I was reading the mamas talking about how hard it is to go to school while being a mama, and I just got really scared.
I plan on applying to the midwifery programme at McMaster University in february for September 2005. Anyways, I never even thought about how hard it is going to be with a baby. I should have realized because I am taking a biology class, and it is hard to even do that with a child.
So, for all the mamas who are going to school, do you think it is do-able? Do you have any tips? I don't know what to do any more.
well i'm a bio major so if you need help on that let me know!
anyway, it's totally doable. lots of work and stress, i won't lie, but you *can* do it!
are you going to take her to class with you or daycare or nanny or what? i took my kid to class with me from the time he was 5-9 months. it was pretty easy at first but by the time he was 8+ months it got really hard because he was moving around and i couldn't really control him. he was also growing out of his morning nap at that time and he had previously always slept through my classes.
tips: if you're a morning person, get up BEFORE she does and study. if you're a night person, wait to study until after she goes to bed. use a sling or baby carrier of some sort and study like that. it is nearly impossible for me to study while he's awake, seriously.
MANY MANY times have i laid in bed next to a sleeping baby with my books on the other side of him and a light strategically placed so it hits the books and not my kid's eyes. the cuddling keeps him asleep (this worked well when he was young and didn't stay asleep unless i was right next to him) and the stillness calmed me to concentrate on the book.
i won't lie (again), it can sometimes be very hard to stay motivated. but, that's with anything. take at least one class per semester that you know you will like or be interested in. drop classes early that you know you won't like after the first couple of days, if they aren't required for your school/major.
but, DON'T PROCRASTINATE. i know it's hard not to say "oh it's just a little bit of reading, i'll do it tomorrow..." but that can escalate and add up very quickly. i took a history of medicine course (which was actually interesting) in the fall of 2003 and kept telling myself i'd "do it tomorrow"...i did well on the papers but had about 1200+ pages of reading to do right before the final because i had BSed my way through the papers and the rest of the class, and put everything off. not good! doing a little bit every night, even before things are due (amazing concept, huh?!), REALLY helps.
study the same thing before bed AND as soon as you wake up if possible. it's proven that things are retained better that way because of how the memory works. the more you go over something, even if it's a little at a time, the better you retain it.
another thing: make sure you fill out your financial aid papers as soon as you can. you live in canada, right? i'm not sure what you do there, but in the u.s. we have the FAFSA. the earlier it's filled out, the better.
alright, i know this is getting really long, but i was actually thinking of making a post about these things soon (maybe i'll do that anyway).
hope i helped a little. :)
Thanks for all the tips, and so fast. I just started feeling really scared and upset and I was sitting here crying, and being over-dramatic.
I might take you up on some bio help if I need it. I got a 90 and an 88 on my first test, so I am doing well. I am just really busy and stressed.
I have no idea what I am going to do with the baby yet. She will be 18 months when I start if I get accepted for next September. They have two day cares on campus, which would be good, but there is a waiting list, and I don't know if I can afford it, and I don't know if I qualify for a childcare subsidy.
I'm not sure if I can take any classes I know I will like because there are certain courses I have to take. I think I can take electives in second year, but I think I won't have to because I can hopefully get transfer credit from classes I took last time I went to university.
The one good thing about the program is that you are only in school for a year and a half, and the rest of the time is clinic placements. So, the homework will be less when I am doing clinic, but I will be on-call all the time.
I am such a procrastinator. I will have to make sure I buckle down.
Those are good study tips. I kinda remember that from the psych class I took.
Finances are another problem. I don't know if I can get financial aid because I still owe the government so much money from my student loans from my previous university career,
I am looking for a job right now, so I can hopefully save up enough money for tuition and books. Tuition is about 2200 and books are usually around 500 a term, so it isn't too bad, but it is scary when things are already tight.
Anyways, thanks again. You really made feel better.
first off, awesome job on the bio tests!
and no problem, i'm glad to help. seriously if you have bio questions pm me or something!
btw, a good way to get books is on ebay. my roommate does this all the time and has had good results. i used to always buy new books when i was in my first couple of semesters but then realized, what the fuck? i'm wasting money when i could be using the extra money to buy food OTHER than spaghetti?!
i think i'll make a college resource post one of these days when i get the time.
if you have any other questions about college with a kid, let me know. another good tip is to let people take your kid if they offer...there is ALWAYS something to do even if it's just to sleep a couple of hours. ;)
Yeah, when I went to university, I would buy my books at the used bookstore or price shop online book stores. Usually, the regular campus bookstore was ridiculously expensive. I never thought about ebay though. That's a fantastic idea.
Thanks again. I will pm you if I need any bio help.
A college resource thread would be really helpful. I can post links that are useful for my province (provincial aid, unviserity and college application centres, day care subsidies, etc.)
I heard that Katherine Arnoldi, author of The Amazing True Story of a Teenage Single Mom, is writing a book about which colleges are mama friendly. I'm not sure if it's just US colleges or if Canada is included too but I would think it probaby has some great ideas & tips too. Maybe if you could find her contact info you could ask her if she plans on including Canada in the book.
Well Im still in high school but Im also doin that with a baby and it is really hard to get everything done, and done well, but its do-able. Im graduating in january and starting college in April. Im not there yet so I dont have a lot of advice but one thing that helps me is to not procrastinate. Every little bit of time I get, I try to study or finish homework. Its a lot harder with a baby but its still way possible. Good luck!
Well, I'm finishing up my last classes for my nursing degree and, yes, it has been hard as hell! But I'm gonna feel soooo good once it's all over with. I also work 16 hours plus a week at a hospital. One thing that I learned this semester, finally, is that you just gotta let people watch your kid sometimes. Malik has a babysitter during the day and I would always pick him up right after classes cuz I missed him and I felt bad about always being so busy. but this semester I decided that since he's a little older (2) it would be okay to leave him at the babyistter's a little extra. So he stays 3 extra hours on Tuesdays and goes for a 1/2 day once a week when I'm off. I did this because it was frustrating for both of us when I've always got my head stuck in a book- this way I get some things done much more efficiently and he can go play with his friends instead of waiting around for me. Actually, this Tuesday I let Malik go see his grandma and uncle for 3 hours AFTER I picked him up from the babysitter's. I felt pretty bad cuz I hadn't seen him all day- but I had an exam on Wed to study for. So I ended up getting really good study time in and got a 95 on my exam! Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do, although it's easier for me at this point cuz I'm like "it's my last semester so this will all be over with soon"- I'm looking forward to having lots more time with my kid.
I have more to say but not enough time (that's college with a kid for ya!) but I'll post more later.
Don't procrastinate! that's the best advice ever. If you've got some time to study do it. Get your homework done as soon as possible because you never know when the kid's going to get sick or shit's going to hit the fan and you won't have time to do it later.
another thing about the finances that worked for me is don't wait until you know for sure how to pay for everything. applications to school have to be filled out and you have to be accepted before financial aid, grants and scholarships, start becoming available, same goes with childcare grants a lot of time. It's really stressful, but sometimes you've got to take the plunge before you can find the life raft. If you have to give up because the finances didn't pull through so be it. you can try again.
I"m in school right now, and I am very luck in that my parents are lending me money to pay for child care while I"m in school/studying.
I'm at a community college and want to go into law eventually.
It is hard. I have hard core guilty mom syndrome- from spending to much time studying- and still not getting enough done.
And I procrastinate ALL The time- don't do that!! It's WAY easyer to read a chapter after the kidlet's gone to bed than to try and read the whole book the night before!
Today is my last day, and I have a killer final in an hour or so...eep....
I'm currently working full time and going to Community College at night part time until next year when I transfer to a four year. And yeah, like the other mommas said, it's hard and you REALLY miss your little one. But you do what you have to do. And YES it is completely doable.
And although these other momas gave you some GREAT tips, I'm going to give you my own two cents as well... Flashcards. Make flashcards of the things you have to study as you go along and carry them in your purse or daiper bag. That way whenever you have a spare minute, (the kids asleep, playing peacefully, whatever) you can just pull them out and study. It's helped me A LOT! You'd be surprised at some of the places I've studied.
And I have another piece of advice but it's only for California mommas: Apply for BOGG. If you are a Cal resident and meet one of the three qualifications (make less than 17000 in a two family household, pay for more than 50% of the needs of a child or dependant, or something else- I can't remember right now) you will not have to pay for a single class. And once you qualify for BOGG, you can then apply for EOPS and possibly get book reimbursment, free parking, meal vouchers and free childcare.
WEll, that's all I've got right now. I'll post more later.
I'm currently working full time and going to Community College at night part time until next year when I transfer to a four year. And yeah, like the other mommas said, it's hard and you REALLY miss your little one. But you do what you have to do. And YES it is completely doable.
And although these other momas gave you some GREAT tips, I'm going to give you my own two cents as well... Flashcards. Make flashcards of the things you have to study as you go along and carry them in your purse or daiper bag. That way whenever you have a spare minute, (the kids asleep, playing peacefully, whatever) you can just pull them out and study. It's helped me A LOT! You'd be surprised at some of the places I've studied.
And I have another piece of advice but it's only for California mommas: Apply for BOGG. If you are a Cal resident and meet one of the three qualifications (make less than 17000 in a two family household, pay for more than 50% of the needs of a child or dependant, or something else- I can't remember right now) you will not have to pay for a single class. And once you qualify for BOGG, you can then apply for EOPS and possibly get book reimbursment, free parking, meal vouchers and free childcare.
WEll, that's all I've got right now. I'll post more later.
For me, having a second child made it hard, but it's still not impossible. It wasn't that bad with only 1 child, but I was in community college.
I am still in community college, and I have been for 5 years. Of course, Ive always had to work, too.
The financial aid might not be a problem for you. I had previous loans etc. that weren't paid off yet from before I had the babies, but they still qualified me for more aid. It seems like you can get a lot more grants and stuff when you have kids.
You can do it. You also have to know your limits, and figure out what works for you. Try to take advantage of every minute- this requires strategic planning. Bring the books with you for any spare minutes. I do a lot of studying at parks, beaches, outside by the kiddie pool, while my kids play.
If you can, work out the daycare scheudle so you have a few extra hours built in between or before classes. You defintiely need some uninterrupted study time! After the kid is in bed is a possibility for study time, but only to a point - and only occasionally- you do need sleep too!
It looks like I'm starting school in September to become a nationaly certified massage therapist. It only takes about 7 months and costs less then $5000, so I won't be in debt forever afterwards trying to pay it back.
It's Mon-Thurs from 9am-1pm, which I think I can handle. All you mamas have inspired me!
In my county, they have a thing where they pay for childcare if your income is under a certain amount, but it has a 2-3 yr waiting list, unless u r still in h.s. Then you can skip the waiting list and get right on it. So thats what i am doing, its a good thing they have it too otherwise i wouldnt be able to go to school.
I'm one semester away from having a degree in Business Administration & Management. I was going to finish before the baby was born since the summer semester is from Mid-July to end of September but I missed the start date because of a complication with my pregnancy. I probably won't go back until January but that makes it hard because that's also when I'm supposed to go back to work (after my maternity leave). I'm sooooo close and not quite there. We'll see :)
bump for all the mamas starting back to school soon!