{"id":43430,"date":"2019-04-18T13:41:54","date_gmt":"2019-04-18T18:41:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/?post_type=advice&p=43430"},"modified":"2022-01-06T09:36:48","modified_gmt":"2022-01-06T15:36:48","slug":"should-i-finish-college","status":"publish","type":"advice","link":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/should-i-finish-college\/","title":{"rendered":"Should I Finish College?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Employers today are growing nervous about how this college skepticism might impact the future, as they are already having trouble finding skilled workers. <\/p>\n

There are many reasons to finish your degree, but there are also many factors to consider with them. Whether you are starting fresh or already have a few credits to your name, the decision to go back to school is nothing to take lightly. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not sure if you should, or not sure if you\u2019re ready, take some time to think about what it would mean to finish your degree. Chances are you might be facing a <\/span>confidence gap<\/span><\/a> that is discouraging you to enroll\u2014but don\u2019t let that stop you! If anything, your life experiences may benefit you as you decide what you want out of higher ed.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is your motivation?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re one of the millions of students who took a few college courses before ultimately leaving, your decision to return might be largely informed by your circumstances. Did you not have enough time? Was it too expensive? Were you bored by the coursework? Did you not have goals set? Reflect on your past experiences and think about how you can make different decisions that will help see you through to the end.<\/span><\/p>\n

Set personal goals. <\/span><\/i>Going back to school is tough. It\u2019s time consuming, it\u2019s costly, and it can sometimes seem exhausting, if not impossible. Higher education is supposed to be challenging, and one of the best ways to power through it is to set a personal goal that will help you to focus on why you need to get this done. Is it for your children or your family? Are you the first in your family with this opportunity? Even something as simple as getting this degree for yourself can help you push through. Going back to learn\u2014and knowing there is more to learn\u2014helps set yourself up as a lifelong learner, more likely to grow and evolve for the rest of your life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Set professional goals.<\/span><\/i> Lots of stress comes with a full-time job, let alone a full-time job <\/span>with <\/span><\/i>added classes and homework. So what\u2019s the benefit? Consider that an advanced degree can increase your salary. It can make you eligible for those job postings you haven\u2019t been able to apply to in the past. It can break you out of your current industry and into a career you are excited about.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Prepare yourself to finish.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Aside from realizing your goals, there are also very practical, logistical things to think about as you work to finish college. For instance, your <\/span>education style<\/span><\/a> might limit you in where or what kinds of courses you can take. And if you have a busy schedule and can only take courses online, consider <\/span>what you should know<\/span><\/a> about online classes. Think about the course styles and content are more likely to click with you, and enroll in a program that allows you to learn in a way that suits you best.<\/span><\/p>\n

Are you ready to pay for it? Make sure you pay as much attention to tuition as you do the program and modality. And always keep in mind the options you have to help fund your education! Many part-time programs, for example, have reduced tuition or scholarships. You could also check with your employer to see whether they offer reimbursement or deferment options, and those in the military are likely to qualify for additional financial benefits. Some evening and weekend programs even provide childcare, if that\u2019s an added cost for you as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

Go get your degree.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You\u2019ve set your goals. You\u2019ve prepared yourself mentally, emotionally, and financially. You\u2019ve scheduled your time for classes and homework.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finishing your degree can open up a world of <\/span>opportunities<\/span><\/a> you don\u2019t already have access to. So\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Are you ready?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

More Helpful Resources:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I Have Years of Experience, but No Degree. Is That Enough to Get Hired? \u2013 Answers from HR Professionals<\/a><\/p>\n

6 Reasons to Pursue a Bachelor\u2019s After Earning Your Associate\u2019s Degree<\/a><\/p>\n

Sacrifice and Determination: Inspiring Stories of Women Earning Their Degree<\/a><\/p>\n

3 Reasons Why Earning a Degree Will Advance Your Career and Improve Your Life<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclaimer<\/a>: This article contains affiliate links to products and services. We may receive commissions for purchases made through these links.<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether you are starting fresh or already have a few credits to your name, the decision to go back to school is nothing to take lightly. If you\u2019re not sure if you should, or not sure if you\u2019re ready, take some time to think about what it would mean to finish your degree.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":43432,"template":"","class_list":["post-43430","advice","type-advice","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","abound_advice_topics-career-outlook","abound_advice_topics-student-success","abound_advice_topics-finding-the-right-program","abound_advice_topics-thinking-about-finishing-college"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nShould I Finish College? - Abound: Finish College<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Finishing college can offer a number of benefits, but is it the best choice for you? Here are a few factors to consider that can help you decide whether to finish your degree or not.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/should-i-finish-college\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Should I Finish College?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Finishing college can offer a number of benefits, but is it the best choice for you? Here are a few factors to consider that can help you decide whether to finish your degree or not.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/should-i-finish-college\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Abound: Finish College\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AboundDegrees\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-01-06T15:36:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/iStock-876965270.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"5360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"3574\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AboundDegrees\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/advice\\\/should-i-finish-college\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/advice\\\/should-i-finish-college\\\/\",\"name\":\"Should I Finish College? - Abound: Finish College\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/advice\\\/should-i-finish-college\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/advice\\\/should-i-finish-college\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/iStock-876965270.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-18T18:41:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-01-06T15:36:48+00:00\",\"description\":\"Finishing college can offer a number of benefits, but is it the best choice for you? Here are a few factors to consider that can help you decide whether to finish your degree or not.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/advice\\\/should-i-finish-college\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/advice\\\/should-i-finish-college\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/advice\\\/should-i-finish-college\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/iStock-876965270.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/iStock-876965270.jpg\",\"width\":5360,\"height\":3574,\"caption\":\"Mature Student Using Digital Tablet In Adult Education Class\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/advice\\\/should-i-finish-college\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Should I Finish College?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/\",\"name\":\"Abound: Finish College\",\"description\":\"Take control of your future. Finish college.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Abound\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/abound-email-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/abound-email-logo.png\",\"width\":299,\"height\":56,\"caption\":\"Abound\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/AboundDegrees\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/AboundDegrees\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/abounddegrees\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/abound\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Should I Finish College? - Abound: Finish College","description":"Finishing college can offer a number of benefits, but is it the best choice for you? Here are a few factors to consider that can help you decide whether to finish your degree or not.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/should-i-finish-college\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Should I Finish College?","og_description":"Finishing college can offer a number of benefits, but is it the best choice for you? Here are a few factors to consider that can help you decide whether to finish your degree or not.","og_url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/should-i-finish-college\/","og_site_name":"Abound: Finish College","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AboundDegrees","article_modified_time":"2022-01-06T15:36:48+00:00","og_image":[{"width":5360,"height":3574,"url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/iStock-876965270.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@AboundDegrees","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/should-i-finish-college\/","url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/should-i-finish-college\/","name":"Should I Finish College? - Abound: Finish College","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/should-i-finish-college\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/should-i-finish-college\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/iStock-876965270.jpg","datePublished":"2019-04-18T18:41:54+00:00","dateModified":"2022-01-06T15:36:48+00:00","description":"Finishing college can offer a number of benefits, but is it the best choice for you? Here are a few factors to consider that can help you decide whether to finish your degree or not.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/should-i-finish-college\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/should-i-finish-college\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/should-i-finish-college\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/iStock-876965270.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/iStock-876965270.jpg","width":5360,"height":3574,"caption":"Mature Student Using Digital Tablet In Adult Education Class"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/should-i-finish-college\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Should I Finish College?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/#website","url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/","name":"Abound: Finish College","description":"Take control of your future. Finish college.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/#organization","name":"Abound","url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/07\/abound-email-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/07\/abound-email-logo.png","width":299,"height":56,"caption":"Abound"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AboundDegrees","https:\/\/x.com\/AboundDegrees","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/abounddegrees","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/abound"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/advice\/43430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/advice"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/advice"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}