HURRAH FOR YOU !!! Hang in there. Years from now you will be well rewarded for the effort. Yes I can tell you as a member of the "Last of the Summer Wine" crowd, my wife and I have been so lucky at 77 and 74, but some of our friends not so fortunate. Steve in Baltimore County

You go, girl! You're setting an example that anyone should be proud to follow!

Learning should be a life-long process. They don't call the last ceremony commencement for nothing. ;-). Have you explored the possibility of finding another school at which you can complete this last course, and have your own school accept it? I can relate the to perpetual senior status. I keep getting mail concerning what I need to do for graduation, and I have no intention of doing that again anytime soon, or ever. I went a different direction and into nursing and let my other coursework sit as well. I have had to move so many times, and changed my major each time that my credits are all over the board in five different majors. LOL.

I was toying with commuting to finish up my hort degree, and happened in to my old adviser online and chatted with him. He asked me if my floriculture business was successful to which I replied it's in its eighteenth year. He then "advised" me to take the money I would have spent on tuition and go on a cruise with the added thought that life is like toilet paper. The closer you get to the end of the roll, the faster it spins.

Thanks guys! I think I'm just finishing it, because I'm so close and it is a good example to the Big fella (he lacks one semester for his master's) and the Little fella. Another school? I'd love to finish at my place of work, but I just don't think they'd accept me and the money would be outrageous!!! However, I only have to come up with the money on the front end one time, because my employer, probably because it is a university, reimburses tuition for faculty, staff and our families at the end of each semester. I could use the first semester's reimbursement to pay the second and so on. I wish they'd just give me the money for a cruise! I hope you did go on your cruise S!

Ummm, Most schools have employee discounts on tuition. You might want to call the financial aid office and inquire. Some schools I know of let their employees take classes for free. It can't hurt to ask.

Rob,

Just finish! That is so great. You will always have it and you will feel good about yourself. I dropped out and when I got married and went back five years later and finished and have always been glad I did. If it were two or three years I might have other advice but you can hang on for one semester. It will be hard. It is a lot harder with kids. But you can do it. This is such a good decision. A bit of practical advice, if it is at all possible, find a place away from home where you can study. Later if you want to take the other class, in a year or two it will still be there. I think it is always interesting to be in an enviroment with ideas floating around so I hope you can enjoy that and try not to get to stressed.

Rebecca

Michael, I can audit for free, but I need the credits to graduate. I couldn't even afford the discounted amount for their tuition! My school is 80% less than work, and I'm sweating about adding the additional loan. Although, I hadn't thought of auditing the constitutional issues classes until now... hm. I may also get brave and apply for a transfer, but right now it terrifies me to think about being turned down here.

Let's see, Vanderbilt, Belmont, Fisk, David Liscomb, and I'm sure there's more in Nashville. But all of those are private schools. Aren't there any state run colleges there? Private school tuition is through the roof. The sticker shock for college tuition these days is worse than the sticker shock for new vehicles.

One, TSU, home of the world famous TigerBelles. It's not really in a "good" part of town, so, I'll travel to MTSU in Murfreesboro. Wonder if gas will cost as much as tuition in a Nashville private school?

I've worked soccer games at MTSU. Might see you there.

Ya know, both of my sisters recently enrolled in Masters programs (one for teaching, one for nursing). The nurse-sister is taking all her classes online through an OH university, and doing the clinical work through the CT hospital where she already works full time.

The teacher-sister is taking evening-weekend-summer classes, nearly all of them off the campus of the University offering the program, which is 200 miles away.

Higher Ed really is making great accommodations for its most serious --- and arguably most successful --- students: working adults.

As for avoiding the institution that employs you for fear of rejection... with much love, I say to you "That's stupid." Really! I mean, what's the worst that can happen? They say no? Are you any worse off than you were before? No. But what if they say yes? Wouldn't the possibility of having a diploma from there be worth the risk?

Seriously, folks in admissions are looking to fill the school with qualified, serious students who are likely to succeed. They often look the other way at test scores or previous course work for stable adults with ties to the community and stellar recommendations. Before you write it off, ask around... see if you can buy lunch for someone in admissions. Be frank. Talk about your strengths and weaknesses. Put aside fears of rejection and ask them for guidance or a way to make it work. You might just be surprised. Think of all the things in your life you would not have if you did not try because rejection or failure was a possibility. Focus instead on the possibility of success. in the pants>

Kind of odd in a way, how your life revolves so completely around your Love of Ed... You've got Big Ed, Little Ed, Higher Ed, and who knows? Maybe someday, there'll be Continuing Ed! Enjoy the EdVenture!

Jaz, what am I going to do with you. You're such a good girl. I'm not stupid, or even have poor scores, I just have to get "used to the idea", come around to it, you know what I mean? I have this ghastly vision of being laughed at while the admission folk point at me getting off of the elevator. Risk isn't the biggest factor, and lord only knows, I've never shirked at risk, but funds will keep me down for awhile.

Thanks for all of the encouragement!

Silly bunny! If your grades and scores are fine, ask one of the guys/gals in admissions out to lunch. There's almost certainly a way around the money part. If you frame it as a conversation, you'll get the info and if you're your sweet, charmin' self, they can give you a leg up on the paperwork. If you're terrified of being laughed at when you take the elevator, take the stairs for gosh sake! The lunch thing (esp. on campus) will put you both on neutral and equal turf.

Working at the school, I bet you know someone who knows someone in the office and can set it up for you as more of a reconnaissance mission.

A big portion of my job is working with college recruiters. I sell exhibit space to them at an important event. Some of our state's best students (& educators) in a certain academic area are at this event and I spoke with one of the recruiters last year and asked her if there was anything I could say to these students to make their interaction better: Her response was to tell them not to be afraid to ask "dumb" questions or be rejected at the event. Asking these questions reflects favorably (if anything) on the students. Admissions/recruiters have jobs because this info needs to be provided. In most cases, that's the part of their job they like best.

You know when I went back to school money was a problem for me. I took three classes by taking tests, cost almost nothing I think they were called CLEP tests. I don't know if they still have them. I just read the textbook and then took the test for the class. If you are good at tests that might be an option if they have tests for the classes you need. They don't have tests for everything. Heck that was over thirty years ago they may not have them any more but it's worth a shot.