistics (which is, of course, going to be required for a doctorate in neuro), I am slow when it comes to performing formulae and functions, so that I sometimes do not finish exams. This resulted in the only C on my transcript, in stats. I am anxious about re-learning the math that I'll need for entrance exams, but that's the only academic aspect that concerns me.

I have felt intellectually unsatisfied, and just reading my Scientific American and the odd physics journal is no longer feeding my mind enough. I think I need school. Now I just need school to want me!

 

[Holdfast]

Now I just need school to want me!

And so they should!

I don't know specifically how graduate entry in the USA works, but in the UK, the entrance test can include a broad test assessing a number of different areas of aptitude, of which mathematical ability is only one part, so getting a less than stellar grade on one section shouldn't cripple the overall mark too much, provided you outperform the competition on the other areas.

Good luck!

 

[MetalPants]

Some advice I can offer is to take an easy class at first, to get back into the swing of studying and all of that. A lot of my academic skills had atrophied in the years of when I first flunked out of school as an idiot teenager and then reentered as an adult.

 

[thestrangequark]

^Well, my math courses will have to be easy ones, that's for sure!

I did find some excellent news in the limited research I've done so far, and that's being a woman will be a big plus for getting into school. For Neurosciences, women are still considered a minority! That added to my Native American status may help a lot!

One thing I'm concerned about is references. I've been out of the world of academia for almost 5 years. Does anyone have any advice on letters of recommendation?

 

[Holdfast]

Good references rarely get you a position; but bad ones sink you. Just make sure to pick referees that you can trust to deliver. Ideally, and depending on how many the institutions require, get one from your current employer, the preceding employer, and one from someone who supervised you in education since you're going back into that world.

If possible (and some won't be flexible, or provide certain details, for fear of lawsuits/policy) get them to cover all the relevant basics (academic achievement, aptitude, character, track record, conscientousness, soft skills, etc, etc). Over here, references rarely make much of a difference either way, unless they're bad.

 

[Kestra]

^Well, my math courses will have to be easy ones, that's for sure!

Don't freak out too much about math. It's not my strong suit and I hadn't really used that part of my brain in awhile, so I nearly had a panic attack just thinking about taking stats. It came back fairly easily, however, and I did well in the class. I think relating it to research helped for me. I wasn't learning math just because I had to, it was related to something that I find interesting.

As far as references go, they want to hear from people you've done research with, I believe. They need to hear from people who can speak to your ability to do the work required of you in graduate school.

 

[Sephiroth]

I'm looking to go back to school for my BSEE, depending on what happens this month I will know if its gonna happen this year or not

 

[TerokNor]

I also went back to school after a few years working in my first career. I found it easier than the first time, because the motivation is a different one, it was my free decision to go back and I know my goal.
Good luck and success to you!

TerokNor

 

[Finn]

^Same here.

 

[iguana_tonante]

I've been in academia all my life, so I don't have any relevant advice for re-entering it after a hiatus, but I just wanted to wish you the best for you endeavour, tsq. Also, knowing you are wickedly smart and ferociously dedicated when you get into something, I'm sure you will do well.

 

[Mary Ann]

Also, my job doesn't provide enough intellectual stimulation, to be honest. This is going to sound snotty, but there's no way around it: I know neuroscience is difficult, but I also know that I'm smart enough.

It's not snobbery; it's honesty. I've had several part-time retail jobs over the years and they've never lasted more than a year because I became bored with them. I'm loving my law studies because they challenge me, and even though I loved working in Early Years, some of my (now ex-)colleagues told me I would get bored with the job in a few years because it wasn't intellectually challenging enough for me. I'm not disciplined enough to spend years working at a job which doesn't provide any satisfaction.

 

[propita]

I got an AA in Laser Technology in 1984, worked for 16 years, and went back for my BA in 2003 (English), and on to law school, graduating in 2009.

It’s harder when you’re older (not always the energy of the youngsters), but also MUCH easier in MANY ways. As mentioned by others, you’re more directed and have better motivation. You want this. You know what you want and you’re doing it. And your experience, even if not in that field but life experience in general, aids in your understanding of nuances you might’ve missed when younger. And in your general attitude towards prioritizing. OMG! Many youngsters have little idea about prioritizing.

A big thing was just being at a different point in life, so what matters to YOU really affects things. For instance, I had to take a creative writing class, so I opted for poetry over short story writing, figuring poems were shorter. Yeah, I know. I was at least 15 years older than the next oldest student (and 10 years older than the teacher) So while people are reading out their poems, I’m hearing all this angst and questioning and unknown and emotion. When someone commented that my poems had none of that, I said that I was past a lot of that general angst, that I had outgrown it and that my anxieties had clearer causes. THAT is something to remember, that a lot of anxiety may be quite fleeting, which the youngsters just hadn’t had the years to realize yet.