Not ready for grad school.

[1confused1]

I am always so impressed with people who go back to school as adults and who work full time.

You are going to knock this out of the park! Best of luck!!

[kevin arnold]

Awesome! Congrats and good luck!

[1confused1]

Jan 8, 2016 0:02:40 GMT -5 mp said:

Jan 8, 2016 0:01:42 GMT -5 1confused1 said:

I am always so impressed with people who go back to school as adults and who work full time.

You are going to knock this out of the park! Best of luck!!

Feel free to be impressed after I survive. I am not sure that's gonna be the case right now. LOL.

The fact that you even enrolled is impressive to me!  I got my real estate license a while back, it was a month long course, and I barely survived.  

[paddywagon]

It's not as bad once you get back in the groove of the whole school thing. It will fly by quickly and you'll do great!

[rachers]

You can do it!! Congrats!

[MixedBerryJam]

Good luck!!

[calle28]

Good luck! At times it'll suck and you'll want to quit, but I know you'll rock it!

[pumpkin]

Good Luck! You'll get into the groove soon enough. I had a love/hate relationship with my MBA program, but in the end am glad I did it.

[nsl]

Going to grad school while working full time was probably the most stressfull thing I've ever done, but OMG I loved it so much. You're going to kick ass, and while it'll be hard it'll also be 100% worth it in the end.

[venice2007]

You can do this! Good luck

[birdistheword]

Congrats and good luck! My husband is also getting his MBA while working full time. While slightly stressful at times, it's nothing unmanageable and I'm sure that will be the case for you as well!

[idahome]

I'm sure you'll need wine and a place to hide every so often, but you CAN do this. And you'll be a bad ass with your MBA when it's all done. You go!!!

[ciescalove]

Good luck! You'll do great!

[lovelyshoes]

You got this! I remember someone telling me before I started grad school that these x number of years will go by no matter what you do. You're better off getting your degree and being done. It kind of always stuck with me.

[cabbagecabbage]

Exactly what lovelyshoes said. The time is going to pass either way and you'll be so glad when you're on the other side. Plus, while it's going to be tough, it's also a new adventure with new smart colleagues to meet and cool things to learn.

[Deleted]

You've got this! You get in to the groove of it and it's not bad. There's something not too terrible about going to class after work. It makes you feel like you're working towards something concrete which can get lost in the day to day grind of your job.

[lightbulbsun]

Good luck! You'll do fine!

I started my MBA two years ago, and it's been hard, but it'll be worth it. Just take it one semester at a time, and it goes pretty quickly.

[Elsa]

Nah, you've got this!

Some tips that I give my students-
Prepare for class. Look over the learning objectives for each lecture, and have a basic understanding of what they will be teaching you that day. It will allow you to listen better in class and really understand the examples and extra info the professor gives you, rather than trying to process the new concepts.

Take notes. You only retain about 20% of what you hear. Keep the learning obj handy in class and make sure you are taking good notes over them.

Review your notes that night after class. Start working to commit that material to long term memory by reviewing and really UNDERSTANDING the material. If you don't understand something, use your extra resources (book that was assigned, internet, etc) to gain understanding. If you wait to review, you'll have to relearn some of the material (stuff leaves your short term memory pretty quick), wasting time.

Practice. If you are learning techniques (I am unsure of what you are learning, but code, etc) practice this as soon as possible after class. Practice test questions are also great- you can pull these from your learning obj (just turn them into questions). This will give you experience answering questions about the material, but it will also show you what you know (so you don't have to go back and spend time reviewing), and what you don't (so you can focus on learning this material).

Hope this helps

[knx9211]

You're awesome and you're going to do great! Good luck!!

[knx9211]

Jan 8, 2016 9:22:12 GMT -5 Elsa said:

Review your notes that night after class.

I never took notes by a computer in college (were we even allowed to do that?), but in law school EVERYONE used a laptop to take notes. Except me. I found that I actually paid attention if I hand wrote my notes, PLUS I would review and type them up when I got home, so I was forced to look at them again. It was so helpful.

[Elsa]

Jan 8, 2016 9:27:11 GMT -5 knx9211 said:

Jan 8, 2016 9:22:12 GMT -5 Elsa said:

Review your notes that night after class.

I never took notes by a computer in college (were we even allowed to do that?), but in law school EVERYONE used a laptop to take notes. Except me. I found that I actually paid attention if I hand wrote my notes, PLUS I would review and type them up when I got home, so I was forced to look at them again. It was so helpful.

I've seen this work both ways. A lot of my med students use one note- its a program that allows them to take notes directly on the powerpoints given to them. For some students that really helps as they are reviewing.

However....some of our powerpoints are 400 slides. That is unreasonable for a day's review. One of the best things you can do is to take notes on everything you can, then go back through and condense as much as possible. It helps with your retention and such.

But yes, mp, definitely see what works best for you- taking notes is a very individual thing, so don't hesitate to try different things that work for you!

[boston340]

Congratulations! What an exciting journey ahead of you. I'm working on my MBA now too. I have 4 classes left and am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel - I will graduate in August. A few things that I figured out as I've been in grad school:

1. I gained weight on the program. It's so hard to work full time, go to school, and cook healthy meals. I wasn't expecting to gain wait but came to terms with it. You might do better than I have, but be prepared for this. I essentially went up 1 pants size.

2. It's REALLY hard to balance work, school, social life, and working out. Thankfully I have a very supportive spouse and friends who understand that work and school have to come first during this season of life.

3. I rewarded myself after each class - this helped me get through and gave me something to look forward too. Stuff like a massage, new sweater, new shoes, etc.

4. I found it best to get into a routine that I do every week night. So my schedule is I get off of work, go to the gym for either a yoga class or run, come home, shower, eat dinner, and then study from 8-11 PM every night. I try to go to bed at 11:30 PM and then get up at 6 AM.

5. During the last week of each class I have been taking a personal day off to study and work on final projects. This has been a huge help to me.

6. If you can, try to connect with a small cohort of students that start as the same time as you.  It helps significantly to find 2-3 other students who will be in the same classes, studying for the same exams, etc.

Good luck!