Using your Calendar Schedulers - some tips

A human calendar by Seeminglee on Flickr.

 

Your Daily Calendar Scheduler(s)

I am not back in school right now, but I am using my calendar today plus a daily plan.

When I was back in school, I used a daily pocket calendar that fit in my purse. I had so much to remember each day, and this helped a lot. I liked the kind of scheduler that was compact, but still had many lines on each page for different things. I would fill those lines in with entries like:

Edu class
Paper due for ______ class today
Study group meeting time
Do part of report
Research _____ for class

It helped me split up my papers, remember appointments, and more. I used a regular calendar that did not cost much that I got at Walmart. I have seen some really nice calendars for sale at our local Staples with leather look covers I liked too.

Other Calendars
I like to have a big eraseable calendar on my front door. I have to change it every month, but it's kind of fun to do that.

Online, I like to have a reminder Yahoo calendar. There are some online too you can use. Many have automatic features such as Auto Reminders to help you remember friends' and family birthdays and other important days and appointments.

My husband uses a pocket calendar and writes down dates in the future to remember. My mother used to get me a 3-year calendar and we would plan things WAY ahead in them. You can still buy these.

Do you have a special system for your must-remember days?

Post your system or hint as a comment.

I have some other postings about using a calendar and more. Here they are:
5 Calendar Tips for Nontraditional Students 
10 Study Tips for Nontraditional Students
What Successful Nontraditional Students Need to Have

And a faculty member in Arkansas, Linda Pogue, shares some of her tips in this article: Scheduling is Everything for Nontraditional Students.

Some Nontrad links: The Nontrad site and blog Join Nontrads on Facebook Nontrads on Yahoo Nontrads on Twitter

Education is for everyone - the Go Further Federal Student Aid website

Yes, today, education IS for everyone, more than ever.

Central Texas College by Parker Michael Knight on Flickr.

There are nontraditional students of every age taking classes today. What began as merely extra classes taken at night has exploded into online, daytime, AND nighttime classes. The Go Further Site (Federal Student Aid) has a page to help nontraditional students navigate the steps of going back to school.

They start with helping students assess themselves and their strengths, goals, and interests with tests and information on getting a GED if the student hasn't already done that.

They go on to include information on college education, how to get money for school, how much college costs, how to repay loans, and more.

Here is that site:
Student Aid on the Web

The best part is, this page is totally FREE.

Good luck, fellow nontraditional students!

Betsyanne

Former Nontraditional college student at Western Kentucky University
Kentucky, USA Some more Nontrad links: The Nontrad site and blog Join Nontrads on Facebook Nontrads on Yahoo Nontrads on Twitter

Debt and the Nontraditional Student: a discussion.

Okay. A lot of nontraditional students have debt.

Many have student loans, and some have debt from before going back to school too.

Many of us have used credit cards too much... or decided to get something (like a computer) that was needed today instead of tomorrow. As far as student loans go, some people think that they should be forgiven - - and that school fees are way too high. And there is no guarantee that a student will actually get a job after graduation anymore. So how is a student supposed to pay student loans when they don't have a job?

First off, there can be no other choice for nontraditional students but to borrow to go back to school. So hopefully students will get a degree or certification in a "good" area, one that makes it possible to be hired.

And there is another complication for some students who have too much debt and want to declare bankruptcy and start over. Courts may not let them get out of paying their student loans.

As many of my readers know, there was a law passed recently that made it much harder to declare bankruptcy and eliminate your student loan debt.

So what can students do? Here are some suggestions:

1. Keep loans public - use government loans and try not to use private loans, which can charge a much greater interest rate.
2. Take as many courses as you can and stretch your semester dollars,
3. Consider tech or trade school (with transferrable credits) because the cost is lower, and
4.  Do your research and make sure what you are training for is actually in high demand.
5. Consider a 2-year degree, pay off debt, then get another degree, if needed. This allows you to only pay for 2 years instead of 4 or more.

Have another good suggestions? List it below as a comment.

Here are some interesting articles about student debt and student loan debt:
Student loan forgiveness ideas leave Americans split
Actual student loan forgiveness exists (for teachers, more)
Law Grads go to Court for Bankruptcy Protection

Betsyanne

Some Nontrad links: The Nontrad site and blog Join Nontrads on Facebook Nontrads on Yahoo Nontrads on Twitter