Challenges and Strategies I Face During Graduate School

Challenges and Strategies I Face During Graduate School When I decided to go back to school after 16 years, I knew it was not going to be easy. There are many challenges that I must overcome to complete graduate school successfully and become the person I want to be. Some of the challenges I will face are time management, the motivation needed to succeed and the ability to manage my financial responsibilities. These challenges will not be easy but the strategies that I plan to implement should reduce the amount of stress that graduate school causes and make me a successful student. A challenge that will be the hardest as I pursue my graduate study is time management. There are so many things that happen in my day and adding graduate school to the mix is just one more challenge I will face. One strategy I will implement to make my time management run smoothly will be to reorganize my daily activities and make time for my studies. Going to school online gives me a greater window to finish my school work because I can do my school work around my family activities and still be there for everyone in my life. My step daughter is very important to me and deserves my time, especially because she is only three. I plan on giving her fun activities that she can do on her own during my study time. I am not the only one who is majorly concerned with time management as an issue while attending graduate school. According to a study done by M. Beth Schlemper, this issue was also the main concern within her population of study coming in as the number one concern (Schlemper, 2011, p. 69). I believe that making a schedule and sticking to it as well as I can, will lead me to a positive experience between making time for my school work and my family without either one suffering. Another challenge that I face while attending graduate school is motivation to continue. In 2011 Ibtesam Halawah did a study on what motivates students to finish their studies. He

References: Clark, K., & Wang, P. (2011, September). Business source complete. Money, 40(8), 114-122. Retrieved from University of Phoenix Library: https://portal.phoenix.edu/library.html Halawah, I. (2011, winter). Factors influencing college students. Education, 132(2), 379- 390. Retrieved from University of Phoenix Library: https://portal.phoenix.edu/library.html Schlemper, M.B. (2011, November). Challenges and coping in graduate school. Geographical Bulletin, 52(2), 67-72. Retrieved from University of Phoenix Library: https://portal.phoenix.edu/library.html