“Sounds good, Dad, but I really do not want you to live in the dorms.”
The nine-year old daughter only had one idea of what it would be like if her father started taking college classes. the entire family had recently visited a 19-year old cousin who was in his freshman year in college. He was living in a basement room of one of the largest non-military dorms in the country. A quick trip in and out of the room to pick him up before taking him out for dinner gave younger cousin her only vision of what she thought college was about.
Amessy dorm room with exposed pipes covering the ceiling.
She would be having none of that for her father!
College Educations Do Not Look the Same for Every Student
There was a time when college student typically meant an older teenager who had just finished high school. In today’s world, however, there really is no such think as a typical college student. Although many may be students right out of high school living in dorm rooms on campuses across America, many others are adults of various ages who are in the work force, staying at home with young children, and people who are taking a break from work to finish a degree.
Likewise, it only makes sense that not all college students are alike, not all colleges are alike either. Many colleges now offer degrees online and evening and weekend classes that accommodate someone who works full time. A Rhode Island College in the center of a large city, for example, may offer the majority of its classes in the evening and on Saturdays and Sundays so that people who work typical full time jobs can begin or complete a previously started degree.
That same Rhode Island college might also allow students to transfer in a majority of their previously earned credits so that the goal of earning a degree can be reached even sooner. Some of the types of students who might take advantage of a downtown campus at a Rhode Island College or other universities out east might be:

• A Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) who wants to apply a bachelor’s degree toward a masters in medical laboratory science.
• An accountant who wants to turn a business degree into a masters degree in adult education.
• A full time retail sales person who wants to earn a bachelors degree in business administration.
• A computer programmer who wants to take advantage of the fact that an employer will pay for a masters degree is business administration.
• A high school biology teacher who wants to earn a degree in occupational therapy and switch careers.
• A high school math teacher who wants to earn an accounting degree and become a Certified Public Accountant.

Are You Satisfied with Your Current Career?
24/7.
How are you spending your time these days?
Everyone has busy schedules these days, but many can still find time to learn something new. Many people who have reached the point in their lives where they know that they want something more can find themselves rejuvenated by going back to school. The decision to pursue a new educational interest or to complete a degree that was started earlier in life can actually be the decision that propels that person onto a new career path. And while college is never exactly easy, it can be more achievable with the best kind of scheduling. Online classes, evening classes, and weekend classes allow students to continue working while they complete a college degree.
Consider some of these statistics about the value of a college education:

• 89% of employed college-educated Millennials were working full time, according to a 2013 survey.
• Americans with four-year college degrees make as much as 98% more an hour than people without a degree, according to another 2013 study.
• $32.60 is the average hourly wage for college graduates.
• $45,000 is the average starting salary for someone with a bachelor’s degree.
• 83% of all college attendees say that their college degree has paid off.
• Not going to college typically costs a person a half of a million dollars in missed earning opportunities.

Whether you are looking for classes at a Rhode Island college or another east coast location, an investment in education is an investment that pays for itself.