How to Go Back to College as a Single Mom

Today, keeping up with responsibilities, personal happiness, bills, and social life can be challenging. As a single mum, you may be struggling to keep up with parental responsibilities or put food on the table. 

Going back to college may be hard because you have to balance taking care of your child and career advancement. However, with proper planning and following the tips recommended in this article, it is possible to go back to college and achieve a balanced life. 

Set Clear Career and Education Expectations

Being intimidated or feeling intimidated about by college resumption is normal. As a single mother who may be feeling a little nervous about going back to college after being away for a while, be clear and realistic about your career expectations. 

To succeed, be committed and have a strong belief that you can attain your learning goals. With a general idea of what you intend to do with your career in the future, establish the most reliable and sensible path to take. Avoid wasting time and money on learning without a goal. 

Find a Reliable Childcare

College resumption requires time and money commitment. 

Therefore, if you are serious with your education, be willing and ready to invest in your child’s wellbeing. Your child should be well taken care of when you are in class or at work and the time to personally take care of your child may be limited.

Have family members and close friends to provide support in whatever capacity. By so doing, you can entrust them with child care when the need arises. If you don’t have anyone to help you, find professional childcare services in your area. In this case, be assured that the costs associated with professional childcare services are worth the investments. 

Be Organized

Give your organizational skills some priority and apply time management tactics too. For instance, you can buy some folders and a pocket calendar for proper planning and time management. Avoid lagging in your assignments, but focus on the timely submission of all your work. 

Get Help From Essay Service

While in college, you will be required to complete assignments and essays from time to time. Academic writing is time-consuming and yet the assignments must be submitted on time. As a single mom with overwhelming parental and career responsibilities, you can pay to get essay written from Uk.Edubirdie and create time to take care of your family. The professional writers have had a track record of helping British students to craft quality and compelling essays on any topic. 

Pay Attention To Your Physical and Mental Health

To continue taking care of your family and progressing in your education, self-care may be very important. Due to the diverse responsibilities, you should maintain a good and healthy physical and mental lifestyle.

Find some creative ways of relaxing and keeping your body active. As a single mom, you may be going through stress and so try as much as possible to find a balance. Prioritizing physical and mental health can also enable you to excel in your academics due to the mental stimulation. 

Maintain a well-balanced diet to improve your cognitive abilities and maintain a balanced mind. Regular exercise can help you to be more focused in class and improve your sleeping habits. 

Find A Support System

Sometimes single mothers may feel overwhelmed and isolated and so you need to be part of a community in your area or beyond. After going back to college, you may need

a solid support system due to the increased responsibilities. For instance, a better work-life balance may require additional help. 

Take time to establish a support system within your community. This could be a group of single mothers with whom you share interests and ideologies or parents whose children are in the same group as your child. 

Avoid isolating yourself from the community when going back to school. Never be tempted to bury yourself in the ground in the name of working and studying. Instead, ensure you focus on future investment for yourself and the family. Taking care of yourself requires taking care of the people around you as well. 

Conclusion

Going back to college as a single mum requires following the above steps. Combining parental and educational responsibilities may be challenging but with commitment and dedication, it will be easier to realize your goals. Being a single mum should not be a reason to miss any educational opportunity. Set your goals, find reliable childcare, be organized, focus on your health, and find a support system. 

Julie Higgins
Author
Julie is a Staff Writer at momooze.com. She has been working in publishing houses before joining the editorial team at momooze. Julie's love and passion are topics around beauty, lifestyle, hair and nails.