- Establish a relationship with your professors and advisors
- Remember to keep track of all deadlines
- Renew annual financial aid applications and scholarship opportunities
- Check in with your G!P advisor for ongoing support and information
Now that you’re in school, keep going! Take at least one course per semester to keep on track to graduation!
Professors and Advisors
- Develop a good relationship with your professors. Professors appreciate the perspectives adults bring to the classroom. Don’t be afraid to contribute! Contact your professors at office hours or by email if you need help.
- Meet with your college advisor at least once a semester to be sure you are on track with your program and coursework. Make sure you understand the required courses, course sequence, and credit requirements for your degree.
- Your advisor can also steer you toward important resources on campus such as the tutoring center, career office, etc.
Tools for Writing, Math, and Learning Styles
- Before your first class, sharpen your academic skills here and catch up on learning strategies here. For tutoring help in math, science, computer science and much more, check out Khan Academy.
- Remind yourself about citation rules here to make writing papers easier. We recommend that you follow the tutorials and take advantage of the workshops and consultations.
- Here is a site dedicated to generating citations, and this site provides a quick online reference guide when you want to learn a grammatical rule.
- Click here for tips on breaking through writer’s’ block and improving your writing skills. Scribe is a great toolkit for organizing and keeping track of information when you are writing a college paper. Scribe allows you to manage your research notes, quotes, thoughts, contacts, published and archival sources, digital images, outlines, timelines, and glossary entries.
- Believe it or not, math can indeed be fun (when explained properly). If you’re trying to grasp concepts in math courses such as algebra, geometry, and statistics, this site explains math using real world scenarios that are easy to understand and apply. Here you can access an interactive website that helps you create graphs of all kinds.
- Remember, we all have different learning styles, and sometimes the way we interpret and process concepts can be different than the way that instructors teach them. If this describes your general experience, certainly explore this site for a wealth of options for learners with alternative learning styles.
Deadlines
Be aware and meet all deadlines for registration, course selection, and ongoing tuition and fee payments. Don’t derail yourself by forgetting and missing an important deadline. If you must miss a deadline, talk to the appropriate department at your new college and explain your situation. Try to reach a mutually acceptable solution. Remember to file annually for financial aid and keep all related paperwork up to date.
Financial Aid/Paying for College
Don’t forget that you need to apply for federal and state financial aid EVERY YEAR! Keep your FSA ID in a safe place where you can access it each year. Try to file your taxes as soon as possible as you will need that information to complete your financial aid forms.
Check in with the financial aid office at your college to see if there are any scholarships that you might qualify for. New scholarship opportunities might pop up during the school year so make sure you keep in touch with the financial aid office. You should make a habit of applying for new scholarships as doing so will lessen the amount you have to cover out of pocket.
Graduate! Philadelphia Advisors
Graduate! Philadelphia advisors support Comebackers to and through degree completion. This means that we will be with you for as long as it takes for you to complete your degree. Make sure you check in with your advisor each semester to update them on how you are doing. Having a problem at school? Your advisor can help you figure out a solution or connect you to the right person. Need a math refresher course, a review on how to get financial aid, or help creating a resume? Check out Graduate! Philadelphia’s calendar of events. Each month we offer workshops and presentations for our Comebackers.
Contact us at 215.498.1504 or Advisor@GraduatePhiladelphia.org. We look forward to working with you as you navigate your educational journey!
