Your schedule, as a whole, will need to be closely scrutinized when going back to school. You will have less time to spend with your child. Your child will be in child care more than s/he already is because you are a single parent and don’t have the other parent there to help. No matter what degree you are going for, you will have to take the classes that are listed for you to take. These classes are only during certain times, and you only get to pick from what’s available. This isn’t even mentioning that you still have to continue to work because you are the sole source of income as a single parent.
First you’ll have to get a list all the classes you need to get the degree that you are going for. Most colleges have a check list you can print off for each degree. Then you will need to look at each of these classes to see what they have available. If you are lucky, they will have most, if not all of the classes you need online. This will help not only your schedule immensely, but also your child care situation. If they are available online, then all you have to do is make room in your schedule to check your e-mail, check the message board, go to chats if they have them, and do your work. Classes online aren’t for everyone, but single parents tend to be better at them because they are so focused and determined to begin with.
If they aren’t available online, then you have to work with your schedule compared to what’s available. You may have to get a little creative with this, depending on your child care, your work and work schedule, and what’s available. My work for example, allowed me to take an hour and a half lunch so I could take an afternoon class, and then just work half an hour longer at the end of my shift. This made it so I only had to add half an hour to child care instead of the hour and a half I would have needed if I had taken it another time. Another good thing is even if you can’t go to school full time, you can still get financial aid. Are there just a few classes that fit into your current schedule? Could you take a couple classes available online and a couple that fit into your schedule? A single parents schedule is usually full to begin with, but with a little creativity and rearranging, you can still fit school in there too
It may not be easy to switch and replace and rearrange, but it is well worth it in the end. Need help with something more specific, leave me a comment, or send me a personal message.
Finding a College to Fit Your Needs as a Single Parent