Getting a divorce is stressful. In fact, it’s one of the top three of the most stressful events you can go through in life. Even when you know that it’s the best thing for you, it’s hard, and even more so if your entire lifestyle is about to change. Going back to school after divorce can also be stressful – and even scary.
If you got married and devoted yourself to creating a family before you had the chance to get your university diploma, perhaps now is a good time to give it another try and start sorting your life as methodically as you can. After all, education brings new experiences, but it also means that you’ll have more jobs to pick from and that you’ll most likely be able to earn more.
If this sounds a bit frightening, you aren’t sure that you’ll be able to go back to studying, and you’re worried about the organizational side of it, here are some useful tips that will help you get back on track and make going back to school after divorce easier.
4 Tips on Going Back to School After Divorce
1. Plan Your Finances
Even those who are financially settled might have difficulties dealing with the cost of studying. It doesn’t merely come down to tuition, although that alone can be a lot. You have to think about the prices of books, electronic devices such as computers, headphones and alike, but also things like desks and chairs. Plus, you should always have some extra money ready for the unexpected expenses. If there’s a chance of you getting a scholarship, make sure you apply for it, but if not, you have to consider other options. One of them is combing through the job market and finding something that you can do while studying and which will fill most of the gaps in your budget, while another is getting a loan. The key is to calculate approximately how much money you’ll need and be prepared in advance for your return to college.
2. Consider Your Options
Enrolling at a university is never easy, and it gets harder as you get older. It’s even more challenging if you need to focus on your children and you have to work, too. This is why it’s essential to weigh your options and find the one that’s best for you. Look into the community colleges near you, as they cost less and often have courses designed for those who took a break between high school and college. Furthermore, many of them have courses adjusted to those who have full-time jobs, meaning that they have classes in the evening or at weekends. Even if you don’t think that you can actually go to any classes, nowadays there are plenty of universities with online courses you can take, no matter what field of study you’re interested in. This would allow you to balance your children-related obligations, work, and study with more ease, so do some online research before you make a final decision on what to do.
3. Be Organized
Once you actually get back to school after divorce, start taking classes, and studying, you’ll need to be as efficient as possible to make it all work. For instance, you’ll have to make a schedule which will include not only your lessons, but also time to do any homework or studying. Also, you’ll have to have good study materials so that you don’t waste your time on things that aren’t important. Do your best to keep your notes coherent and systematic. If you aren’t good at making notes, or you don’t have the time to do it on your own, make use of other people’s knowledge and skills. For instance, it’s safe to rely on QCE notes and essays, which are created by the students who attended specific courses before you. This way, you’ll get valuable study materials, which you can then access from your home, library, or anywhere else, and which you can even download by swapping your own study materials.
4. Use All the Help You Can Get
No matter what you do in life, you’re bound to face some obstacles, and going back to school after divorce is no different. When that happens, when you feel overwhelmed and when you don’t see how you can do things by yourself, don’t hesitate to ask for help. For instance, perhaps some of your friends can take care of your children when you have to study, or your neighbor can let your kid tag along when they drive their own kids to school or football practice. Order groceries online instead of going to the supermarket or get takeout a few times a week instead of cooking. Perhaps you can even talk to your parents about moving back with them for a while. Yes, you might be too proud to ask them, or you may not think that it’s an ideal solution, but it’s still something to consider. Not only will you be able to save some money that way, but you will also have somebody else at home with you most of the time, which means that you can leave your kids with the people you love and trust the most and that you’ll have somebody take over some of your chores when you don’t have time for them. Just keep the long-term benefits in mind and see what’s best for you.
Although it might seem tough at first, going back to school can help you recover from your divorce. It can give you something constructive to think about and spend your time on, open you up to new people and experiences, and provide you with better job opportunities down the road. Plus, it can help you build your self-esteem and regain the power over your own life. This is something you owe to yourself, and there’s no better time to do it than now.
Lilly Miller is a Sydney-based graphic designer and a passionate writer. She loves everything about home decor, art history, and baking. She shares a home with two loving dogs and a gecko named Rodney.
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