How do I get back in to studying as an adult?
How do I get back in to studying as an adult?
I wanted to major in physics when I went to college in 2013 (I'm 28 now), but had to drop out and have flushed out a lot of information. A lot of basic concepts are still there, but I'd need a lot of refreshers going back to like algebra lol. I'd love to get back in to studying in my free time, but I've completely forgotten how. Khan academy is great, but any other advice for reteaching and retaining would be awesome!
I went back about 10 years ago to finish my undergrad and then do my masters.
For me the most help for refreshers, before I even bothered to register for classes, was to take calculus classes on coursera.
Khan academy is ok too, but coursera at that time anyway offered free video instructor led courses in calculus and had forum support where the prof and TAs would answer questions on homework and tests, which were also graded.
That’s a lot of content and service provided for free. Hope they still offer that.
Once I knew I could do that, I registered for classes at an actual brick and mortar uni where I did very well afterwards.
I totally forgot about coursera. I took their Stanford logic course the summer after high school and did not do well lol. But I just looked, and they still have some free ones more up my alley. Thanks for the reminder!
Personally, I bit the bullet and went back to uni part time. Distance learning has come along way since covid, and means you can still hold a full time job.
Im now half way through second year of a management course, taking two or three papers a semester.
I'd like to do that, but I also managed to just demolish my credit score in the last 10 years lol, so I'm trying to get that squared away right now
I paid the whole thing out of pocket... but our courses are only like $800 each for domestic students.
As you mentioned, I don’t think it gets much better than khan academy. It’s an incredible source of education and you can refresh on stuff like algebra there.
Alternatively you could watch free lectures from schools online. MIT has open lecture videos for any subject https://ocw.mit.edu/search/
Your local public library is a great resource for this, if you have one. Most public libraries host classes, and even those that don't will know of community colleges that do. :)
I've been to the library so many times in the last year for dnd shit and it never crossed my until now lol
Pick up the AP study guides for any subject.
I prefer to have a textbook to work through if I'm self studying. I want a sense of units finished, progress made, and I want it to be quantifiable as a course. Like, I choose the test I want to pass and get the official book for that, work through the material (supplementing with online resources) and then take the test when I'm done.
I also made an office space I really enjoy being in, and I almost never let myself just be at leisure in there. If I want to hang in the warm, cozy room, I'm going to be studying or producing something.
Huh, I'd never considered that, but I think that honestly might be my best option. Looking back, in math, and physics especially, I really enjoyed the "grind" of solving a bunch of problems using new concepts
I'm a teacher as well as a student, and while homework is something I dread, I absolutely recognize how it challenges me to demonstrate that I really have absorbed the content. Sometimes I give myself extra homework if I realize I'm struggling to retain a concept. I'm just going to keep doing that one thing until it's natural.