Maria Lewis Bethel faced many obstacles in pursuing her goal of getting a university degree. She had three young children to care for, jobs that didn't allow time for classes, and a lack of money. After completing some courses in the 1990s, she let life get in the way of continuing her education. In 2001, tired of feeling unfulfilled, she decided to go back to school to pursue her dream of becoming a lawyer, despite thinking it wasn't possible. She took multiple buses each morning to balance work, childcare, and attending classes.

1. Maria Lewis Bethel, 32, encountered one
obstacle after another trying to get a university
degree. She had three young children who
needed care, jobs that didn’t leave time for
classes and a dire lack of money. “I fell into the
trap of thinking I had to wait for the perfect
circumstances before going back to college,” says
Maria, who had completed a few courses in the
mid-’90s before letting life get in the way. “I knew
I had the ability. I knew I had the talent. I just
didn’t think it was possible.”
PHOTODISC/PICTUREQUEST
5/10/05 www.womansday.com 95
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s o y o u w a n t t o g o b a c k t o s c h o o l
WHAT ARE YOUR DREAMS? ARE YOU READY TO MAKE THEM A REALITY? IN THIS YEARLONG
SERIES, WOMAN’S DAY WILL HELP YOU DO JUST THAT. IN EACH ISSUE, YOU’LL FIND NEW,
INNOVATIVE IDEAS AND SOLUTIONS AND HEAR FROM WOMEN WHO HAVE FACED THE SAME
CHALLENGES YOU DO AND SURMOUNTED THEM. “SO YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL”
EXPLAINS HOW TO ADVANCE YOUR GOALS THROUGH HIGHER EDUCATION.
s o y o u w a n t t o g o b a c k t o s c h o o l
by Diane Harrington

2. Waking up each day at 4:30 A.M., Maria,
who lives in Highland Park, Pennsyl-
vania, took three buses every morning
to get her two oldest children to day
care and herself to her management job
at a women’s clothing store. “I had this
empty feeling because I wasn’t doing
what I’d planned to do, which was to
become an attorney,” she says. “Finally,
in March 2001, I decided that if I was
going to be tired, I was going to be tired
from doing something I wanted to do,
and that was going back to school.”
Like most women who start college
later in life, Maria was concerned
about being the odd kid out in the
classroom. She needn’t have worried:
Nearly 30 percent of today’s under-
graduate students are over the age of
25. In fact, students over age 40 repre-
sent the fastest-growing age group in
post–high school education. “It isn’t
easy to go back to school while raising
a family. But it’s possible, it’s doable
and it’s really important,” says Kay J.
Kohl, Ph.D., executive director of the
University Continuing Education
Association in Washington, DC.
“Once women get started
and realize they’ve had some
success, they get energized.”
Get
PsychedGoing back to school may
strike fear in those who
haven’t set foot in a
classroom for years, even decades, but
most women find that problem is
quickly overcome. “It was hard get-
ting back in the swing of actually
attending classes, but it didn’t take
long,” says Cheryl Cleveland, 54, of
Douglas, Georgia. “The difference in
going to school now is that I wanted
to learn. It’s not something I had to
do, it was a choice I made.”
The impressive array of options
today makes it easier than ever to
get enthusiastic about returning to
the classroom. Vocational schools, com-
munity colleges and universities are
actively courting
nontraditional stu-
dents. In addition, a
host of foundations
and for-profit and
nonprofit organiza-
tions are encourag-
ing adults to go back
to school by provid-
ing various support
services, information
and scholarships.
As you begin
your search for the
right school, check
for adult-oriented
amenities that meet your personal
needs. For instance:
q Programs for adult students. At the
University of Akron in Ohio, the Adult
Focus program provides mentoring,
information on everything from admis-
sions to child care, and seminars to help
you be successful in the classroom.
q Adult gathering places. The Universi-
ty of Pittsburgh built an entire student
union, the McCarl Center for Nontradi-
tional Student Success. With a library
and meeting rooms, as well as a
lounge, it’s a place adult students can
congregate. Women can even bring
their children while they study or look
for job information.
q On-site child-care centers. The Bronx
campus of Mercy College in Dobbs
Ferry, New York, provides emergency
backup care in case regular child care
falls through.
Get Real
Surviving today’s fickle
economy isn’t easy.
“Jobs are changing,
jobs are disap-
pearing and new
jobs are coming into being,” says
Kohl. “Many new jobs, especially in
the fastest-growing sectors of the
economy, such as the allied health
professions, require some college,
often a bachelor’s degree or more.”
Just ask yourself:
Could you use a
higher income? “The
wage gap between
women who have
only a high school
diploma and those
who have some col-
lege education has
widened dramatical-
ly and is going to
continue to widen,”
Kohl says. In 2003
the salary difference
between a worker
with a high school
96 www.womansday.com 5/10/05
Cheryl Cleveland
STEP
Maria Lewis Bethel
1STEP
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My greatest wish is to have enough money to finish school. Cheryl Holder, Mt Airy, NC

3. diploma and one with a bachelor’s degree
was $19,100 a year—or nearly $1 million
between graduation and retirement.
Do you need extra training? Roughly half
of today’s adult students are enrolled in
higher education to obtain or maintain a
state, industry or company certification
or license. Linda Pedder, 46, of Troy,
Michigan, is one of them. “I’ve been
working as a para-educator for five
years, helping elementary school stu-
dents in reading and math. But the No
Child Left Behind Act now requires,
among other things, an associate’s
degree or higher for the job,” she says.
Would you like more responsibilities at
work? Cheryl had been an administrative
assistant at a university for more than 20
years. She headed back to school in 1997,
at age 47, to study for an applied science
degree in computer information systems.
Her employer encouraged her to keep
going, so in 2004 Cheryl earned her bache-
lor’s in applied science in information
technology from Valdosta State Universi-
ty. “When cutbacks came to our office in
March 2004, my degree allowed me to
apply for a position as a computer support
specialist and keep a job here,” she says.
Cheryl is now responsible for keep-
ing computers up and running in the
southern region of Georgia. “Coworkers
who lost jobs said if only they’d known
what was in the future, they
would have been ready, too. I
had no clue what would be
happening job-wise. I just
wanted the personal satis-
faction of completing a
degree. I was fortunate
that it paid off in the end.”
Do you want to change pro-
fessions? Becky Amos, 32, a
single mom of a 10-year-old,
currently works at a regional
magazine. “My editorial career is
limited because there are so few publica-
tions here,” says Becky, who lives in Fort
Wayne, Indiana. Rather than move to a
larger city with more editorial opportuni-
ties, she’s studying to become a registered
nurse. “Nurses are needed everywhere. I
can work in a hospital, a nursing home, a
doctor’s office. My plan is to get a mas-
ter’s degree to become a nurse practition-
er, which will also
broaden my options.”
Find
the
Tıme &
MoneyBlending college courses with
parenting and a part- or full-
time job is no easy task. Many
women squeeze in just one or
two courses at a time, usually
on nights and weekends. Oth-
ers opt for an online education,
or “distance learning,” which
frees them from the constraints
of classroom hours (see “Getting
an E-Degree”).
Money is often another obsta-
cle to continuing one’s educa-
tion. According to the
College Board’s Annu-
al Survey of Colleges,
the current average
yearly tuition (ex-
cluding books) for
a public, in-state,
four-year university
is $5,132. At a four-
year, private universi-
ty, it jumps to $20,082.
For a two-year public insti-
tution, it’s $2,076 a year. How
will you pay the bill?
Find a patchwork of solutions. In Frankfort,
New York, Diane Shephard, 45, mother of
two college students, spent seven years
working on an associate’s degree in early
childhood education, taking one or two
courses a semester so she could also work
part-time as a waitress and at a day-care
center to pay the bills. “It was hard study-
STEP
Becky Amos
Getting an
E-DegreeDistance learning—getting your degree via the
Internet rather than in the classroom—is a great
way to fit college into a hectic schedule of
work, home and kids. “If 85 percent or more of
the classwork is online, that’s considered an
online degree,” says Kay J. Kohl, Ph.D.,
executive director of the University Continuing
Education Association in Washington, DC.
“What’s more common, though, is a blended
program, in which some of the program is
online and some is face-to-face. The
advantage of online learning for the older
student is convenience. A busy mom can
connect with her classmates and complete
her assignment on her own time.”
A Google search for distance learning
will turn up dozens of online university
options. To find out if a school—online or
otherwise—is regionally accredited, go to
the Council for Higher Education’s web
site, www.chea.org.
First
Things FirstOnce you decide to go to college, you’ll
need to:
q Research institutions by visiting
their web sites.
q Find out about federal, state and
institutional financial aid.
q Collect your high school and
college transcripts.
q Confirm that your GPA (grade point
average) meets the requirements of
your college of choice.
q Ask the college whether you’ll
need SAT or ACT scores. Many
waive that requirement for adults.
But GRE, LSAT and similar exams
for advanced degrees still may be
necessary, so schedule yours if
it’s required.
q Find out if the college of your
choice offers college or
university credit for prior
learning and/or work experience.
q Be sure the school you
choose is regionally accredited.
I am living my dream—I enrolled in night classes at a local community college. Denise Howard Willig, Brandon, FL
98 www.womansday.com 5/10/05
Please turn to page 100

4. ing, working and being there for my children, but I made
the dean’s list every semester,” she says. “At one point I
worked three jobs while taking one course a semester, but
I did it.” Diane’s hard work paid off: She was promoted to
assistant director at the day-care center.
Investigate all your financial options. Linda, who needed
to get an associate’s degree to keep her job, chose a com-
munity college in part because the tuition was more
affordable than state or
private college fees.
Cheryl, who studied com-
puter technology to
advance in her job, had
some of her tuition paid
for by her company. Ask
your employer if the com-
pany will help pay your
tuition. Maria, who is on
her way to a law degree,
has attended college full-
time with the help of child and spousal support after her
divorce and a hefty tab of student loans and grants.
Ask about financial assistance. About 60 percent of
undergraduate students receive some form of financial
aid, including federal or state student loans; aid packages
from universities, community colleges or technical
schools; and a variety of public and private grants and
scholarships. Just a few examples:
q The Lumina Foundation for Education is geared entire-
ly toward encouraging and helping to fund college
education, especially for adult learners.
q Ohio State University’s Critical Difference for Women
program offers scholarships and grants to women seek-
ing advanced education.
q The Forté Foundation, whose mission is to get more
women into business school, helps women with scholar-
ships and internships.
q The American Association of University Women Educa-
tional Foundation provides about $4 million in fellow-
ships, grants and awards to female graduate students.
q For additional financial help, Deborah Gwin, head of
the University of Akron’s Adult Focus program,
recommends using the government’s Hope Scholar-
ship–Life-Long Learning Credits when doing your
taxes; they benefit about 10 million taxpayers. Last
year the combination of grant aid and federal tax
breaks averaged about $2,300 per student in two-year
public colleges, $3,300 for those at public four-
year institutions, and $9,400 per student at private
four-year institutions.
Ask for, and
Accept, HelpYou’ll find that people are more willing to lend a hand
than you ever imagined. There’s no such thing as a stu-
pid question, and what you need to know has probably
already been asked and answered a hundred times
before you got there.
For example, all along the way, Maria has
asked questions—lots of them—to financial
aid personnel, professors and classmates. “I
didn’t ask one person, I asked two. I got to
know the staff. I got over being embarrassed
or thinking I couldn’t do it,” she says.
Her persistence paid off big. When the
word spread that Maria’s life was an uphill
battle, people everywhere reached out to
make her path less rocky, from encouraging
her to join a well-connected civic organiza-
tion to hiring her on as a law office intern.
Define your real objective. Get help from a friend or
advisor if you’re having trouble pinning down your
ultimate dream. “I discovered that I want to start a
nonprofit for people who can’t afford attorneys,”
Maria says. “Once I realized my ultimate goal, it was
so much easier for me to focus on my classwork and
say, ‘No matter what, this is what I have to do.’”
Find your cheerleaders. Having moral support from family
and friends can make the return to school easier. Cheryl
says, “My husband, Larry, is so excited for me and encour-
aged me when I wanted to just give up. I am more confi-
dent in what I do now, and I just feel this immense pride for
what I’ve accomplished.” Her grandchildren were proud,
too, watching Cheryl receive her diploma. “I wanted them
to see that you can do anything you want to at any age.”
Look forward to what comes next. Many women get so
hooked on learning, they don’t want to stop. Diane plans
to get her bachelor’s degree. And Maria is waiting to hear
if she’s been accepted to two different law schools. “There
are days when you feel really tired,” says Maria. “In the
beginning, I kept telling myself, ‘Just find a way to start
school.’ Now I’m telling myself to find a way to finish. I’m
glad I didn’t give up.” WD
100 www.womansday.com 5/10/05
STEP
Diane Shephard
My dream is for my daughter to finish school and make a wonderful life for herself. Karen Dickinson, Keller, TX
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