Nontraditional students, or adult learners as they are often called, now make up close to 47 percent of all new and returning students on most college campuses, according to the Association for Non-Traditional Students in Higher Education. Although adult learners have additional challenges, finding success in school, work and family life is easily achievable. Here are a few tips to remember during this back-to-school season.

1. Give your ego a boost! Starting with classes that you are good at is a great way to transition into college life. “Students should begin by taking something they enjoy,” said Hilary Ward Schnadt, associate dean for curricular affairs at Mundelein College. Earning a high grade in your first college course will go a long way to improve your confidence as a student.
2. Join the technology revolution. College campuses are some of the most wired places in the world. Having access to e-mail and the Internet are great ways to stay connected when you are both on and off campus.
3. Give distance learning a chance. Despite what you might have heard about distance learning, it is a great way for working adults to complete college courses with minimal disruptions to their normal routine. A study by the Sloan Consortium reported that nearly 2.35 million students enrolled in online classes in recent years.
4. Know where to go to get help. Colleges have many resources available to help all students become successful. Whether they need tutoring, personal counseling, job assistance or even legal aid, students should know how and where to locate the many student resources available on and off campus.
5. Be aware of all deadlines. Life is rarely predictable. Things happen all the time that can derail your college dreams, but knowing important deadlines can save you time and money. Be familiar with the deadlines for class enrollment or drop dates, financial aid and scholarship applications, and assignments and projects.

Having additional challenges is no excuse to not earn a college degree. Millions of adults find success in college each year. They balance school, work and family life to earn their degree, diploma or certificate. And the numbers grow every year. Having the right plan in place will help you be a successful adult learner.

Remember that creepy kid who worked at the comic book store but now makes six figures working with computers? Or how about that girl who used to show up to school with stuffed animals pinned to her blouse who now rubs elbows with millionaires as an interior designer? Have you ever known anyone who gave up a high-paying job to do something like gluing plastic bug eyes to fuzzy pens because it made them feel young?

If you thought, ?How did these people get where they are today?? it may be time to think about where your own career ambitions might take you. Always try to be aware of the opportunities fate may throw your way and how you can act on them. First, take the time to identify your interests, talents and values, and then explore occupations that might make good use of them. This isn?t an online visit to an academic advisor ? this is an exercise that should make you officially take note of what you love to do and why. If you follow the three-step process below, you won’t just be sitting back waiting for careers and jobs to land in your lap. You?ll be doing something much more important; you’ll be working toward discovering what makes you happy.

Step One

Ask yourself: What makes me happy?

What do I do well?
What do I enjoy reading and talking about?
How do my talents figure into my interests?

Start by thinking of times when you’ve enjoyed and excelled at a job, class or hobby. How did you develop your strengths in those occupations? The next stage of the exercise could be taking any aptitude tests your college’s career center might offer. If you haven?t yet chosen a school, make sure the one you choose has a diverse set of programs to help determine your true talents before you enroll.

Step Two

Research your potential career options. Fortunately, many of today?s technical colleges are set up with facilities that mimic the work environments you?re interested in. Once you choose one of these schools, use these labs to the fullest extent to develop your natural talents toward work you love. In addition, see if your school’s career office has a library of books describing different kinds of work, the typical qualifications needed and the salary ranges for various occupations. Your college’s career counselors should be able to help. Also, talk to people through informational interviews. Try out careers by shadowing professionals and signing up for open internships or part-time jobs.

Step Three

Make a list of your priorities. After you’ve spent time on steps one and two, you may notice some strong preferences emerging. You might learn you don’t want to work behind a desk. That rules out jobs like accounting, banking, insurance and computer administration. You may be more suited to something physical or something that deals with meeting people in different locations, like marketing, transportation, construction or interior design. Keep your mind focused on making important discoveries that will help you choose a good career when the time comes.

The most important thing, however, is to keep it all in perspective: A career decision you make now doesn?t have to be forever. Just like the examples provided at the beginning of the article, there are people you will meet who worked steadily toward their goals, but there are also people who shifted priorities and began something new. There?s a growing trend that most people change careers several times during their lives. This means that it?s normal to change from the job you choose right after college, because it probably won’t be your career 40 or 50 years from now. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, but always keep your eyes open.

In a perfect world, students would be able to schedule their courses so that they either (a) ran concurrently with only five or 10-minute breaks in between or (b) would only have to attend one course per day. Unfortunately, it?s not a perfect world, and students must face a great deal of downtime between classes.

So, for your benefit, here are five things you can do to kill time between classes.

It sounds kind of obvious, but you could actually use that downtime to study! Let?s say you have a two-hour window between classes. Instead of heading back to the dorms or back home, find a quiet spot on campus to study for that upcoming test or do some of the homework you?ve been putting off. It is a good way to make some free time for yourself later on when you?re at home and you?d rather be relaxing than doing homework.

Catch a catnap. Most universities and campuses have plenty of cozy couches you can doze off on. This can keep you refreshed for the rest of your day and also help make up for some of the sleep you missed the night before studying ? or doing whatever you college kids do with your evenings. Just don?t forget to set your cell phone alarm or ask a friend to wake you up! It might be a bit embarrassing to wake up on a campus couch after having slept your class away.

Grab a bite to eat. They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. They say that because it gives you energy for the rest of your day and gets your metabolism working. Grabbing a bite before class can give you an added boost of energy, and it is one less thing to worry about during class.

Get some exercise! Sure, you don?t want to show up to your class smelling like a used gym sock, but you won?t get too overheated taking a walk around campus or even going for a quick jog. This is a good way to clear your mind, maybe listen to some tunes (don?t forget your portable CD player or mp3 player) and get in a good state of mind.

Finally, enjoy your surroundings. Most schools feature art of some kind, maybe even inventive building architecture. Take a look around ? you might like your campus more than you think.

Are you more of a risk-taker, or do you hedge your bets when it comes to making a living? If you combine a bit of both you can win big in today’s job market. Just be prepared to meet its demands. Your education is an investment toward getting yourself into a higher earning bracket, but the thing to think about as you formulate your degree path is this: it?s a good idea to build a blend of technological abilities and people skills to help you truly succeed.

Bet on These Abilities
You wouldn’t think of stepping up to the poker table if you didn’t know how to play the game. Like a good gambler, think of cultivating these career talents as a sure strategy for risk reduction in the long run. According to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a collective of education, technology and business professionals, you’ll need the following abilities to compete for the future’s hottest careers:

? Information and communication technology skills are becoming more important for most jobs. The ability to find, organize and communicate effectively is an invaluable skill in today?s business world.
? Focus on verbal literacy, mathematical literacy and document literacy.
? Interpersonal and self-directional skills: Learn to work both independently and with teams to maximize effectiveness on the job.
? Global awareness: The rise of the international market demands cross-cultural awareness and language skills.
? Business literacy: Think of every job as a business job.
? Civic literacy: Learn about the social issues that affect your area to help your business be a leader in your community.

Develop these skills, and businesses everywhere will see you as a leader.

Other facts:
? Jobs in healthcare will account for half of the ten fastest-growing careers in the United States.

? You can enter an expanding field many times by attaining specific diplomas or Associate degrees. Fewer entry-level positions these days are requiring a Bachelor?s degree as a condition for employment.

? Remember that the population of the country is aging. Age-related services are going to be demanding qualified people for many years to come. Medical services, home care, travel consulting and leisure services, investment and tax planning - all of these are shaping up to be high-reward, low-risk career paths.

? As telecommunications and high-tech sectors continue to expand, more technicians will be needed to fill the jobs that are being created to serve an increasingly tech-savvy population.

? Advanced telecommunications and high-tech jobs require at least an Associate degree, but expect to continue to develop your skills, because the devices you will be in charge of maintaining will also be evolving. Nevertheless, systems design, data communications analysis, software applications, engineering and software engineering should sizzle for the foreseeable future.

Making the decision to go back to school is not easy. The more obligations you have, the harder it is to do. But more schools are sweetening the pot, so to speak, by offering college credit for professional work experience.

Jorge Maldonado, Management Analyst and Web Master for the Midwest Center for Postsecondary Outreach at Saint Paul College in Saint Paul, Minn., benefited from his school’s life experience credit.

“Prior learning gives students like me an opportunity to be awarded with credits that have been acquired through traditional and nontraditional schooling, work or other life experiences,” Maldonado was quoted on MSN’s Encarta web site.

Life experience credit can be awarded for a number of different reasons. The most common ways to earn life experience credit are through portfolio assessment, testing out of classes, earning certifications for credit or completing on-the-job training courses.

Portfolio assessment: The premise behind the portfolio assessment is that you might already have the knowledge taught in a specific class. Rather than relearn the material, you can be awarded the college credit equivalent for that class.

Testing out: Most people would rather do classwork than take a test, unless that test can help them earn college credit. Such is the case with the College Level Examination Program (CLEP). CLEP tests can be completed in more than 500 subjects. The credits can be applied toward the completion of your college degree.

Certifications: Many certifications require tests to demonstrate competency. The transcripts from these tests can be presented to the school. In most cases, as long as the tests and resulting certifications indicate mastery of materials equivalent to those covered in college coursework, the certifications can be applied toward college credit.

On-the-job training: There are many benefits to on-the-job training, including earning while you learn, expanding your knowledge base and applying that training toward a degree. The American Council on Education offers a College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE CREDIT) that allows popular workforce training to be applied toward degree completion. Check the ACE web site to find out if your training qualifies.

No matter what degree program you are interested in, it is possible to earn life experience credit. You just have to ask the right questions when you talk to your admissions representative or college advisor.

Diane Dick, a stay-at-home mom who returned to school to pursue her degree, took advantage of a number of life experience credit options.

“It’s critical that you don’t just present experience but evaluate your learning in light of these academic skills,” she said. Her portfolio experience and CLEP tests added a combined 18 college credits to her transcript.

If you are considering going back to school to complete your degree or start working toward a degree, remember that your professional experience can work to your advantage.

One of the most important steps in preparing for higher education is finding the money you need to make it happen. When looking for financial aid, the first step is to visit or call your school?s financial aid office! You may be eligible for a scholarship, grant or student loan.

However, if your financial aid package doesn?t cover all your school-related expenses, you may need to look additional places. If you?re currently working ? and plan to keep doing so while going to school ? make sure to check in with your human resources department at work. Your company may offer special education benefits that could really benefit you.

Lastly, you?ll want to look at private loans. Banks and credit unions may offer unsecured loans that could make it a little easier to go back to school. Remember, however, that unlike many student loans, repayment often begins immediately ? while you?re still in school!