3 Weeks In

I have just finished my third week of school.  This is the second week of my online class.  Each week gets tougher and tougher. 
It does not help anything when the weather is bad and they cancel school.  Trying to stay on top of things and now Mother Nature has put us behind.  Why did Mother Nature feel it was appropriate to dump rain on Colorado for 4 straight days? Yes, we need the moisture, but not a summers worth in less than a week.  Do you not understand that some people have a math test next week or a lab due?
And the kids!  My children listen when my husband is working from home.  They leave him along.  But when mommy has the coffee table covered in school books and papers trying to figure out her math homework, they have to be running around and screaming like wild Indians! 
My rant is over.
Thank you for listening.
Luckily, I get "Mommy Studying Time" away from the house tomorrow.  I can sit in the coffee shop with my headphones on, a yummy coffee drink, and plug away at homework.
And my daughter just came up to me and made faces and noises at me...

First Week Done!

First week back to school has come to a close and I feel good!

2 out of my 3 classes started this week.  My online class starts this coming week.

My first day was slightly slow.  Lots of "This is what you can expect to get out of my class" and "This is what I expect out of you" type things. Lots of reviewing policies, needed supplies, etc.

My first set of homework was easy.  I had to get my notebook put together for my math class.  My teacher is super specific on how she wants thing organized and we will be graded on it through out the semester.  Blah!  I also had to do my prep work for math class as well, with the class being a "flipped" class and all.

"Flipped" class is where we do our "lecture/learning" part of the class at home and then we do our homework in class with our fellow students.  We get into groups and mentor each other and do our homework together.  According to my teacher, this type of teaching has an 80% success rate compared to the 40% success rate of lecture type teaching.  We shall see!

After the first week, I have 100% in my math class!  I received 100% on my homework and first quiz, PLUS I received half a point of extra credit!  Good start!

My first set of chemistry homework was fairly easy as well.  Read chapter 1 (which was short), homework page, read Safety Lab, read Glassware Lab, and do pre lab for Glassware Lab. So far Chemistry is not as bad as I thought it would be. I received a 100% on my first quiz and I have done all my  board work for the semester (doing different work problems on the front board in front of the class). 

And apparently, Chemistry is considered the central science!

The Hubby has agreed to let me take off for a few hours every Saturday morning to get studying done.  So this morning, I went to a coffee shop near home and had an awesome coffee drink while I worked on what little homework I had to do.

My first weekend and I have all my homework done by Saturday afternoon. 

I fully expected to be busier.  But it is the first week and I still have a class that hasn't started. So I will just enjoy my quiet time while it lasts.

This first week has made me tired, physically and mentally!  I can feel it in my knees. Carrying my back pack and walking around takes its toll.  I fall asleep early every night.  It actually feels good to be this tired!

What I Have Learned From My First Week Of School:
         - Make sure to have snacks
         - Stay organized
         - Wait till after the first day of school to print out assignments.  The teacher usually prints out    everything you need for the first day.  You end up with duplicates if you come prepared...

The Night Before...

My first class starts tomorrow.  The long journey starts.  I am nervous, excited, scared, relieved... How can one person fell all these things at once? 

Starting tomorrow, I will have Intermediate Algebra and Intro to Chemistry.  And then next week, my online English class starts.  The online class will be interesting.

They say to do an online class, you have to have self discipline, be well organized, and responsible.  Oh gee. Why did I think this was a good idea? 

I am more scared for Chemistry.  I did not take chemistry in high school. But it is required for my degree in Biology.  I decided to test it out my first semester and if it doesn't "click" then I can figure something out at the beginning.  I do not want to take a class more than once. 

My house is super clean, thanks to The Hubby, The Boy and The Girl.  Yes, the 2 year old helped dust.  I have my books, my backpack, enough supplies to get me started, and everyone organized. 

Now to get rid of the anxiety and hope I can sleep tonight! Wish me luck!

The Necessary Evil of FINANCIAL AID!

Financial aid...what a wonderfully EVIL thing you are!  But I love thee!
If it was not for you, I would not be able to go to school and pay for books.

Financial aid...

There was so much I did not know about financial aid and so much I still do not know.
I seriously think, in my opinion, that even the financial aid office doesn't know EVERYTHING there is to financial aid.

From the beginning, I knew that apply for financial aid and the whole process was going to be long and annoying.  Therefore, I started shortly after filing taxes, which I did in February.

First, you DO NOT have to pay to apply for financial aid!  DO NOT PAY!!! There are sites out there that say they will file your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) for a fee. Really?  It is a FREE application!  So here is the direct link to get to the FAFSA http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ 

Start EARLY! Do not wait until the month before school starts to do your financial aid.  The earlier the better!

Now, once you get started, you have to do some waiting.  Sometimes it is for a day, sometimes it is for weeks!  Make sure you are prepared with all your information so the process will go smoothly.  Keep all your financial aid papers together and at hand.  And be patient!

I finally finished my FASFA in April.  That is the first step.  Then you have to wait for the Financial Aid Office at your school of choice. 

I was able to keep track of my Financial Aid status on my schools website.  A green check mark next to a document means that it is in and in the clear, a red flag means that it needs to be done or something is wrong. Stay on top of those red flags!

Between completing my FAFSA and getting the "Go Ahead" from the school to get my books and start class, there was counseling to do on the computer, promissory notes, LOTS of different papers to fill out and sign, I had to decide what kind of loans I wanted to apply for (Subsidized or Unsubsidized, PELL GRANTS), how much of those loans I wanted to take out, etc.  I had everything turned in and ready by the end of June.

You can imagine the "Happy Dance" I did once everything was in the clear! OMG! I was ready for school!  July was a stress free month, and then August hit!  Classes start in August! And at the beginning of the month, I saw that I had "red flags" next to both promissory notes. WTF?  What happened in the last month?  Can I still go to school?  Can I still pick up my books from the bookstore?  ? ? ?

I contacted my Financial Aid Office via email, phone, and, eventually, walked in!  They informed me that towards the beginning of semester, they have to confirm the loans etc., so red flags show up next to those items while in that process.  While speaking to an awesome lady in the office, she looked up on their end of things and found that everything was going great!  Everything had been approved and I could go to school and get my books and be happy again!

So... Here I am. Waiting for school to start in a week and a half.  I bought my books.  My student ID is in my wallet. (Oh I need to get my FALL sticker... crap!)

The above experience is mine, and not exactly the norm.  Apparently, some people have a harder time with Financial Aid and some have an easier time.  And it can change from one year to another!  Next year, I may not have to complete so many documents and jump through so many hoops! 

Here are a few things about Financial Aid that can make life a bit easier:

- There is a difference between Subsidized Loans and Unsubsidized Loans:
     - Subsidized Loans do not accumulate interest that you have to pay for at the end.  The Government pays the interest until you are out of school.  So all you pay for is the loan itself.
     - Unsubsidized Loans accumulate interest while you are in school and you have to pay the loan and the interested once you are out of school.

- You have to pay back your Student Loans even if you do not finish school.

- You are able to take out more money than what is needed for your tuition and fees.  You may use this money for books and materials, gas, bills, food, etc.  Just a reminder that you have to pay back anything you take out!

-Grants do not have to be paid back! They are free money!  TAKE THEM!

- If you can get Grants and Scholarships, then use that money before the Financial Aid.



Do any of my readers have anything else they would like to add about Financial Aid?  Horror stories, good stories, advise, etc.?

Meet The Rambler...

Hi! 
I am Gretel and I am a non traditional college student!
What is a "non traditional college student" you ask? Well, there is not a clear definition. 

You may be a Non Traditional College Student if:

- you do not go to college in the same year you graduate high school
- you attends college part time
- you work full time while enrolled in school
- you are considered independent when it comes to financial aid
- you have  dependents other than a spouse (children, etc)
- you are a single parent
- you received a GED instead of a high school diploma
These are not the only qualifications, but they make up the majority.

I am considered a non traditional college student because I am a 31 year old, stay at home wife and mother of 2. I attempted college right out of high school and found that I wasn't ready. Instead, I worked and partied, got married and then divorced to my first husband, and continued to work and party. 
I have wanted to go back to school for 8 years now. For 2 of those years, I made excuses. Then my now husband (boyfriend at the time) talked me into getting rid of the excuses and go! My husband, who I will refer to as The Hubby, had been a traditional college student, going to college right after high school and earning 2 degrees in 4 years at Adams State. 

So there I was, sending my application to Metro State University of Denver, applying for financial aid, and re-learning Algebra so I could take placement tests. And I find out that I was pregnant! I was working full time and planned on going back to school full time. Now I am going to be pregnant on top of it. So, I decided to wait on school till after the baby was born. This was the best decision I could make! I had morning sickness so bad through most of my pregnancy that I had to go from full time to part time at my job. School would not have happened!

The Hubby and I had decided it would be best for our family of 3 if I stayed home with our son, The Boy. So I did. And I waited for 2 years till I thought about going back to school.

I decided to look at going to school part time at a community college. As I started to gather information, I found out I was pregnant AGAIN with our daughter, The Girl!
The Hubby and I were seeing a trend. Attempt college, get pregnant!

After The Girl was born healthy and beautiful, The Hubby decided to go get "snipped". No more babies and I would have a chance to go back to school!

I start at Community College of Aurora (CCA) in 2 weeks! The Boy is going to kindergarten in a week! And The Girl is a very independent 2 year old who can not wait to go to preschool next year! 

What can you expect from my blog? Rambling, as you can read!

Here you will find my experiences and feelings on going back to school in my 30's at the same time, maintaining a family, marriage and everything else life throws at me!